Court of the Coin / Kintargan government

[Lanathar]

How have people used the Court of Nobles if at all? How much power do they have?

Thrune comes across as an authoritarian despot but his early proclamations all have justifications and are not particularly severe. They scream of something that is written in a way to get rubber stamped by a “legislature” like the court even if that is all for show and he would have found away to do it anyway

The more heavy handed stuff is things they don’t have power to oppose anyway as far as I can tell.

I am just interested in just how much influence they theoretically have and how they carry it out / operate

It is definitely said they meet to decide on city interests which sounds like an unofficial senate / parliament . I guess they would also hear guild interests or, it would seem, are several of the guilds themselves

I am no expert on old timey systems of government or even current mayoral systems. I am just trying to add a lot more flesh to the bones presented on winning them to your side throughout the AP

*

Related to this book 5 implies they have further titles and estates elsewhere. Unless these are honourary or rather unsecured villages I don’t see why no one has retreated to there

I guess there fear that withdrawing would give Thrune even more control (since as above I am very much reading it as that he isn’t effectively King of Kintargo - but I might be wrong)

[Latrecis]

Late to this... And this is my interpretation - I can't point to any source material.

I have viewed the Court of Coin as a glorified Chamber of Commerce. They exist to manage economic issues and potential conflicts between Noble houses. And to help ensure the Noble houses stay at the top of the economic pyramid. They handle contracts, disputes and negotiate ambiguous property rights and lines, etc. They handle trade disputes with other duchies, etc. in Cheliax, host trade delegations from other nations, and so forth.

They do not wield political power (except as how wealth can drive or influence it.) Kintargo's current government type is Overlord and was previously Autocracy. (Which are not that different from each other.) This is in keeping with the worship of Asmodeus, whose philosophy does not involve sharing of power or government structures that provide checks on power (such as juxtaposed executive and legislative bodies.) So the Lord Mayor rules the city without any restriction except what might come from higher in the hierarchy - namely Abrogail II.

[Trichotome]

My interpretation is similar to Latrecis', though with a minor modification (note that this is entirely interpretation with no basis in historical fact on my part).

I like to think of the different members of the court as being similar to departments or agencies that handle different (mostly financial) aspects of Kintargo. The Lord-Mayor gives them incontrovertible instructions about what they want and can reduce their "funding" via contracts, but the noble houses actually handle how the businesses and industries operate. As a result, when a Lord-Mayor isn't micromanaging them they have control over most of the city's businesses, though there's usually too much squabbling between their roles for any one noble to get much of a leg over another. In essence, I interpret therm as being government-licenced guilds with overlapping interests.

In this interpretation, the Court has a lot of power so long as the Lord-Mayor doesn't give them any specific direction, but Barzillai is a micro-manager, so their power has been limited considerably as a result of his meddling (though for his allies this is to their benefit, as they get more authority and wealth by doing what he wants).

As for each family, I did think of a bit more detail regarding how they influence the city, which I used to develop some extra subplots the players could explore:

• -Aulamaxa: Generally handles hunting and game licences in the northern Ravounel area, but has aspirations for further influence in the operatic arts and public press domains (they are essentially vying for the Victocora's old spot and would be in direct conflict with Sarini). Their further interest in the Kintargo area holdings puts them in conflict with the Jarvis family, while the interest in information puts them at odds with the Jhalteros. The fact that they've been battling on so many fronts for influence is basically what is holding them back.
  
• -Aulorian: Handles many things related to arcane subjects (including dealing with certain types of monsters, hence salt and silver). They handle the import and export of magical things in and out of Ravounel (which is why Thrune has been using them to make magic items so much harder to come by in the city).
  
• -Delronge: Handles the horse trade, hunting in southern Ravounel (which isn't nearly as profitable due to the Strix) and imports/exports from/to mainland Cheliax. They're directly responsible for tampering with the Vashnarstills as a way of taking over all imports and exports in Ravounel. The most opportunist Thrune ally.
  
