#worldbuilding tutorial 9

[worldbuildingworkshop]

Worldbuilding Tutorial #9: Example World B

Intro This world, as usual, will be a much better example for building your standard fantasy world than World A was, for the tutorial on government an on others. I will use a couple different methods of building governments just to demonstrate examples of how to come up with these things. 

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Region #1: Warm Coastal Region This is a region with a small physical area but a high population density and a lot of resources moving through. It’s a trade city with a lot of money flowing and a lot of access to unusual services and goods, and thus the government needs to be able to support all of that. A lot of the day-to-day trade affairs are governed by guilds; there are many major guilds in the city - for shipbuilding, carpentry, theater, blacksmithing, dyers, bakers, you name it - and individual guilds will tax their members for funds by which the guild operates. Guild members are expected to abide by certain rules about where they can conduct their business, who they can conduct it with, etc; operating in a craft without belonging to the guild is not quite illegal but heavily penalized. In return the guild will help protect them and their families and support them in some situations - especially legally but in other ways, including monetary ways, as well. The guilds have a lot of power in the city, and while they do not run it and nor are the guild masters de facto on the ruling council, they have a lot of weight to throw around if they choose to. They also compete heavily with one another (and within themselves at times) and are not beneath sabotage and subterfuge in order to get an edge.

There are two portions to the actual rulership of the city: the council and the regent. The council does most of the heavy lifting; they do the proposals, the research, the wording of the decision or law, etc. The regent then approves or disapproves the decisions and signs off on them, although the regent can be overruled by a 8-1 vote. The council and regent are also in charge of adjudicating major crimes (minor crimes are usually dealt with by city law enforcement, who answer in turn to the regent). Regency is hereditary through a family member chosen by the current regent and approved by the council (does not have to be a child); councilship is not hereditary (though the same family will often find their hands on the seats) and can be any of the upper-class members of society. Candidates are nominated by guilds and other powers around the city, including the regent, who serves as a tiebreaker in the ultimate vote on new council members.

Region #2: Wooded Region Because of the widespread smaller-scale communities and the cultural disinterest in large-scale stratification, government in this region tends to come down to individual villages. Generally villages will have a town meeting every week which is open to anyone who wants to come; during the meeting everyone has the opportunity to discuss issues with other townsfolk, say their bit or present their own perspective, and then the yes or no of the issue is determined by a simple majority vote. There are several city officials who are in charge of running, conducting, and mediating these meetings; they are the closest it generally comes to any kind of ruler. They are also the figures who, in times of crisis, will be sent as “diplomats” to speak to other towns or villages and come to an agreed-upon course of action. These figures are usually people who have been active in the town meetings for a long time and shown interest in the job, who are then brought in as trainees until someone is ready to retire (or the population grows such that they need another person to fill the job).

Region #3: In-Between Region This region operates in a somewhat feudal system governmentally speaking. There are a number of fifes which are ruled by various nobles or warlords; this land is governed by the owner, whose rulership is hereditary. Generally the more land and resources a noble has, the more power they have; as such, land wars between fifes are fairly common. If you live on the land belonging to a fiefdom, you are assumed to belong to that fief and subject to its laws; for more travel-oriented jobs, such as trading or barding, it is common for people to pledge themselves to a particular house who then becomes the patron of that person and funds their ventures (so getting a house to accept your pledge is a big deal). Fiefdoms can negotiate with other fiefdoms to make alliances, trade or land deals, fund armies, etc - all the larger decisions that require some degree of coordination.

Region #4: Open Plains Region This region is essential rule by local warlords. Bands vary widely in size from 20 to hundreds of people, and bands may merge or split as it becomes politically or economically necessary. The headperson in charge of an individual band is whoever has enough sway to keep control of and manage it well; this is often hereditary, although traditions vary somewhat and in all bands there inevitably comes a time when the next blood relative doesn’t have the skills necessary to take care of the band, at which point they are usually usurped by someone who does or the band splits off to follow a rival. Marriage between bands is common as both a way to keep inbreeding from becoming an issue and also as a way to cement alliances and other agreements; it is traditional for the member of the more powerful band to join the less powerful one as a sign of good faith. At times there will emerge warlords who have the drive and skill to bring many bands together into their own and create something more like a dynastic period under a single ruler; this also tends to break apart eventually, though that time can vary to the rulership of a single headsperson to many, many generations.

