This page is ran by the Third Council of Brightshore - questions should be directed to them. However, if you see something that is improper for our family-friendly game, please contact a DM.

Laws are formally passed by the Council on vote and affect all of Brightshore.
Rules and Edicts are specific to the portfolio of a Council member and are narrower in scope.
Enacted policy will state policy type(s), author, creation date, and last update if applicable.

Legal counsel, judiciary, and final judge; maintains Council archives, publishes laws and Council decisions, manages city treasury, collects taxes and tariffs, certifies ships, and registers licenses, businesses, and guilds

Plans, approves, develops, and manages city land and waterway development and use, registers land and buildings, maintains city infrastructure, such as defensive structures, ports, roads, parks, and sewers; heads Ruins Reclamation Authority; and, plans, approves, develops, and manages trade-supporting infrastructure outside of Brightshore

Religious leader of the city, represents the interests of The Four on the Council, acts as a voice of the people and our link to The Four, acts as the moral compass of the Council, and keeps Council members on the right path and in the good graces of The Four

In charge of militia, standing Army and Navy, foreign affairs, and expansion beyond city borders; secures our borders, expands our influence outside Brightshore, protects Brightshore from outside forces, and ensures our preparedness for attack

Head of the City Guard, in charge of inner city protection, responsible for the enforcement of laws, and steward of the gaol

Law enacted by unanimous vote, 20 Docembrus 25 (2020-02-13)

On this day in Oncemas, B.Y. 24,
By Decree of Consul Maximillian von Tibblesworth
On the Authority of the Second Council of Brightshore
The City-State Hereby Establishes the Following as its Foreign Policy:

• It is the policy of the city of Brightshore to, absent clear and present danger posed to its populace or obvious moral atrocity, extend all societies the opportunity for friendship and trade in good faith. Adventurers who choose aggression towards foreign powers without authorization will be called to justify their actions and be held accountable for them.
• The government of Brightshore shall attempt, as much as possible, to resolve differences with its neighbors through civil discourse and mercantile exchange, resorting to force of arms only as a last resort in the face of aggression or in response to moral atrocity. Such authorizations are the exclusive right of the Council to approve.
• The government of Brightshore shall not expand its borders by force of arms into territory belonging to another recognized government or people group.
• The government of Brightshore will hold its citizenry accountable to these tenets while they are present in foreign lands, up to and including criminal prosecution for unprovoked aggression.

Law/Rule/Edict enacted by Consul Tibblesworth 2019-11-12.

