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Governments of Agarica
Tinkering away with various RPGs, but I thought maybe I should do more actual worldbuilding for the game I'm running. I've been thinking about the societies in the world and how their governments work. Here's a lot of words on that topic.
The different countries are detailed in this post and this post.
B'rabt
Summary: Theocracy
Description: B'rabt is ruled by the God-King or God-Queen, a descendant of Yarikh the Lunar Serpent, whose word is law. The priesthood of Yarikh enforces their decrees and conducts all the face-to-face governance, since the God-King is too hallowed to be seen by the citizenry except at prescribed festival times. When the God-King dies, the priesthood conducts a search throughout B'rabt for the child of the divine family that has inherited the divine spirit. Until that child grows to maturity, the high priest acts as regent.
Chai
Summary: Meritocratic Bureaucracy
Description: Chai has no single ruler. The mandarinate as a whole governs the country, and in any official capacity, the mandarins speak from behind a curtain and with their voice masked by an Auspicious Orator in order to ensure that decisions come from the mandarinate as a whole rather than any individual mandarin. Access to the mandarinate is controlled by examinations offered every two years and open to anyone in the country able to pay the modest fee, with sponsorships available to the children of promising peasant families. In practice, the rich still provide the lion's share of mandarinate officials because their children can afford both tutoring and to spend months in full-time study.
While there are internal ranks used by the mandarinate, they are never applied in outward-facing business. The government is constructed so that all mandarins are interchangeable.
The Dragon Empire
Summary: Despotism
Description: The Dragon Emperor is the ruler of the Dragon Empire, and is currently in the process of trying to construct a bureaucracy to manage the empire. Somewhat ironically, the bureaucracy is mostly staffed by amanita and mandragora from the Kingdom of Flowers, because the kappa tribal warriors and mycon outcasts that formed his armies mostly do not have the proper skillset for large-scale administration. Since the Dragon Emperor does not trust the people of the Kingdom of Flowers entirely, he keeps much of the decision-making power in his own hands, but the sheer volume of decisions is close to reaching a breaking point.
While the Dragon Emperor has eight children, there is no formal succession in place and no rank used for his children. The position of the Dragon Emperor's second-in-command is filled by his four trusted lieutenants: Yami, Master of the Circle of Xhamekh; Fallen Leaf of the House of Rose, the Traitor Prince; Kuribo Nine-Lives, Speaker for the Mycon; and Yorikage of the Iron Gale, Sōke of the Brotherhood of the Hammer.
Hyperborea
Summary: Magocracy
Description: The ice witches are the ruling power in Hyperborea. Their control over the spirits of winter is what allows Hyperborea to be so populous at all, and every farmer knows it. In day-to-day life, most administration is done by the ice witches' majordomos and delegates, since the ice witches themselves are involved in research into sorcery, trips into the far north, and other mystical activities. The people know and mostly accept that the ice witches rule--those who don't tend to be found frozen completely solid in the height of summer.
The Kappa Tribes
Summary: Thanatocracy
Description: While the kappa elect war-khans to lead them in times of great strife, the day-to-day activities of the tribes are dictated by the shamans, and the shamans take their guidance from the ancestor spirits. This makes kappa political structure extremely rigid, with the shamans often refusing even minor innovations out of hand as the ancestors tell them that they do not approve the decision. Even the paths the tribes take as they wander through the Kappa Wastes are set down by ancient tradition and may not be changed except by consultation with the ancestors.
The Kingdom of Flowers
Summary: Electoral Monarchy
Description: The Kingdom of Flowers had a royal house, but on the death of the current ruler, the Floral Houses united to vote on a successor. Each House had a single vote given to the head of the House, styled Elector Princes or Princesses; the House from which the dead ruler came had three votes; and the high priests of Nyahré, Diang, and Tharu each had one vote. Most often the dead ruler's eldest child was confirmed as the heir, but this sometimes required the heir-presumptive to grant concessions to different Houses to ensure their vote. Sometimes the heir was not confirmed; half the time they accepted, and the other half of the time this resulted in civil war.