Region #5: Cool Coastal Region Unlike the other regions so far, this region is actually ruled by a monarch and a centralized state. Individual towns and people pay taxes, the wealth goes back to the monarch who distributes it across various projects throughout the region. The rulership is hereditary to some extent, although it usually passes within the same family rather than from parent to child; the monarch nominates an heir and their advisers and other notable figures (like a representative from a particularly large city) confirm or deny the nomination.  Aside from taxes and any state projects that are local, there isn’t much day-to-day interaction between communities and the government; mostly the communities regulate themselves however they see fit, usually a combination of selecting a community member to be the headsperson (usually an elder or married couple of elders) and town meetings.

A cultural note on the monarchy in this region: unlike in our world, the position comes with very few bells and whistles. The vast majority of people don’t know who the reigning monarch is and don’t particularly care except in passing; there’s little glory or personal wealth attached to the position, mostly just a sense of duty. If a particular monarch starts to step outside the lines on cultural norms, it’s usual for their advisers to stage a quiet coup and things essentially go on as they were. 

Region #6: West Coastal Region Like region #5, this region is ruled by a monarch. Unlike the previous region, the power structure is much more stratified, top-down, and rigid; the throne usually passes from parent to child, comes with a lot more glory and power and wealth, and is paid more direct attention by common folk. Rulership is usually done by a married couple; the man’s (King’s) purview usually includes collecting taxes, running the military, and making trade agreements. The woman’s (Queen’s) purview usually includes distributing crown resources and overseeing legal or judicial affairs. The two work together on projects that fall under both their purview, but otherwise work independently - hence one of the important traits that people look for in their rulers is a good marriage, because a bad one will tear the country apart. 

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Up next will be a tutorial on religion and magic and how those play out in different cultures (rather than the reality of divine forces in your world, which was covered in the metaphysics tutorial). 

[worldbuildingworkshop]

Worldbuilding Tutorial #9: Example World A

Intro This is the first example for the tutorial on government. This example has the advantage of including several non-human groups, particularly ones who operate in a very different way that humans physically and mentally both. So if you are dealing with such a species, this is a good example to take a look at. 

For this one in particular, it’s important to remember the role that fate has in this world. Many of these styles of governing rely and derive from the fact that there is an external force imposing order on all of these groups, cultures, and people, and are much looser systems than would work in the real world. 

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Region #1: Unseelie Fey As stated in previous tutorials, fey are very individual in this world - especially so in this region. It’s a very every fey for themselves, fey eat fey sort of place, and cooperation does not come easily or often. That being the case, there is no structured government to speak of. That is not to say, however, that it is anarchy here either, though it may look like it at times. In this world, even for fey, there are rules; and this is a world governed by fate, which is law in its own way and law that even fey cannot escape. In this case, however, it’s less “government” and more like “your free will doesn’t count anymore” - and fey will find themselves doing things they’re actively trying to avoid, because they don’t have a choice in it anymore.

The singular “rule” in Unseelie society is essentially “There are no rules”. The enforcement of this rule mostly comes in the form of mob justice: fey will tend to group together to destroy an individual who tries to impose rules or order of any kind on others, and may seek out and torment individual fey who maintain any kind of rules for themselves for being deviant. Decisions are made on an individual basis through individual negotiation, and precedent has no power over further decisions. If an individual doesn’t get what they want out of an agreement, they simply refuse to engage with it.

This kind of “government” would not work for humans or human-like creatures, for many reasons. It serves mostly as an example of how governing can be very different for non-humanlike species and in a context unlike earth (i.e. where there is an external force that can exert order when necessary).

