<Crowned_Sun> One thing I did come up with, but haven't mentioned, was the whole deal with the Emperor and to a lesser degree Clan-heads (they don't /necessarily/ live longer -- but in GURPS turn, having +5 HT means they will live a VERY VERY long time).
<Crowned_Sun> But I figure that eventually, if nobody is able to overcome you in a duel, you can abdictate your authority. The Light of Heaven even stays with you to a lesser degree -- the Emperor loses his immortality, sure, but keeps a lot of the other bonuses). An option other than waiting for someone else to come along and kill you.
Crowned_Sun figures, really, most Emperors serve for a LONG time. A mixture of nobody wanting to challenge until their sure, just not wanting to rock the boat (after all, being Emperor has some downsides), and so forth.
<haren> Yeah, I imagined most of the "old hermits" were usually former Clan Leaders or less often Emperors.
<Crowned_Sun> And the challenge to gain the Mantle of Heaven IS to the Death, though either combatant might spare the other if they wish.
<haren> But the default is to kill them. Probably partially because it's just that damn hard to not kill the other person if they're near your skill level and you're both going all out.
<Crowned_Sun> And, the Emperor knows that encouraging a bunch of people to challenge him isn't any good for the Empire. The Good of the Empire is all thats important to the Emperor.
Crowned_Sun imagines a Challenger sparing the former Emperor is vaguely more common, when possible, unless the Challenger feels that it'd weaken the Empire somewhat.
<Crowned_Sun> But former Emperors /do/ maintain their Selfless disadvantage.
<Crowned_Sun> So basically, despite all the advantages, becoming Emperor basically bores a hole in your soul that never heals.
Crowned_Sun imagines its not uncommon for some Clan Heads to not /want/ to become Emperor, even if they feel they could beat the Emperor.
<haren> Yeah, that's a major disadvantage... but also explains why former Emperors become hermits...
<haren> It's a way for them to do good... but without having to always serve other people.
<Crowned_Sun> Yeah; I consider the Emperor/Clan Leaders situation to be a Emperor/Shogun thing.
<Crowned_Sun> The Emperor is important, but he's not so much the political leader per se.
<haren> He's the figurehead that holds it all together.
<Crowned_Sun> With the ultimate control mechanism - he can always challenge OTHER PEOPLE to duels if he needs to do such.
<Crowned_Sun> Which has the twin dangers of, 1) the Emperor is, at least in theory, the greatest Fighter in the Empire, 2) even if you DO win, you gain the Mandate of Heaven, and you might not /want/ it.
Crowned_Sun imagines that, weirdly enough, most people that challenge for the position of Emperor do it NOT because they want to rule (again, be a clan head for that). But simply because they want to live forever to further their mastery of Chi and the Martial Arts.
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