DM's Request: How to run politics?

[bret]

Some more suggestions on how to bring politics into the game:

Put a money trail in. Make it so that they can follow some links back to whom is manipulating things without making it obvioius. Things like EVIL Corp getting an exclusive trading agreement. When you look into it, you get a list of names of whom supported the trade agreement. When you start investigating, you narrow the list of names down.

Make sure that there are people who are politically untouchable. If the players murder a senator, they should expect to have to run from the law after that. The way that civilized people do things is to collect evidence and present it to law enforcement.

If you want vigilante justice, just make sure that they group is one that is dangerous to approach or block. Something where the players can't hope to take out the whole group at once.

Keep goals in mind. People should have agendas that they are following. Sometimes they have to compromise, but still they will try and achieve the tasks that they feel are important. Keeping those goals in mind for both an organization and the top people within the organization will help keep it real.

Read fiction that includes this type of thing. Try to think of ways it can apply to your own game. Even something like Harry Potter includes a level of politics in it. It really shouldn't be difficult to start adding power blocks that the characters are just now becoming aware of.

 

[willpax]

First, let me say fantastic responses all.

I have been very fond of political campaigns lately, and even have my long time players (usually rather fond of hacking and slashing) now really getting into sessions of eavesdropping and negotiating.

First, some macro suggestions:

In addition to court politics and economics, you should also consider religion: does it exist as a supporter/extension of the state (as late Roman paganism often was) or is it in competition with the state (as Medieval Catholocism sometimes was)? Is there one big religion or several in competition? Religion is important (even moreso with actual miracle workers in the form of clerics) because it is the branch of authority that has the most contact with the masses, and therefore has the most potential power if things start going bad.

In addition to power centers (as many have noted), you might also think about what traditions and institutions serve to validate authority and facilitate its use. In Asia Minor, you have an authoritarian bureacracy--an Emperor rules through a court, but usually simply hands out mandates that are carried out on a local level.

In the Roman system, the local authorities actually had a great deal of power (in fact, they were often the same ruling families that ruled before the Romans came simply put back into power as governors). The governors would get a demand from the central government ("bring in 5000 gold in taxes by the end of the year"). The governor would then farm out the actually implementation to lower level people ("Joe, you need to bring in 500 gold in taxes from this region by the middle of the year. No, I don't care how you do it.") These lower level people might be relatives, favorites of local aristocracy, or simply very successful bootlickers. As long as the emperor didn't have to intervene (peasants riot from tax collecting--call in the Imperial Guard!), the local authorities had a lot of leeway.

Now, some micro issues:

There are many potential plots that work very well within a political framework, but it really helps to start with the players' interests and ambitions. Do they hope to work their way up the power structure? Are they motivated by moral concerns? Do they wish to serve or rule? The answers to questions such as these will give you plot hooks galore.

Some random examples:

The local tax collectors are getting out of hand. How to get them to lay off without getting ourselves in trouble? (if we fail, we blow it. If we succeed, we might make a friend of the local governor for saving him some trouble, or we might gain some support in the local community for our eventual insurrection).

Knowledge is power. Dig up dirt on some local powers-that-be in order to have some cards in your hand for later use. This can lead to a mystery plot, and, if you have taken care of the players' motivations, doesn't require some shadowy figure to hire them for the task (although such a device may be needed in the short term).

And, at long last, some practical concerns:

As others have said, you must take good notes and have a stable of NPCs ready for use. I keep several in a few types of occupations that I can drop in when needed. Don't neglect delivery people, innkeepers, brothel owners, and scullery maids.

Be sure to give the players an abundance of information. If you aren't good at or don't want to spend the time roleplaying it out, write up a sheet of "what you've learned about the town after a night conversing with the locals at the inn." To make any player with gather info feel better, have a separate rumor sheet for that player with some of the potential NPC secrets (a la Piratecat).

Have patience. It is better to have three plots moving slowly than to have one rushing full speed ahead. This will give the players plenty to think about, and will make the eventual resolution even more satisfying.