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All officials within a government make decisions that shape the lives of many people. The higher up in position, the more people will be affected by these decisions. While many of them are not held accountable by the public, a fair number of people are. Those elected to their posts must work to keep those who voted for them happy and this is most evident in a fantasy city government.
The city government in fantasy is the one most people engage with. They meet with the officials constantly throughout the year to deal with a wide variety of issues from fishing to collecting taxes. Most of the exchanges aren’t necessarily pleasant for the public but it’s the price people have to pay to live in a city.
Inspired by its real-world counterpart, the fantasy city government is split into two major components: the mayor and the city council. Each plays an important role in spearheading growth and increasing the city’s attractiveness to people and businesses.
In worldbuilding, the city government plays a significant role. Tasked with overseeing a large population of people, it provides services and amenities to residents with the goal to keep them happy and healthy. Officials also work to draw more people and businesses to the city, hoping to increase the number of taxpayers, which in turn generates more revenue for the city.
The fantasy city government plays an interesting role in the story. It’s prominent in those where the entirety takes place within a city whereas it’s only sparse in those that feature multiple places. In some tales, you see many office-holders; in others, you see only the most important leaders.
This is number four in the series examining fantasy governments. If you’d like to check out any of our other articles, they’re found on our blog page.
Whenever one thinks of the person who leads a city, the mayor is the first to come to mind. The same applies to that of a fantasy city government.
A fantasy mayor can rise to power in several ways. Firstly, he can be elected by all the voters who reside within the city’s boundaries. This is the most common option. The second and more interesting method is by being appointed. Either the governor of a state/province or the king of a country can tap him to run the city.
A mayor being appointed by someone who doesn’t live in the city can ruffle some feathers for some folks. For starters, they might see him as an outsider and be fiercely resistant to his ideas for the city. Additionally, they could very believe he’s there on behalf of the king to bring the city more in line with his policies, especially if they’ve been vocal in expressing their opposition to what the king envisions for his country.
Regardless of how he became mayor, he has several important responsibilities. First and foremost, he must keep the city quiet. This means quelling an uprising or finding a solution to an issue threatening to tear the city apart. While public safety and health is number one, the mayor must also keep local leaders happy. This includes business/corporate and religious, among others. Maintaining a tax rate acceptable to them is key to keeping them operating in the city.
One of the mayor’s goals is to grow the city’s economy. He does so by creating the necessary conditions to bring more businesses and to enable local ones to expand their operations. The more money the city can generate, the more money flows in the treasury and in his pockets.
While the mayor is the public face of the city, he isn’t alone in setting policy. That responsibility also goes to the council, which is the second component in a fantasy city government. In some cases, there is none at all which means the mayor has far more responsibilities on his shoulders.
Like the mayor, the council can be elected or appointed. No matter how members of the council got their position, its role is to advocate for the residents of the city. At times, they’ll go along with the mayor’s policy proposals; other times they’ll oppose them. There are times where the council will propose their own policies. Think of the council as the legislative branch of a city government.
Many council members are renowned individuals, such as wealthy businessmen or powerful leaders of the local clergy. They bring the expertise they’ve accumulated throughout their careers to work for the public to make the city a more attractive place to live. While some do so out of patriotism and a desire to give back, others view being council members as an opportunity to enrich themselves and their clients.
Throughout their tenure, council members are bombarded from all directions. Residents, businesses, religious communities, and many others come to them with all sorts of ideas on what changes to make. Some, especially those who wield great clout and have plenty of money, are all too willing to make a generous donation to the members who support their efforts. The members of the council bring many of the proposals they’ve heard to the council and they debate before they vote.
One constant battle the city council has is about taxes. Members hear from all kinds of people that taxes are either too high or too low and they squabble over which numbers to use as the tax rate. This battle is particularly important as it can decide whether a city flourishes or declines. Politicians want to increase the flow of money to the city but not to the point where people and businesses relocate to more friendly environments.
