# Forms of Government



## Knightfall (May 22, 2006)

Okay, the DMG lists most of the noteable forms of government useable in a D&D game, but I was wondering... what else exists in people's campaigns for types of government that aren't listed in the DMG?

Also, I found this section on the WikipediA...

*List of forms of government*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government

One of the more interesting forms of government, for D&D, is Kleptocracy.

Some other fun entries...

Krytocracy -- government by judges.

Ochlocracy -- government by mobs.

Panarchism -- the peaceful co-existence of all political systems.

Plantocracy -- government by plantation owners.

Thalassocracy -- sovereignty of the seas


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## fusangite (May 22, 2006)

Not to get too technical here but I would argue there are two kinds of "-cracy"/"-rchy" words for different governments. One refers to the way that power is distributed -- democracy, aristocracy, autocracy or the way power is exercised e.g. bureaucracy. The other is a more fun and descriptive term that refers simply to the kind of people who are in power right now; are they thieves? e.g kleptocracy but tell us precious little about the way power is distributed or government is structured. Basically, there's a pretty limited number of terms you can come up with in the first category. As for the second category, you don't even need to look the words up. You can just make them on your own with an English-Greek dictionary. In that category, let me offer a term generated in the Renaissance to describe Rome at its most corrupt: pornocracy, meaning government by the harlots.

I think the taxonomy of the wikipedia entry is a little strained and over-complicated and appears to be the meshing of more than one neat, clear taxonomic system.


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## fusangite (May 22, 2006)

As for my own campaigns, democracy, especially as classically practiced and understood, is never represented in the games I run. 

The last D&D game I ran, the characters were part of a dying nomadic hunter-gatherer society living through an ice age. The bands were so small that they either were one or a collection of two or three matrilocal family groups; these extended households were managed by clan mothers (grandmothers). The bands practiced a form of radical exogamy whereby they could only sleep with someone of a different clan totem. This made interactions with other groups highly socially and culturally important but, due to the paucity of resources, such meetings were intense and of short duration. 

The game I'm currently running (not D&D, my own personal BRP-D20 hybrid) is one of those epic campaigns ranging over an enormous geographic area. As a result, I have several forms of government represented:

The Empire of Laman is a pre-modern bureaucratic despotism with a large service-gentry bureaucracy closely managing a set of smaller political units it has recently absorbed -- kind of like a cross between Imperial China, the Inca Empire and the Spanish Empire under the Bourbons. The three main entities that wield political power in the empire are its military, its judges (the service gentry governors) and a high-profile religious secret society, the Gadiantons, (its members go about masked). The army and Gadiantons are of roughly equal power, and are sometimes the same people, especially at their high echelons and are both directly accountable to the emperor. The service gentry, as in most despotisms, is held firmly in check for fear of it becoming an incipient aristocracy. 

The Seven Kingdoms are a weird hybrid political entity held together in a loose military confederacy and nominally ruled by a high king, Onondaga. However, the Onondaga only rules in times of peace. And in times of peace, the kingdom is so politically decentralized, he is, at most a mediator in disputes among its members. In times of war, the confederacy is ruled by a Dux Bellorum or War Chief who has sweeping power to declare martial law, levy troops and appropriate resources if the kingdoms are threatened. Under him are six enormous matrilocal tribes, comprising six of the kingdoms and the seventh, which is a former monarchy, a city-state now ruled by its former service gentry, a weak aristocracy that has devolved much of its powers to self-governing cults, ethnicities, neighbourhoods and other units sufficiently atomized as not to represent much of a threat. It is a miltiarily weak power that is, in the nicest possible sense, basically paying tribute to the six kingdoms that protect it.

The Petty Realms, which the characters haven't reached yet, will be like early European feudalism. 

I'm sure I'll think of more but that's probably an okay start.


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## Knightfall (May 22, 2006)

Hi fusangite,

I have a question for you. Do you have or know of any resources online that describes what you've referred to as fusang?

I have a region that I want to make a combination of the fusang concept and native american culture, mixed with psionics. The region would be a chain of large islands northwest of the region I call Janardun: The Psionic Lands.

Cheers!

KF72


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## Imp (May 22, 2006)

I've got a number of city-state oligarchies going and the DMG doesn't really seem to cover those.  There is also one nation with a caste system.


