What are some ways leadership of a nation/kingdom can pass from one character to another? Besides killing them, I mean as an official rule or something. Anything you can think of, even if I just listed it. It doesn't have to be about bloodline either.
Oldest child/youngest child, matrilineal/patrilineal, a competition of some sort, etc.
~Death
~Disownment
~The ruler renouncing their title for personal reasons
~The current ruler stepping down for age or health reasons
~A god or otherwise more powerful ruler giving the throne to a national hero
~The current ruler receiving and believing some sort of prophecy that requires them to give the throne to another to make sure ___ does or does not happen
~Intense political pressure pushing them to give away the throne
~Any kind of magic or mind control used to make the ruler hand it over
~It being taken by force and the current ruler imprisoned
~Some sort of long lost rightful heir is found and replaces the unrightful one
~The rightful heir is robbed or their place by someone like and evil stepmother or goveren
~A sword in the stone like prophecy
~A ruler is captured in a time of war and another character steps in to fill the position and maybe just doesn't give it back
~A king under the mountain like legend returns and is regiven the throne
Those are some good story ideas (some of which I may use), but I meant some kind of tradition or rite-of passage the character may have to go through before he/she is considered worthy. Like, "Only the person who is/does X can get the crown". That sort of thing
Ahhh, yeah got you
Let me point you to two famous really famous examples of this, the first is the one from the the Odyssey. Odysseys is the king of Ithaca (and just a gernal bag of selfish garbage but whatever) after a few decades of odyessing he comes home to his wives house full of suitors trying to take the throne, he ends up proving that he's alive and well and ready to take back his kingdom by stringing a bow so strong no other man could do it then shooting an arrow through 12 axe heads. He uses this impossible feat of strength to show his own might and thus his worthiness and reclaim his throne (then slaughter everyone) So you could do something similar in your story, as in having a seemingly impossible test and have your character do something to show their strength.
The second even more famous example is the sword in the stone, which is just what it sounds like, a sword stuck in a stone and anyone who can pull it out is the rightful king of England. So a bunch of jacked guys try forever to use their odysseus like strength to pull it out but no dice. Then this one nobody comes and instead of pulling on it like mad man just calmly picks it up and pulls it out, and this nobody is king Arthur. That's where the whole "a gentle hand will rule the land" comes from, in this one instead of just being strong the king needs to be smart and gentle. You can use a similar test of intelligence or compassion in your story.
Which one you should use I think depends on your character and also the kingdom they rule, if your world relies on a strong ruthless and warrior king then go for a physical test but if you're aiming to show that your idea of a good ruler is more thoughtful and peace aimed then I'd follow suit as to the second.
And I mean what specific test you want to use is up to you because you're the only one who can tailor it to show the real character of your character. Just like how Odysseus' test reflected his character of being a war oriented alpha male type (Which was something highly valued in his culture) Arthur's test proves that he'll become a fair and nobel king (which is something the culture that created him wanted in their own idea of a perfect king)
SO uh, yeah, brain v brawn, your test will reflect on your character
Thanks, I'll think about that!
Yeah sure thing hope it helps. Also this kinda is weird but while I was writing about King Arthur it reminded me of an episode of the TV show Merlin that might help you if you want to go the test of character route with your character, It's called the Labyrinth of Gedref and it's kind the same idea of a dude being put through test to see weather or not he's just and compassionate and being-the-next-king- worthy via a bunch of random little situations, and it may help you get the ball rolling.
Nice. I have five 'kingdoms' total, and I want each to have a different way of going about succession. A few will definitely have to be through lineage though.
Hey that's great you can do a little of everything, each rite can showcase the values of their cultures, like a Athens and Sparta type deal. It all sounds pretty cool
In Punjabi culture it was forbidden for the Guru to pass down the ‘guru’ status to his direct bloodline. He (and a small group of advisors) would decide on the next from devotion, hard work, etc.
(exc. Guru gobind singh)