While this closely relates to the idea of powerful factions
this is not quite the same because of the realm of responsibility, the
authority and official identity of governments, and their ability to enforce
with no regard for the law because they are the law. Nations are entities that
are to be feared and respected if they are powerful, a screen and joke if it is
weak and manipulated by other groups; in any case Nations are useful for just
about anything under the sun, be it plot, character development, setting
definition, current events, etc.
Characters can work with the government, against it, not be involved
with it at all for instance, or armies could be funded by or under orders
directly from politicians and so those battles being played out on the tabletop
could be influenced by the politics going on in the world or between you and
your buddies in a campaign system that allows for negotiation and the lot. Discussion on campaign systems is a long way
in the future so don't hold your breath on that article. [a quick sidebar: I love how as I write this
stuff more and more things open up as topics.
Sometimes its hard to come up with ideas on what to write about, and
then while thinking I fire out several concepts that are ripe for the taking
and practically write themselves. End
sidebar]
So how would you end up creating your nation or
nations? First you want to decide its
purpose in the setting, just like everything else I've written about. If in doubt move to the purpose of the whole
thing. How do you want this masterpiece
you are crafting to be changed by the presence of this nation or nations and
also how should everything else that you are using the planet for be affected
(characters, battles, stories, etc.).
With this in mind you have to decide, similarly to creating a faction,
on the power level and scale of influence this nation has. In general these are far more powerful than
any faction, though factions often have hands in the workings of the government
of a nation so keep that in mind as well.
Should this nation be one of puppets with a small group being the true
masters of the planet, or is this an actual bureaucracy like so many planets of
the Imperium claim to be aside from the Planetary Governorship's overruling
authority. Will this be a planet
governed by many strict laws that cover every possible problem and occurrence
or is this a planet that is relaxed.
This is influenced of course by the type of world it is, sometimes a
government is lax because the planet is well behaved on its own, other times it
is a pirate world and any attempt at putting some order on the place would
result in a revolt and all the people in government would be killed (which of
course none of them want. They just pray
that the Administratum does not find out about their problems or else they will
die long and horrible deaths for their inability to solve the problem). What is the prime directive of the
government, does it stand for civil rights, is the economy its main interest,
or does the safety of the planet and its assets override all other
concerns? These things will determine
how the nation will act in accordance with a plethora of situations that you
may not have thought of when initially designing the nation.
An additional part of a Nation is how it is perceived to
be. This image should be defined from as
many viewpoints as possible, from the lowliest citizen to the high ranking
nobles and maybe even the Planetary Governor himself. Is it considered to be fascist or
authoritarian, is it just, is it loved or hated? Do people believe that it is powerful? This is an entirely different question on is
it powerful, image is a very important thing, ask any politician or successful
businessperson. If the nation is
perceived to be strong then that avoids the problem of wars with other nations
or rebels even if the case is not true.
This is the value of Propaganda in government as so many of us see daily
from a variety of politicians in our different governments.
One of the final ingredients in cooking up this nation is
deciding on a theme for it and what sort of government is it. What policies does it believe in, does it
compromise or is it unyielding? What
tactic has it employed the most, brute military force, tactical strike teams,
closed door negotiations, bold and open declarations, what is the favored
method of dealing with situations that arise?
Our favored Jungle planet (that I capitalize sometimes and
don't capitalize others) has one nation because it is a typical nation of the
imperium. It is run by the military and
so binding laws are commonplace and exist for every possible happenstance. It does not negotiate with xenos, traitors,
or heretics and uses military force like a sledgehammer. Though there are groups within the government
that favor specialist teams, they are few in number and have little influence
and so rarely are elite forces sent out, only large waves of overwhelming
strength. The concern of the government
is keeping order and safety for the entire planet and the system preferably, a
responsibility it keeps in mind at all times.
This is a strong government that is not manipulated by others, the
generals may have personal agendas but they are not manipulated by outsiders
because of their contempt for any non-military personnel and their jealousy and
hatred for rival officers. A little
political civil-war, but nothing that will get out of hand. At least, not unless it is influenced by
outsiders...
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