Schism
Schisms are the Priests' guild version of a Vote of No Confidence. Any priest who could be a high priest in a standard election can cause a schism in the church by finding a supporter (who must also be a priest who could stand in a standard election) and initiate the schism by going to the voting room in the Temple of Small Gods (syntax in the room help file). A priest needs to be supported by a fellow priest to make it known to all mortals. NOTE: excommunication is *entirely ignored* by this process, for obvious reasons.
Once a schism has been started and supported, everyone else in the church will be informed of it and there will be a week's interim in which you can state your case, and in which other potential dissidents can jump the bandwagon and also declare their interests in the post of High Priest.
If, when the week expires, there are no valid challengers (eg, the separatist withdrew, or his supporter did, and no one else stood up), the schism will be resolved there and then. Otherwise, voting will start. This is exactly like a normal election, except:
- a) The incumbent High Priest remains in his/her role throughout, as do ministers.
- b) Only the incumbent High Priest and the successfully-seconded separatists will be up for election.
NOTE: If the incumbent High Priest reaches 30 days of inactivity while voting is in progress, the Schism will be cancelled and replaced by a standard election.
If a separatist wins, they will, with immediate effect, become High Priest as though they'd just won a normal election. If the incumbent High Priest wins, life goes on as before.