1. Council Law Organization
   1. Council Laws are organized in a four-level hierarchy
      1. Section;
      2. Paragraph;
      3. Line; and,
      4. Item
   2. Referencing Council Laws
      1. Council Laws are referenced as follows: section.paragraph(line)(item)
      2. For example, section 5, paragraph b, line 3, item d reads “Parks” and is referenced as 5.b(3)(d)
2. Council Law Severability
   1. If any section, paragraph, line, item, sentence, phrase, or word in the Council Laws is to any extent invalid, illegal, or incapable of being enforced, such section, paragraph, line, item, sentence, phrase, or word shall be excluded to the extent of such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability and all other sections, paragraphs, lines, items, sentences, phrases, and words hereof shall remain in full force and effect
3. Scrivener's Errors
   1. Scrivener's errors shall not frustrate the legislative intent behind properly constructed and enacted Council Laws
   2. A scrivener's error is a minor mistake by a preparer, transcriber, or reproducer of a document, such as a typographical error, misspelled word, misnumbered section, paragraph, line, or item, transposed letters or terms, repeated words, improper grammar, or misplaced punctuation, that may occur while drafting, passing, and publishing legislation
   3. A scrivener's error rising from inadvertence, and not one that occurs from legislative intent, shall be identified by;
      1. unanimous agreement of the Arbiter and Parliamentarian if the Arbiter is not designated as the Parliamentarian; or,
      2. unanimous agreement of the Arbiter and three other Council members if the Arbiter is designated as the Parliamentarian;
   4. The Arbiter shall remedy a scrivener's error identified by paragraph 3.c by;
      1. creating a scrivener's affidavit, which shall;
         1. state the section, paragraph, item, and/or line containing the error;
         2. restate the corrected section, paragraph, item, and/or line; and,
         3. certify that the error does not reflect the legislative intent;
      2. publishing the scrivener's affidavit in the official Council register; and,
      3. publishing the corrected section, paragraph, item, and/or line and making it available for public inspection
   5. Section 4 shall not apply when correcting scrivener's errors identified by paragraph 3.c
4. Modifying Council Laws
   1. Changing, adding, or removing Council Laws shall require the unanimous agreement of the full Council
   2. Individual letters and words shall not be added to, removed from, or changed in Council Laws
   3. Changes to Council Laws shall involve complete sections, paragraphs, lines, or items
5. Brightshore Council Roles
   1. Arbiter
      1. Legal counsel, judiciary, and final judge
      2. Maintains Council archives
      3. Publishes laws and Council decisions
      4. Manages city treasury
      5. Collects taxes and tariffs
      6. Certifies ships
      7. Registers licenses, businesses, and guilds
   2. Architect
      1. Plans, approves, develops, and manages city land and waterway development and use
      2. Registers land and buildings
      3. Maintains city infrastructure
         1. Defensive structures
         2. Ports
         3. Roads
         4. Parks
         5. Sewers
      4. Heads Ruins Reclamation Authority
      5. Plans, approves, develops, and manages trade-supporting infrastructure outside of Brightshore
   3. Archon
      1. Religious leader of the city
      2. Represents the interests of The Four on the Council
      3. Acts as a voice of the people and our link to The Four
      4. Acts as the moral compass of the Council
      5. Keeps Council members on the right path and in the good graces of The Four
   4. Margrave
      1. In charge of
         1. Militia
         2. Standing Army and Navy
         3. Foreign affairs
         4. Expansion
      2. Secures our borders
      3. Expands our influence outside Brightshore
      4. Protects Brightshore from outside forces
      5. Ensures our preparedness for attack
   5. Marshal
      1. Head of the City Guard
      2. In charge of inner city protection
      3. Responsible for the enforcement of laws
      4. Steward of the gaol
6. Parliamentarian
   1. Like most deliberative bodies, the Council designates a person to serve as Parliamentarian
   2. The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for managing the process of question introduction, approving question wording, debate, voting, and reporting vote outcomes
   3. The Parliamentarian maintains this information in written form while in Council Chambers for viewing by Council members; the information is kept by a Steward or another responsible party designated by the Parliamentarian when Council members are not in Council Chambers
   4. The Council shall select by a 4/5th vote a Council member to act as the Parliamentarian if no member is so designated
   5. If the Council cannot agree on a Council member to act as the Parliamentarian, the Arbiter shall designate a Council member to act as the Parliamentarian
7. Modifying Council Roles and Assignments
   1. The number of Council roles shall be fixed at five and shall not be changed
   2. The Council shall have no leader
   3. The Council shall not rename any Council role to imply or declare any Council role as having executive or leadership position or powers or that any Council role has authority over any other Council role
   4. Changing Council role responsibilities shall require a 4/5th vote and the consent of the Council member, if any, assigned to the Council role being changed