• -Jarvis: Handles most of the construction contracts in Kintargo and Ravounel in general. Handles just about everything in the "public works" domain, though they rely on the Jhalteros for supplies and conflict with the Tanessens when it comes to the military applications of certain structures.
  
• -Jhaltero: Handles information brokering for most of the noble families while holding Kintargo's major and stable mining contracts. Because of this they act as a potent check for other families, while being unable to rise above themselves (since that would jeopardise their role in balancing the others). That balance and their role is now endangered by the instability brought on by Barzillai.
  
• -Sarini: Handles matters of diabolism, which puts them in close allegiance with the Asmodaean church, and also all entertainment. They were partially checked by the Victocoras in the domain of theatre and the arts but with them gone the Sarinis have eagerly taken over and carried out the will of Thrune and the Asmodaeans regarding redactions. They have rapidly grown in authority without an adversary (something the Aulamaxas and Jhalteros might have an interest in). The most dogmatic Thrune ally.
  
• -Tanessen: Handles things related to military and defence. Have opinions regarding Kintargo's comparatively lax defence funding and as such are in frequent conflict with the Jarvis family over how the city is being built (though they are perhaps less dogmatic than the Sarinis and actually have the city's safety at heart). Most of the guards and matters of security in the region are bankrolled by them. The most pragmatic Thrune ally.
  
• -Vashnarstill: Handles international imports and exports, mainly due to their extremely valuable Arcadian contract. This contract was recently dissolved through questionable means by Barzillai as a way of getting the Delronges on his side. They also run the docks, so they have heavy influence in the shipyards and among the Kintargo working class, even if their noble status is waning.
  
• -Victocora: Handled most matters of art and education in the city and owned and operated the Opera House. Their authority in these domains kept Kintargo fairly liberal and held at bay the diabolical influences championed by the Sarinis.
  

As for their other holdings, I figure they have relatives administering them or they visit occasionally. The only ones that I know are defined are Aulomaxa (Cypress Point), Jarvis (Argo Isle), Jhaltero (Whiterock), and Vashnarstill (Anchor's End). In my version of the game I mostly used what's defined for the leaders in the back page of Dance of the Damned. Baron Canton Jhaltero stays because he views his role as necessary (he'd much rather live a quiet peaceful life in Whiterock, but there's no one ready you take his place), Baroness Belcara Jarvis stays because Kintargo is her family's home, Archbaroness Eldonna Aulamaxa stays because she wants Kintargo to be her family's home (and leaving would look bad), and Baron Sendi Vashnarstill actually leaves Kintargo frequently while his family barely holds things together, though if someone can talk some sense into him he might stick around for more than a few days. All the others stay because they stand to gain in their current relationship with Barzillai.

[Latrecis]

That's pretty good, Trichotome. I think I'll be "borrowing" that.

[roguerouge]

This is going to be what the noble houses will push for after the revolution at my table. That may be a problem for House Jarvis though, as their territory is the city of Kintargo they may technically influence or control much of this stuff on Argo isle under the old administration. It's an interesting shift from the "total control over your territory" model.

[zimmerwald1915]

The thing to appreciate about Kintargo's nobility, and Cheliax's more generally, is that it is ruined or being ruined by government policy and, what is the same thing, the rise of competing classes (accelerated by the para-nobility system). In Kintargo's this is most clearly seen with respect to Aulamaxa, whose revenues are threatened by a decline of the fisheries and an inability to tax any industries that rise to replace fishing, and Vashnarstill, whose wealth depends on a specific license that has been stripped by the government specifically in order to shift trade to another port. Jhaltero is the counterexample, being actively involved in the development of his lands.

These are people who are losing or have been stripped of their power. Their tendency is toward separation from Cheliax in order to re-establish it. Their sectoral interests of a once-and-future nature; they dominated those sectors in the past, and wish to again, but play little to no role in them now.