First, I would like to thank Staff for bringing this question to the members to poll our ideas before making such a change. Yay for transparency! I'm glad that our feedback is considered.
To the matter at hand, do I feel that King Candidates should have certain expectations? I like that this is being addressed, since we have had issues in the past with certain King Candidates being told they leave much to be desired. Without any listed expectations in the systems section, I feel that is an unfair comment to be made. To me, that says that someone thinks they are better than someone else because they write more or because they have a higher writing proficiency. I have rarely seen constructive criticism given along with these statements, leaving it simply criticism. Nor have I seen any attempts to draw "inactive" King Candidates to the forefront, encouraging them to be more active. So such comments seem a waste of time and draw unnecessary frustration to those targeted.
With that said, I am torn between answering either yes or no, because it seems a dicey situation. Are we expecting these King Candidates to be like in the show and manage a country or be actively working towards that goal? Assuming that is true and there is a time expectation of activity, imagine the extra strain that would put on staff. For every inactive King Candidate's metal vessel taken, that is another NPC that has to be thought of, fleshed out with goals, desires, interests, etc and micromanaged with the PCs. If the argument is that NPCs don't have to be that fleshed out in order to maintain a metal vessel, then taking a metal vessel from a PC seems silly to me, because you would have the same periods of inactivity as before.
As to the point of requiring King Candidates to meet a higher goal of topics completed than regular members, I'm not sure I like that. For me, the forum is a place of escape, to get away from the demands of reality and live in a fantasy world, enjoyment is my goal. So when I see a recommendation of meeting a certain topic requirement, that makes it sound more like a job. People have commitments outside of the forum that are well, more important. Life happens and we get taken away from the keyboard for various reasons. By demanding a King Candidate be strapped down to the computer at the risk of losing a metal vessel that they worked hard to obtain, that doesn't sound enjoyable. That sounds like another commitment added to an already heaping pile. Especially for something they were rewarded for hard work and clearing a dungeon.
While I see merit in making sure the Kings of this world have developed storylines, performance and content of one's personal plot development is too subjective of a scale. For example, I will go through my understanding of each current King Candidate's storylines. I am not doing this to call anyone out or make anyone seem like they are doing less.
Zadi - Currently a lone wanderer, searching for his place in the world and possibly looking for an ideal to fight for. During this, he has been slowly building up his strength to hopefully use to fight for those ideals that he finds. With his curiosity piqued by Yakuroro's comments about black Rukh and the Black Djinn that attacked Heliohapt, he is searching for the truth. It has yet to be seen if Zadi will fight against the black Rukh once he learns the truth, but that is character development I am anxiously waiting for. I would go deeper into his story, but sadly I haven't read that far back in the forum's history.
Lagi - Man, what a story. Lagi El Nagi has been pooped on every step of the way from character development. From being disowned not only by his tribe, but his own father to killing his best friends. Now, through the help of two Kouen men, he sits on the throne of Reim. Since being installed on the throne, he has outlawed slavery and tried to help his people with new projects. The most recent includes using beasts to help make people's lives easier, specifically incorporating Flying Mantas to build a transportation system. He also has made up with his father and is now currently searching to obtain El Drago, the dragon he has always wanted to obtain. What happens after that? Who knows, but I am anxious to find out.
Altair - Another person whose history I am sketchy on, so I apologize if I miss something. This "simple" Shepard left the plains and his people to find himself and power to remove his uncle from leadership of his tribe. If I recall correctly, his uncle obtained it in a deceitful way. Since then, he has taken up the moniker 'The Soverign' freeing slaves in Balbadd. From there, Altair went to Heliohapt and obtained the power of a djinn in hopes that he could free more slaves. During the catastrophic events of the Slave Auction he helped guide people (slaves and freemen alike) to safety as the Sovereign. He has also studied the Toran language. After a quick stop in Reim, he is now in Imuchakk. He noticed that the tribal community that the Imuchakk have could be beneficial to uniting the people of the Plains under one flag. He has requested Asisiak's tutelage to train him to be a good leader. Another story that I am eager to see progress further.
Yakuroro - The Imuchakk magician that has traveled the world as a loner, trying to fix injustices where he can. He obtained a djinn and currently fights to remove the existence of Black Rukh from this world, among other injustices. He has impersonated an Emperor, broken an acquaintance out of jail, defeated the Brotherhood of Ash's base in Kou, fought a black Djinn, among other feats that I have forgotten (I apologize). The most notable development in his plot has come of late, the loner has now obtained a band of friends, something previously unthinkable to the Imuchakk. With those friends, he has now obtained two household members and is currently escorting one through a dungeon. He has studied the Toran language. He also has offered to help Azix Niraj by overseeing his workforce program while he is out of the country on business. The bias of having a character in his household aside, this is also a story I am eager to see develop further.
Now, taking each King Candidates' plots in mind, how does one decide "performance"? Each of these storylines I personally find captivating (among other members) and I follow most if not every thread. If you want to look at it from an angle that King Candidates should be actively trying to lead a country, is not every King Candidate doing that in some fashion? From that list, one could pick out Zadi and say he's not doing that, but I disagree. Is not finding what you BELIEVE in and VALUE the first step on the path of leadership? I wouldn't enjoy a story where the main character is hardly fleshed out and just aims to lead because it is expected of him. In my eyes, each of the active King Candidates are meeting my performance scale, even if they are at different stages of growth.
This leads me to my dilemma, should King Candidates lose a metal vessel due to feeling uninspired, unguided, or busy? I vote no. Writing such a well developed storyline takes time, dedication and the correct pacing. Life doesn't always allow that and I don't think we should fault someone for such. That being said, there are King Candidates from before my time that have not shown up or even peeked at the forum. That does suck, but they earned their metal vessels in one way or another. I don't think they should be taken because they lost interest in the forum. The characters are archived and that chapter has been laid to rest, so we should move on. With that, if they do come back, I think they should make an active effort to fill in the gaps and catch up with the storyline, but I wouldn't fault them if they didn't. That's a lot of work and if they don't consider history lessons fun, I can't blame them.
To summarize, I believe that a metal vessel is a reward and you should be able to keep it. I don't quite agree with enforcing expectations on King Candidates just because they have a reward, but if there are expectations I believe they should be guided rather than criticized. I believe each active King Candidate has shown more than adequate plot development and hope that they continue to do so. So in the end, I have to say, no I don't think there should be guidelines for King Candidates. But, I can agree with working with or helping a King Candidate along to be involved with more of the player base or just being involved to help develop the world further.