EN World City Project: Government Affairs Submissions

[Ruavel]

I guess I don't see the need to "magically bond" any of the rangers to the city to ensure their loyalty any more than the need to do the same thing for any member of the City Guard, City Watch, or a powerful spellcaster... all of these people can "betray" the city in some way...

I would image that most the rangers can on the task more as a 'calling' than a profession that can be used to gain political power...

I think a sworn alligence from each ranger should suffice... a screening process would be being cautious... some form of geas to ensure loyalty would have almost every free-spirited wilderness-type character "running for the hills" so to speak...

please remember, this is just my opinion... I'm not meaning to abuse or upset anyone by saying this...

 

[Ruavel]

but a good PrC making complete loyalty to the city a requirement could be good, if written well..

 

[jdavis]

Town Militia submission (first Draft)
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Town Militia

The Mor’s End town militia is made up of volunteers who aid the city in time of need. They must have their own weapons and armor and are responsible for their own training in how to use them. They must be able to organize very quickly in case the town is attacked or riots break out. They also help when disaster strikes the city, such as fire or flood. At present the militia numbers nearly 500 strong. In return for their service Militiamen get (well I don’t know what they get, can fill this in later). Wealthy or Noble houses normally contribute leaders or captains to the militia, for many this is a figurehead position they use to show off their civic pride in doing their duty to the city, generally these nobles fail to show when the Militia is called up unless it is convenient for them at the time.

There is also a secondary militia known as The Muster. All able bodied citizens are required to sign up for The Muster and serve on the list for no less than 5 years. They are untrained as soldiers and are supplied with weapons and crude armor. The Muster numbers over 1500 on paper but is rarely (if ever) called together. Their only duty is to protect the city by manning the walls in time of attack or siege. Being on the Muster list is a civic duty and no rewards are given for being on the list, they will be paid the standard pay rate for soldiers during any time they are called up for active duty on the wall. The Muster can only be called up by Lady Kelvin directly; the decision for all able-bodied citizens to man the wall is hers and hers alone. Many noble houses have secretly bribed the names of their children off the list of The Muster, one of the privileges of wealth.

 

[David Argall]

population and levels

As I have noted before, the DMG population/level figures are subject to serious revision in a number of ways.

One way to consider here is that we are covering a fair amount of territory and population besides the city itself. While the city has 10,000, we have a rural/partly rural population that we may number as 100,000. This gives us a much larger number of leveled NPC, the higher levels of which can be assumed to wander into town.

In particular, our army of 100 is entirely adequate for just the city, but if we draw on the surrounding territory, we can justify an army of 1000+. A good bit of that will be posted here or there, but we could still have a larger force at the city, along with the high command.

 

[Tonguez]

I guess I don't see the need to "magically bond" any of the rangers to the city to ensure their loyalty any more than the need to do the same thing for any member of the City Guard, City Watch, or a powerful spellcaster... all of these people can "betray" the city in some way...

For my tuppence I say we should absolutely NOT have the Rangers bonded to the city by anything other than an Oath. As this is suppose to be a plug-n-play city we really shouldn't do anything thats going to limit any possibility. IMHO if the Rangers do become a threat to the city then excellent - thats a great plothook!

perhaps if we made the Head Ranger a hereditary position going to a member of the Kelvin Household then at least that would be covered (and the PrC would still be viable)

 

[Krug]

Re: population and levels

As I have noted before, the DMG population/level figures are subject to serious revision in a number of ways.

One way to consider here is that we are covering a fair amount of territory and population besides the city itself. While the city has 10,000, we have a rural/partly rural population that we may number as 100,000. This gives us a much larger number of leveled NPC, the higher levels of which can be assumed to wander into town.

In particular, our army of 100 is entirely adequate for just the city, but if we draw on the surrounding territory, we can justify an army of 1000+. A good bit of that will be posted here or there, but we could still have a larger force at the city, along with the high command.

Well I think that might assume too much. Remember it's a plug and play city. A city of 10,000 with a rural population of 100k is 'reaching' by too much. That would have a large influence of the army/militia numbers and I'm not really for that.

The other thing I have a problem is with a force of that size, I'd expect crime and disorder to be minimal. It's not a 'struggling' city, and I don't think it should be overly-prosperous either. Rich enough to be the envy of others in the region, but with just enough in its coffers to pay for a decent military force. 500 equals about 1 to 20... hmm... still seems quite high.

 

[Krug]

By the way, the Military affairs of the town might warrant another thread. Government does not just emcompass military matters, after all.

 

[Lalato]

Well I think that might assume too much. Remember it's a plug and play city. A city of 10,000 with a rural population of 100k is 'reaching' by too much. That would have a large influence of the army/militia numbers and I'm not really for that.

One thing to note is that this is NOT a typical medieval city.

Mor's End started as a trading post near a caravan resting point. The only other inhabitants in the area were the dwarves of Kul Moren... and a few tribal Argali sheep herdsman.

The area was frought with danger... raiders of all sorts tried to prey on the smaller caravans. Caravans still used this route because it provided an easy crossing of the Mor River. Here the Mor was somewhat lazy and narrow. Further down stream as other tributaries joined, it became wide and somewhat dangerous... but I digress...

The trading post became a village. They were self sufficient... the started to grow their own crops, they fished from the lake, they traded for sheep with the herdsman, etc.

