wanted: king. must be patient, wise and able to speak directly to a god..

[blackshirt5]

"Listen, if I went around, saying that I was Emperor just because some moistened bink lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd lock me away!"

"Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!"

"Aha! Now We See The Violence Inherent in the System! Now We See The Violence Inherent in the System! Help, help, I'm being Repressed!"

 

[Gundark]

The ones in my current game mostly come from noble lineage, which is of great interest right now because the current king has left no heirs, and his cousins are fighting to attain the post.

I had something like this as well. Except the dead king had a son that was hidden away and the PC's had to find this heir and put him back on the throne.
Usually I have several government types in my world. As my players are able to travel vast distances over the globe. The government and the right to rule vary from country to country.

 

[s/LaSH]

Well, I set my campaign in medieval Europe, so you'd think I'd go with the annointed kings thing. Wrong! Many countries were indeed ruled by annointed kings, but the Venetian Republic is the home of the campaign, so these king things are from other countries, many of which are co-opted by barons and stuff. But the whole primogeniture issue keeps things stable, right? Wrong again. Huge chunks of Europe are ruled by elves. Elves live a very long time - longer than many kingdoms. I figure that one strong leader creates a realm, rules over it, then upon his or her death the realm disintegrates and they go back to warring for a while. Thus, many of the elven rulers are Dukes, not Kings - that's a military term, by the way, more suiting to their Right By Power philosophy. There aren't any human kingdoms, strictly speaking; the Byzantine Empire is the closest thing in Europe.

Further afield, islamic politics are rather odd (I gotta do more research, but religion and colonisation are important factors, and deformity is a disqualification for rule); the orcs of the steppes are quite egalitarian in some cases, often requiring public assent to the appointment of a warleader or mayor; and the Mediterranean Mer are that rarest of things, an actual heir-based monarchy that persists beyond one generation.

 

[Impeesa]

I think I've got all the traditional methods covered:

Erandor: High-level paladins from a several-thousand-year-old bloodline.

Kaergoth: Council chosen by political maneuvering from the various lords and wealthy merchants in the capitol.

Daressun: Must prove themselves on the battlefield. Most worthy successor takes the crown from the previous ruler when he falls.

And some others which sort of fall in between the above methods...

--Impeesa--

 

[Ysgarran]

Well, one of my favorite methods for evil aligned nations came for 'Perilous Lands' (OK, don't mention the game system...) from Avalon Hill. The King had as many children as possible during his reign. When he finally died all the children were locked up in a maze of caverns, first one out alive was declared the new King and the caverns were sealed back up for the next time...

Ysgarran.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Gondragal, one of the more important countries in the campaign world I'm builiding, has three heads of state chosen by different means. The Lion of Gondragal, the country's war leader, is the winner of a month-long tournament held once every five years which tests their prowess, endurance and strategy in a series of contests. The Dragon of Gondragal, the master of the powerful mage guilds and Gondragal's vanguard against supernatural threats, is chosen in secret rituals and examinations by the the mage guilds. The Phoenix of Gondragal (both an advocate of the people and the nation's chief foreign ambassador) is chosen upon the death of the previous officeholder in a magical ceremony performed by the Dragon and Lion in which the will of the land itself picks a new Phoenix. In this way it is said that the previous Phoenix is reborn into his or her successor. Together, the Lion, Dragon and Phoenix each perform some of the duties of a king, and each acts to check the others' powers.

Another country, Aelmar, has a large class of nobility which was founded by their first king. A sitting king or queen (or any noble that needs an heir, for that matter) can select anyone of noble birth to succeed them. The Aelmaric believe in a strong meritocracy, and reject feudalistic notions such as primogeniture.

 

[Grayswandir]

I've got the usual mix: a few traditional monarchies, a few theologies, some places ruled by whatever warlord has the most power, some ruled through other determinations (most powerful wizard, most powerful psion, richest merchant). Or you could do what one high-level elven ranger did in one of my campaigns ...

