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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 1526237" data-attributes="member: 463">I think this is a very good point when trying to model feudal societies in-game.  One way D&D, esp 3e, varies from the medieval feudal model is that in D&D towns/cities tend to be very important; going by Monte's down-design system in the DMG they're the location of most of the wealth & nearly all the high-level NPCs.  Using Monte's system as written will create a setting that looks more like 15th-century Germany, with powerful city-states as the domimant political entity.  I'm using this as the model for my current Borderlands campaign - there's an Empire, but it's a distant and remote entity; most power operates at the city-state level, cities may be ruled by nobles, councils of nobles, oligarchic groups of merchants, etc, who may in turn be subordinate to a more powerful noble ruling several cities.  Available troops are a mix of town guards & urban levies, nobles, knights & peasant levies from the manors of the gentry within the town's  demesne, some yeomen farmers from the counryside (mostly the longbowmen), and possibly mercenary companies.Edit: The 1e DMG is a good source for an alternative model - from its scanty generation systems, most cities will have mid-high NPCs there (up to ca 12th level), but the most powerful NPCs will likely be found ruling rural castles & fortresses, maintaing large numbers of men-at-arms and a coterie of Cohorts & followers.</blockquote>

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