50 years... and Mor's End is boom town. The sapphire rush is on... and people from all over the known lands are coming to strike it rich with sapphires. These first 50 years are very turbulent. Raiding humanoids attack several times throughout the year... but greed for sapphires has taken hold... and people still come in droves. Around this time, the dwarves of Kul Moren take a vested interest in the boomtown and help build up the defenses. The local herdsman have suddenly been elevated to landed gentry. They can barely keep up with the demand for their flock. City Pop: 1000... Rural Pop: 1000

100 years... Mor's End is still booming... Water Silk is discovered. Clay deposits are uncovered. Magical properties of sapphires are discovered. People continue moving to the city and Enheim in general. Independent villages are formed around Lake Enoria... and inland. The town develops farm land just to the north. Local Herdsman are now fully landed gentry... they control a lot of the surrounding land... they also develop a taste for the finer things coming their way via caravan. As the population grows, the humanoid threat is lessened. The humanoids aren't strong enough or organized enough to attack with any regularity. Mercenaries and adventurers from far and wide make their way to the city. City Pop: 2000... Rural Pop: 3000

150 years... Mor's End is really cooking now... Water Silk is a hot commodity. Artisans come for the excellent clay. The sapphires are renowned far and wide. Lake Kelp is found to be tasty and nutritious. Guilds start forming. Caravans are coming full steam. Humanoids turn away from attacking the burgeoning town... they instead resort to attacking the new caravans and villages. Despite the humanoid threat... people still come in droves, especially for the "free" land available in Enheim. A few nobles from other kingdoms come simply to buy out some of the local squatters. Some sell, and move into the city... others hold out and become farmers, fishermen... or landed gentry. City Pop: 3500... Rural Pop: 6000

200 years... Mor's End is still going strong.... Although guilds had been around, they had no real power... Now is the time they start really gaining in strength. Realizing that their livelihood is being threatened by humanoid raiders. Mor's End offers protection to the local caravan routes and villagers... independent villages and landed gentry pay a tax for protection. Due to the protection from the city... humanoid attacks lessen, but don't ever go away. A very wealthy class starts developing within the city. Tasty sweet pickles are found in the Soggy Bottom Swamp. underground warrens are found on the north side of city. Current Government structure begins to form. City Pop: 5000... Rural Pop: 12,000

320 years(current day)... Mor's End is still growing... It is a rich city-state with many natural resources. The current head of state is Lady Kelvin (not sure how she came into power)... The population growth has steadied in the city... but Enheim is still seeing strong population growth. There are several independent villages in Enheim. There are also a lot of land owned by local nobles (descendents of the herdsman) and foreign nobles (that bought the land from local squatters). City Pop: 10,000... Rural Pop: 30,000

I'm at work right now... so I'm sorry if the above appears like a jumble...

--sam

 

[jdavis]

Re: Re: population and levels

500 equals about 1 to 20... hmm... still seems quite high.

500 was the civilian militia, not a standing force. The actual army was 200 soldiers; 100 on the wall (no more than 50 at a time, as the other 50 have to sleep) 50 to keep the peace in the town (20 soldiers in town at a time to keep peace for 10,000 people, they work in long 12 hour shifts and only get 1 day off a week) and 50 soldiers who are personal guards for Lady Kelvin (they work shifts so that she always has 10 guards on duty, and has a special 10 unit calvary for when she leaves the city or needs quick action somewhere). The actual force that protects the city wall and all gates is less than 50 troops at a time, the civilian militia is there to cover the wall in time of attack. The troops have to sleep eat and get time off every once in a while. The militia is sort of like a volunteer fire department, they only show up when there is trouble. (my ratio's are 2% of the population is military, 7% of the population can man the walls in time of a strong attack and during a extended siege you can put about 21% of your population on the wall)

If the city was part of a larger empire, didn't have a strong leader in residence or wasn't out in the middle of nowhere with only itself to rely on then the numbers could be reduced, but this army has to fight, there are raids and the city is fairly wild, as it is now when you leave the city wall the only protection a man has is a dozen or so rangers, a stone throw from the wall is basically the wilderness, there is just not enough troops to patrol outside the wall. I might of got the wrong picture here but I got the impression that this was a town that served as a outpost on the edge of civilization not a city setting in the middle of domesticated kingdom, you leave the city walls at your own risk, heck there is no garantee while you are in the city.

We still only have one vague general and a unfleshed out Ranger as the only military leaders in town. The Rangers have spun off the military and are now part of the Wardens.

 

[yragthecareful]

I will also post this in ADMIN THREAD.

I agree with Krug, Military should now have it's own thread. Any takers? As pieces of the Govt thread (and others) take on a life of their own they should spring up new threads.

As this city gathers more threads and ideas there will be a need to collect all of this into a managable amount of information. Cohesion must take place at some point. KRUG, how should we administer this? If each thread ends up being multiple pages (10-20 pages long) we need to divide an conquer. My suggestion...

Once the Threads make themselves known...as they have over the past few days, the head of that thread should bring all ideas within their assigned category together in one word doc, with the appropriate Minister making the final decision of what is true for Mor's End. We should then post these to the Admin Thread. So, a 20 page thread my end up being a 2-3 page write-up. Then, we can start refining the whole as a group.


Any other ideas on how this could be done?
yragthecareful
aka wizardoftheplains