Rulers and Realms

So I've been working on this and the following post a little bit recently, this is it such as I have it so far, a series of tables for generating politics, roughly speaking. I think this is part one of three or so.

In this post I'm putting the tables (that I may add to or edit as we go) that you can use to generate the Rulers of realms, and the history of said Realms. The following post will be a method for making the maps of the realms using dice (or potentially maps of many things to be honest), and the final one as an example of how to tie it all together using said methods.

Anyway, here we go.

THE RULER

These tables are for generating the main attributes of a Ruler, what they use to enforce their rule, and how they rule. The rest you can extrapolate somewhat from there I think.

The Realm's Ruler

A d8 roll determines the primary attribute of the current ruler, that which they exercise most to maintain their power. If you wish, you can roll on the relevant secondary tables to determine further details about the Ruler's methods.

1 - Martial Might

2 - Sorcery

3 - Riches

4 - Secrets

5 - Diplomacy

6 - Despite

7 - Intrigue

8 - Divine Right

Martial Might (d4)

1 - They are a Terrifying Combatant

2 - They control an Elite Force of warriors

3 - They fight alongside Sorcery

4 - They fight using the best that Money can buy

Sorcery (d4)

1 - They have a terrifying Mastery of Magic

2 - They are apparently Immortal

3 - They have been Magically Enhanced beyond human limits.

4 - They control a force of Magical Guardians

Riches (d4)

1 - They can afford to pay Heavy Tribute for their survival

2 - They can afford a Mighty Mercenary Force

3 - They have made nearby realms Economically Dependent on them

4 - They produce a Unique Commodity

Secrets (d10)

1 - They hold the secret to controlling a Mysterious Guardian Force

2 - They have made it Magically Impossible for them to not rule

3 - They are a Doppelganger ruling for a Shadowy Power, and the real ruler is missing

4 - They have control over a Ruthless Guild of Assassins

5 - They have bound an Inhuman Deity to their command

6 - They know how to produce a Mysterious Substance found nowhere else

7 - Their rule was the result of an Ancient Prophecy

8 - Roll again, the ruler gained this ability from a Mysterious Source

9 - Everyone believes there's some secret to it, but there Really Isn't

10 - The ruler was once An Adventurer, now made ruler by their own hand

Diplomacy (d4)

1 - They have carefully cultivated a Web of Alliances

2 - They have nurtured a Longstanding Friendship with another People

3 - They utilise the terms of an old Peace Treaty

4 - They have made it in the Best Interests of a Foreign Power to keep them around

Despite (d8)

1 - They rule despite their utter lack of Might with Arms

2 - They rule despite their utter lack of Diplomatic Tact

3 - They rule despite their utter lack of Administrative Skill

4 - They rule despite their utter lack of Subtlety and Guile

5 - They rule despite their utter lack of Any Sort of Education

6 - They rule despite being the victim of a Horrifying Curse

7 - They rule despite their utter lack of Piety and Respect for the Gods

8 - They rule despite their utter lack of any of the Skills a Ruler Requires

Intrigue (d4)

1 - They have Plotted and Schemed to put themselves on the Throne

2 - All their opponents have "mysteriously" disappeared or died

3 - Their Bloodlines have been carefully Manipulated to produce them

4 - There are Secret Pacts with Mysterious Powers for the Throne

Divine Right (d4) (how true it really is though, is up to you)

1 - Their God/s literally chose them

2 - Their Ancestors literally chose them

3 - They were victorious in their Crusade, and so earned the Throne

4 - They recently converted to the Dominant Faith

The Ruler's Method

Roll a d6 to determine how strict or liberal the ruler's reign is. Perhaps consider rolling with advantage or disadvantage based on the ruler's methods, or alignment.

1 - Tyranny

2 - Authoritarian

3 - Strict

4 - Laissez Faire

5 - Fair

6 - Benevolent

THE REALM

These are further tables to determine the situation and history of the realm if you wish. Mostly I think these are as optional as you want them to be, perhaps with the exception of the Realm's situation. Certainly at this point the further through you go, the more optional it is I think.

The Realm's Situation

The minimum I would suggest that is needed for the realm, as the situation can inform a lot about each ruler's inclinations towards neighboring realms.

As simple as a d6 roll:

1 or 2: On the Rise

3 or 4: Comfortably Stable

5 or 6: In a Steady Decline

The Realm's Status Quo

A d20 roll determines how long the current Realm has stood for (or not in some cases). This does not necessarily mean that the current ruler has been reigning for the whole time, however. I would suggest it is a marker of how long the current Dynasty has been in power. If the realm is on the rise, roll with disadvantage, and if the realm is in decline, roll with advantage.

