I really like this, but
I do it a bit differently in my own campaign worlds. I tend to presume a Bronze Age. So Iron replaces Cold Iron, Silver is uncommon enough to be valuable - and replaces Alchemical Silver, and metalurgy of alloying is complex enough that many common people still think of smiths as borderline magical - as they can make metals that seem the same in appearance and yet have differing hardnesses, mallablity, etc.
In such a setting, civilization basically exists in the city states and in the scattered towns and villages - usually along rivers, as they give access to a ready source of clean (or at least drinkable) water and a swift(er) means of transport / communication. The latter is quite valuable in a land where each settlement is often on its own in a world still somewhat savage.
The main problem I have with the new setting concept (Points of Light) is that kingdoms are difficult to explain in such a setup and empires are impossible. How can a kingdom exist when the lands supposedly under the control / influence of the central authority in fact are autonomous? If they are truly able to survive even marginally on their own, and if travel between settlements is truly so difficult that it cannot be taken regularly, how can taxes be collected, how can orders for a gathering of knights / soldiers for some battle be sent out with any expectation that any will come? If some one does not come, will they risk the lives of those that did come to seek them personally? If they do not, their authority is further limited in the eyes of those that did come, and some of them may not come the next time the order is given, as no penalty has been applied. Do they punish the errant knights / freemen / whatever that did not come by withholding something from the village / town? But if each is autonomous there is little they can truly withhold that is actually needed.
It seems more that if a kingdom does exist, it *must* be a tyranical one, for how else could *any* kingdom hold any power / influence over an area *except* by force of arms? If it is powerful enough to enforce obedience, and if it can *make* communities obey its orders despite their self-sustainability and local autonomy - and the dangers to any who travel so as to obey, then the only option for such a power center I can see is a non-Good government.
If they wish to use Points of Light, then they should at least not make the suggestion that kingdoms exist - or, if they exist, that they ever exist for very long or are significant in size. A kingdom composed of only a few towns and villages very near to each other, with a castle next to one of the larger towns as its center of power, is believable. It is small enough and strong enough to hold off against casual / minor problems such as typical bandit groups and lower and perhaps even a rare instance of middle level monster. Its peoples are gathered near enough that they can be taxed and protected without too much difficulty, and the roads are likely safe enough not to require an armed guard for every journey. However, it is small enough and tight-knit enough to in effect be a single point of light, rather than several supposedly collected into a single kingdom. I can see a good government existing for such a kingdom, as a tyranical one would not be needed in this situation.
On the other hand, such kingdoms would rarely last more than a few generations. Sooner or later it would face something it couldn't handle and it would fall apart. Maybe it would face a single higher level monster. Perhaps it would face a rare middle level monster - and then face another one before it had time to fully recover. Or perhaps bandits from a neighboring region, having heard of how prosperous this area is (due to its size compared to most communities), will fall upon it, destroying so much of it before they are destroyed (*if* they are destroyed) that what remains falls apart back into its component pieces.
The point I am trying to make here, is that a "kingdom" in such a world can not both be the size we tend to bring to mind when we hear the word and also Good. It can be small and good, or it can be large and non-Good (or even small and non-Good, of course), but it cannot be large and Good. That would defeat the whole "Points of Light" concept, really. Small kingdoms composed of a few towns / villages and city-states are about the largest you can really get and keep the concept in tact - and those would be the rare truly large points of light in the darkness.
I wonder how the Forgotten Realms - the first setting to be officially released under 4e - will be re-written to make such possible? Some areas it can work quite well with, but what about the other areas?