The lower levels of the country ran on a feudal system, with each Floral House having its own territory and the Elector Princes with various lords and ladies underneath them to administer the territory.
Makai
Summary: Immortal Despotism
Description: Since the overthrow of the arremer, there has only ever been one ruler of Makai--the Night King, the most powerful and eldest of the Kurokyura. His word is law and he has absolute power over every aspect of Makai.
In practice, each of the Kurokyura is mostly left to govern their own lands as they see fit, with the Night King only stepping in if the vampires' cruelty and sadism seems likely to undermine the health of Makai as a whole. If one of the Kurokyura wants to plunge their lands into a bloody field of night-borne horror, it is their own affair.
The Muskalan Confederacy
Summary: Electoral Autocracy
Description: Each city in the confederacy governs its own affairs, and each city is ruled by a Trade Prince, who is elected and rules for life or until they voluntarily abdicate. Since voluntary abdication only requires a public statement from the Trade Prince, only about half of Trade Princes die in office, with others abdicating in fear of their lives, due to blackmail, or for other reasons. Standing for election requires a certain amount of personal wealth, and the number of votes each person is entitled to is also based on wealth, with only those who own property eligible for the vote at all. Election campaigns are thus raucous affairs at best, and often escalate into brawling in the streets and knives in the dark.
The Raptok Isles
Summary: Atomized Tribes
Description: There is no unified government in the Raptok Isles. Each raptok tribe is its own political unit, governing its own affairs. The tribes are typically led by elders, who have lived long enough and proven themselves wise in survival.
Sarasa
Summary: Tribal Confederacy
Description: The Sarasan clans rarely cooperate, and each clan is effectively independent. The clans are led by eorls, who appoint ealdormen from among the clan to govern their affairs. The eorls generally lead the fyrd personally, and an eorl who cannot fight will usually step down and allow a successor to take their place. Power is hereditary and matrilineal, generally descending to the eldest female child of the old eorl, and to the eorl's eldest sister or her child if there is no eligible heir.
Inter-clan government is provided mostly by the Dragonbone Speakers and the Veiled Ones, who keep the peace between clans when unity is required.
The Scarlet City
Summary: Participatory Democracy
Description: To outsiders, the Scarlet City seems to have no government. Tasks are just done, seemingly as if by magic, by the faceless and interchangeable Silent Ones. This is possible because the Silent Ones are connected through the Dreamlands, able to speak and debate even when not in physical proximity to each other, so every important issue relevant to governance of the Scarlet City is put to a vote of all Silent Ones in the city at the time. Similarly, any Silent One can act as an official or magistrate, because they have access to the wisdom of the populace at any time. This is not particularly efficient, but it does lead to a harmonious governance even if it confirms to outsiders that the Silent Ones are all essentially the same.
Taira
Summary: Tribal Republic
Description: Taira was once a group of feuding clans, but as it coalesced into a single society, a government formed that incorporated those clans into each structure. Taira is ruled by a Prefect, elected by the clans, with each clan having a certain number of votes based on their population, relative status, and the territory they control. Other public offices are similarly chosen by the Senate, members of each clan who are sent to the capital to conduct the votes. How each clan determines its senators is its own affair--some hold their own elections, some have the clan elders determine it, and some hold trials by combat with the winner becoming a senator.
Vahn
Summary: Technocratic Oligarchy
Description: Vahn is the most precarious of Agarica's countries, relying as it does on Predecessor relics, the skill of its own artifex, and trade from outside, and life there reflects the management of this balance. Power is held by a group of guilds, each of which has control over an area of Vahnatai life. The Guild of Diparu maintains the network of lights, the Guild of Kakugallu placates the spirits, the Guild of Errēšu grows what food can be grown underground, among others. The heads of these guilds form a council that determines the course of Vahn. Membership in a guild is generally hereditary and for life.
I tried to limit the amount of generic fantasy kingdoms, and I think I succeeded. My vision of Warlords is more of a Classical era style, with few feudal monarchies and more small tribal governments, city-states, and so on. Magic changes things, too. Hyperborea is probably the country that's gotten the least development in the game I'm running now, but having a country ruled by sorcerers is a must for any sword-and-sorcery setting.
