[Deneguhl] Government and Law Enforcement

Government

This material is sketchy, mostly just to give me an idea of what things are like at the very top.

The Grand City of Deneguhl is ruled by a republican assembly, with 66 senators from the three cities - 33 from Deneguhl, 22 from Alkuth, and 11 from Spire.

Deneguhl: A chaotic assembly of representatives of "guilds", many of which are more like political parties, lots of street violence, duels, backroom deals. Think Gangs of New York. Reps are called "proxies" and serve at the pleasure of the mob that is the bulk of each guild, can be called to vote of no confidence at any time at group meetings. Democracy, but bloody.

Alkuth: A highly functional but rigid senate of appointed Elders, very out of touch with current culture, but also wise. Probably the most functional form of government in the city.

Spire: A king and his small dynasty (space for a few princes/princesses and royal cousins here) are a figurehead. Real political power is concentrated in the bureaucracy.

The Sainted Palace: Ruled by the High Keeper, hypothetically a dictatorial theocracy, but significant influence wielded by the High Deacons (cardinal analogues).

Morte is ruled by the Autumn King, the hungry ghost of an ancient emperor that was the scourge of the city, maliciously leaving it to burn and tormenting it's citizens as he became more and more obsessed with loyalty and treason

Law Enforcement

This material is much more developed, if only because D&D characters are much more likely to interact with either a town guard or the equivalent of a detective or FBI agent (given what PC's are often up to, e.g., murder).

Deneguhl

Deneguhl's law enforcement is centered on the Sentinel (always singular, never plural), an organization of secret policemen that had persevered from before the time of the Empire. It's origins are hazy - the organization has destroyed records - but most agree that it began as some of the nascent cities first organized crime before being made official by the city itself. It has survived in various forms, and currently serves as the high level law enforcement agency and intelligence service, ferreting out spies and traitors. It's agents traditionally come from the upper crust of society, and are highly trained (in theory) and above reproach (probably false). The guild senate relies heavily on Sentinel support - without them, it's likely that many elements in the city could ignite something like a revolution.

Day to day law enforcement is handled by the Guilds - the name is deceptive. While many of these organizations are associations of craftpeople, more often they are political associations only nominally connected to the trade they use as their symbol. They are the closest thing the city has to political parties, although their debates look more like brawls in the street. By mutual agreement, each guild volunteers some of it's membership annually to serve as the town watch. The Watch itself is a fractured, barely functional entity, as the many Guilds vie both for control and a chance to embarrass their rivals.

Where the Watch fails, however, Deneguhl has a long and storied history of street justice. Many criminals have laughed at their good fortune when a lax Watchman overlooks his crime, only to find himself being dragged from his bed by the outraged friends of his victim. So long as it does not go too far (by say, escalating to murder), the Watch usually turns a blind eye - less paperwork, you see.

Generally, Guild membership is helpful to getting law enforcement help if the guard in question is sympathetic to your guild. Otherwise, they are generally disinterested in anything that doesn't disturb the public order, and ruthless quelling any crimes that do.

Alkuth

The mercantile dwarves of the undercity have a highly developed legal system in which most penalties are financial, often claiming either a flat fine (for minor crimes) or a percentage of the criminals wealth, and the cost of the victims loss. Particularly for more serious crimes, the poor often find themselves facing untenable fees and little recourse - appeals are allowed only after full payment.

The enforcement of these myriad laws falls upon the Weights and Measure Department and it's representatives, the Levellers. These officials run the gamut from bored nobles, to highly intelligent financiers and eccentric detectives with unusual methods. They are invested with considerable power within Alkuth, having the power to assess fines (functionally, to assign guilt) with little more than their say-so and a signature from a single elder (for particularly high fines). While these fines can be reversed (as noted above), they must first be paid and then appealed. Anyone failing to pay (for most non-violent crimes the Levellers allow a grace period) is incarcerated. Most violent crime carries a supremely high cost, often many times the criminals income. Generally, when a victim is unable to pay, he is imprisoned and put to work - said work paying off his debt to society. The more valuable the work, the shorter his term.

Day to day law enforcement is handled by the Huscarls of the various Elders of the city, who function mostly to deter crime and detain any criminals for the following Leveller investigation. The populace of Alkuth tends to be highly lawful, and few would hesitate to raise a hue and cry to alert guards to a crime - this tendency is exacerbated by the Alkuthian view of their Dennish neighbors as being untrustworthy thieves as often as not, and outsiders acting even mildly suspicious often find many eyes upon them.

Spire

Day to day law enforcement in Spire is handled by the City Guard, a small contingent of soldiers that operate both as defenders and enforcement. Although relatively few in number, they have a number of spellcasters amongst their number, making them surprisingly effective. 

There is no formal organization for investigating higher crimes in Spire - for serious crimes involving human (or non-Spirish) citizens, the Sentinel is often brought on. For sensitive or crimes against the gnomish people, the Monarch will appoint a special investigator, investing them with royal authority to solve the case.

Inter-city crime

Given that Deneguhl is both effectively a single city, and legally a confederation of three, criminals that cross between the cities complicate things. The three groups of day to day enforcers have generally cordial relations (though both the Guard of Spire and the Huscarls of Alkuth hold the fractious Guilds in contempt). Generally, when there is a serious jurisdictional disagreement, the Sentinel steps in to handle it - this happens most often in disputes between Spire and Deneguhl when capital crimes are committed by Gnomes - as the Spiral Throne strenuously objects to the idea of a human court sentencing one of their citizens to death.

Deneguhl
Government : Representative Republic
Population: 632,000 (Human 84%, Dwarven 8%, Gnome 3%, Other races 5%)
Languages: Common, Dennish, Dwarvish (lower), Gnomish (high), Ugric.
Religions: The Sainted (majority), the Dwarven Pantheon (minority), the Gnomish pantheon (minority), various mystery cults and small gods.
Threats:
Specialty Items
Notable Persons: