"Player-Run Government"
by Bryan Palumbo

Greetings fellow players.

I will be writing a series of articles on the best way to have a successful player run event/government. I will be using the Council of Leth Deriel, in which my character is involved with for many examples.

This first installment will be about the method that should be used when choosing where and how to run the event/ government that you wish to start.

First issue at hand is having a reason why your character and his/her friends would want to do what they are about to do. You must set some goals (some stated, some implied) and make all your decisions based on the accomplishment of those goals. You must also be ready to change your goals as needed to keep the event fluid and IC.

For our council in Leth Deriel, the reasons and goals were easily identified. We felt that the present Mayoress didn't really care much about the city or its people; we felt that she was a puppet of the Zoluren government and would burn down the city if they asked. Our initial goals were first to become public, to work with the player groups in the city, then to seek recognition for the council from the already established governmental bodies.

Next you have to make sure that the event and the goals set for the event do not infringe on any other player's rights. You can not force other player characters (PCs) not involved in the event to do anything they don't want to do. You can't infringe on their freedom of movement or choice.

This also plays a part in your decision on where the event will take place. You can't choose a guild, because you will have to state that you have a direct impact on other PCs and how the guild develops. You can't choose a large city like The Crossings, Shard, Riverhaven, Ratha or Theren for similar reasons, though I feel that having some sort of underground movement in a large city could play out well.

Another reason you can't choose large cities is because you need a large support base. In Leth Deriel there were approximately ten PCs living there on a regular basis. Eight of us formed the council initially, so we didn't have that problem. Someone who lived in Crossings could say we were nuts, but what did we care, the only time they visited Leth Deriel was on their way through to Shard, and as long as we didn't infringe on their freedom of movement, they didn't really have a beef with us. If you tried to become the government of Crossings, on the other hand, and most people think you are nuts, then you're opening up a can of worms.

You have to remember, also, that as players we can not truly run a government in the Dragonrealms yet. So to stay within the confines and the limits of the game you must roleplay that you are not the official government to a town or city. We, as per a kind GM's suggestion, decided to remedy this by making the seeking of recognition as one of our goals. That way we are not ignoring the confines of the gaming system as it is set up today, and we don't have to claim that we have a direct effect on the laws and events that take place around the city we had chosen (which in my opinion would be bad roleplaying).

Finally, make sure you leave a lot of open space for people who wish to join you. Do not ever turn anyone away, and give everyone a opportunity to get involved. By doing this, you not only increase the fun for yourselves and the people who play Dragonrealms, but you have a greater chance of making a impact within the game. Our council may have started with only eight people, but it has now grown to over thirty people directly involved, with more joining every week.