Creating political power groups

[Quickleaf]

How do you create political power groups for your campaigns?

My current approach is:
(a) Platform- What the group advertises itself as. What social problems it proposes addressing and how. What contributions/changes it proposes and why.
(b) Leadership
(c) Supporters
(d) Power Base- Where the group gets its power from (e.g. allies, blackmail material, law on their side, magic, minions, networking, obscurity, outright lies, popularity, wealth, etc)
(e) Tactics- What is morally acceptable. What the group does if cornered.

 

[Crothian]

That's like way more organized then mine are. I have the people or cause defined, and then it just sort of goes from there. I'm not as conserned with defining exactly who follows what and everything, I am more concerned with how does this political group influnce the players and how do they get seen in action of doing things. It s a slightly different approach and just keeps my focus where I want it on the PCs and their doings.

 

[Quickleaf]

Right on! I totally agree with your stance!

I should point out that the groups I'm working on are for a written adventure; thus they need more definition.

 

[Crothian]

That does change everything. I'd also include what the different groups think of each other and about some people in particular. I'd include some of the groups working secretly together to have plots within plots that even the high ups in the organization don't know about.

But I tend to complicate things a bit.

 

[fusangite]

The first question you have to answer is: what kind of society is this group situated in? If you are running a feudal-style campaign, for instance, many of the attributes that you are assigning political groups just wouldn't be viewed in this way.

When I set up a group with a political objective, the first thing I look at is how power is shared, organized and changes hands in the society in question. In most RPG worlds, this effecitvely means that your political group falls into one of the following categories:
(a) economic cartel / guild
(b) urban area / rural region
(c) cult / religion
(d) patron and his clients / aristocrat and his vassals
(e) secret society

Of course, these categories can and often do overlap.

Once you know the type of society and the type of group, questions of tactics and other issues start answering themselves. What is more work, and probably a mistake for most game worlds, is imagining a modern political grouping and then figuring out how it would look in the fantasy world you have constructed.

 

[Quickleaf]

Excellent advice, thanks!

I should have been more clear. These groups are in an urban setting, that is similar to feudalism. They are headed by the king's sons, each of whom is a contender to the throne. The king is currently absent, and the sons know they can't take the throne without gaining popular support. Thus feudalism, with some elements of "democracy forced by circumstance."
Hence, the need for developing a "political platform". It is a set of promises (most are genuine, though some are empty) that the sons make to the people to gather their support.

 

[fusangite]

These groups are in an urban setting, that is similar to feudalism.

Sorry to keep pestering you with questions but a little more detail will be handy. Okay -- is this a free city/republic/principality or is it the capital of a larger jurisdiction? This will affect what power bases are in play.

They are headed by the king's sons, each of whom is a contender to the throne. The king is currently absent, and the sons know they can't take the throne without gaining popular support.

Whose support matters in your world? Obviously, the acclaim of the masses is useful but not nearly so useful as the support of genuinely influential constituencies like merchant guilds, landowners, religious cults, the army, etc. Prior to about 1850, the support of people who didn't fall into one of these categories was rarely politically influential or part of the process in the West. Generally, only in imperial despotisms like China, Rome, Byzantium and Russia did the will of the masses have any formal recognition or de facto power.

Of course, it is important to court everyone but, in a feudal system, one is essentially going over the head of a lord by speaking directly to his peasants and thereby causing offense. In a free city, republic or principality without significant land, this tendency also operates but less intensely -- all but the bottom rung of society will be addressed through their guild or church rather than directly. And there are risks in courting the bottom rung.

Thus feudalism, with some elements of "democracy forced by circumstance."

It would take more than this to bring democracy into being in a feudal city. A contender wouldn't ask himself, "What ideas would appeal to the labourers?" Instead he would ask, "Whose support am I courting?" Of course this is true in democratic politics today when appealing to highly organized constituencies like the Christian right but these groups are the exception rather than the rule today.

Hence, the need for developing a "political platform". It is a set of promises (most are genuine, though some are empty) that the sons make to the people to gather their support.

Well, of course people make deals to gather support in any period but many of these deals will be private because there is nothing to gain by making these promises publicly. The only public promises in a city should be bread and circuses promised to the masses and, depending on the size and composition of the military, increased rations and salaries for the non-officers.

 

[shilsen]

That makes my specific suggestion a little redundant in your case, but I'll add it anyway, since it may apply when creating power groups in other situations. Besides your different pieces of data about the group, I'd add one about their aims and goals. That can be, and often is, quite different from the Platform aspect.

 

[Quickleaf]

Fusangite, thanks for your critical eye!

Sorry to keep pestering you with questions but a little more detail will be handy. Okay -- is this a free city/republic/principality or is it the capital of a larger jurisdiction?

A city-state ruled by a Shah that falls under the jurisdiction of a Padishah. It used to be the capital city 100 years ago. It is a major port. The nation is modelled after Sassanid Persia.

Whose support matters in your world? Obviously, the acclaim of the masses is useful but not nearly so useful as the support of genuinely influential constituencies like merchant guilds, landowners, religious cults, the army, etc.

Excellent point. Yes, all of these groups are more important than the masses. For example, one of the princes seeks to make the Holy City in the center of town public land, so that greedy landowners can capitalize on its prime real estate.

Of course, it is important to court everyone but, in a feudal system, one is essentially going over the head of a lord by speaking directly to his peasants and thereby causing offense. In a free city, republic or principality without significant land, this tendency also operates but less intensely -- all but the bottom rung of society will be addressed through their guild or church rather than directly. And there are risks in courting the bottom rung.

Excellent point again! So, the risks of courting the masses directly is that the lord to whom they're beholding would be pissed off, right?

Well, of course people make deals to gather support in any period but many of these deals will be private because there is nothing to gain by making these promises publicly. The only public promises in a city should be bread and circuses promised to the masses and, depending on the size and composition of the military, increased rations and salaries for the non-officers.

In the adventure, the PCs are in a position to be privvy so some (not all) of the private deals going on, and may be brokering such deals themselves. As for the promises being made to the masses, there are several matters that interest the people beyond those you mentioned:
1. Punishment of a government protected group of a mercenaries who've committed offenses
2. Making sure the holy manticore receives the animal sacrifice of the worst traitors so that the shadow of Ahriman does not fall on the city (a superstition)
3. Proof that the messiah has returned/ protection of the so-called messiah /freedom to follow the so-called messiah's new religion/society
4. Improved treatment of a leper colony
5. Insuring the protection of their leader - a blacksmith demagogue

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Another thing to keep in mind that will make your power groups seem more realistic is "mission creep." In other words, how has the group evolved from their original purpose? For example, the Templars started out as a military order, but evolved into banking. Coming up with ways in which an organization changes over time will make it seem even more real.