D&D 5E If a magocrat is a magical bureaucrat what's a religious advisor?

[jmartkdr2]

Real world religious advisors to lay/nonreligious institutions tend to be called "chaplains" although that derives from the concept o a chapel (a religious space in a nonreligious space, like a prayer room in a secular-purposed building).

At the state/national level the other term that comes to mind is "papal nuncio" though that would imply the existence of a pope who lives outside the normal bounds of nation-states.

And, of course, if you're not using Latin as a religious language (ie stand-in for Celestial) then different terms would theoretically exist.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yeah, if we're looking for an advisor or expert position, you'd probably want -ician or -(o)logian.

Magocrat = someone who rules/commands by way of their magical power. Magician = someone who has expertise with magic.
Theocrat = someone who rules/commands by way of their religious power/knowledge. Theologian = someone who has expertise in religious matters.

There's even another real-world term here: "technocrat" vs. "technician." Technicians are the people who do the technical work. Technocrats promote rule by educated elites.

Each religion would likely have their own name as well. A war god could have people with the name warmonger or even tactician. It can be as hard as one wants.

So, would a “tacticrat” be someone who rules through military tactics?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

So, would a “tacticrat” be someone who rules through military tactics?

I believe the usual term for that is "stratocrat," though I have only heard the term in its gov description form, "stratocracy," government by those with military authority. Stellaris, for example, allows you to make a semi-democratic (leaders are elected, but chosen from a ruling council) society that requires military service, and terms such a government a "Citizen Stratocracy." In principle, the turian government from Mass Effect appears to be similar, in that the military is the government but some amount of democratic influence still seems apparent.

That said, the greek root "stratos" just means army, not strategy per se (same etymology though.) So if you wished to coin a new term for very specifically rule by those with tactical acumen rather than military rank alone, that could work. It would probably cash out as something like a militaristic meritocracy, where those who prove their ability to outwit enemy combatants are treated with greater authority.