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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SWBaxter" data-source="post: 2868220" data-attributes="member: 27926">Sure, but in D&D ability in the skills to actually rule are directly related to personal power since maximum skill rank, number of feats, etc. are governed by level. Not all powerful individuals will have those skills, but those who do will be enormously better at them than non-powerful types with the appropriate skills. To some extent, a world run by D&D rules implies a very machiavellian meritocracy.Historically, a small group ruling over a large population was driven by two major factors, agriculture and religion. Agricultural societies needed large populations and some kind of oversight to keep the population as a whole functioning. Religion provided the rulers by establishing the parameters for society's conduct. Taking these in combination, you could have a patchwork of theocratic city-states with lots of shifting alliances and conflicts, but probably very little full-scale war.Another approach could be to take a further step back and say "why would humans (or any other 1 HD types) rule the land, anyway?" There are lots and lots of critters that are at least as smart as humanoids and are much more individually powerful. It's not inconceivable that you could have a society where all the humanoids are just slave populations working for powerful dragon/outsider/undead/whatever tyrants. Said tyrants are probably very careful to look out for any signs that a humanoid is levelling up, in order to squash such threats before they truly become powerful enough to matter. Or possibly they groom such individuals for use as a secret weapon against their rivals.</blockquote>

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