Dungeon Master's Guide
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each is ruled by a council of drow high priestesses who<br />
answer to Lolth, the Demon Queen of Spiders.<br />
Meritocracy. The most intelligent and educated<br />
people oversee the society, often with a bureaucracy<br />
to handle the day-to-day work of government. In the<br />
Forgotten Realms, scholarly monks preside over the<br />
fortress-library of Candlekeep, overseen by a master of<br />
lore called the Keeper.<br />
Militocracy. Military leaders run the nation under<br />
martial law, using the army and other armed forces. A<br />
militocracy might be based on an elite group of soldiers,<br />
an order of dragon riders, or a league of sea princes.<br />
olamnia, a nation ruled by knights in the Dragonlance<br />
campaign setting, falls into this category.<br />
Monarchy. A single hereditary sovereign wears the<br />
crown. Unlike the autocrat, the monarch's powers are<br />
limited by law, and the ruler serves as the head of a<br />
democracy, feudal state, or militocracy. The kingdom<br />
of Breland, in the Eberron campaign setting, has both<br />
a parliament that makes laws and a monarch who<br />
enforces them.<br />
Oligarchy. A small number of absolute rulers share<br />
power, possibly dividing the land into districts or<br />
provinces under their control, or jointly ruling together.<br />
_.\group of adventurers who take control of a nation<br />
together might form an oligarchy. The Free City of<br />
Greyhawk is an oligarchy composed of various faction<br />
leaders, with a Lord Mayor as its figurehead.<br />
Plutocracy. Society is governed by the wealthy. The<br />
elite form a ruling council, purchase representati"on at<br />
rhe court of a figurehead monarch, or rule by default<br />
because money is the true power in the realm. Many<br />
cities in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting,<br />
including Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, are plutocracies.<br />
Republic. Government is entrusted to representatives<br />
of an established electorate who rule on behalf of the<br />
electors. Any democracy in which only landowners or<br />
certain classes can vote could be considered a republic.<br />
Satrapy. Conquerors and representatives of another<br />
government wield power, ruling the settlement or region<br />
as part of a larger empire. The satraps are bureaucrats<br />
and military officers, or unusual characters or monsters.<br />
The cities of High port and Suder ham in the Greyhawk<br />
campaign setting are satrapies controlled by agents of a<br />
,·icious gang of marauders known as the Slave Lords.<br />
Theocracy. Rulership falls to a direct representative<br />
or a collection of agents of a deity. The centers of power<br />
in a theocracy are usually located on sacred sites. In<br />
the Eberron campaign setting, the nation of Thrane is<br />
a theocracy devoted to the Silver Flame, a divine spirit<br />
that resides in Thrane's capital of Flamekeep.<br />
SAMPLE HIERARCHY oF NoBLE TITLES<br />
Rank Title Rank Title<br />
1st Emperor/Empress 7th Viscount/<br />
2nd King/Queen Viscountess<br />
3rd Duke/Duchess 8th Baron/Baroness<br />
4th Prince/Princess 9th Baronet<br />
5th Marquess/Marquise lOth Knight<br />
6th<br />
Earl or Count/<br />
Countess<br />
COMMERCE<br />
Even small villages can provide characters access to the<br />
gear they need to pursue their adventures. Provisions,<br />
tents, backpacks, and simple weapons are commonly<br />
available. Traveling merchants carry armor, martial<br />
weapons, and more specialized gear. Most villages have<br />
inns that cater to travelers, where adventurers can find<br />
a hot meal and a bed, even if the quality leaves much to<br />
be desired.<br />
Villages rely heavily on trade with other settlements,<br />
including larger towns and cities. Merchants pass<br />
through regularly, selling necessities and luxuries to the<br />
vil,Iagers, and any successful merchant has far-reaching<br />
contacts across the region. Traveling merchants pass<br />
on gossip and adventure hooks to the characters as<br />
they conduct their business. Since merchants make<br />
their living traversing roads that might be menaced<br />
by bandits or wandering monsters, they hire guards to<br />
keep their goods safe. They also carry news from town<br />
to town, including reports of situations that cry out for<br />
the attention of adventurers.<br />
These merchants can't provide the services normally<br />
found in a city. For instance, when the characters are in<br />
need of a library or a dedicated sage, a trainer who can<br />
handle the griffon eggs they've found, or an architect to<br />
design their castle, they're better off going to a large city<br />
than looking in a village.<br />
CURRENCY<br />
The straightforward terms "gold piece" (gp), "silver<br />
piece" (sp), "copper piece" (cp), "electrum piece" (ep),<br />
and "platinum piece" (pp) are used throughout the game<br />
rules for clarity. You can imbue these denominations<br />
with more interesting descriptions in your game<br />
world. People give coins specific names, whether<br />
as plain as "dime" or lively as "gold double-eagle." A<br />
country typically mints its own currency, which might<br />
correspond to the basic rules terms. In most worlds, few<br />
currencies achieve widespread distribution, but nearly<br />
all coins are accepted worldwide-except by those<br />
looking to pick a fight with a foreigner.<br />
ExAMPLE: THE FoRGOTTEN REALMS<br />
The world of the Forgotten Realms provides an<br />
extensive example of currencies. Although barter,<br />
blood notes, and similar letters of trade are common<br />
enough in Faerfin, metal coins and trade bars are the<br />
everyday currency.<br />
Common Coinage. Coins appear in a bewildering<br />
variety of shapes, sizes, names, and materials. Thanks<br />
to the ambitious traders of Sembia, that nation's oddly<br />
shaped coins can be found throughout Faerfin. In<br />
S embia, square iron steelpence replace copper coins.<br />
Triangular silver pieces are ravens, diamond-shaped<br />
electrum pieces are harmarks (commonly called "blue<br />
eyes"), and five-sided gold pieces are nobles. Sembia<br />
doesn't mint platinum coins. All coinage is accepted<br />
in Sembia, including copper and platinum pieces<br />
from abroad.<br />
In Waterdeep, the bustling cosmopolitan center<br />
of trade, coppers are called nibs, silvers are shards,<br />
CHAPTER 1 I A WORLD OF YOUR OWN<br />
19