Sinecure

Overview

A sinecure is an Imperial title that provides the office holder with a fixed income, usually in the form of the production from a commission. The return can take many different forms, the most common being money, herbs, materials for crafting items, mana crystals, and liao. Sinecures are often created with tenure, meaning they are generally retained until the holder dies, resigns, or is removed by the Synod.

There are several well worn paths for appointing a sinecure; the most common are by unanimous decisions of a nations senators, a judgement of appointment in one of the assemblies of the Imperial Synod, or the tally of the Votes in the Imperial Bourse.

Production

The resources a sinecure provides are added to a character's inventory automatically when Downtime closes. The income is received only by the person with the title - if the title has not been appointed the resources do not accrue. As long as the title is held by someone, the resources are received regardless of whether they attend the summit at Anvil or not.

Senate Commissions

The Imperial Senate may pass a motion for the construction of an establishment capable of producing wealth - money, herbs, ingots, or similar. This motion automatically results in the creation of a sinecure once the construction is complete.

It is also possible for the Senate to pass a motion to upgrade a sinecure, increasing the benefits that it provides.

Costs

Materials: Variable (minimum 10 wains) Time: 3 months to construct per 50 wains of materials used Labour: 3 crowns per wain Upkeep: None

The more resources are devoted to constructing a sinecure, the greater the return. Under normal circumstances, the material required will be the one associated with upgrading an equivalent personal resource. For example, at least 10 wains of mithril is required to create a sinecure that produces mana crystals.

In addition to the wains required, it costs 3 crowns per wain to pay for labour and skills to complete the construction.

The table shows some standard costs and benefits for a range of sinecures. For example a sinecure created by the Senate using 20 wains of mithril could produce 13 mana crystals each season. There is no upper limit on how many wains can be used to construct a sinecure; provided at least 10 wains are used, then any amount can be spent to build it.

Limitations

It is not possible to create a sinecure which mimics the effects of a fleet or military unit, nor is it possible to create a sinecure which creates mithril, ilium, weirwood, or white granite.

A sinecure is very similar to a personal resource such as a farm or mine in that it provides a set amount of resources to the character who holds the position at the start of each event. Unlike a personal resource, however, you don't need to attend the previous event to get the benefits. Also, the sinecure cannot be upgraded or diversified by its holder (only by senate motion) and there are no decisions to be made about what the position provides or how it does so. A sinecure that produces liao will not come with an option to sell that liao in downtime, a sinecure that produces green iron cannot be paid to produce more in the way a green iron mine could.

Sinecures are not affected by rituals that target a personal resource. A ritual that increases the production of a green iron mine will not affect a sinecure that produces green iron.

A sinecure that produces herbs will normally produce equal quantities of all herbs. It is possible to create a sinecure that produces a single herb, provided it is one that is commonly found in the area. As part of the necessary details, the senator can indicate what herbs they would like but the final decision about production is made by the game team.

Votes

It is no longer possible to create a sinecure that provides votes towards Tally of the Votes, the Synod, or in an election for a senator, even where voting is determined by the size of a citizen's personal resource. After lengthy consideration, the Constitutional Court determined that sinecures that did this violated an important principle of presence, that an individual should be present to cast their vote.

Responsibility

Any citizen who is granted a sinecure is expected to be responsible for any problems that might beset the resources represented by the sinecure. For example, if Thule reavers were raiding the mines overseen by the Lady of the Upper Halls, then the Empire would expect that citizen to deal with the problem.

Current Sinecures

This table includes all sinecures which are active and have been appointed in recent times. For a full list of title holders see here. This list was last updated following the Autumn Equinox 386YE.

Former Sinecures

These are sinecures that have been appointed in recent times but are no longer active. This happens automatically if a sinecure is abrogated by the Imperial Senate but in most cases it is because the commission has been captured or destroyed by barbarians.