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## fusangite (May 22, 2006)

Knightfall1972 said:
			
		

> I have a question for you. Do you have or know of any resources online that describes what you've referred to as fusang?



My main exposure to the literature is, to refer to the Indigo bookstore chain's description of it, "controversial knowledge" along the lines of Holy Blood Holy Grail; I have no academic sources on what Fusang has meant in Chinese culture over the centuries or what the original story was talking about. Anyway, the start of this genre was a book called Fusang by Charles Leland written in the late 19th century. It might be fun to read. Another author, who deals more generally with this subject, though in much the same vein, is Terry Glavin.


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## Tonguez (May 22, 2006)

The Cities of Jahizra are an association of city-states each ruled by a Krytocracy (called the Council of Judges). The Cities are aligned to a central semi-religious code which was established by an Historic 'Law Giver'.

Orcs are divided between Matriachal Clans and the all male Mobs. The Mobs can rise to power but like all Ochlocracy they are short-lived. The Matriarchs also tend to actively keep the mobs in check

Gnome burrows are essentially anarcho-socialist matriarchal clans.

I also have a couple of Merrow-Mage despots (they claim to be gods - so does that make it a Theocracy?)

The Twin City of Karina is also interesting in that it is made up of two walled sections sited 20 miles apart. One City is the Royal City and ruled as a Beauracratic Monarchy. the Southern City is ruled by a Plutocracy of Merchants. The area in between is occupied by the Griots who besides their religious role also act as go betweens and tax collectors.


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## sckeener (May 23, 2006)

Noticed some that are missing 

(from the DMG 1st edition)

Magocracy - Government by professional magic-users only. 
Pedocracy - Government by the learned, savants, and scholars
Syndicracy - Government by a body of syndics, each representing some business interest.

For those with access to the classic book, see page 89.


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## Man in the Funny Hat (May 24, 2006)

http://home.earthlink.net/~duanevp/dnd/govts.htm

Wrote it a long time ago just as an exercise to come up with governments besides the standard pseudo-European kingdoms and Greco-Roman city-states.  I should revisit it and try to work up an interesting example for each of the old DMG1 listings.


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## Rothe (May 24, 2006)

Here's something I worked up long ago on gvoernment types for a sci-fi game.  THe first column is the basis of authority, that is how leaders are chosen.  Three columns are who this authority is vest in an individual, a group or "everyone" that qualifies for the basis.  THe names may not be exactly accuate, for example, you may not like where democracy falls, but the table gives the idea.

THe second block of text characterizes external associations, i.e. what is an Alliance versus a Federation?  Again your preference for names may be different but the ideas are there.  Sorry for the formatting, can't seem to get tables correct, hopefuly it is legible.  Enjoy.


```
[b]Government Type  (Basis (for grant of authority) v. Execution (of authority))[b]
[u]Basis	            Individual (I)	       Group (G)	   Entirety (E)[/u]
Ability	            Cynosurate	       Honorate	           Meritocracy
Acclaim	            Demagoguery        Plebocracy             Repitocracy
Agreement           Imperial 	         Dominion	          Cooperative
Appointment        Governate 	       Directorate 	        Collective 
Assumed	            Tyranny 	         Syndocracy 	        Anarchy 
Divine	            Theocracy 	       Hierocracy 	        Electocracy 
Hereditary	Monarchy 	       Aristocracy 	        Genitocracy
Open Election	Democracy 	       Republic 	        Egalitocracy
Restricted Election	Dictatorship 	 Oligarchy 	        Yeomanary

BA-# = balkanized; f = feudal, authority based upon a hierarchy of allegiance.; x =externally imposed


[b]Government External Associations Matrix[/b]
[u]Share...and...	      Social	      Economic	              Military[/u]
Social	               Aphictony        Union	              Coalition
Economic		  Union           League	       Confederation
Military                  Coalition	Confederation          Alliance

Others and notation:
	-L = League, separate governments with shared economic organization.
	-A = Alliance, separate governments with shared military organization.
	-P = Aphictony, separate governments with shared social and/or religious policy.
	-C = Confederation, separate governments with shared economic and military organization.
	-U = Union, separate governments with shared social policy and economic organization.
	-T = Coalition, separate governments with shared social and military organization.
	-F = Federation, separate governments with shared social policy and economic and military organization.
```


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