Quick thought for how the political system should work, So right now we have a pretty tribal system of governance where everything is shared but the home, and everyone is payed equal for their amount of work (aka the food tax).
Income
A cool way to simulate a political climate would be to add a basic income as a start for an economy, meaning that once you had established your town you give all your hearthlings an income representative of their value to their profession, or go all socialist and give everyone a balance income. (Aka labour gets less then crafts hearthling but they make less than a guard, or everyone get 1 gold), with this “personal income” they can now chose to buy or pay taxes.
Taxation, Rent, and maybe food tax
Now here is where the magic happens, with all the money your hearthlings have earned who gets the profit? Well you ofcourse why create a system that would not benefit only you, HAHA. Since everything right now is owned and run by the state this may take the picture of once free housing turns into renting or right out buying where the Hearthling must rent/buy the house that they like, and can afforded. This in turn would create low, medium and high classes to your socity (And now you can have those slums populated by dishevelled poor peasants only to look up at the ivy tower homes of higher classes!)
In any system taxation is an important role in it, be it in the role of a import/goods tax (where you get the mula by taking the gold from trade) or a sales tax where you get a cut of every interaction made in your territory. Or a straight give me your money, why? to the gallows with you why! tax where you just leverage your might to squeeze money out of hearthlings.
Guilds, Artisan, and mon n’ pop
Great! now you have a basic economy, but wait! Everything in your big town is public (meaning the state/governing body manages all the affairs of all jobs). Maybe the horeds of orcs are getting bigger and your mighty warriors demand a raise, Jeiks how will you pay them! Worry not, ask your hearthlings to manage themselves and in turn you pay them for their goods (meaning the state is not giving the blacksmith or farmer a salery now, but instead buying what they produce.
Now here is where most towns will deviate on how will this new system work, a separate entity is established (One witch can’t be told outright to do something, but instead bartered with, much like the traveling merchant, but in this case this “town” merchant has a request item button), be it a guild or a simple mom and pop shop, how will the state go about this, will the entity have to buy their own resources and from whom, an other entity or the state? Now that they are not on the payroll of the state will they sell their skill to others, say a traveling merchant or other hearthlings, so they may just stay aloft of all the state enforced taxes.
Now this is the start of a functioning economy, a small microcosm of what could be. Why work for the state when the farmers guild pays 10 time better, now you can afford that dream mud hut you o’ so wanted.
Bureaucrats, Snubness, and Enforcement
My thoughts on how this system should be implemented is that once a town becomes part of their respective kingdom they gain the profession of bureaucrat and from their panel the player can toy with the idea on how their little town will work, will they go down the spiraling pain train of cut throat capitalism, a free market where everything is privatised, or a state run market where everyone has to deal with you the player. Will they out law eating pie on tuesdays? Who knows but the player.
Ofcourse any system that has differances of class will have to make a system of enforcement, be it a police force, a militia, or the town guard to keep everything on the up n’ up. And how will the player deal with hearthlings unable to pay the taxes? What happens if the town is in debt who will bail them out, a “bank” maybe wink
Also never know when a fast talking demagogy strolls into town to say the sayings hearthlings want to hear but do the do they will regret.
Notes
So as the town/city gets larger it would be cool to see it become a hub of guilds and unions all working together to form an ecosystem, one witch a player can look at an say oh’ golly I made a functioning town, or one where the player screams in horror as old maid marry is run down by a loan shark, helpless to do anything because they know they are next!.
Some Important finale jots to make this system enjoyable for the player,
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all entities must be approved by the play (can’t be having an unwanted labours union that charges outrages prices to build things)
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All things military (I think) should be left in the players hands.
and
3.The economy just like “magic” should be a two egged sword and may go wrong, no will go wrong but with great benefits to the player.
