Only time will tell ELijah. I, for one, am not a fan of this so my opinion is biased. I am also not a fan of the bg change but that is an entirely separate issue. I've always preferred quality over quantity and that is what I believe we will see obliterated with this. It's time to watch and wait though.

Just to play devils advocate for a moment Elijah, was it really the case that previous Godfathers ran cities without question or influence of others?

They might not have been in the district next door, or even on the same side of the country, but I've heard multiple stories from my forefathers of Godfathers in one city exerting control, command or both of cities all over the land. In some cases this was down to the loyalty of the subordinate city and the strength and leadership of the parent city, sometimes it was down to relationships at play and sometimes it was simply a financial arrangement where a Godfather had someone running the city in their place as nothing more than a glorified accountant to funnel the funds back.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though city hall and our politicians have brought in these changes that impact on how and where we do our 'business', it's still down to us how we actually run it. In the days when our syndicates stretched across the eight cities it was within our power to make these calls, just as it is today. The playing field may have changed shape slightly, but it's still us that make the rules.

I also believe the importance of higher positions is weakened when there is an excessive number of leaders.

Personally, I like to look at the flip side of this _Warped, though I do understand where you're coming from.

With an increased number of leaders it becomes all the more important for those in higher positions to excel and seek excellence in order to stand out. Their goal shouldn't be to seek one of these positions, whether that's a bold suit or even a Godfather position in our districts, it should be to do a damn amazing job once they get there. In a position of importance the life of your friends and your family is hanging in the balance with every decision. The importance of the role shouldn't be judged on how rare it is, but on how much you value those around you.

Warped, I agree completely. Time is what will prove whether this change in the structure is something that changes our world forever or is just another teeny-tiny change that never became anything of note(I highly doubt the latter). The scenario I have outlined was what I felt would happen as time passes on.

Satanta, while I cannot claim to be privy to what went on behind most closed doors, you do have a very valid point. There have been times when a certain godfather or godmother seemed to be the ruler of this entire world. Also, yes it is within our power to determine how this change plays out. However, Appearances do matter. To a new Thug who has just jumped off the boat and has no knowledge of the politics that exist at that point, the idea of many men and women who run a section of MafiaReturns completely independently of any outside influence, while being very unrealistic, might also seem much more appealing than one single powerhouse ruling the roost.

What city hall and the gods have given us is a chance to change the structure here and while they can only help us to change the appearance of the structure, I believe that this by itself will give us more of a chance to break the existing mold and remodel the way things are run around here.

Well, basically what I am saying is that yes, it is within our power to dictate the way this change affects us but this change will also serve as extra motivation for a more intense world.