(Originally posted on December 17, 2014. Only covers Legends of Windemere for a bit, but it was still interesting.)
Castle Araluen from Ranger’s Apprentice
For being one of the major areas of events in Legends of Windemere, Hero’s Gate isn’t a Sister City. It’s decently sized with a profitable port and farmlands, but it’s actually a fisherman/farmer village that grew over the years. So it still has a simple Mayor and guards system. One man makes the rules with the help of a council and is elected every two years.
This isn’t to say there isn’t anything special in Hero’s Gate. The Paladin Council has influence over the city because it is a few days journey from Rodillen. This gives them an outpost to keep an eye on the other town and there has been a high level of undead activity around the city ever since the Great Cataclysm. Any laws and influence that the Paladin Council has is restricted to those pertaining to defenses, undead, religious issues, and magic. All other areas are off-limits to them because they are not a tax-funded organization.
That’s really it for Hero’s Gate and you’ll see that it really doesn’t come up. A reason for this is because Legends of Windemere doesn’t really delve into the politics of the world. I have a few future series that will examine the inner workings of certain groups like the Chaos Elves and the Dawn Fangs. Yet, I’m rather content to leave the politics of the world in the background. These systems may come into play if/when I need them, which is why I have them written down somewhere. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of there always being a political story within other genres and I’m sick of the topic in general. My stories are designed to be escapism and fun, so that’s probably why the nitty gritty of the world doesn’t get pulled in.
Legends of Windemere 
I admire the fact that you wanted to leave politics out of it and avoid a “game of thrones.” I enjoy an escapist story! There is something to be said for a story that takes you on a fun adventure, rather than beating you down with ripped-from-today’s-headlines plots.
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Thanks. Was really rough doing that while GoT ruled the genre.
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I wonder if because of the doubt as to whether or not GoT will ever be finished (and The Name of the Wind for that matter), that publishers might reconsider this sort of story focus.
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I feel like they just stick to clones of GoT, HP, and LOTR. At least mainstream with some fringes out there. Not much for the casual adventure thing.
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Bravo for no politics. It’s enough to have heroes and villains!
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Thanks.
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Still worthy ideas. Sure there are good stories that are deep with intrigue. Sometimes we just need a good time.
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I wish more people felt that way.
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You definitely don’t have to put anything in a story that you don’t want to, but it does help to have some framework planned out. That way you don’t have to stop and figure out what guards will respond if a fight breaks out.
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True. Though I don’t always remember the guards. Sometimes I figure they’ll be late to react like in the real world.
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