Politics: How to Use Friends and Influence NPCs

  So, if there is to be no main storyline, where does the fun, the drama, the meaning come in?  One of the only modern MMOs to ditch the storyline, Eve Online, gives us a clue.  In the hinterland of the Eve galaxy, groups of players conquer star systems and build systems for extracting resources and making valuable items.  These player owned systems can be vastly profitable, but need constant attention and are vulnerable to Marauding players and NPCs.  Experienced players of Eve will tell you, "nullsec is where the REAL game is."  And there is no storyline out there except the political ebb and flow that the players make for themselves.

Think of all the man-hours put into preparing for this battle.

  In Orison, this is done by players claiming parts of the vast, empty spaces of continent.  Perhaps one section starts as a cluster of farms, a mine, and a loggery.  Then some player is granted a writ of township by whichever king (a player) holds sway over that land.  He and his guild builds a town hall and coerces the surrounding farms, mine, and loggery to join the town.  The player who used the writ in the first place becomes the mayor of the town and gains a number of 'prestige points' with that town.  These points dwindle over time.  New points are granted to the mayor whenever the town expands, when a threat to the town in neutralized with the help of the town's NPCs or those PCs who are designated the town's elite guard.  The mayor loses points whenever a town structure falls into disrepair from lack of proper resources or is destroyed by a threat.  If trade is making the town prosperous, the mayor gains points.  If trade is stagnant, the mayor loses points.  When a mayor is out walking about town or socializing in the tavern, he gains points. (or loses them more slowly)  When he sits at his desk behind locked doors and guards, he loses points more quickly.
  Now, other players can gain prestige in the town as well.  Whenever a player completes a trade run that benefits the town, he gains prestige.  Whenever a player disposes of a threat to the town, he gains prestige.  Just sitting in the town tavern, a player slowly accumulates prestige.  Anyone can, at the tavern (or the town hall) register their desire to rule the town as the mayor.  The prestige totals of every player who does this are publicly available.  Every week (every three weeks for cities, every two months for kingdoms) the person with the most town prestige becomes the mayor.  If the mayor himself has the most prestige, he remains mayor.

Schemed his way to the top.

  The key to this system is that these points are tradeable. Prestige can be traded with other players in the same trade UI as items and coin.  Prestige can be sent in the mail.  A mayor with an entire guild giving him half their prestige will soon become very hard to supplant.  Please note, however, that this leaves mayors, governors, and kings vulnerable to revolution, as their supporters can withdraw their support at any time.
  Prestige operates in tiers.  Ten points of town prestige can be converted into a point of prestige in the city (if any) that the town is subject to.  Likewise, ten points of city prestige or 100 points of town prestige can be converted into kingdom prestige.  All of these prestige types are tradeable and giftable.
  Another wrinkle that could be included to increase the competition and ruthlessness of these political intrigues is to pay the leaders in real money.  Town mayors receiving $500 per month are likely to treat Orison as a part time job.  City governors receiving $1500 per month are likely to treat Orison as their main job and have part-time real-life work on the side.  Kings receiving $3000 per month are likely to treat Orison as a full time job.  Kings and governors have the option to transfer any amount of their pay to their Lieutenants and subject governors and mayors.  This is only possible if Orison is not free to play, but charges something like $15 per month to play.  Four kings, twenty governors, and one hundred mayors per server costs $92,000 per month, which is more than made up by 6200 players.  Eve online has had ten times that many players on its server at one time.
  Now, in this system, it is very likely that a small group of players seize power and hold onto it with ruthless efficiency.  Where is the drama in that?  One word: assassination.  In the hidden places of the world grows a flower that, when processed properly, makes a poison which does not damage a player's health, but instead damages their prestige.