Hey /tg/ let's worldbuild!

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But I digress: the kingdom of thieves is ruled by a single King, who is the original leader who took the land from the neighboring kingdoms. I very much like the idea presented by Terry Pratchett in Feet of Clay, concerning Nobby Nobbs - that he would be an excellent leader if he simply sidled into enemy territory and pinched castles. Thus the now-decrepit King is a near-legendary thief who somehow managed to steal himself a modest region complete with his own keep and outlying towns. The primary keep is this thief-lord's personal mansion and base of operations. However, rather than being surrounded by an outlying town, the keep is surrounded by a densely populated camp made permanent, with more permanent tents than actual buildings. The thief-king is served by his "Hands", an order of tax-collectors and judges whose service is bought, although given the state of the thief-king's health there should be questions of who will succeed him as their Lord.

Where I'm running into problems is the logistics regarding this small nation. I have no trouble developing the style or character of the people who might live there, but I need some help developing the government. Why might the cities in this nation owe fealty to the central King? How do I go about instilling some form of order, such that the entire place doesn't become some massive squalor? I've been able to develop the other locations around the region without too much difficulty, but I'm just running into dead ends with this one.

Normally I'd bounce ideas around with my brother, but he's unavailable so I thought I'd see if /tg/ would be willing to be my dart-board for ideas tonight. Feel free to share your own stuff and I'll see if I can't lend a hand, or at least comment. I won't say I'm super qualified, but whatever.

>>50720242
Well, you could have the cities act as a loose confederation rather than a unified nation state. That would mean that they would work well in times of peace (plenty of trading opportunities as well as theft), but they would chafe in times of war, with no cooperation between the various thief-mayors and thief-counts.

So, you could have an invading army from a covetous kingdom nearby seeking to restore order to what they view as "anarchy" (even though the system works perfectly well for the cities involved). The players would be people who have livelyhoods connected to the well-being of the thief-kingdom, with maybe some taking interests in aspects of the succesion.

>>50720242
Also, there's a worldbuilding general here: >>50705939

>>50720316
I believe your onto something regarding the organization, a confederacy would make more sense, with perhaps the other locations throughout the nation owing fealty to the centralized king by virtue of having been "bought". The king himself might have pulled a Long John Silver and hidden away all his vast wealth, with payment being dolled out to the surrounding cities by him alone. There would be worry that upon his death, the entire nation will devolve into civil war once the cash stops flowing. The king, for his part, acts with smug naivety regarding the entire situation - he has already taken anything this world has to offer him, and the kingdom has become something to amuse himself with and nothing more. While his chief officers conspire out of fear or loathing, he sits on his throne with neither regrets nor worry.

The kingdom itself, though, is meant more as a set-piece than the origin. Players/characters will become involved due to circumstances driving them there rather than them being threatened by the king's death. That he should die occurs as a part of the whole rather than the initiation, since I really want the opportunity to utilize the king himself.

>>50720351
I don't have much experience with these situations. Should I move my question over to the general, then?

>>50720463
Well, what are the overarching goals of the players?

Also, if you check the general, there;s a discord in there with many people to bounce ideas off of.

>>50720638
The protagonists' journey is driven with the original intent of defending their home - for one reason or another those who begin together have reason to defend the place they have settled. When that home becomes threatened, first by marauders, these individuals arise first as the few who are capable enough to drive off the intruders.

My personal goal is to foster two feelings in the protagonists: the first would be "right place, right time" while the second would be "who else but us?" Their very first encounter with violent marauders becomes the spark which lights a wildfire - from the ruins left in the raiders' wake, they would discover evidence directing them towards wherever the raiders were traveling. The protagonists cannot leave their journey; to do so would allow worse yet to threaten their home and family. They should feel driven to ensure that any danger is eradicated, and whatever trail they uncover is worth following for that reason from their perspective.

Hopefully that's what your looking for, but do ask more if you'd like. I try out that discord right away.