Thebes has, from the mundane side, gone through a period of intense turmoil. The Empire of Nicea saw John III Doukas Vatatzes take power in 1221, and consolidate that power through 1224 against a set of enemies backed by the Latin Empire. In 1225 he expanded through the Asian possessions of the Latin empire, which he then lost in 1227 to the Empire of Thessalonica, which was formed when Theodore Komnenos Doukas of the Despotate of Epirus conquered Thessalonica in 1224. The Empire of Thessalonica now appears poised to retake Constantinople and re-establish the byzantine Empire, though all legitimate successors are in the Empire of Nicea.
On the hermetic side in 1221 the Metoikoi were stripped of the vote, on the basis that they were, in the view of the Theban tribunal, members of other Tribunals who were visiting, regardless of whether the other tribunals recognized them as such. The rule was suspended until the next Tribunal which would take place in 1228 after the grand tribunal. This issue was raised by the Tribunal of Normandy as one of several issues where they challenged the authority of the Theban tribunal, but as they were seen as being closely associated with the crusades which were worrying much of the Grand Tribunal they gained little traction in trying to overturn the ruling. Additionally the territory of the Theban Tribunal was expanded to include the Empire of the Trebizond and the Sultanate of Rum. Now that the Grand Tribunal has indicated a greater laxity in dealing with mundanes, the question comes before the tribunal of Thebes as to what its policy should be- this thread is for arguments for various proposals which would be laid before the tribunal.
Covenant ideas may also be discussed here.
Sans discussion I do think the tribunal would generally be in favor of kicking the Latins out, but ruling that doing so still require that those targeted by magical operations should be unable to discover the magical interference, and preferably those aided should be left in the dark as well. So no lobbing fireballs at Latin fortifications. On the other hand rendering magical assistance to the Latins, even if undetected by mundanes, shall be considered a high crime. Still open to discussion if anyone else wants to share thoughts though.
Do you think the tribunal's pagan orientation, and the history of the crusaders and Constantinople, might persuade them to allow stronger action against the encroaching Divine? Such as supporting more overt magical violence if the end goal was stable peace with the Order coequal?
They would certainly be willing to reduce the dominion representing the Catholic Church. For the most part they are heavily influenced by Jerbiton and seek co-existence with mundanes including the Divine.
Unless the players as a whole feel otherwise...
Makes sense. That's basically his goal, to get the Order to the point where they can coexist openly without conflict. But getting there (if even possible) would be rough.
Are there tribunals that are more accepting of open magical action to secure a place for the order? I like the idea of the Theban tribunal because they have an actual fair system of governance for magi. The scope of what I imagine may be too big, too, either for what's possible or for what you want the game to be about. I had the idea of attempting a takeover of Constantinople, and installation of an overwhelming magic aura with Hermetic Architecture, to create a city dedicated to magic - probably open to the Order of Solomon at least, and possibly others.
Transylvanian tribunal is where magi can use magic most openly. Still working on updating against the dark for the 8 years to the Grand Tribunal. Apparently they had a huge influx of pagans who all converted 9whether in name or for real) in 1227. And a heretic group (the Waldensians) establish themselves pretty well in the area as well.
Not sure how tolerant the Tremere would be of his plans though. But he doesn't know either, so maybe he goes for it. Though Constantinople is not in Transylvanian Tribunal, that creates a secondary conflict.