Magical Medieval Society Western Europe 2nd printing

Government
There are three considerations in determining a
kingdom’s government: the type of government, the
strength of the king, and the amount of allodial land
the king owns in the kingdom. These factors are used
to generate the income of the aristocracy, as well as the
strength of the king compared to the rest of the aristocracy
and the political atmosphere of your kingdom.
Type of Government
Magical medieval governments are usually traditional
monarchies, primitive monarchies, and representational
monarchies. Monarchy types are usually congruent with
other aspects of kingship. For example, primitive kings
rarely hold 85% of the land allodially, but GMs should
use the appropriate information for their campaign
setting. Governmental development and complexity are
least under primitive monarchies and greatest under
representational monarchies. This coincides with a shift in
mindset from baronial authority to royal authority. This
affects treasuries, courts, and chanceries in a kingdom.
Strength of King
percentage of land the king owns allodially. Then give
75% of the remainder to great landowners and 25% to
the nobility. GMs may assign any percentage of land
as allodial land, but should alter all aspects of kingdom
generation accordingly.
Allodial holdings determine the amount of scuatage
or military obligation an aristocrat receives. It also
determines the amount of income aristocrats make on
mines in the kingdom. For example, if the king owns
most of the land in a kingdom, he receives 85% of the
total scutage collected in the kingdom. The same king
also receives a handsome amount of annual income
from mines, taking the king’s third from a mine’s
income. But if the king owns 25% of the land allodially,
he receives less scutage and mine income, with the great
landowners and the nobility absorbing what coin and
resources the king does not.
In a magical medieval kingdom, land ownership
is as confusing as the feudal system. This system of
distributing the kingdom’s land in the form of allods
does not mean that only subjects of the kingdom own
the kingdom’s land. For example, the neighboring king
may actually own enough land in another kingdom to
qualify as a noble of that kingdom. It is not uncommon
for affluent and ambitious aristocrats to hold multiple
titles, like Pratap who is both the King of Cresson and
the Duke of Angenent.
The five levels of strength from greatest to least are
exceptional, strong, average, weak, and pathetic.
Indications of strength are a king’s political effectiveness,
the king’s resources in coin and magic, the speed of
military mobilization, and the history of the king’s
linage. The strength of the king determines how much
income the king receives in taxation and how much of
the coin slips between his fingers into the coffers of the
great landowners and the nobility.
Allodial Land
Allodial land is land held outright without feudal
obligation to another lord. The king, great landowners,
and nobility usually hold a kingdom’s allods. Rarely do
members of the gentry hold allods, and if they do, they
are insignificant amounts of land. An aristocrat may
attempt to manage all his allodial land, though aristocrats
usually use that land to acquire more vassals.
The three levels of allodial land established for
magical medieval kingdoms are 85%, 50%, and 25%.
In the 85% model, a king owns 85% of the kingdom’s
land allodially. The 50% model gives a king half of the
kingdom’s land free from feudal obligation. The 25%
model has a king own a fourth of the kingdom’s land in
the form of allods. The remaining land is held allodially
by great landowners and nobles in ratio found on Table
VIII.2-Allodial Holdings. If a GM wants a different
percentage of land ownership, simple determine the
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A Lord Ends an Argument with Magic