Systems of Government

There are numerous examples of systems of government in historical literature. These range from ancient Greek democracies, dictatorships, theocracies, kingdoms, empires, confederacies, caste systems of India, and a host of others. Gamemasters are encouraged to consider these different forms of government when defining the culture on their world. An unusual government form may add spice to the setting.

Many fantasy setting are set in a variation of the medieval European feudal system. This hierarchical system is extremely complex and evolved over time. Early settings had few levels of ranks. As the governments grew larger in scale, were in place longer, and the people in power intermarried more, the number of levels and titles grew. The same titles in neighboring kingdoms were not necessarily equivalent in rank. A simplified version of the ranks of nobility is provided below for reference.

Emperor/Empress: Imperial Title, The ruler of an empire encompassing one or more kingdoms.

King/Queen: In modern terms, a king or queen-regnant is the hereditary head of a nation. In history a king could rule as little as one city in a city-state government to a broad kingdom incorporating numerous conquered nations.

Duke/Duchess: A ruler of a section of a country known as a duchy. These areas are ruled by the duke or duchess and they have the right of collecting taxes and making laws within these areas. They are still under the rule of the King, but are semi-autonomous in their duchy. In fact the armies commanded by a powerful duke may be larger than those of the king, and may serve to give the king pause in interfering within the borders of the duchy. Other titled nobility with similar powers include: Prince and Fürst, Grand Duke, Margrave, Count-Palatine, and Landgrave.

Prince/Princess: Children of King or Queen, when not referring to the children of a king, "prince" refers to a sovereign or semi-sovereign individual who has direct personal rule over a relatively small territory, as with Monaco and Liechtenstein today.

Marquis/Marquise: This title translates to a “march lord", i.e. a noble in charge of the border regions or marches of a realm. This is distinct from other lords (Dukes) in more settled lands. These were essentially warlords with broad powers. It is considered as a grade between count and duke.

Count (Earl)/Countess: A Count or Earl is the principal figure of a county. Several Counts may be overseen by a single Duke, or they may report directly to the King

Viscount/Viscountess: A title the king bestowed on someone who was not important enough to merit being made a count. In effect a vice-count

Baron/Baroness: Barons are those who held their lands directly from the king. In olden times, when there was little differentiation in degree or rank between neighboring nobles, "baron" could signify any noble, large or small.

Baronet: This may be thought of as a hereditary knighthood and a very minor noble .A hereditary knighthood was viewed differently from a knighthood earned.

Knight: Armored mounted warrior in service of a King, Duke, or other noble that has earned his title through combat. This minor noble title was not hereditary, but could be earned by an untitled younger son of a noble, or in rare cases a commoner. Some Knighthoods have in European history have followed a strict code of conduct known as chivalry, but not all followed this code.

When considering nobility and state government remember that in feudal Europe, the Catholic church officials often had as much power or more that the titled nobility. Other groups were also ranked in a series of hierarchies. These include Military titles, guild rankings, and even tiers of society based upon wealth. Think about these when designing the world setting for a campaign. It is an interesting commentary that in most fantasy settings the government is portrayed as similar to the feudal system of medieval Europe. The religious structure however is typically not a monotheistic Catholicism of the feudal society, but a variant of the polytheistic system of ancient Greece or Rome. The Knarf2 system does not provide Priestly orders with any more powers or abilities than any other character. But priests could become powerful magic users, warriors, or wield great political power in the game setting as determined by the gamemaster.