First, take the Leadership feat and assemble yourself a band of loyal followers. This works best if you start spreading hints of discontent against the current king and subvert some of his border guard or soldiers to be your new followers. Next, get an insanely powerful dreagon really, really angry with you. Then, hole up in your peaceable forest kingdom until the dragon tracks you down and begins systematically demolishing the entire nation just to cause you grief. Wait until the king realizes that the dragon is totally unstoppable and decides to evacuate himself, his court, and pretty much his entire population instead of allowing them to be slaughtered - preferably to somewhere very far away, such as another plane, but the next region over will suffice if necessary, so long as it's somewhere they can establish a permanent new kingdom. Be sure to assist the evacuation with your loyal followers, but be sure that you and your followers stay behind to "guard" the minority of the population that refuses to leave their forest homes of old. Then, assemble your adventuring party and dispose of the dragon (not so easy as it sounds - it helps if you have an artifact-level magic sword laying around). Finally, proclaim yourself queen now that there's no one to contest your rule, and begin rebuilding the ruins of the once-great elven nation.

 

[Amal Shukup]

In my campaign world leaders rise to the top through all of the usual methods - force, intrigue, clever choice of parents...

But of course, with Magic being 'real' and the palpable presence of Divine power, I couldn't resist throwing in a touch of the 'Divine Right'.

I've only codified its application for one Nation so far. I imagine it works differently for other nations and/or systems of government - A Nation of Orcs might have a rather different Divine Right fueled by the will of the Orc Pantheon (hmnnnn...)

A properly constituted member of the of the Principality of Thuryn's aristocracy, who ascends to their position through duly lawful means, makes proper observances*, and who correctly and faithfully administers the law of the land is directly aided and protected by their patron's divine power.

This power is limited: Subjects are protected from the abuse of power by numerous laws and traditions, and these are actively enforced by the same powers that fuel the 'Divine Right'. A ranking aristocrat who abuses their power could easily find their powers removed, and their subjects in arms.

Powers are applied as a Template upon ascension to the title in question.

____________________________________________
Sovereign/Grand Duke - Currently one and the same person
DR 20/-, SR 20, +4 on Saves, Death Ward, Discern Lies (Will), Divine Favor (+4, 4/day), True Seeing (Will)

Duke - Rules a Duchy. There are currently 6 of 'em
DR 10/-, SR 10, +3 on Saves, Discern Lies (Will), Divine Favor (+3, 3/day), True Seeing (1/day)

Count - Rules a County. Typically 3 to 10 Counties per Duchy
DR5/-, SR 5, +2 on Saves, Discern Lies (3/day), Divine Favor (+2, 2/day)

Baron - Rules a Barony. Typically 4 to 12 Baronies per County
DR 2/-, +1 on Saves, Divine Favor (+1, 1/day)
____________________________________________

* These powers are provided through the collective agency of various Lawful (Good and Neutral) Deities within the associated Pantheon. It's actually possible to 'spoof' this to a certain degree through the agency of the Lawful Evil Deity of Tyrants, but that's a whole 'nother can o worms)

There are additional 'Peer-like' titles (Viscount, Baronet) awarded as offices not associated with ruling land - therefore not directly responsible for the lives of subjects on those lands, and thus get no special powers.

​

A'Mal

 

[Cerubus Dark]

how are leaders chosen in your world?

i was just reading about how kings heads were anointed in eirope, and later their hands and sholders were anointed, giving them a "kingly touch" that allowed them to heal disease with their hands.

this sounds very paladinish to me. with the proven strength of very visible gods all leaders come from the church in my homebrew.

i am wondering, how are leaders chosen in your world? divine right? birth? deeds? proof through combat? spin the bottle with kobolds?

Out of the 12 kings in my Homebrew here is the break down

1 Chosen by the God of his land
8 By right of Birth
2 By might of arms
1 By dark magics and unholy deeds

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Empire of Kanat: Eldest surviving heir on the death of the Emperor (assassination city).

Various Good Kingdoms: hereditary

Iron Elves: Feudalism/Republic (king elected by powerful landowners)

Sylvan Elves: heir chosen by king.

Deep Elves (NOT Drow): Hereditary magocracy

+ many, many more.