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<blockquote data-quote="med stud" data-source="post: 4150611" data-attributes="member: 1211">It was exactly like that in Sweden in the 13th century (lots of other places as well, I only know Swedish history at any depth). The influence of a noble was as far as his men could go in a day on a horse. There were kings with a little more influence, but they couldn't push the nobility or the peasants too far. Tax collection was very haphazard and not very formalized. Much of the king's and nobility's priviligies consisted of the right to have free food and lodging from peasants. The king's army was small, maybe a hundred knights. The nobility had almost as many men as the king.Also, wilderness was vast and the forests were essentially natural barriers the same way rivers and mountains use to be. You didn't travel much, often travel was dangerous due to brigands and highwaymen. The king and nobility made it so the brigands had to hide and do quick raids, there were always brigands. Then were the problem of Finnish and Estonian pirates that struck the east coast with some regularity.If some of those brigands were trolls and some of the enemy kings and nobles were dragons or mindflayers, you could use 13th century Sweden as a PoL- setting. The only drawback is that it was so very primitive, which is easy to solve by adding magic and fallen empires. The principle could stay, though; noone's power reach more than the reach of his/her sword.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="med stud, post: 4150611, member: 1211"] It was exactly like that in Sweden in the 13th century (lots of other places as well, I only know Swedish history at any depth). The influence of a noble was as far as his men could go in a day on a horse. There were kings with a little more influence, but they couldn't push the nobility or the peasants too far. Tax collection was very haphazard and not very formalized. Much of the king's and nobility's priviligies consisted of the right to have free food and lodging from peasants. The king's army was small, maybe a hundred knights. The nobility had almost as many men as the king. Also, wilderness was vast and the forests were essentially natural barriers the same way rivers and mountains use to be. You didn't travel much, often travel was dangerous due to brigands and highwaymen. The king and nobility made it so the brigands had to hide and do quick raids, there were always brigands. Then were the problem of Finnish and Estonian pirates that struck the east coast with some regularity. If some of those brigands were trolls and some of the enemy kings and nobles were dragons or mindflayers, you could use 13th century Sweden as a PoL- setting. The only drawback is that it was so very primitive, which is easy to solve by adding magic and fallen empires. The principle could stay, though; noone's power reach more than the reach of his/her sword. [/QUOTE]

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