Renown and the Harbor Authority
Nobody can force you to keep a promise anymore. What the Harbor Authority does instead is write down whether you did, for everyone to see.
Exact numbers below (point values, thresholds) are still being tuned, so this page describes the shape of the system rather than promising exact figures.
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The Lawspeaker's Log
The Harbor Authority runs the sea lanes, keeps the law, and keeps the record straight. It used to serve the lost king, and it just kept doing its job after he was gone. Its public voice is the Lawspeaker's Log, a feed anyone can read, that states every ruling and the rule behind it out loud. It doesn't gossip, and it never takes a secret action against a jarl.
Every jarl has a Renown score that reflects how much other jarls, and the Authority itself, trust them. It shows up in that same public Log, in the Authority's own dry, unbothered voice: a broken Oath gets recorded and moved past, never dwelled on, never excused.
The Renown tiers
Renown isn't just a punishment track. It runs from deeply trusted down to genuinely outlawed, and both ends carry real, public consequences.
| Tier | What it means |
|---|---|
| Renowned | The most trusted standing there is. Better trade terms, a bigger daily stipend, and other privileges reserved for jarls in good standing. |
| Trusted | Solidly respected. Somewhat better trade terms and a modest stipend boost. |
| Steady | The starting tier, and where most jarls sit most of the time. No bonus, no penalty. |
| Watched | Trade gets a little more expensive, and Sealed, hidden Oaths are no longer available to you. |
| Marked | Trade costs more still, your stipend shrinks, and you're publicly named as a bigger, more rewarding target. |
| Outlawed | The bottom. Trading is almost entirely locked, Felags are closed to you, and you can be attacked without the usual size limits protecting you. |
Nobody is ever removed from the game just for falling to the bottom tier. The rules for every tier are public, and the Authority never takes that step in secret or on a whim.
What moves your Renown
Using Contraband, breaking an Oath early, or picking on someone much smaller than you all cost Renown, right away, in public. Hunting Outlaw Crews, planting trees on a Forest Isle, escorting an ally's convoy safely, and simply paying what you owe all build it back up.
A fair fight between two jarls of similar size doesn't move your Renown either way, win or lose. Renown is about how you play, not how often you fight.
Climbing back
Renown isn't a life sentence. It drifts slowly back toward the middle over time on its own, so old mistakes and old good deeds both fade eventually. A jarl who's fallen all the way to Outlawed can also pay a real, meaningful sum, once a season, for a formal Amnesty that lifts them straight back out of the bottom tier, rather than waiting it out.