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Region #2: Seelie Fey Like with the Unseelie Fey, this region of Seelie Fey does not have any kind of established rules or codes, nor official “government” to speak of. Individuals do as they will, and other individuals can choose to attempt to punish them or not. Fate is, of course, an ever-present force, and like with the Unseelie it is less a matter of choice and more a matter of inability to do otherwise - but the Seelie are usually somewhat more willing, and thus (usually) suffer less for it.

Unlike the Unseelie, Seelie society tends towards cooperation much more often. This means that it is not uncommon to have groups of fey called to the same place, or who choose to go to the same place, and debate as a group the correct course of action. In situations such as these, it is the voices of the majority and the most powerful who make the decision, and those who disagree will often go along with it anyway. There is no rule about this - a seelie fey could choose to walk out if they liked - but it is the way the culture tends. Precedent only matters in that some fey may have memories of previous situations and have some memory of how they turned out before - if not concrete memories, then merely feelings. But it doesn’t factor in in any strict legal sense. 

Like the previous “government” style, this would not work for humanlike creatures or in an earthlike world. It is again an example of how governments might function with very different parameters. Furthermore, it’s an example of how essentially the same situation and kind of being involved can result in two different forms of “governance” because of differences in culture. Aside from culture, seelie and unseelie fey are essentially the same; but their approach to their organization is very different, and different enough that they cause each other grief over it frequently.

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Region #3: Humans As stated previously, there is no overarching government in this region; instead, each village is its own individual place, and follows its own rules. Generally - and there can be deviations - the structure is that if there is a man that most of the village likes and trusts to be a good leader, he is the head of the village. There is no official vote taken, nor official position granted; what this means is that people in the village will start coming to this person with disagreements, proposals, and questions, and this person will have the responsibility of answering them. If this person doesn’t want the job, he simply refuses to answer the things people come to him with, and they will bring their thoughts to someone else.

If the village is in agreement, this man will generally be called the head of the village. If it is not, and there are instead two or three different men that different groups within the village favor, then the title won’t be used until one of them emerges as a lead to the other two. Situations like this usually sort themselves out over time; oftentimes there is intricate social politicking that goes on with each trying to overshadow or undercut the others. Sometimes there is outright bloodshed in an attempt to eliminate one side or another. Sometimes (and probably least frequently), these “leaders” will come together and sort out an order or hierarchy amongst themselves and either all but one will step down or they will consult with one another for difficult decisions. 

No one has to bring their problems to the village head, of course; people are free to make their own decisions. However, someone may - if they feel that some kind of retribution is necessary - lodge a complaint with the village head, who will have to drum up public support in order to do anything about it if something significant must be done. The head is not the sole decider of justice in cases where there is a crime, and those who decide on their own often quickly lose their position. Rather, they function more as mediators and advisors to the village than an official. There are norms that exist rather than any codified rules - things like “it’s not polite to kill people” and “if you take someone’s things then it’s your own damn fault if you get hurt when they try to take it back”. These rules change over time as the culture of the individual villages changes. 

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Region #4: Humans Like with the above region and as stated before, this region is also a series of unaffiliated villages who each conduct their own affairs. Unlike the previous region, the government structure is more official: there is a council of all of the elder men of the village who mediate and make decisions that will affect the entire village or that cannot be solved by the parties involved. The council will choose to “bring in” a man when they feel he is of a proper age; and all men are eventually included in this, even heavily disliked ones. There is no rule requiring this, but it just “isn’t done”. 

Usual procedure in these villages has become that the council will hear a series of problems in the first part of the day, then debate them privately throughout the day. No decisions are made that day; instead they are made the following one, in order to allow time for reflection. The other unspoken purpose of this is to get input from other members of the village; the elder men will often discuss issues just as anyone else might discuss their day, and other members - particularly the elder women - will have a chance to give their input this way. During debates, if there is something that concerns a particular subsection of society - the herders, for example - sometimes the council will ask members of that group to essentially “testify”; they will ask them questions relevant to the matter, usually without telling them what exactly is being debated, and then sent away once there are no more questions to ask.