This may get more development as it becomes relevant to the game. We'll see.
The different countries are detailed in this post and this post.
B'rabt
Summary: Theocracy
Description: B'rabt is ruled by the God-King or God-Queen, a descendant of Yarikh the Lunar Serpent, whose word is law. The priesthood of Yarikh enforces their decrees and conducts all the face-to-face governance, since the God-King is too hallowed to be seen by the citizenry except at prescribed festival times. When the God-King dies, the priesthood conducts a search throughout B'rabt for the child of the divine family that has inherited the divine spirit. Until that child grows to maturity, the high priest acts as regent.
Chai
Summary: Meritocratic Bureaucracy
Description: Chai has no single ruler. The mandarinate as a whole governs the country, and in any official capacity, the mandarins speak from behind a curtain and with their voice masked by an Auspicious Orator in order to ensure that decisions come from the mandarinate as a whole rather than any individual mandarin. Access to the mandarinate is controlled by examinations offered every two years and open to anyone in the country able to pay the modest fee, with sponsorships available to the children of promising peasant families. In practice, the rich still provide the lion's share of mandarinate officials because their children can afford both tutoring and to spend months in full-time study.
While there are internal ranks used by the mandarinate, they are never applied in outward-facing business. The government is constructed so that all mandarins are interchangeable.
The Dragon Empire
Summary: Despotism
Description: The Dragon Emperor is the ruler of the Dragon Empire, and is currently in the process of trying to construct a bureaucracy to manage the empire. Somewhat ironically, the bureaucracy is mostly staffed by amanita and mandragora from the Kingdom of Flowers, because the kappa tribal warriors and mycon outcasts that formed his armies mostly do not have the proper skillset for large-scale administration. Since the Dragon Emperor does not trust the people of the Kingdom of Flowers entirely, he keeps much of the decision-making power in his own hands, but the sheer volume of decisions is close to reaching a breaking point.
While the Dragon Emperor has eight children, there is no formal succession in place and no rank used for his children. The position of the Dragon Emperor's second-in-command is filled by his four trusted lieutenants: Yami, Master of the Circle of Xhamekh; Fallen Leaf of the House of Rose, the Traitor Prince; Kuribo Nine-Lives, Speaker for the Mycon; and Yorikage of the Iron Gale, Sōke of the Brotherhood of the Hammer.
Hyperborea
Summary: Magocracy
Description: The ice witches are the ruling power in Hyperborea. Their control over the spirits of winter is what allows Hyperborea to be so populous at all, and every farmer knows it. In day-to-day life, most administration is done by the ice witches' majordomos and delegates, since the ice witches themselves are involved in research into sorcery, trips into the far north, and other mystical activities. The people know and mostly accept that the ice witches rule--those who don't tend to be found frozen completely solid in the height of summer.
The Kappa Tribes
Summary: Thanatocracy
Description: While the kappa elect war-khans to lead them in times of great strife, the day-to-day activities of the tribes are dictated by the shamans, and the shamans take their guidance from the ancestor spirits. This makes kappa political structure extremely rigid, with the shamans often refusing even minor innovations out of hand as the ancestors tell them that they do not approve the decision. Even the paths the tribes take as they wander through the Kappa Wastes are set down by ancient tradition and may not be changed except by consultation with the ancestors.
The Kingdom of Flowers
Summary: Electoral Monarchy
Description: The Kingdom of Flowers had a royal house, but on the death of the current ruler, the Floral Houses united to vote on a successor. Each House had a single vote given to the head of the House, styled Elector Princes or Princesses; the House from which the dead ruler came had three votes; and the high priests of Nyahré, Diang, and Tharu each had one vote. Most often the dead ruler's eldest child was confirmed as the heir, but this sometimes required the heir-presumptive to grant concessions to different Houses to ensure their vote. Sometimes the heir was not confirmed; half the time they accepted, and the other half of the time this resulted in civil war.
The lower levels of the country ran on a feudal system, with each Floral House having its own territory and the Elector Princes with various lords and ladies underneath them to administer the territory.
