What is the difference between a nation and a kingdom in kingmaker?

[Vaeldara13]

Hi. I am new to these forums and I am running a kingmaker campaign. We've cleared book one and have taken an extended break and I am trying to do a lot of prep work before we start again. I want to better understand the lore of the world and what it means in regards to that world what the difference is to developing a kingdom and a new nation, Or if there is even one? Please note I am sorta brand new to DMing and this is my first campaign. Though I have been a player in many other games.

[Canarr]

There isn’t really one, IMO. Don’t even think the rules use the word nation at all.

[Touc]

First campaign? Whew, this one is a handful but worth it. These forums contain enough wisdom to take good modules and make them great. I'd venture it's one of the top forums about any module...ever.

That said, you can call a "kingdom" whatever you want. It's just a placeholder name for whatever you're building.

I'll also echo wisdom on these forums that kingdom-building will be fun...at first. It will become a chore very soon (so much so that you'll need a computer program to track the numbers, which not all players will enjoy) and consider simply abandoning the kingdom building rules in Pathfinder by the end of Rivers Run Red.

Beyond that, too much to cover, and you're already well on your way. I ran this one once, largely as written with a bit of help on these forums, and I'm running it 10 years later after spending dozens of hours taking the best I could find here. Totally worth it. Kingmaker can be a blast.

[mikeawmids]

I was gonna' say something pithy about a kingdom having a king in it, but checking out the definitions of both words, that's what it comes down to.

Kingdom: a country, state, or territory ruled by a king or queen.

Nation: a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

[the nerve-eater of Zur-en-Aarh]

mikeawmids wrote:

I was gonna' say something pithy about a kingdom having a king in it, but checking out the definitions of both words, that's what it comes down to.

Kingdom: a country, state, or territory ruled by a king or queen.

Nation: a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

So one could argue that the PCs' nation isn't a kingdom until the ruler is recognised as a king rather than a baron or a duke, which IIRC is the start of chapter 5 of the AP, but I do not see that distinction making any difference at all.

[mikeawmids]

It could impact how the succession of rulership is handled in the event of player death, if that player happened to have been wearing a crown, but apart from that, not so much.