What should we name our city?

[VemuKhaham]

I'm just as heathen as you, though I was baptized without my consent. I mean, we play D&D. That says enough right? Just look in that Monster Manual!

But I always like religion in games. Nothing is better than a few of those religious fanatics, especially when the church is just as corrupt as the government. It also provides a good mysterious atmosphere in things like old temple dungeons and such.

[Lin]

As far as religions are concerned, there is no immediate need for the creation of a detailed religious culture. We do need to have a rough outline of the religious environment, at the very least so that people can make a cleric. I'm in favor of a simple pantheon, something holistic where each diety is a reflection of a part of the human (demi-human) condition. People may revere the gods as a whole, but they may also favor a certain diety. Some may be fantatical in their worship of a particular diety, claiming them as the true king of kings. Some may be fairweather worshippers who pray to the deity that suits there current need. This approach allows for maximum creative imput as the contributers can design different personalities on a "as needed" basis as well as allowing for the designing of soap opera style mythologies. Oh what fun!

The big island is the way to go, I think, allowing for the maximum in possibilities. There are natural resources, untamed wilderness, a need for trade, pirates (though I'm wondering about your obsessions) and good old fashion overseas (and underseas) exploration. Merfolk neighbors? Aquatic Dwarves? Guilds expanded overseas? This can all happen.

Back to the government, we need nobility and landowners. We need some class struggle. However, we also need the guilds to have upward mobility potenial. Constitutional Monarchy works here. It still leaves the eventual potenial for politcal upheaval. I like this approach.

So, next steps in the thinking:

1) How does law enforcement work in the city?
2) What are the limits on the power of the Monarchy?
3) What is the extent of the power of the noble class?

[VemuKhaham]

i think if we're going to have a king in the city, we should limit his power considerably, as in the spirit of a constitutional monarchy.

I'm going to try and get a basic outlay of what we could do concerning the different powers:

King + Nobility (Senate)

The king is determined by birthright of course. He has the power to appoint the senators. The king is the highest commander of the military. He may or may not rule by divine right, but if he does he will most certainly also hold a high power in religion, given the fact that I do not think we plan on creating a pope or something.

The senate has veto over anything the king says or does. The senate makes the laws and approves them. The senate votes on all such matters. The size of the senate has to be determined. I favor a large group (100 or so) with some prominent figures that hold most respect and thus influence.

A variation could be that the senate elects the king from their own members, in which case of course the king would no longer be a traditional king. If this would be the case, senators may trust to give more power to a king since he was chosen by the senate. A choice must also be made whether the senate can make a king step down or if a king is irrevocably entitled for life. It will also allow for more political intrige; things like birthright are ill-favored to political schemes.

Personally I think there should be no democracy. People who will want to become powerful in the senate, like the guilds, should strife to be on the good side of the king. This way you have a clear class struggle; the masses who won't ever be appointed by a sane king, a few people who are on his good side (probably needing lots of cash and such to achieve that), and of course the king himself, who must realize not everyone will tolerate to be on the current king's bad side. Assassinations anyone?

There you have: politics!

[Mellon]

I understand there's little love for religion here .
I do think it's an issue of importance though, as churches can be very influential organisations, aside from the question of which gods are worshipped.

As for the geography question, I don't really understand why one large island allows for certain possibilities, and several smaller islands do not. I really like some of the ideas brought forth by Lin, though: untamed wilderness, merfolk neighbours, aquatic dwarves, and, of course , pirates.
I just think having several islands instead of just one adds something to this. Islands controlled by monsters (a minotaur / harpy / giant colony for example); secret smugglers' / pirates' hideouts etc.
Of course it isn't very difficult to combine these ideas, and have one or two larger islands, and dozens of smaller ones.

As for the government, it's not necessary to have a king in order to have landowners and nobility. There were nobles and landowners in ancient Rome, city-state Athens etc., but no kings.

If there really must be a king , I would like him to be more of a chairman of the council or senate then a legislative power on his own.
I actually do like the idea of having the senate / council elected through democratic means. I think it offers more possibility for intrigue as organisations can buy/sell votes, force people to vote on a specific candidate, tamper with votes etc. As a variant to this, the right to vote could be limited to higher classes, or anyone with enough money, as was common in early constitutional monarchies in the real world.

[Lin]

I like religion. . .

Anyway, the reason I favor the large island is for travel reasons. A big island means people can go exploring and traveling without having to take a boat. They can get on a horse and ride. Resources can be moved via caravan. Trade is important, but the country is sustainable. Certainly I think there can (should?) be plenty of smaller islands around, to be detailed over time as the need comes.

[Mellon]

OK, then we're going for one large island, with plenty of wilderness for inland exploration and adventures.
And if there are several smaller islands surrounding the large one, I'd be very happy .

Until now, we've only talked about the islands' relative proportions, and not about absolute scales.
When looking at historic city-states and settlements in the real world, I think an island about the size of Jamaica or Crete could work (about 9000 square kilometers, or 4000 square miles). If we're talking about a city that has prospered through trade (not unlike Crete) there should be plenty of room on the island for thick forests, mountainous regions, inland lakes, jungle (?) etc.