As with everything else in this world so far, for the most part there are simply norm of “it’s not done” rather than rules. However, this region is the most likely to actually have any kind of codified law; it will generally be passed down orally rather than written, and decided to be made a rule by the council and then announced to the village. 

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Region #5: The Feywood This region is very unlike the previous two fey regions because it actually has a structured government. The Feywood has a version of the classic “Fey Court” that is sometimes used in literature and folklore in the real world. There is a King and a Queen and a court - though these are not bound by gender roles. Amongst the fey, these roles have little meaning; they are respected, and a fey may be more inclined to follow the will of their rulers because of this respect (almost more like a Pope IRL); but they are also welcome to tell their King or Queen to stick it up theirs. Rather, these roles mostly have to do with mortals and how the fey deal with them.

The role of the King is to essentially allow or deny access to the wood by mortals. If a mortal is found wandering in the woods where they shouldn’t be, often they will be captured and brought to the King, who will decide what should be done with them. If a mortal wishes to bring a petition to the fey or ask a favor, they would seek out the King as well. The role of the Queen is somewhat more nebulous; the Queen’s role could essentially be defined as PR. A Queen will go out and show mercy, provide help, and reign in fey who are causing problems. They can also veto the decision of the King if they wish to take a particular mortal under their protection instead. As for the Court - the fey court is made of members who come and go, but is usually made up of powerful fey who are interested in partying with the King and Queen for a while. These fey share their wisdom and knowledge and help inform what the King or Queen does next - if there are rumors of something ill afoot in the north woods, the rulers and court may find their paths straying there next. 

The King and Queen are also unique in that they are one of the few fey that are able to choose agains the current of Fate if they so choose. All other fey are intimately bound to this; but a King or Queen of the wood can understand that a thing is Fated and decide not to follow it. There is a price for this ability, however: Kings and Queens are also one of the few fey that die of old age. They may live hundreds of years, but near the end of their “time”, they will start to age and wither away very quickly, and then die. Successors are not chosen by the current Queen or King; usually they are not “chosen” at all. Rather, a fey will hear a call (usually sourced from fate), and if it follows it, will find itself the new ruler. It could theoretically happen to any fey - there is no difference in species. It is the title which bestows the differences upon a fey, not their birthright which determines their ability to hold the title.

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Region #6: Elves Elves have one of the most hierarchical societies of any other region in this area. There is a ruler, who can be either sex; this person is chosen by methods to be described shortly, and both resolves issues that are facing the region at large and may also pursue their own agenda. There is a capital city that they rule from. The ruler may also have a number of consorts, who are often also advisors and can make decisions in the ruler’s place if they are away or indisposed. Beneath the consorts there are a number of what are essentially “nobles”; these nobles are usually figures of great renown or with great feats under their belts, and who are extremely skilled in their area of study. Nobles hold no official position in the court, but use their influence to enact various pressures on the ruler either on their own or by getting support from others. None of these positions is determined by blood; rulers are chosen by their people and nobles, consorts are chosen by the rulers, and nobles come and go as individuals rise to fame and fall from it.

When a ruler dies, often what happens is a number of nobles will nominate themselves to be the next ruler. There are series of tests and tasks performed, through which nobles will attempt to prove their worth; many will go on great quests to prove their fitness as well. As nobles begin to fail or fall out of favor, they will often put their support behind one of the other nobles instead. Throughout all of this, the common people watch and may choose to throw their support behind rulers as well. Eventually it usually comes down to a duel of some sort between the last few contenders - which may be combative, or may be a debate or other feat. These are highly public and a great spectacle for everyone else. The winner becomes the next ruler, and the remaining nobles pledge fealty and surrender some of their resources in order to ensure that they are in no position to usurp the ruler.

