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How do YOU flesh out a chaotic society?
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<blockquote data-quote="AtomicPope" data-source="post: 8314483" data-attributes="member: 64790"><p>Chaotic societies are ruled by decree, and overt displays of force. The "laws" would be the whims of the powerful. The easiest way to envision a chaotic society in DnD is by cracking open Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and reading all of the fluff on Demons. They are chaos manifest. Mortals would operate along similar veins, as others have mentioned. Something others have not mentioned is a chaotic society would inevitably be low trust. Here is an unordered list:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Democracy - mob rule, the whims of the mob determines everyone's fate</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Barbarians - might makes right</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Warbands - fractured warbands do what they want whenever they can</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fallen City - whether by plague or war, the old order is gone and nothing has taken its place</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Commune - people live together out of necessity and became a tribe. No rules other than family first. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rovers - nomads who live hand to mouth, always in search of the next catch</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sorcerous - innate magic gives individuals great power. The magic is fickle and no true families have ever established a dynasty.</li> </ul><p>The thing to remember about a chaotic society is they don't make plans as a society, but that doesn't mean there are no individuals with power and ambition directing them. I worked in community development years ago and it wasn't uncommon for long projects to be inherited by others. Some plans take years. It only makes sense that it gets passed along. The more efficient the bureaucracy, the better long term plans come to pass. That's a 1st world country in motion. A chaotic society would rely entirely on the individuals pushing those plans, much more so than an even moderately ordered society. The demands of the powerful would be met. The only balance against them would be the limits of reality or the might of their opposition. In DnD, those limits are determined by the DM.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AtomicPope, post: 8314483, member: 64790"] Chaotic societies are ruled by decree, and overt displays of force. The "laws" would be the whims of the powerful. The easiest way to envision a chaotic society in DnD is by cracking open Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and reading all of the fluff on Demons. They are chaos manifest. Mortals would operate along similar veins, as others have mentioned. Something others have not mentioned is a chaotic society would inevitably be low trust. Here is an unordered list: [LIST] [*]Democracy - mob rule, the whims of the mob determines everyone's fate [*]Barbarians - might makes right [*]Warbands - fractured warbands do what they want whenever they can [*]Fallen City - whether by plague or war, the old order is gone and nothing has taken its place [*]Commune - people live together out of necessity and became a tribe. No rules other than family first. [*]Rovers - nomads who live hand to mouth, always in search of the next catch [*]Sorcerous - innate magic gives individuals great power. The magic is fickle and no true families have ever established a dynasty. [/LIST] The thing to remember about a chaotic society is they don't make plans as a society, but that doesn't mean there are no individuals with power and ambition directing them. I worked in community development years ago and it wasn't uncommon for long projects to be inherited by others. Some plans take years. It only makes sense that it gets passed along. The more efficient the bureaucracy, the better long term plans come to pass. That's a 1st world country in motion. A chaotic society would rely entirely on the individuals pushing those plans, much more so than an even moderately ordered society. The demands of the powerful would be met. The only balance against them would be the limits of reality or the might of their opposition. In DnD, those limits are determined by the DM. [/QUOTE]
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