Oh boy did I open a can of worms with this one! I have begun to contemplate the government of Zalhrada (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Welcome_to_Zalhrada) and how it governs its holdings. My initial intent was to sketch out the government so I could focus on important individuals and begin plotting for an adventure (a mix of action, adventure, intrigue, and plots), but upon much thought, I find myself getting bogged down by the "how does Zalhrada govern" question.
Here are my thoughts so far:
Zalhrada is a democratic republic with its ruling senators seeming to always get elected from the same families, making it a de facto oligarchy of sorts. This elected senate governs the city through a ministry, whose head serves as an appointed mayor/governor/needs-a-title. The senate also governs the city-state's surroundings via a number of governors/prefectors/viceroys/needs-a-title. These usually just make sure the locals pay their taxes, provide conscripts, quarter troops, and generally don't rebel, but otherwise let the people govern themselves. Should the locals fail in doing any of these things or they fail to effectively govern themselves, the governor can take direct control of rule of the area or institute a government to do the job as he sees fit. He is backed by the Senate and the military.
Then we start to get into various ministries, such as the chancery, who keeps records; the treasury, who collects taxes and keeps the books; the Ministry of Law, who runs the courts and police; etc. There is also the police, the military, the eirenarch (think martials+FBI+torture), and various lower-level administrators. All of these people have some level of power within the government and influence over what gets done or not done. They all have their aspirations, goals, debts, etc.
So I suppose my real question to everyone, aside from, "What do you think? Anything I have wrong or have missed?" is
"How detailed should I make the government?!!!"
It looks pretty good to me. Try and get a clear picture on which government agents the PCs will most likely be interacting with, and their immediate superiors.
Good idea. That should help cut down the number of NPCs to pregen.