King or Commoner?

Would you rule in a foreign hell, or serve in a comfotable familiar heaven?

  • Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven

    Votes: 29 42.6%
  • King? I cant imagine a greater burden, because you cant resign. I pick Commoner.

    Votes: 22 32.4%
  • Both have their pros and cons

    Votes: 14 20.6%
  • I dont know. I dont think of such things.

    Votes: 3 4.4%

  • Total voters
    68
aneeshm said:
Considering my ancestry and the bloodline from which I come , I'd go with king .

I've found the number of people whom can trace their roots to nobility/aristocracy/royalty is staggering.
 
I would have to choose to be a commoner. I am way too apathetic to become a king.
 
Lotus49 said:
I've found the number of people whom can trace their roots to nobility/aristocracy/royalty is staggering.

Nope . I'm talking of direct descent from a king ( on my mother's side ) and of direct descent from one of the authors of the Hindu scriptures ( on my father's ) , not of a distant relation with some noble . And this is undisputed - there are government records , there are land records , and there are family records recounting the history of the family .
 
well, depends, if i could be an Authocratic Ruler were my word is law and my powerbase solid it might be nice, i wouldnt want to be the King of Bhutan or the were the countryside crawls with maoist guerrilas. Im not sure wheter i would rule in hell rather than serve in heaven, like being in the same position of Fidel Castro or Kim Jong-il where you yourself have everyting and your peoples notthing.

One thing is sure, where i would rule, Poligamy would be legal, drugs would be only for medicinal purposes (including Alcohol and Tobacco), the laws would be quasi-draconian.
 
Lotus49 said:
I've found the number of people whom can trace their roots to nobility/aristocracy/royalty is staggering.

Well, I'm 100% farmer/fisherman/miner :D

aneeshm said:
Nope . I'm talking of direct descent from a king ( on my mother's side ) and of direct descent from one of the authors of the Hindu scriptures ( on my father's ) , not of a distant relation with some noble . And this is undisputed - there are government records , there are land records , and there are family records recounting the history of the family .

Which king? Was he a famous one?
 
aneeshm said:
Nope . I'm talking of direct descent from a king ( on my mother's side ) and of direct descent from one of the authors of the Hindu scriptures ( on my father's ) , not of a distant relation with some noble . And this is undisputed - there are government records , there are land records , and there are family records recounting the history of the family .

Well, on my father's side, they were THE royals of Lithuania, while on my mother's side; French aristocracy (very high) going back hundreds of years (until the revoultion, that is). Plus I have documents - things like wedding guest lists signed by the Tsar of Russia & King of Prussia, birth certificates, etc.

But, who cares. Unless you get something out of it (power/wealth), it's all worthless. But, if you feel proud, fine -that's great. But the way I figure, if they didn't see to it that you received your portion of it, then screw 'em.

Make your own way, and forget about 'em. Maybe it's good to know that you've got 'the right stuff' (potentially) in your genes - assuming they rose to power for a good reason, but other than that I see no reason to go around with a pumped up chest. But, that's just me. I think people are just people - none are more special than any other. The only thing that makes them 'higher' is wealth and/or power. Both of which can be taken in a flash. Like say... a revoultion (take your pick.... 1789, or 1917 in my case).
 
Was it a recognized heir or a bastard? (no offense meant)
But royaltys are notorious for fathering bastards, look at that guy in monaco, or our deceased dutch prince (Husband to the queen), women just cant resist noble blood... :rolleyes:

Edit: Whoops, seems you awnsered my question while i was typing it :crazyeye:
 
Truronian said:
Well, I'm 100% farmer/fisherman/miner :D

I've got some ancestors, that were whalers from the Shetland Isles, back in the day when it was all done up close and personal. Really strong, hearty, hard people. Yet, thrifty (typical Scots), smart, good honorable people. To tell you the truth, I think that part of my family (maternal grandmother's side) is the one I'm most fond of, and proud of. ;)

It's what they did (what their legacy is - whether it be big or small in scale), and who they were (what kind of people) - that matters. Not their place in the history books. Some of the best people that ever lived are nowhere to be found in the history books.

It was this part of my family, whom I consider 'the best people'. They were good - very good. They always looked out for one another, and were selfless. -More than can be said for some others...

Power corrupts. -Always remember that. Better to have never had it, in your family. Plus it never lasts... another inevitable side effect of the corruption.
 
Truronian said:
Well, I'm 100% farmer/fisherman/miner :D

Ah, nooo! Guards remove the plebeian from our presence! ;) (we were very very minor nobles, and stripped of titles in 1526 for banditry :()
 
Lotus49 said:
Well, on my father's side, they were THE royals of Lithuania, while on my mother's side; French aristocracy (very high) going back hundreds of years (until the revoultion, that is). Plus I have documents - things like wedding guest lists signed by the Tsar of Russia & King of Prussia, birth certificates, etc.

But, who cares. Unless you get something out of it (power/wealth), it's all worthless. But, if you feel proud, fine -that's great. But the way I figure, if they didn't see to it that you received your portion of it, then screw 'em.

Make your own way, and forget about 'em. Maybe it's good to know that you've got 'the right stuff' (potentially) in your genes - assuming they rose to power for a good reason, but other than that I see no reason to go around with a pumped up chest. But, that's just me. I think people are just people - none are more special than any other. The only thing that makes them 'higher' is wealth and/or power. Both of which can be taken in a flash. Like say... a revoultion (take your pick.... 1789, or 1917 in my case).

Have no fear of me having any baseless pride - I define myself by what I have achieved and who I am , not by who my ancestors were . But coming from a formerly-royal family does have its perks - mainly in the family culture and your upbringing .
 
And anyway - if I wanted to be proud of my ancestors , then tracing my lineage back to one of the composers of the Hindu scriptures is far better than tracing it to some king , because scriptures define society practically forever , while a king's influence is very , very limited by comparison .
 
no way i'd be a king. don't want to be beheaded by an angry mob because I didn't provide for my poeple....

I'll rather remain a commoner in my own country :)
 
It would depend on which situation you could serve others better in. For example, a King in a poverty-striken country may have the power to make his country better for all, or lack resources to be of any influence. A commoner in a wealthy country, on the other hand, can have a lot of freedom to contribute to the well-being of the world around him in many ways.

My point is that the question Rule or Serve is inappropriate, since ideally the Ruler should serve his people in the best way he can with the resources he has.
 
Lotus49 said:
I've found the number of people whom can trace their roots to nobility/aristocracy/royalty is staggering.

I can and I'm scum pretty much, mind you most people in England can if they go back far enough, I have to go back to the late 19th century, our titled familly lost all their wealth to sinful conduct, gambelling, drunkenness and well you know the rest. The trouble with Gentry is you get one moron who wastes all the money in your past and you end up in the slow slide to working class :)

Never a king or a commoner, I chose literati, no option for that. Better to be educated and poor than rich and ignorant. Sort of a modern day Dostoyevski would suit me.
 
Would I have to do anything? Do I have absolute power? Is there the threat of being killed by an angry mob?
 
I'm leaning to king because then I'd have the opportunity to better my country and claim a place in history as the one that brought the country out of poverty.
 
king. τύραννος to be exact.

like pretty much everyone in ireland i am related to Brian Boruma :rolleyes:
 
King for sure, nothing ventured nothing gained.
 
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