How to Buy a Better Society?

[Oli Ironbar]

Our Kingmaker campaign has a lot of downtime which my PC has turned into a lot of wealth by establishing a charitable Non Government Organization. What infrastructure, services, spells, and magic items for purchase or construction would most improve the lives of everyone in different parts of the kingdom (some rural/developing, other urban)? We have several thousand gp/turn right now and will soon have tens of thousands of gp/turn.

Our current projects include:
- basic infrastructure such as clean water supply, food banks, free shelter
- job training for unskilled workers (increases income from .5 gp/week to 10-15 gp/week
- free health clinics administered with lvl 5 clerics who rotate through to cast remove disease for those who prevention/mundane treatments haven't worked
- free childcare / primary education (estimated at 25% of the total kingdom population)

[DeathlessOne]

So, we are assuming that abundant resources and more comfortable living conditions are going to create a 'better' society? Yes? Just checking...

You are going to need to have some means to deal with the malcontents and generally just Evil people in the society that want to take advantage of people purely because they can. Cleaning up the streets and removing diseases are only going to go so far if you can't keep those streets safe and the population from being threatened.

Think about the religious beliefs you permit in your kingdom, as they will create strife and friction if they are not compatible or you have pantheons that do not play well together. Help relocate people that do not want to join willingly, and fund their relocation to the nearest kingdom that will accept them.

Basically, you need to clean house. Running a kingdom is going to require you to make hard decisions, and these are often moral ones that are sometimes ... unpalatable to modern sensitivities.

[Oli Ironbar]

Let's stick to decisions that are palatable. Golarion already has Rahadoum, Cheliax, Hermea, Galt, Touvette, Nex, Geb, Irrisen, Nidal, Ustalov, Razmiran, and others to cover places where they prefer the unpalatable.

[DeathlessOne]

So, are you going for a more Neutral Good vibe?

The problem with those who act in Evil manners and seek to take advantage of your kingdom (even if they originate from outside of it) is still an issue that needs dealt with. As soon as we discover how far your kingdom leaders are willing to go in order to deal with those problems, we can hammer out the finer details. Any easy way to determine this is figuring how Paladins are seen by the population.

There is a reason a lot of the kingdoms of Golarion generally harbor a neutral population (tending more lawful in more 'civilized areas') is because not many in the world are actually willing to actively sacrifice to make the world around them a better place. Religion generally provides the motivation needed to inspire such benevolent feelings in a world where evil is very present and seeking to prey on others. Or, you can substitute another ideology in its place if that is more preferable.

As for what is, or is not, palatable... That can vary quite a lot between individuals. For instance, corporeal punishment and execution is seen as barbaric by some civilizations, and in others it is the optimal method to eliminate unrepentant and repeat gross offenders. Some people see it as repaying evil with evil, and others see it as a just punishment to remove a proven threat to society.

Im just trying to clarify this so that we can avoid stepping too much on real world politics. It is somewhat inevitable due to the nature of running a kingdom, but we can all agree to suspend disbelief and offer opinions as a 'devil's advocate' even if we might personally disagree with the methods.

[Milkshaketeer]

DeathlessOne seems to prefer tackling the inevitable political realities of a kingdom over making a paradise. What curve balls are being sent your way by the GM? Are they really letting you basically print money and get away with it? That'd let us give more tailored advice.

Commoners:

There is a lot of potential with the myriad of level 1 commoners a kingdom has. Here is a clever optimization guide made for 3.5, though only some options will be available for Pathfinder. It's good for ideas, especially if you want the general population to be able to somewhat defend themselves against threats that DeathlessOne might be thinking of while still being able to work or do a trade. Options normally passed-up by PCs become surprisingly viable for commoners, like slings, old-age, and Skill Focus. You could make a handful of optimized commoner builds (like a ranged combatant commoner with a profession, a melee combatant commoner with a craft, a half-rate medic, etc.) as the guide does and give them to the GM if they're (or you are) inclined to have common folk face atrocities/battle.

If you really feel like burning through money, the Gunsmithing feat can be taken by a commoner that isn't even proficient in firearms. With no skill check required (only a single skill rank in Craft Alchemy), a single level 1 commoner can churn out 1k worth of ammunition, gunpowder, or a firearm in a day. That's a keg of black powder a day at 1/10th the cost. Neat. Slings would still be better than firearms, but they could make this happen.

Why Clerics? Consider Druids!:

I would favor Druids. Slow days at the hospital could be a source of free, plentiful potions with Druid Herbalism. This might be too cheesy for your GM, so discuss that option with them first. It's powerful enough to make alchemists cry.

Druids also have a world-changing advantage over Clerics with the Plant Growth spell. The enrichment option would be a powerful option in a kingdom builder.

Perhaps having a mix of Druids/Clerics would work best, since Clerics can spontaneously cast healing spells and technically get more spells through their domains than Druids. Still, free potion production is extremely powerful.

[DeathlessOne]

Milkshaketeer wrote:

DeathlessOne seems to prefer tackling the inevitable political realities of a kingdom over making a paradise...

Correct. A Paradise that has no plans to deal with the inevitable attempts of others to abuse it is nothing more than a brief vacation for those involved followed swiftly by an bloody conversion into slavery (or worse) and use by those forces as nothing more than a resource.

If it helps, I am playing this role (and do not be mistaken that it is anything more than playing said role) for the intended purpose to make sure this utopia/paradise can LAST long enough for generations to enjoy it and benefit from the abundant wealth and power it will hold. Know yourself (or your character) well enough to know where you draw the lines in moments of reason so that you are better prepared for when emotion and chaos are at your door, demanding you answer evil for evil and wrong for wrong. That way, you (your characters) can lead the people to be strong enough to preserve your utopia/paradise.