fatal

Chapter 6: Sociality
Communities
Ranging in size from hamlets to capital cities,
many characteristics of communities vary widely.
Communities are outlined according to size below:
Hamlet
Hamlets are comprised of no more than 100
characters, usually a collection of a few families.
Hamlets are too small to have a guild or temple,
though 1-2 shrines may be present. Hamlets never
have walls, and are rebuilt continually.
Village
Villages have from 100-1,000 characters.
Most villages are too small to have guilds, have a
local lord and 1-2 temples, and probably have several
shrines. Village guilds are likely to be negligible
in quality and service. Rarely, villages may have walls,
and are rebuilt continually.
Town
Towns have a population between 1,000 and
10,000. Towns typically have a handful of guilds,
temples, and a local lord of some sort such as a
baron, depending of course on the state. Towns
usually are not walled.
City
Cities have populations of at least 10,000.
Cities have numerous guilds, temples, and at least 1
local lord such as a duke. Cities are usually walled
and have a castle, citadel, or fortress of some type.
Capital
Capital cities are the seats of governmental
power to a state, usually being the size of a large
city. Capital cities are almost always walled, sometimes
having multiple walls, and are well defended.
It seems that anything can be found for the right
price if searched diligently for in a capital city.
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Governments
A government is an authoritative unit that is
organized to control masses of characters, and is
usually classified according to the distribution of
power within it. Following are the definitions of
several forms of government that may be used by
the Aedile to add realism to a gaming world:
Anarchy
The antithesis to all governments, proponents
of anarchy prefer a lack of government,
prefering chaos to order and nature to civilization.
Anarchists believe that no creature has a right to
impose on another; anarchists refuse to be governed.
Autocracy
A government wherein 1 character possesses
unlimited power is an autocracy. Oftentimes, autocracies
are called dictatorships 1 . If the character
with unlimited power centralizes their control,
then this form of government may be called totalitarianism.
An autocracy is rarely established as such.
Usually, a previous form of government is established,
and the leader changes it into an autocracy.
According to some 2 , the most common government
to precede autocracy is democracy.
Aristocracy
This is a government wherein the power is
vested in a minority consisting of those thought to
be best qualified to rule. This is different from an
oligarchy, because the populace believes that a characteristic
of the aristocratic class distinguishes them
and makes them fit to rule. Historically, membership
in an aristocracy was based on wealth. An aristocracy
based on wealth is a plutocracy.
1. According to E. Lyon’s Assignment in Utopia, “People under dictatorships, it has been well said, are condemned to a lifetime
of enthusiasm. It is a wearing sentence. Gladly they would burrow into the heart of their misery and lick their wounds in
private. But they dare not; sulking is next door to treason. Like soldiers weary unto death after a long march, they must line
up smartly for parade.” For more information, see the References section at the end of this book.
2. The following agree that historically, democracy precedes autocracy: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politica, and Bertrand
Russell’s Power. For more information, see the References section at the end of this book.