Within a village, usually the eldest member is in charge of making decisions - much like the ruler is on a larger scale. Sometimes a village member will become very skilled and renown for that skill; oftentimes, if they achieve status of a noble through this, they will leave the village and head to the capital to pursue position there (if they have a mind for politics, anyway - not all of them do, but many people will treat them like a noble anyway). Nobles are often de-facto advocates for their village and their village’s interest, so it is within the interest of a village to try to raise as many highly-skilled individuals as possible. Other people outside of a village, especially from those villages who do not have a noble, may flock to another’s noble instead and put their support behind them instead. 

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As you can see, the government structures in this world are highly influenced by its metaphysics: they are very focused on individual choice and agency, and are in some cases about as far away from collectivist as you can get and still have a society. They don’t depend on rules, but instead on cultural norms, and as such are more moldable than most governments are. This means that enforcement of these rules comes from consequences from the societies themselves rather than an executive force - a dangerous situation in the real world, but which is able to function in this one because of the underlying metaphysics with fate and magic. Age, memory, and skill are also major themes in determining status that thread through all governments in this world - you can see those themes repeated over and over again. 

World B, because it lacks these underlying mechanics, will be very different - and also much more familiar. They’ll be up next.

[worldbuildingworkshop]

Worldbuilding Tutorial #9: Government

Intro There are a couple of ways to go about building a government: the simple way and the complex way. As with all aspects of worldbuilding, if a particular element in the world is largely unimportant to what you’re creating it for, always feel free to take the simpler or easier way and move on to something more worth spending your time on. If detailing out the government is not beneficial to your story or world, then take the simple way and move on with your project. If it’s more important, then it’s worth taking time to put more thought into it.

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Government: The Simple Version This version is pretty easy. It mostly involves looking at forms of pre-existing government and picking a type for each governing entity of your world. There is a list here that I like very much that sums up many kinds of governments in a couple sentences. Beware: brevity often comes at the price of accuracy. That list is a useful starting place, but if you aren’t sure or want the government to factor just a little more into your world, then it would be wise to take some time to do just a little bit more research into that government. Only, of course, with the depth that you need - if all you need is a paragraph of expansion, sure; if you need a more in-depth explanation of the cogs and gears of it, that’s fine too. The wikipedia article on Forms of Government is a good way to expand on things to whatever degree you require.

There are a few basic things to think about when choosing a type. One: culturally similar locations are likely to share similar forms of government. Not every government in your world has to be its own unique type; you are allowed to have regions that have roughly the same governmental structure. Two: consider any cultural norms or history you may have already fleshed out or have some sense of for your region. Cultures with a high emphasis on individuality or collectivism, or on authority or egalitarianism, are likely to adopt governmental structures that reflect this. Three: cultures with very different governing styles are likely to have a certain amount of clashing or tension between them, and that can influence the geopolitics of your regions.

Government: The Complex Version This version of government-building involves designing a form of government from scratch. There’s a good chance that whatever type you end up designing will to some degree resemble a form of government in the real world; that’s fine and to be expected. We in the real world have had thousands of years and countless civilizations to experiment with how we organize and govern ourselves. The benefit to doing this anyway is that you have a better understanding of the more intricate workings of your government - which, for any setting that includes a certain amount of political intrigue, is important. It also allows for adding features not traditionally part of real-world governmental forms as needed or desired.

Below are a number of things to consider when designing a government, and aspects of a culture that tend to factor in.

-Size: The bigger a population a government is governing, the more complex that government needs to be. Conversely, the smaller a governed population is, the simpler its government can be. Part of this has to do with how face-to-face a government can be conducted; if your government is on the scale of a village, then everyone can meet and discuss issues fairly easily. If your government is on the scale of several cities then you are going to need layers of representatives to communicate changes and requests and carry out orders. Physical space matters too; a very small population scattered over a very large area still limits access and often requires representative to act on behalf of everyone who can’t travel. A large population in a very tight area can still interact with one another much more easily.

