Continuing my posts about The Seven-Part Pact (7PP) and some of its nifty mechanical design ideas, I want to discuss this game's approach to authority.
This is, of course, a pretty huge topic in RPGs. There've been tomes written on different models of authority you can build a game around. GM-as-god, GM-as-player, GM-as-umpire, rotating authority, location-based authority, etc. In classic Jay Dragon fashion, 7PP doesn't even have a GM, instead trusting everyone to share the responsibility of adjudicating the rules and simulation.
But the notable thing about 7PP specifically is that it's not just a simple "everything is adjudicated by consensus" kumbaya. So much of this game is about struggling for power. Against the world, against the other Wizards, against the other players, and against the system itself.