   5. Changing the name of a Council role shall not disassociate a Council member from the old role, the Council member shall remain assigned to the renamed role
   6. A Council member may not be disassociated from a Council role without their consent
   7. A Council member may disassociate themselves from a Council role without penalty or prejudice
8. Council Member Resignation or Removal
   1. Council members may resign from the Council without penalty or prejudice
   2. Council members shall be removed from the Council without penalty but with prejudice by a 4/5th vote of the full Council
9. Elections and Council Member Tenure
   1. Council members shall be elected to four-year terms
   2. Elections shall be held at least once every four years but may be held earlier with the unanimous agreement of the full Council
   3. The Council intends to move to staggered voting in the future with elections will be held every other year, voting alternately for three and then two seats on the Council, and to enable this, the full Council may by unanimous agreement shorten or lengthen certain Council member terms to align term expirations with future elections
   4. The Docembrus 25 election shall not replace any Council members
   5. The Docembrus 25 election shall add three members to the Council
10. Council Member Eligibility
    1. To be eligible for membership on the Council, a person shall:
       1. have attained the age of majority or adulthood as understood in their race or culture;
       2. have been a Brightshore resident for no fewer than six months;
       3. not be convicted of a High Crime in Brightshore or similar crime in other lands;
       4. not be in the control of another or under magical influence that negates free will;
       5. not have been forcibly removed from the Council within the past four years;
       6. not have declined an offer of Council membership within the past four years; and,
       7. not be undead
11. Council Membership and Role Assignment
    1. If the Council has fewer than five members and an election is not currently underway or scheduled within the next two months, the Council shall:
       1. Offer Council membership to the next eligible person having the highest vote total in the most recent election
       2. Persons offered membership on the Council shall accept membership or reject membership on the Council within one month of the offer;
       3. Persons rejecting the offer of membership on the Council shall do so with prejudice;
       4. 10.a(1) through 10.a(3) shall be repeated until either the Council has five members or there are no more remaining eligible candidates from the most recent election
       5. If the list of candidates from the most recent election is exhausted and the Council still has fewer than five members, the Council shall, by unanimous agreement, offer membership to eligible persons of its choosing
    2. Once the Council has five members:
       1. Council members not assigned Council roles may be assigned one by a 4/5th vote
       2. The Arbiter may decide Council role assignments for Council members not assigned to a Council role if the Council cannot agree on new Council role assignments
12. Council Member Standards of Conduct and Conflicts of Interest
    1. Council members shall work toward the good of the city at all times
    2. Council members shall behave in a dignified manner at all times while in Council Chambers
    3. Council members shall not exercise their respective powers when decisions normally within their purview would apply to themselves; e.g., the Arbiter cannot preside as judge in a criminal matter in which they are indicted
    4. Where such conflicts of interest exist, the remaining Council members shall share the conflicted responsibilities and make decisions based on a 2/3rd majority of non-conflicted Council members until such time as the conflict of interest is resolved
    5. The Arbiter shall be the judge of whether a conflict of interest exists unless the suspected conflict involves the Arbiter, in which case the Council may declare a conflict by 2/3rd vote
13. Council Member Votes
    1. Each Council member assigned to a Council role shall have one vote
    2. Each vote cast by a Council member assigned to a Council role shall have equal weighting
    3. Council members not assigned to a Council role shall not
       1. propose questions;
       2. introduce motions;
       3. cast votes; or,
       4. be included in counts for the purposes of determining vote success or failure
14. Deliberative Process
    1. The Council, unlike many deliberative bodies, does not hold sessions or require a quorum to conduct business
    2. The Council requires more flexibility to conduct business than larger bodies given its limited membership and the frequency with which Council members travel outside of Brightshore
    3. The Council uses rules for proposing questions to be debated and voted upon but manages voting in an open-ended manner
    4. While the rules and vote thresholds may be viewed as a significant impediment to conducting business, the Council believes that protecting the rights of a minority opinion from a bare majority and encouraging a diversity of viewpoints, debate, and negotiation to find common ground that shapes lasting policy is more valuable to a free society than simple expediency in making and passing laws
15. Debate and Voting Procedures
