Escereon

Okay, okay... I didn't mean for the J.K. Rowling thing to become a full fledged debate. Please don't debate the argument turned into a debate. Well, I was reading about an Inca system of land division and imperialism, where everyone is a part of an empire through trade. The farmland was divided into thirds; one third for the village (like a municipal tax), one third for the king (federal tax) and one third was for the farmer to sell his stuff. The land would not be for sale, as it would in essence belong to the Capa Inca (the leader) but the thirds are like rent. They would work on the municipal and federal tax lands, and anything produced would go to their respective collectors. I also think a socialist town would be an interesting thing too, where everyone did something for the entire town and every institution worked for the government. Depending on the size of the town, it could either be very interesting or boring. A small town just wouldn't have very much to offer, but a large town could be full of socialist values. Another idea could lie in a very traditionalist theocratic town, where there are religious figures everywhere you turn. The monastery would, naturally, be the governing body of the town and all the guards could function like ordinators; religious guards. The town could be run by some priest-like figure or monarch, and the castle in which a normal town would have would amalgamate with the monastery. The way the player could rise up in ranks and become the new town leader is through political struggle between the empire and the monastery, where the player would take a definitive side (siding with the monastery for the people) and continue the storyline in that way. If you're interested, I'll pump more ideas into this.

I'm no J.K. Rowling or anything, but wouldn't it be really cool to rise up in the ranks of some small conqueror's (like a chieftain) guild who builds a town or something, only so that the player can create a mutiny and overcome him? I mean, the mutineer would be the protagonist. Or, the protagonist can remain loyal as a second in command, and the mutiny that would occur can be the climax, where there's a small scale melee that eventually takes the chieftain's life. I mean, the guild for the settlement can be like a small clan. If you wanted to add personality to the mix, you can add the corruption that eventually leads to the mutiny in the chieftain's character. No need to credit me for this idea; if you want more, just private message me.