Cities play a significant role in worldbuilding. They’re important economic drivers, found in strategic locations, have access to valuable resources like iron and many others. And guess what? Their governments are essential to worldbuilding as well.
Cities are constantly in competition with each other, vying to draw in as many people and businesses as possible. They want new talent and innovations so they can grow and become more powerful in the country. It’s the job of fantasy city governments to make them the most attractive place to live.
Each city offers their own amenities and services to their residents. Some like garbage collection are an universal service whereas others like patrolling the waterways appear in certain areas. Parks and bars are popular amenities and are among a city’s top draws.
Resources like gold and fish cause conflict between cities since they see tremendous economic benefits to owning them. Usually the first one to claim them wins but occasionally, the second or third can prevail over the first one, leading to some bad blood for a bit. Cities contract companies to harvest the resources in exchange for a generous share of the massive profits they generate.
While they may compete against one another, there are times when they form alliances when doing so proves to be mutually beneficial. If they perceive a threat to them, they’ll join forces by refusing to do business with them, cutting off their trade/supply routes. Economic embargoes are among the most powerful weapons a fantasy city government wields as they can cripple a rival threatening to usurp their city’s position.
In times of war, all cities become important in terms of strategic value. All major urban centers have a barracks or other military buildings to keep their people safe from attack. Soldiers garrisoned in each city are tasked with keeping an eye out for enemy activity and sending messages to military headquarters. Nations that attack seek to conquer cities in order to weaken their foe’s power in the hopes of bringing them to heel whereas defending nations work to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
You might be thinking how does a city government fit in the story? Again, it depends on what kind you want to tell. Setting is especially important as it can determine whether an urban government ought to appear in your tale.
The best way to incorporate a fantasy government in the story is to have it take place in an urban setting. Perhaps the tale only takes place in just one city. From the beginning all the way to the end, the audience learns more about the city and how its government functions, whether it’s good for the people who live there or not.
You have a multitude of different scenarios to go with. The city could be falling onto hard times and its leaders are at a loss of what to do to turn things around. Or the mayor and other high-ranking officials are ruling the city like a fiefdom, working to eliminate their opponents so they can cement their hold on power.
However, many stories don’t just take place in one city. It’s spread out across multiple cities and countries so what do you do then? The simplest answer would be to have them play a role in which an event of some kind occurs that moves the main story forward. Perhaps a main character vanishes without a trace and the protagonist is searching for her. Meeting with city officials alongside the way illuminates his path, bringing him ever closer to finding and saving her.
In that case, only bring in officials relevant to your story. That includes the mayor, who can be either friendly or a hindrance to the protagonist and other government leaders. You want to always keep your story moving forward.
The lives of a city’s residents is a reflection of how its government is faring. Happy, content people mean their leaders are doing something right. Depressed, downtrodden folk signify that something’s out of balance and only city leaders have the power to do something about it.
At the helm is the mayor. The public face of the city, the mayor gets credit where credit is due when good things happen. On the other hand, he gets the blame for a drastic change in the city’s fortunes.
Standing alongside the mayor is the council. It, like the mayor, are the two pillars of a fantasy city government. The council is the city’s legislative organ, the place where members debate and vote on a wide variety of proposals.
Worldbuilding is where a city government truly shines. It offers amenities and services to residents in return for a fee. Officials can negotiate deals with other cities or companies to bring lucrative opportunities home. Heck, they can even enact embargoes on other cities if they perceive them as a threat to their livelihood!
Placing a city government in your story largely depends on how you intend to tell it. It really only works if the majority, if not all, occur within one place. For those that sprawl across many cities, bringing only those important to the tale will suffice.
Whether you know it or not, a fantasy city government appears in every world. This is one you need to think about when building your own. You can draw from the real-world as inspiration or you can simply look at some in fantasy when constructing yours.
Now is the time for you to craft a fantasy city government that truly leaves a lasting impression in people’s minds!
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Sunfire
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