If dragons were a little more involved with worldly affairs, what political system do you think they'd gravitate towards?
>>43812467
Plutocracy.
>>43812467
Neoliberalism
oligarchy
Evil dragons would probably try to be dictators or (if they're of the more cunning variety) the powers behind an established throne. Good dragons would likely have more varied political preferences.
Wtf is that picture?
>>43812467
dracocracy
>>43812467
Have setting where all the kings and queens of all the lands are secretly dragons.
Basically all it does is reduce the rate of assassinations and reduce change due to how long they stay in power.
>>43812467
I'S DA BIGGEST, SO I'S DA WUN IN CHARGE YA GITS-ism
>>43812654
This pretty much.
Dragons are super powerful beings, why would they care about humans in any other terms than "they're dangerous in large groups. Better make sure they stay out of my business"
>>43813111
this
I've actually played with a setting where there were a bunch of city states centered around the fantasy equivalent of WMDs.
The one with a dragon ended up basically being a plutocracy - whoever had the most money to offer her had the most influence.
Straight up despotism. They wouldn't care about the particulars of human organization so long as they were at top.
Whichever they calculate will bring them the most resources in the current climate, and for no longer than it is the case.
Dragons are three things - cunning, ruthless and greedy. If capitalism is the excuse du jour to fleece people then that's the trick. If communism facillitates mass confiscation on an unmatched scale (lol) then dragons are there.
Plutocracy is good - hipster new age feelgood marketing bullshit that convinces people the best way to live life is to throw money at the dragon and look better for it, even better.
Mercantalists. Everyone and everything purpose is to acquire wealth for the homeland. But in this case the homeland is the dragon.
>>43815000
I think they would favor themselves naturally but would also view the well being and comfort of their subjects as something of a status symbol too. My peasants can eat many kinds of fruit and wear "expensive" dyes, my realm is more prosperous than others therefore I am more prospeeous than others. The realm is an extension of their ego. They would love their people because they love themselves.
>>43812467
They'd be extreme ancaps.
Not out of actually believing that's best, but they'd want themselves to be tied down with as few regulations and laws as possible and don't give much of a shit what becomes of the mortals.
>>43815045
Better yet, pesky heroes don't try to slay you when your people are happy, prosperous, and peaceful.
I have a noble NPC character who the party desperately wants to hate but constantly fails to find actual reason to hate them, because while they may have stolen their lands through trickery and scheming, the lives of the people they rule are undoubtedly better, even though it's purely an ego pet project for them.
>>43815045
You can have benevolent mercantalism.
>>43812467
Dragons would just glom onto whatever power structures were available to them. They wouldn't be choosy. It doesn't make much difference to them how they rule over the inferior beings, just as long as they get what's theirs. If that means killing everyone or just "getting elected" they'll give it a go.
>>43812467
See
>>43812654
For it is /thread
>>43812646
/pol/
Marxism.
They then proceed to burn down capitalistic societies so that the proletariat can work together to rebuild it into a better place.
>>43812467
The one where they rule and we don't. The name has little to no importance.
>>43812467
Gluttony, sloth, wrath
>>43812467
Empire. For god's sake nobody teach them about real estate value or we'll have a dragon empire in two weeks.
>>43812467
Probably capitalism, very oligarchic.
>>43815045
That....looks like a very interesting idea.
Thank you good sir, I came in expecting a shitstorm and found a campaign setting
>>43820066
you should read Naomi Noviks Temeraire series. Lots of great stuff like that. Not that I'm that anon.
As creatures that hoard things I imagine they would be very conservative. They would resist technological and economic changes because of uncertainty over how it might affect their literal and figurative hoards of wealth and power, even if there was a lot of reason to think they would benefit from the changes in the long run. For example resisting the move from mercantilism to an open market system.
>>43812507
Oh
Ohohoh
Ooooooooh I see what you did there anon
>>43812467
A concept I've always enjoyed is a dragon as a paid guardian of sorts. Dragons hoard gold, but (presumably) they can't mine it themselves, so a dragon with an eye for the long-term would take a town or village under its protection in exchange for a certain amount of gold per year. The dragon gets a source of income, and the village/town gets a giant, fire-breathing guardian.
>>43812467
Probably an I'm-a-fucking-dragon-and-you're-not-cracy.
>>43812507
/thread
Come on /tg/ this is clearly the correct answer.
what political system is best suit for;
acquiring all the gold
getting the common people to do most of the work without bothering you
deluding the common people enough that adventurer doesn't rise up to slay you
getting people to glorifying you for being wealthy, cool, and contributing nothing
I'm thinking capitalism, with a constitution reservation for right to human sacrifice.
>>43815045
I like this idea. If the Dragon completely controls a nation then that makes the nation one of the dragons possessions. Which means it will make an effort to protect its possession and ensure it looks good and retains its value. A dragon king would view his nation as a status symbol but he would still care about the the wellbeing of the country and his people, if only as an extension of his ego.
>>43825373
So would a dragon with a small but well taken care of "hoard" of a small kingdom be seen as better than a dragon with a far larger "hoard" but it's poorly run with a lot of starving people?
>>43812467
>what political system do you think they'd gravitate towards?
Meritocratic imperial hierarchy with limited elements of republicanism.
Basically a political system based entirely on pragmatic qualities rather than an ideological or philosophical base.
>>43812467
Good alligned ones would promote small scale capitalism while evil ones would enforce large scale oligarchies or communism.
>>43828402
>>43825665
What? Those all sound way too complicated and representative and humanlike.
>>43825539
>>43825373
These guys get it. Land is wealth. People are wealth. Dragons hoard wealth. They'd be imperialist despots. The good ones would be GOOD imperialist despots. They'd have no interest in oligarchy or republic. They don't care what the wealth wants. Maybe communist in a ultra-Stalinist sense, like, the people get fed and clothed by the dragon because otherwise they wouldn't be able to mine the gems or weave the silks, but no kind of, like, "government" as we think of it. Just rule.
>>43825539
What has more value, a pile of platinum or a mountain of brass?
It will always depend on the temperament of the dragon. Some will aspire to build utopias out of a desire to treat their toys better..others will do it for the challenge, to show their superiority over other dragons, or because as utilitarian schemers they see some hidden benefit. Others will create hells for the exact same reasons.
Keep in mind, though: human political traditions are almost universally based around assumptions about the fundamental equality or inequality of people. Divine Right of Kings or the Mandate of Heaven easily support different kinds of despotism, but any kind of fully democratic electorate is laughable when you have a being that so far outstrips the constituents.
>>43814972
>If capitalism is the excuse du jour to fleece people then that's the trick. If communism facillitates mass confiscation on an unmatched scale (lol) then dragons are there.
Hey anon, I hate to tell you, but they're economic systems, not political ones.
>>43815045
>>43815045
>>43820066
>>43825373
There is a rpg setting with a nation like that. The oldest red dragon, Sckharshantallas, became so powerful and greedy that he hoarded more than wealth: land, people, love, fear.
It is one fo the most developed kingdoms, despite the fact that most of its borders go into wild and monstruous lands. He ate all of the monsters, all the other dragons on his territory.
He has his own groups of dragon-hunting adventurers, most of the elite is half-dragon, their mothers one of the many concubines the king has.
His full form is 600 meters long, and his aura of fear can instantly kill most people. As a sign of his love for them, most of the realm wealth is being used to build a life-size crystalline statue of him. That way, they may gaze into his glory without dying.
>>43834602
Oh, and he is also a minor god, so worshipping him is THE state religion.
