Re: (TFT) Worldbuilding question

[Rick Smith <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>]

Hi Erol,
	My comments interleaved.

On Mon, 2004-05-24 at 20:53, ErolB1@aol.com wrote:
> This isn't a TFT question per se, but rather a worldbuilding question about 
> the world in which I set my TFT game. 
> 
> I have a bunch of minor kingdoms, modeled loosely on Italian city-states or 
> German principalities. Most of them have populations in the 20,000-30,000 
> range: One town of 2000-3000 and the rest in farming villages with populations of a 
> few hundred each. 
> 
> My question is: How much government would these kingdoms have? How many 
> ministers, how many minions, how many royal servants, etc.?
> 
> What I've got so far is: 
> 
> - Ruler and immediate family (spouse, children, maybe an unmarried younger 
> sibling or widowed parent)

	Typically there would be squires, ladies in
waiting and other people of noble class who are living
there for a time to bind families together and learn
courtly graces.  Families would try to get their 
teenagers to live with other noble families (especially
ones with higher status) to finish them and to give 
them chances for courtship with approved families.

> 
> - A handful of henchmen/ministers/privy counselors

	I would divide these up by job.  You may have
a minister of magic, foreign affairs, agriculture, etc.
Depends on size of the city state and how organized it
is.  There would also be tutors and other experts that
would have some influence on the royal house.
	Officers of Justice or even proper Judges are
also a possibility.
	There may be seneschal, an often noble born 
officer who acts as manager of the lords estates, chief
accountant and the right hand man of the lord.
> 
> - A "Lord Mayor" who may be either the king's viceroy wrt the town, or the 
> town's representative in the king's court. 

	Often a Castillian would be in charge of a 
local fort and would have a number of assistants that
ran the towns under his command.

> 
> - A "town watch" of 4-6 men

	This seems low.  I would expect a guard for every
100 to 200 people in the town.

> 
> - A "Royal Guard" also of 4-6 men - these will be elite fighters who serve as 
> the ruler's bodyguards. (Sort of a miniaturized version of the King's 
> Musketeers.) 

	Again this seems low for a city state with 20,000
or more people.
> 
> - A handful of rural nobles who spend most or all of their time away from 
> town rusticating. 
> 
> - Ambassadors on an ad-hoc basis - if the king needs to negotiate with a 
> neighbor, he'll send an ambassador & party (adventure fodder!), but it won't be a 
> regular, full-time position. 
> 
> - One to two dozen servants for the royal palace/family itself, plus extra 
> servants for the various lords & ministers. 

	LOTS more servants:  Stewards, Chamberlain, Equerry, 
Priests, Falconer, Kennelsman, Master Huntsman, Executioner,
Doctors, surgeons, Gardeners, Cooks, Baker, Grooms, Dairymen,
Poultrymen, Carpenters, tinkers, potters, stonemasons, 
Weavers, Forester game warden, etc, etc.  Most of these would
have assistants, (often young people).
	Lords liked to have many servitors partly because of
the status of supporting many people and partly because this
increased the independence and profitability of their estates.

> 
> - Several dozen very minor nobles/landed knights. Half sworn directly to the 
> king, and the other half to the rural nobles. They'll spend most of their time 
> administering to their manors & estates, but can be called up in case of war
> 
> - Additional Minions. This is my question: What kind & how many?

	Wizards!  Alchemists, chemists etc.  
Sheriffs, Chief porter, Smiths, Engineers, the
baliff, provosts, Astrologers and Diviners. 
Surveyors, artists, architects, harbour masters,
any number of shipping jobs require official 
oversight.

> 
> Erol K. Bayburt
> Evil Genius for a Better Tomorrow
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