The Papacy
The pope is the spiritual leader of all players and their populations. The pope is also a fief owner and possesses some wealth. The only other powers the pope has are to:
Excommunicate players (lowers stature). the pope can, of course, reverse this condition also.
Declare an interdict on the lands of a player.
Bless players (increases stature)
Grant divorces
Approve the collection of Church taxes for the king.
Change any characters first name (to deal with those irreverent players who name their children "Moon Unit" or "Whereswaldo.")
The pope also has two abilities that can affect a players abilities. The principal ones are excommunication and interdict. A lesser power (mainly to control the excessive whimsy some players demonstrate in naming their children) is the ability to change the first name of any character in the game. The pope can also grant blessings, which raise the blessed players stature by 1. Players must have a stature of 5 before they can be blessed. The pope can only bless a player once per year and a large donation is usually expected before the blessing is given. The player to be blessed must travel to Avignon (or Rome, after the anti-pope period) to personally receive the blessing from the pope (who must also be there.) The blessing must be posted in the MESSAGES TO ALL section of the Bulletin Board system.
Note that the popes in this periods were very much under the control of the French king. There were several reasons for this:
1-The current pope was French.
2-The papacy in Avignon was under the protection of the French king.
3-There were more French Catholics than English Catholics.
4-The English were showing Protestant tendencies (the Lollards and busting the popes chops over church taxation and the selection of bishops).
5-The French nobility were generally more into religion than the English (they went after the south France Cathar heretics in the previous century with great vigor). This last "crusade" gave rise to the Inquisition (which was controlled by the French before the Spanish "took it over.")
6- Because the pope is French, the Papal States begin the game in rebellion (which is why the pope is in Avignon.)
A player that leaves the game (by not logging on for 21 days or because he died heirless) while outlawed or excommunicated cannot rejoin the game for 30 days..
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