    1. The Council is free to discuss whatever it likes in Council Chambers, but for issues requiring votes, the Council uses the following process for question proposal, review, debate, and voting:
       1. Question proposal
          1. Withdrawal by sponsor
       2. Parliamentarian review
          1. Rejection
       3. Motion to debate
          1. Withdrawal by sponsor
       4. Motion to vote
       5. Voting
       6. Vote results announced
16. Question Proposal
    1. A Council member may propose a question to the Council for debate; the Council member who introduces a question is the question's sponsor
    2. Questions shall be
       1. phrased as a question beginning with “Shall this Council…”;
       2. answerable in the affirmative or negative;
       3. free of adpositions, conditionals, double-negatives, and confusing wording;
       4. as brief as possible;
       5. written use proper grammar and syntax; and,
       6. substantially different from previously voted-upon questions
    3. The substantial difference requirement is to prevent a failed question from being voted upon repeatedly
    4. The Arbiter shall be the sole judge of substantial difference between proposed and previously voted-upon questions
    5. An external political, economic, social, technological, legal, or environmental factors must have changed enough from the time a previous question was voted upon and failed to warrant reconsideration of a similar question
    6. The Parliamentarian shall be the sole judge of whether an external factor described in paragraph 16.e has changed enough to warrant reconsideration of a question worded similar to a previously voted upon and failed question
    7. If a question needs its wording changed, the sponsor may withdraw the proposed question without prejudice (meaning the question or one similarly worded may be voted upon) prior to it being debated and propose a new question to the Council
    8. A withdrawn question fails and may not be acted upon further
    9. Each Council member shall sponsor at most one question at any time
    10. Attempts by a Council member to introduce a new question while another question of theirs is before the Council in the proposal, review, debate, or voting stage fails without prejudice and are noted as such by the Parliamentarian
    11. In no case shall a question have its wording changed after being proposed; questions are considered, debated, and voted upon using the wording when they were proposed
17. Parliamentarian Review
    1. The Parliamentarian shall reject the questions whose wording does not meet the question proposal requirements without prejudice, shall state the reason for rejection, and shall suggest acceptable rewording where possible
    2. A question rejected by the Parliamentarian fails without prejudice and may not be acted upon further
    3. Questions shall not proceed to the debate stage until they have been approved by the Parliamentarian
18. Debate
    1. Debate for a question begins when a Council member other than be the sponsor motions to debate a question approved by the Parliamentarian and another Council member other than the sponsor seconds the motion
    2. Council members shall not second their own motions
    3. Council members debate the question, perhaps suggesting clarifying wording, or seeking input from non-Council subject matter experts before proceeding with further debate
    4. If a question needs its wording changed, the sponsor may withdraw the question being debated without prejudice, ending debate on it, then propose a new question to the Council
    5. A withdrawn question fails without prejudice and may not be acted upon further
19. Voting
    1. A question moves from debate to voting when a Council member other than the sponsor motions to end debate and vote and another Council member other than the sponsor seconds the motions
    2. The Parliamentarian shall
       1. state the question as proposed;
       2. declare that debate on the question has ended and voting has begun;
       3. state the deadline for voting; and,
       4. state the vote success threshold
    3. When voting, Council members
       1. may vote yes, no, or abstain;
       2. are not required to cast a vote;
       3. may change their vote at any time prior to voting ending;
       4. must be present in Council Chambers to cast or change their vote; and,
       5. may not assign a proxy to cast their vote
    4. Voting shall end when one of the following conditions is satisfied:
       1. one full month has passed;
       2. each Council member assigned to a Council role has cast a vote;
       3. a question has enough votes in the affirmative to succeed should each uncast vote be cast in the negative; or,
       4. a question has enough votes in the negative to fail should each uncast vote be cast in the affirmative
    5. The voting procedure is intended to give all Council members the chance to vote but also to expedite decisions that may be minor in scope or when a supermajority share the same position on a question
    6. A question may not be withdrawn once it has reached the voting stage
20. Voting Thresholds
    1. Vote totals and ratios are considered in terms of the number of Council members assigned to Council roles, not the number of votes cast
    2. Unless otherwise noted, a vote succeeds or fails by 4/5th of votes cast in the affirmative or the negative, respectively
    3. Some votes require a 2/3rd vote or unanimous vote to succeed or fail; this threshold is noted where appropriate
21. Voting Results
    1. When voting on a question ends, the Parliamentarian shall
