D&D General Any Realms-Heads Know About The Politics of The Sword Coast?

[doctorbadwolf]

BTW, I don't know if I'd see Alexander Hamilton as a great example for your group--he was against slavery, but he proposed a president-for-life and supported the establishment of the central bank, as well as a strong national government supported by a strong national army and navy. You might consider Thomas Paine.

I liked the musical too (and I'd hate to throw away my shot), but the Jefferson-Hamilton debate doesn't really map onto modern ideas of left-right.

He supported a president (and senators) for life, with fairly easy terms of impeachment for a wide range of bad behavior. Otherwise, his proposed government was pretty much the same.

And the national bank and strong national government arent contradictory to modern leftism at all, IMO.

But ultimately he believed in a government that ruled at the discretion of the people being governed, which is the main point. It’s not like I’m playing the play character with the name swapped. She’s just got some similarities.

I got a lot of mileage out of this book. It is a 2e book, but the evil organizations and intrigue among the Sword Coast is good. If you do not care about canon and 5e, this would help plan a great campaign.

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Nice! I’ll try to find a copy and check it out.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So here is where the DM and I landed.

The Emerald Enclave’s mission in Waterdeep is to try and steer the Lord’s Alliance away from rapid expansion of civilization, and maintain a balance between the cities and the wilderness. Partly for the normal Druidic reasons, but also because the wilderness around the Sword Coast is very dangerous, and would engender many lives if greatly disturbed.

Kid spent a few years with them from 11-13/14, and her view of that mission mixed with her experiences of being a poor refugee on the edges of Waterdhavian society, and many books she has read on civics and economics, to form a fairly radical view.

Kid: “Of course! We have to stop the cities from constantly expanding, which they only do because the greed of the elite. The root cause is the economic system that governs the Sword Coast, and like a rotting wood that endangers the whole forest, we gotta burn it down. The system of aristocracy will tumble down without that foundation, and we can replace it with a system by and for the people!”

EE: “That…isn’t what we said, but I like your spirit!”

 

[doctorbadwolf]

"We will impose democracy on these people, whether they want it or not!"

Comparing democratic revolutionaries with expansionist genocidal empire is…quite a take.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Comparing democratic revolutionaries with expansionist genocidal empire is…quite a take.

It's from a British comedy sketch show.

But people who are absolutely certain they are right seldom are. Robespierre was a democratic revolutionary.

 

[aco175]

Kid: “Of course! We have to stop the cities from constantly expanding, which they only do because the greed of the elite. The root cause is the economic system that governs the Sword Coast, and like a rotting wood that endangers the whole forest, we gotta burn it down. The system of aristocracy will tumble down without that foundation, and we can replace it with a system by and for the people!”

Sounds well educated for a kid. My 14yo would be all, "If we get rid of the forest then I will never get to see a unicorn."

 

[Alzrius]

Kid spent a few years with them from 11-13/14, and her view of that mission mixed with her experiences of being a poor refugee on the edges of Waterdhavian society, and many books she has read on civics and economics, to form a fairly radical view.

Kid: “Of course! We have to stop the cities from constantly expanding, which they only do because the greed of the elite.

Sounds like she's being primed for disappointment, since even if they remake Waterdeep's political system from the ground up, things like birth rates and immigration will probably remain the driving factors behind the city's expansion.

 

[TwoSix]

Sounds well educated for a kid. My 14yo would be all, "If we get rid of the forest then I will never get to see a unicorn."

By 14, you could be in charge of a trading charter.

 

[TwoSix]

Sounds like she's being primed for disappointment, since even if they remake Waterdeep's political system from the ground up, things like birth rates and immigration will probably remain the driving factors behind the city's expansion.

Yes, enthusiastic young revolutionaries are so often dissuaded by the iron bindings of demographic trends.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

It's from a British comedy sketch show.

But people who are absolutely certain they are right seldom are. Robespierre was a democratic revolutionary.

I’m aware of the origin of the meme. It’s a bad comparison.

Sounds well educated for a kid. My 14yo would be all, "If we get rid of the forest then I will never get to see a unicorn."

I was more well read and knowledgeable about philosophy, political theory, and economic systems, than most adults, at 14. And I’m not a genius.

By 14, you could be in charge of a trading charter.

Lol exactly.

Yes, enthusiastic young revolutionaries are so often dissuaded by the iron bindings of demographic trends.

Imagine pretending greed doesn’t accelerate expansion.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I’m aware of the origin of the meme. It’s a bad comparison.

I think you have misunderstood the cultural context. Small children play games in which there are "goodies" and "baddies". In England, for people growing up in the post-WWII environment (pretty much up to the 1980s) The "goodies" where the British and the "baddies" where the Germans. The only difference between the goodies and the baddies is the goodies always win and the baddies always loose. It has nothing to do with fascism, genocide and real evil - small children are too young to understand that.

If your PCs want to overthrow a stable government where the people are happy and prosperous, maybe they are the baddies - i.e. an evil party.