1 - Recently (d6 years)

2 - Recently (d6 years)

3 - Recently (d6 years)

4 - Recently (d6 years)

5 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

6 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

7 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

8 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

9 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

10 - In Memory (d6 x 10 years)

11 - For Ages (d6 x 100 years)

12 - For Ages (d6 x 100 years)

13 - For Ages (d6 x x100 years)

14 - For Aeons (d6 x 1000 years)

15 - Embroiled in a Civil War (began d6 weeks ago) - (Roll another Ruler if you wish)

16 - Embroiled in a Civil War (began d6 years ago) - (Roll another Ruler if you wish)

17 - In the Grips of Revolution (began d6 weeks ago)

18 - In the Grips of Revolution (began d6 years ago)

19 - Languishing as a Puppet State

20 - Under the Control of Outside Forces

Civil Wars (d4)

1 - Succession Crisis

2 - Upstart Nobles

3 - Religious Upheaval

4 - Rise Against the Tyrant

Puppet States (d4)

1 - Conquered by a Neighbour

2 - In a Dynastic Union

3 - Under Economic Dependence

4 - Ruled by a Shadow Government

Outside Forces (d8)

1 - Realm of the Dead

2 - The Kingdom of Heaven

3 - Hell on Earth

4 - A Primeval Forest

5 - An Impossible Devastation

6 - The Remnants of the Precursors

7 - Untamed Wilds

8 - Land of the Dark Lord

Events

Events are the Realm-Shaking activities that can often separate the rule of one Dynasty from another, and at the very least demarcate the periods of Status-Quo. I suggest using your best judgement to decide exactly when these events occurred; they may not necessarily indicate the end or start of a Rulers reign, but they can. If you go for rolling the history of the realm as well, you could spread some of these events back further.

When rolling for a Realm that has been in its current state for Aeons or Ages, roll with disadvantage. When rolling for a Realm that has been in its current state only Recently, roll with advantage.

Number of Events (d6)

1 or 2 - No Events

3 or 4 - One Event

5 - Two Events

6 - Three Events

Events (d12)

If you roll a War, Revolution, or other such struggle, roll on the Outcome stable below to see who won. Similarly, if you roll a cataclysm, roll on the cataclysm table.

1 - Civil War (d4 months)

2 - Civil War (d4 years)

3 - Revolution (Short-lived, 2d6 years)

4 - Revolution (Long-standing, has been finished for 2d6 x10 years)

5 - Golden Age (d6 years, explodes with each explosion also multiplying duration by 10)

6 - Succession Crisis (d4 months) - (Roll a deposed Ruler if you wish)

7 - Succession Crisis (d4 years) - (Roll a deposed Ruler if you wish)

8 - Minor War (2d6 months)

9 - Major War (2d6 years)

10 - Cataclysmic War (2d6 decades)

11 - Minor Cataclysm (d4% of population)

12 - Major Cataclysm (d4 x 10% of population)

War/Revolution Outcomes (d8)

1 - Utter Loss

2 - Minor Loss

3 - Tense Standstill

4 - Comfortable Standstill

5 - Minor Victory

6 - Total Victory

Cataclysms (d10)

1 - Rampaging Monster/Dark Lord

2 - Divine Apocalypse

3 - Magical Catastrophe

4 - Economic Depression

5 - Virulent Disease

6 - Genocide

7 - Noble Decadence

8 - Extra-Planar Threat

9 - Earthquake, or other Geological Devastation

10 - Unrivaled Storms, or other Extreme Weather

The Realm's History

Use this d10 table to determine what was going on before the current Ruler came to power. If you really want detail, I guess you could roll rulers and Status-Quo periods for them, but I wouldn't really recommend it, lots of detail that most wouldn't care for anyway.

When rolling for a Realm that has been in its current state for Aeons or Ages, roll with disadvantage. When rolling for a Realm that has been in its current state only Recently, roll with advantage.

1 - This realm rose up from an ever-expanding city-state

2 - A Warlord united the land's petty barons together into this realm

3 - This realm rose over time from the results of many political marriages

4 - This realm was hard won in a battle against an inhuman foe

5 - The realm has been torn apart by Internal Conflicts for as long as any can remember

6 - A series of 2d4 Dynasties ruled over this area in succession over as many decades

7 - A pair of Dynasties have been fighting over this land for d6 decades

8 - The realm was a part of another realm before earning its Independence

9 - A Dynasty ruled for d6 decades after uniting the lands

10 - A Dynasty ruled for d6 centuries after uniting the lands