Makai
Summary: Immortal Despotism
Description: Since the overthrow of the arremer, there has only ever been one ruler of Makai--the Night King, the most powerful and eldest of the Kurokyura. His word is law and he has absolute power over every aspect of Makai.
In practice, each of the Kurokyura is mostly left to govern their own lands as they see fit, with the Night King only stepping in if the vampires' cruelty and sadism seems likely to undermine the health of Makai as a whole. If one of the Kurokyura wants to plunge their lands into a bloody field of night-borne horror, it is their own affair.
The Muskalan Confederacy
Summary: Electoral Autocracy
Description: Each city in the confederacy governs its own affairs, and each city is ruled by a Trade Prince, who is elected and rules for life or until they voluntarily abdicate. Since voluntary abdication only requires a public statement from the Trade Prince, only about half of Trade Princes die in office, with others abdicating in fear of their lives, due to blackmail, or for other reasons. Standing for election requires a certain amount of personal wealth, and the number of votes each person is entitled to is also based on wealth, with only those who own property eligible for the vote at all. Election campaigns are thus raucous affairs at best, and often escalate into brawling in the streets and knives in the dark.
The Raptok Isles
Summary: Atomized Tribes
Description: There is no unified government in the Raptok Isles. Each raptok tribe is its own political unit, governing its own affairs. The tribes are typically led by elders, who have lived long enough and proven themselves wise in survival.
Sarasa
Summary: Tribal Confederacy
Description: The Sarasan clans rarely cooperate, and each clan is effectively independent. The clans are led by eorls, who appoint ealdormen from among the clan to govern their affairs. The eorls generally lead the fyrd personally, and an eorl who cannot fight will usually step down and allow a successor to take their place. Power is hereditary and matrilineal, generally descending to the eldest female child of the old eorl, and to the eorl's eldest sister or her child if there is no eligible heir.
Inter-clan government is provided mostly by the Dragonbone Speakers and the Veiled Ones, who keep the peace between clans when unity is required.
The Scarlet City
Summary: Participatory Democracy
Description: To outsiders, the Scarlet City seems to have no government. Tasks are just done, seemingly as if by magic, by the faceless and interchangeable Silent Ones. This is possible because the Silent Ones are connected through the Dreamlands, able to speak and debate even when not in physical proximity to each other, so every important issue relevant to governance of the Scarlet City is put to a vote of all Silent Ones in the city at the time. Similarly, any Silent One can act as an official or magistrate, because they have access to the wisdom of the populace at any time. This is not particularly efficient, but it does lead to a harmonious governance even if it confirms to outsiders that the Silent Ones are all essentially the same.
Taira
Summary: Tribal Republic
Description: Taira was once a group of feuding clans, but as it coalesced into a single society, a government formed that incorporated those clans into each structure. Taira is ruled by a Prefect, elected by the clans, with each clan having a certain number of votes based on their population, relative status, and the territory they control. Other public offices are similarly chosen by the Senate, members of each clan who are sent to the capital to conduct the votes. How each clan determines its senators is its own affair--some hold their own elections, some have the clan elders determine it, and some hold trials by combat with the winner becoming a senator.
Vahn
Summary: Technocratic Oligarchy
Description: Vahn is the most precarious of Agarica's countries, relying as it does on Predecessor relics, the skill of its own artifex, and trade from outside, and life there reflects the management of this balance. Power is held by a group of guilds, each of which has control over an area of Vahnatai life. The Guild of Diparu maintains the network of lights, the Guild of Kakugallu placates the spirits, the Guild of Errēšu grows what food can be grown underground, among others. The heads of these guilds form a council that determines the course of Vahn. Membership in a guild is generally hereditary and for life.
I tried to limit the amount of generic fantasy kingdoms, and I think I succeeded. My vision of Warlords is more of a Classical era style, with few feudal monarchies and more small tribal governments, city-states, and so on. Magic changes things, too. Hyperborea is probably the country that's gotten the least development in the game I'm running now, but having a country ruled by sorcerers is a must for any sword-and-sorcery setting.
This may get more development as it becomes relevant to the game. We'll see.