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Treason

Posted by Apostate on 09/29/19
Q: What is treason, what is treasonous, how does fealty affect treats? If a Barony moves against a Duchy can they be involved in treason or is that an act of war? Can you committ treason against someone not your liege?

A: Treason, generally speaking, is overused as a term and only applies to a very narrow subset. It usually only means a sworn subject of a liege attempting to actively replace the liege with another ruler, or taking an action that would in effect make it impossible for them to rule. For example, if a crownsworn commoner in the whites saying that Alaric was a bad leader, that could have unpleasant consequences for the commoner, but it wouldn't really be considered treason. However, if the crownsworn commoner in the whites said that Alaric was clearly a pawn of the Nox'alfar shav tribe, had no business ruling, and he believes Alaric must be overthrown and replaced by a new Queen from the Lyceum, that would qualify.

Similarly, even war doesn't necessarily mean treason. A barony, -even in the same fealty-, is only sworn to their direct liege, that county. If the county calls their banners to fight against their banner-duke over a dispute, it could be considered oathbreaking for the barony to not assist the county against their own banner-duke. Their first loyalty is always to the one that immediately holds their own oaths. Interestingly, if a commoner subject of that barony said the duke was illegitimate and should be overthrown, that's not technically treason as the commoner has no direct oath to the duke. But unless the baron wants to be crushed by a ducal force, they almost certainly would hush up their own commoners, and more than one commoner has been hanged for unfortunate statements that could get their liege in trouble with a more powerful ruling lady or lord.