       1. announce that voting for the question has ended;
       2. repeat the question;
       3. declare the threshold for success;
       4. declare the count of votes cast in the affirmative, negative, or abstain;
       5. declare the result as succeeded or failed;
       6. provide a written record of the question, vote, and result to the Arbiter for placement it in the Council register and dissemination
    2. A question that fails does so with prejudice, meaning it and any similarly worded question may not be proposed in the future
    3. The full Council may by unanimous agreement choose to re-introduce a question that previously failed with prejudice and ignore the substantially different question requirement described in line 16.b(6)
22. Treaties and Relations with Other Sovereign Groups
    1. Treaties with other powers, be they a ruler, tribe, town, kingdom, nation, or any other group of sufficient size and organization to maintain a common identity and warrant recognition by Brightshore, require special treatment and voting thresholds
       1. Ratifying a trade treaty requires a simple majority vote
       2. Cancelling a trade treaty requires a 2/3rd vote
       3. Ratifying a peace treaty requires a 2/3rd vote
       4. Cancelling a peace treaty requires a 4/5th vote
       5. Declaring war requires a 4/5th vote
23. Hierarchy of Laws
    1. The laws of Brightshore shall be judged the controlling authority in all matters in lands controlled by Brightshore unless subordinated by a ratified treaty with another ruler, tribe, town, kingdom, nation, or any other group of sufficient size and organization to maintain a common identity and warrant recognition by Brightshore
24. Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority
    1. This section shall establish the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority
    2. The Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority shall
       1. be headed by the Council Architect;
       2. be self-funding to the extent possible;
       3. explore, map, reclaim, and secure ruins within five miles of the city of Brightshore;
       4. maintain maps and land plats of unreclaimed ruins, reclaimed ruins, and secured ruins;
       5. clear, develop, assess, value, sell, and lease city-owned land in reclaimed ruins and secured ruins;
       6. assign value to land in reclaimed ruins, secured ruins, and secured ruins that become part of the city of Brightshore;
       7. assign, lend, or give city-owned land in reclaimed and secured ruins to persons, businesses, guilds, or other groups for the common good of Brightshore;
       8. assign 50 percent of proceeds from the sale and lease of city-owned land in reclaimed ruins and secured ruins to;
          1. the City of Brightshore Treasury; and,
          2. the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority; and,
       9. negotiate, contract, barter, pay, and remunerate persons, groups, businesses, and guilds to assist with 24.b(3) through 24.b(5) inclusive
25. Brightshore Urbanization and Ruins Reclamation Incentivization Through Ownership
    1. This section shall establish the act named Brightshore Urbanization and Ruins Reclamation Incentivization Through Ownership
    2. Recognizing the urgent need to reclaim and secure ruins to support the city's continued growth and to incentivize the reclamation and securing of ruins, the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority shall:
       1. grant to the first person, guild, business, or group to reclaim a ruins square the option to
          1. receive title to up to 10,000 square feet of land in a reclaimed ruins square at no cost; and,
          2. receive title to up to 30,000 square feet of land section of land in a reclaimed ruins square at 1/2 the normal cost; and,
       2. grant to the first person, guild, business, or group to secure a ruins square the option to
          1. receive title to up to 10,000 square feet of land in a reclaimed or secured ruins square at no cost; and,
          2. receive title to up to 30,000 square feet of land in a reclaimed or secured ruins square at 1/2 the normal cost
    3. land grant and purchase options shall be
       1. awarded retroactively for previously reclaimed and secured ruins areas;
       2. valid for eight years after issuance;
       3. exercised via the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority;
       4. exercisable subject to approval by the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority;
       5. non-transferrable except through inheritance;
    4. Land obtained through land grant and purchase option shall be
       1. assigned a market value by the Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority at the time of option exercise;
       2. salable, combinable, divisible, transferrable, heritable, and fungible; and,
       3. cleared, developed, built upon, transferred, or sold within eight years of acquisition
    5. Title to land obtained through land grant and purchase option that is not cleared, developed, built upon, transferred, or sold within eight years of acquisition shall revert to the City of Brightshore
    6. The Brightshore Ruins Reclamation Authority shall receive from the seller or transferor of land obtained through land grant and purchase option
       1. 50 percent of the proceeds upon the initial sale of the land; and,
       2. 10 percent of the market value of the land upon the initial transfer
       3. 25.f(2) shall not apply to conveyance through inheritance

Law enacted by unanimous vote, 20 Docembrus 25 (2020-02-13)