prokopetz:

Unconventional forms of government for fantasy RPG settings:

• Anarcho-Theocracy – Each citizen is the high priest of their own personal god. Policy decisions are made through the formation of ac hoc pantheons and implemented via crowdsourced omens and miracles.

• Electoral Ordination – Citizens vote for an enchanted woodland creature who then designates a human Chosen One to rule by divine right. The incumbent Golden Stag has taken the last three elections, though the Celestial Bear’s campaign is really picking up steam.

• Torgism – Affairs of state are decided by interpreting the will of Torg, who lives in a cave and issues ten thousand edicts each day. As the meaning of most such edicts is obscure, creativity is often called for.

• Promethean Succession – The kingdom’s greatest craftsmen compete to construct the next monarch. Every Spring, aspiring demiurges submit their creations to a tournament of physical and rhetorical prowess, with the winning creation securing the right to rule for the next year.

• Anti-Rule – Powerful auguries are employed to locate the most foolish and unlucky person in the realm and install them as figurehead monarch. Public policy is set as the exact opposite of whatever they command.