-Access: Who has what kind of access to decision-making can vastly influence the operation of a government. This element considers not just physical access but also elements of social status, gender, age, profession, family ties, and other aspects of identity. Many cultures in our history have limited governing access only to the men, or only to the elders, or only to those  who are children of the previous ruler. The perspectives that those cross-sections of your population bring to rulership will affect not only what kind of government you end up with but what kind of governing that government does.  Who is allowed to help make decisions? How many of them? Who isn’t, and why?

-Cultural Values/Norms: The values and norms of a culture greatly impact that culture’s perspective on governance. In the real world, people who believe that children’s job is to obey their parents without question often also believe in more authoritarian types of government, because they have a value basic to both of those that involves obeying authority. Cultures that place more emphasis on community are likely to favor governments that reflect that; cultures that place more emphasis on the individual are in turn more likely to reflect that. Cultures that believe in honesty are more likely to have transparent kinds of government; cultures that believe in privacy are more likely to tend towards government conducted with more secrecy. Consider how your society works on a daily level and what it prioritizes, and how that will factor in to its government.

-Transitions of Power: This is a bigger one to consider than one might expect at first. The difference in structure between a government in which the current ruler determines an inheriter from their children, versus one in which any common person can run to be elected, versus the next ruler is chosen by a council of the entire region’s priests is very significant. It also asks the question of how often transitions of power happen, how long they take, and what is involved in doing so (a large coronation celebration vs. an election season vs. praying to the gods for guidance). This is also affected by whether the ruler is an individual or a council or group - and in that case, whether a government changes all its rulers at once or if it happens in a more steady fashion.

-Resources: There are ways in which resources and what kinds of resources a region has access to can affect government. Sheer quantity is an obvious one: a larger government is going to require a larger amount of resources in order to stay running, so a country with very few resources is likely to have a simpler government. This also includes how a government accesses those resources - be it taxation, tribute, mandatory service, or the like (and how they are obtained and enforced). It is also often true that in situations in which access to a resource means access to power, that those who are involved in obtaining that resource are also able to influence the way the government works. These can be both physical resources (such as the EIC setting up an offshoot government in India to collect spices) and people resources (such as Venice and the power that traders wielded because of its importance in the economy). There are undoubtedly other ways that resources impact governance; hopefully, you will find the ones relevant for you as you design. 

-Divisions of Power: There are many aspects to a society, and even in cases where there is a single ruler that doesn’t always mean that said ruler is in charge of all things. Historically, religion is an excellent example of this - there is often some kind of high religious figure who decides what happens in that venue. In the current day, this can also be seen in the way that there is both a PM and a parliament in some countries, or how in the USA the executive/legislative/judicial branches are separated. There are plenty of other aspects in which government may be involved - magic, trade, warfare, espionage, diplomacy, etc - that may not always be in the purview of a single person. Figuring out what the important organization parts of your society are and who is in charge of that thing, and how that person or people relates to people in charge of other things, can add another layer of depth to your country.

Some final notes. One of the things you will find about governments throughout the history of the real world is that they have a habit of changing over time - be that in sudden, violent upheavals or gradual change that response to the growth of a population or the discovery of a new resource or other region. Oftentimes there are holdovers from previous forms of government, and adding those in as flavor can be interesting and add more depth to your society. It also means that if something in your world has influenced a government in your world to the point of necessitating change, it can change. 

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In terms of the order of the next few tutorials, I think I’m going to focus on the kinds of things that novice or casual world builders tend to consider first, because they’re some of the easiest, simplest, and most-relevant-to-most-projects aspects of worldbuilding. This one was on government; the next few should be some order of religion, trade/industry, demographics, and so on. The kinds of things that can ultimately be described with a few quick labels once you know what you’re going for. After those are established I’ll move into subjects that are less universally pertinent - things like cuisine, holidays, architecture, etc. As always however, if you are more interested in a particular tutorial sooner rather than later, use the ask box to request that topic and I’ll bump it up in my writing queue.