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While a fantasy government’s chief responsibility is to safeguard its people from harm, it has many others as well. A lack of significant media outlets where citizens can receive the latest news means it’s up to their leaders to keep them updated, especially on troubling situations in distant lands. This responsibility is among those of fantasy tribal governments.
Fantasy tribal governments, while not enormously popular like the monarchies, have their own following. Unlike the monarchy and many other government forms, the tribal has no central operational entity. Rather, a group or conclave of people lead the tribe and it is this group that makes all the decisions for everyone.
Many tribes are nomadic by nature, which means they need to be able to make decisions at a moment’s notice. Most of the time, these decisions are about how long to stay in one place and where to go next and how to get there. Typically, tribes select those they consider wise or strong to lead them. In turn, the wise choose someone from their ranks to be the head of the tribe.
In fantasy tribal governments, power and authority is invested in the group of wise people but a greater amount of both is held by the head of the tribe. He alone can make unilateral decisions without taking the conclave’s words in consideration though many times he’s willing to listen to what they have to say.
Unlike many other forms of governments, the tribal has only one variant though exactly how it’s structured differs from tribe to tribe. This makes for interesting observation, especially considering that one tribe may only follow the head without question and another might listen to and obey the head and the conclave.
This is the second article in the series focusing on fantasy governments. If you want more articles, they’re available on our blog page.
You would be hard-pressed to find a fantasy world that doesn’t have any functioning tribal governments. Popular worlds like Skyrim have them and they’re exclusively used for nomadic groups of people or communities too small to be considered a village or town.
A large number of the groups of nomads are barbarian in nature which means they only follow those who they consider strong. They follow their leaders into battle to raid villages and steal animals and food from other people or clash with rivals. Furthermore, they have no qualms about razing houses and other structures to the ground.
While some fantasy tribal governments are warlike in nature, others are more pacifist, preferring to be left alone. Their people like to wander from area to area, following the animals they hunt. They speak with outsiders only when they absolutely need to. Though they may not want to fight, they’re more than capable of holding their own in battle since they carry weapons to protect themselves.
One thing all fantasy tribal governments have in common is how the hierarchy of power is structured. Tribes are led by a group of people, who they consider the wisest of them all and the group selects someone to lead them and by extension, the whole tribe. The way the hierarchy is built makes it difficult for the head of the tribe to remain in power for a long time.
The conclave holds both legislative and judicial powers, since it determines what laws the whole tribe must abide by. Equally important, it punishes lawbreakers.
All executive powers are held by the head of the tribe. He is responsible for keeping everyone safe and to maintain the peace among warring factions. Yet if the tribe suffers for an extended amount of time, he takes the blame and becomes vulnerable to being cast out of power.
From the first day he takes power, the leader of the tribe must keep not just the conclave in line, but everyone else as well. There will always be someone who desires to overthrow him and he will wait for the opportune time to strike. He cannot afford looking weak at all.
How does someone flesh out fantasy tribal governments when it comes to worldbuilding? Just like with all other governments in the genre, this one is for you to construct the building blocks of your world. This is one process you want to take your time on.
Regarding tribal governments, think about how you want to apply it in your world. Don’t just think about people, think about the part of the world as well. In many fantasy worlds, deserts are where tribal governments thrive and flourish due to people living in harsh, arid conditions. They follow only people with great power.
Societies of all stripes have different cultures. Tribal ones tend to be more unorganized since there’s no formal shape like those of a city or kingdom. In tribal societies, everyone has a role to play, from the wise shaman to the animal herder. The same applies to the people leading them.
Besides humans, the culture of other races counts as well. Some races have more tribal governments than others, since they’re either followers in the way of warriors or they’re isolationist, wanting to be left alone. The way they perceive the world affects how their government operates, especially in close proximity to another community not too far from them.
Many tribal governments speak their own language, which makes it difficult for them to communicate with outsiders. They rely on translators they know or conscripted against their will to converse with the outside world.
They have their own monetary system. While their currency isn’t as formal as that of a kingdom, they use coins and gold alongside with the barter system. Tribes are willing to trade furs and animal hides they stumble upon their travels in exchange for swords, weapons, and occasionally food.
Many stories feature a tribe in some capacity. The tribe itself can be simply passing through the land when it crosses paths with the protagonist or vice-versa. How then does the tribal government become part of the story?
Remember many tribes are merely traveling around the world, journeying through one country at a time. While many countries are aware of them, they don’t do anything to stop them, for they don’t consider them a problem or they have other, more pressing issues to deal with.
When they enter the story, they can be one of two things: friendly or hostile. Friendly ones help the hero somehow. They can either point him in the right direction to go or they can accompany him for part of his journey. This proves valuable if the protagonist is venturing through very dangerous territory where the tribe is all too familiar with.
Some tribal leaders need some convincing to help the hero on his quest. After all, many are isolationist, wanting nothing to do with the world and while they’re aware of the encroaching darkness, they believe they can simply weather the coming storm like they have throughout the years. The protagonist has no choice but to speak with the leaders in an attempt to persuade them to force them to accept reality and to help him stop the servants of evil from triumphing.
While it might be fun to have friendly tribal governments, hostile or antagonistic ones present more obstacles for the protagonist to overcome. Swayed by the sweet nothings uttered in their ears by the minions of darkness, they actively interfere in the hero’s quest in a number of ways. They can capture him when he’s within their territory or they dispatch their best riders to eliminate him.
One way or another, the hero winds up meeting their leaders and he must make a choice. Will he flee or fight? Whichever choice he makes will reverberate throughout the remainder of the story, both good and bad.
Fantasy tribal governments are a fantastic element of the genre. How often does the hero get to see a group of nomadic warriors traveling through the desert, led by the mightiest warrior he’s ever seen? Will the top warrior and the wise men of the tribe view the hero as a friend or foe?
Though there may be all kinds of tribes, they all have similar leadership. They select those they consider the wisest out of all of them to lead them, with the wise choosing one of them to lead the entire tribe.
With worldbuilding, give the tribes their own identity. This includes their governments as well. You want your audience to feel like they really belong in your world, not something you cooked up at a whim.
As for the story, how the protagonist interacts with the tribe and the people in charge can make for interesting drama. Do they share the same outlook regarding the villain and his acolytes? Are they adversaries where they’re trying to stop each other from achieving their ultimate objective?
Tribes are a mainstay in fantasy. Ditto for their governments. Should you bring them in your world? Only bring them in if it makes sense in how your world is structured. The last thing you want is for your audience to feel like they were shoehorned in.
Let your imagination run unfettered and just maybe you could make one or more fantasy tribal governments that are a fantastic addition to your world!
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Sunfire
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