Then you need to learn to count on your fingers or something if you can't see the difference.

2 bloodbonded Siblings, let's say both male and both marry someone into their family have turned a family of 2 into a family of 4.

3 bloodbonded Siblings, let's say they are all male and all marry someone into thier family have turned a family of 3 into a family of 6.

Now both groups consider 1 child at a time.
Group 1 adds 2 children after a game year

Group 2 adds 3 children after a game year.

Now those children also marry. Are you following? The one allows for a huge boost in family size with almost no effort at all just by being married and having 1 kid. The other means you might actually have to work at it. If making a Great House is not important to you, then you can do the exact same thing by... not founding a real family and just being a family in name only, like most of the Gladheons and Whytetowers. You just won't have the fancy line in your honours.

You're also missing out that people might not WANT a greathouse "the easy way", and they just want a couple more brothers and sisters. This really isn't too much to ask. There is no way there are ever going to be enough Furrikin characters I don't find obnoxious and want to have in my family (and who don't find me obnoxious ) to make a greathouse, but there are a couple, and as I have an inactive sister with nothing to do about it unless I start a whole new family to the Talnaras (and I don't even know if that works!) I can't do anything about it. There shouldn't be like one or two greathouses ONLY. It's not a huge deal. And what if people want an active family? It's not like having multiple bloodbonds (heck, limit it to freaking 5 or something if you REALLY have to) is going to spawn like 30 greathouses in a week. We don't even have that many active people!

It is not a huge deal to YOU. To those of us who Great Houses actually mean something it is a huge deal. If you don't care about Great Houses and just want to have an RPable family then you don't need to worry about a fancy family line in your honours. You can RP anything you want. You can RP the sky is pink and the ground is covered in chocolate bunnies if you want. The wonderful thing about RP is you don't need a game mechanic to facilitate it. However if you want to play by the Game Mechanic then you play by the game mechanic and you get the same disadvantage as anyone else in having that fancy title in their honours saying they are part of a family.

Well, as I just said to those of you who want Great Houses to mean something...you either want there to be like two great houses, since that's really how it's going to end up being, or you wouldn't really mind this change. It's not going to destroy the concept. And I don't see why those who want to have a family in the game for RP rather than the benefits of a great house () should have this weird disadvantage imposed on us.
Come to think of it there's a problem with the whole bloodbonding thing anyway in that you can't adopt without being married AFAIK. If you allow for single parent adoption then this changes, but 1) Doesn't really make much sense and 2) Is unnecessary when there's the much easier option we already suggested.

Actually two Great Houses, maybe even three in time in a game the size of Lusternia is just about right. Don't forget though, that while you want a furrikin family going on, which is commendable and I hope you pull it off, the whole reincarnate thing means that your family bloodbonded or not could change its focus at any point in time. All you need is 1 person to reincarnate Orchlach and join the Ur'Guard and your carefully planned furrikin family has just gone out the window. Lusternia just has to many options to make Family Planning a viable option.

EDIT:: Just in case the argument comes up "Well if the change goes in you can bloodbond more siblings too" Yes I can bloodbond more siblings as well, jumping my family to nearly a Great House immediately. Which takes all the dignity and honour and pride out of being a Great House if every trailer park has one. If the plan was to have Common Houses they would have them. Oh wait they do, those are the families that have not reach Great House yet.

Whether or not you -want- to be a Great House or not does not change the fact that you have the -potential- to be a Great House alot faster making the whole concept of them nothing more than Active Families with a clan. There is nothing Great about Common.

If it is ever changed, my only suggestion would be to also change the name to "Mediocre House."

Changes I would like to see for Great Houses are:

1) Something other than a Clan. Most families will have a clan and newsboard years before they become a Great House. So giving them a clan is like giving candy to a candy maker.

2) The ability to purchase for 100,000 gold a heraldric pennon that signifies their family and would be displayed on the Lusternia Website under Great Houses.

Great Houses are elitist and should be RP'ed elitist and should be treated elitist. If anyone manages to get to Great House, they deserve more than something they would have already.

Solution: Make it 50 ACTIVE family members. This is much less likely to happen, and you can have all the elitism you want without messing up everyone else who just wants to make the entirely reasonable request of having more than ONE freaking brother or sister.

Someday if I am ever OR10, I might just marry Nejii to the first random passerby I see. Muhahahahahah.

(Wait, can OR10s do that here? They could in Aetolia.)

A Great House -is- 50 active members. Guess what you are the founders of Lusternia you don't get to have everything. You get to pave the way so those following you can have lots of brothers and sisters. Stop whining because you want your cake and eat it too. I have already told you have all the brothers and sisters you want. You don't need a game mechanic for that. Gladheon and Whytetower proved that one.

EDIT:: I think it is completely unfair that the requirements to get Titan are what they are. I suggest that everyone be given the same chance to be a Titan. I mean it is going to take years for most of the people playing to ever reach Titan. So the requirements should be changed in order to facilitate this.

You can't be married when you bloodbond (for joining the family). Whats the difference between a new bloodbonder and a new kid, in terms of getting married?

*Shrug*

I have NO idea what this wanting your cake and eating it too business about. Are you out of reasons now or something?

And if the game mechanics aren't important, WHY are you trying to get more for your greathouse than a clan and newsboard? >_<

And uhhhhhhhhhh. If greathouses ARE 50 active family members, then there's no way in hell having more than one brother or sister per bloodbond is going to give you a tonne of greathouses instantly. None that'll last, anyway. Lusternia's playerbase isn't that big, damn. Not to mention that I disagree that there should only be 2 or 3. 4-6 isn't unreasonable and doesn't detract from the feeling of a great house.

Perhaps you should read what is typed. I said YOU don't need a game mechanic to have lots of brothers and sisters. You only need a game mechanic to have the line in your honours. I used two families that have lots of kids, brothers, sisters, uncles, what have you, that do not rely on some code in the game to do this. Yes Gladheon is a founded family, however they have had members of their family who could not possibly be considered and are a mix if RP'd family line and Game Mechanic family line.

I never said a thing about the game mechanic in what Great Houses get not being important. In fact I was simply pointing out that what they get should be improved as they would most likely have that to begin with.

Once again, I don't care if you want 3 brothers or 10. You have the choice of forming a Family Line and working it like anyone else, or RP'ing a family line and doing the exact same thing. The only difference is you don't have a line in your honours.

Skyla put it best when she said, if you change the code you might as well change the name to Mediocre Houses.

They are mediocre houses, you get a clan channel and a bb, Big deal.

So Gregori, what you're saying is that if I marry into your family I have to take the Mes'ard name?

Oh, what is this I see? Ah, yes. Most families just purchase clans, an aetherwave and a newsboard. Whoo. Great Houses would require about 3/4 of the active realm to create a single one

I would like to see the rewards changed. I actually think giving a manse or some additional manse rooms would be a nice reward for a Great House. Although most will, again, already have one, I am sure it could be used by someone out of the 50 people it would take to earn it.

Ugh, I'm going to object to that on a personal selfish basis (and because you could think of something better). I don't want another one, and some families do already have a manse -and- a clan.

Would give you a bit more to go off of, but still not really all that great a bonus I think.

Whoops. Okay, I can go for that.