Creating Your Own Fantasy Political System

Ren Blanchard
May 31, 2025
2 min read

WOAHHHHHHH

Monarchy is fun and all, guys, but sometimes it gets a bit repetitive the more often you read in books. You can still have political intrigue without a king or queen, and that's what this is gonna be all about.

Why Bother With a Custom System?

Because monarchy is everywhere. And sure, it works—but what if your world didn’t default to kings, queens, and predictable court intrigue? As I like to say: ADD SOME PIZZAZZZZZ rahhh

A unique political system can:

Reinforce your world’s values (magic users rule? bloodlines don’t matter?)
Generate built-in tension between social classes or belief systems
Make your story’s power struggles more personal, strange, or emotional

Here’s how to design your own unforgettable political structure:

Step 1: Choose the Foundation – What Is Power Based On?

Ask: Who gets to lead, and why?

Reminds me of kindergarten. Lovely playground squabbles about who gets to be what in some tag game and why.

Some classic (and twistable) foundations:

Lineage: Royal blood, noble house, divine ancestry
Wealth: The richest vote, or buy seats
Merit: Magical ability, military achievement, or a deadly trial
Religion: The priesthood controls the state
Democracy: Citizens vote—maybe even via enchanted tokens or dream-visions
Chaos: Rule shifts via assassination, contests, or prophecy

Twist It: What if power rotates every full moon (werewolf rulers??? WOAH)? What if rulers are chosen by a creature, not people? What if magic corrupts politics, but no one can afford to give it up?

Step 2: Define the Structure – Who Rules What?

One Ruler: King, Empress, Warlord, Archmage, etc.
Council/Trio: Each representing a faction (Magic, Military, Faith)
Theocracy: The god speaks through an oracle or chosen vessel
Elected Rotations: A new leader every year, season, or moon cycle
Decentralized Tribes/Clans: No central leader, but decisions require consensus

You do you, though. No one's telling you what to write, you know? Be cool on your own.

Step 3: Add Rules, Rituals, and Tensions

Now make it messy. Power should be:

Contested (Who really holds influence?)
Complicated (Add councils, courts, secret orders, or outdated laws)
Dangerous (Can someone be exiled for saying the wrong thing? Are rulers assassinated every solstice?) I don't know, guys, I'm grasping at straws here. These are just ideas--

Add world-specific elements:

A magical census where a spirit counts the worthy
A blood pact that lets rulers live longer but ages their heirs
A curse on the throne—whoever holds it slowly forgets who they were

Step 4: Build in Flaws

Perfect systems are boring. Let it creak at the seams.

Is corruption widespread?
Does one faction abuse their power?
Is the system outdated but upheld by tradition?
Who is excluded from leadership—and how do they fight back?

Great political stories are born from people struggling against or within a broken system.

Fantasy political systems are complicated, man, I don't know what else to say. Most times, it's easier to flesh out what you want, and what best applies to your world. I mean, it is your book after all. You have creative will. Let it be chaotic!!! Nothing is truly perfect, after all.