Nation Construction

1

Raiders are taking refuge in their lands

2

Ownership of a resource site is disputed

3

A usurper or criminal is being sheltered there

4

A troublemaking religion is based there

5

Their rulers have a political claim on the throne

6

A diplomatic marriage is going sour

7

A past war’s savagery has left deep scars

8

Their culture is supplanting local beliefs

9

Their immigrants are gaining great influence

10

They broke off an alliance or important pact

11

They lured away an academy or great temple

12

Border tariffs and taxes are blocking trade

13

They drove a terrible beast into this land

14

A Working of theirs caused problems here

15

They woke up a great peril from the past

16

They’re cooperating with an enemy group

17

They’re suspected of backing assassinations

18

A spy ring is suspected or has been found

19

They refused to give aid for some current need

20

They’ve been hostile to an allied group

1

The ruling classes are related in some way

2

An important faith crosses the border

3

They fought by our side sometime in the past

4

Their culture is widely admired here

5

They helped to overcome an eldritch peril

6

They held back an enemy from our border

7

They are co-ethnics of the same origins

8

They provide critical trade relations

9

Sages and scholars came from there

10

They gave critical aid during a disaster

11

A hero of this land came originally from there

12

A past hero-king once ruled both lands

13

They produce some vital commodity

14

They have a shared enemy

15

A Working they have is helpful here, too

16

A long-standing alliance or trade pact exists

17

They recently conceded some disputed land

18

They greatly admire elements of this culture

19

They’re considered unusually attractive here

20

They took in refugees from here at one point

1

Farmland is becoming worn-out and depleted

2

Verminous monsters are swarming

3

A rebel front is stirring up trouble

4

An outside power is backing internal strife

5

The leadership is inept and distracted

6

A religious reformer is breaking old compacts

7

An evil is provoking outraged rioting

8

Dark cults are attracting the ambitious

9

A Blighted horde is threatening the borders

10

An ancient ruin has disgorged some peril

11

Malcontents have obtained a potent artifact

12

Luxuriance has left the nation’s coffers bare

13

Local aristocrats are pushing for independence

14

An important mine has run out or been harmed

15

A sinister favorite has infatuated the leader

16

A recurring plant plague is causing hunger

17

Fearsome monsters are migrating into the land

18

A rival is preparing for war or raiding

19

A grand national plan is exhausting the people

20

A savage grudge has erupted between lords

1

A splendid mine or resource has been found

2

A pious saint is strengthening a major faith

3

A noble heir shows signs of heroic greatness

4

A major rival has recently suffered a calamity

5

New farmland has been opened up recently

6

A new trade route has been forged

7

A horrible monster was slain or driven off

8

Good harvests have enriched the people

9

A wicked minister has been deposed

10

A new academy has recently opened

11

A bandit or rebel uprising has been crushed

12

Two rival lords have started to make peace

13

An old enemy has agreed to a peace pact

14

The military won a recent smashing victory

15

A helpful Working has been activated

16

A powerful artifact is helping the ruler

17

An old source of unrest has been calmed

18

A dark cult has been revealed and purged

19

New diplomatic ties have been made

20

A new lord has risen, loved by his people

1

Barbarism with brutal savagery

2

Decadence, of sins and fadings

3

Despair, with good things unlooked-for

4

Exhaustion, with strength spent and lost

5

Ignorance, of terrors and the unknown

6

Oppression, with rule a crushing weight

7

Poverty, where even the rich are poor

8

Precarity, with all goods made fleeting

9

Stratification, where classes do not touch

10

Violence, where life is something cheap

1

Enlightenment where knowledge is loved

2

Expansion, where things swell greater

3

Hope, that the future should be better

4

Justice, where a reckoning is had

5

Legitimacy, where rulers are by right

6

Pageantry, of splendor and magnificence

7

Prosperity, with wealth easily had

8

Renewal, with things growing brighter

9

Triumph, with victory a fresh memory

10

Unity, where purposes are shared

1

Extremely dark hues

2

Dark browns and mocha shades

3

Golden, sallow, or ivory

4

Olives or light browns

5

Ruddy or tanned complexions

6

Pale white or pinkish hues

7

An unusual color or pattern of colors

8

Scales, fur, or unusual hide type

1

Night-black

Very tightly-curled

2

Dark browns

Dense and curled

3

Lighter browns

Slightly wavy

4

Red shades

Stiff and straight

5

Blonds

Thick and wavy

6

White or white-blond

Thin and fine

7

An unusual palette

Thick and flowing

8

They lack hair

Scant and delicate

1

Black or extremely dark brown

2

Hazel or olive

3

Blues in varying shades

4

Grays, whether flat or metallic

5

Ambers and yellows

6

Greens in different shades

7

An unusual or luminous color

8

Slit or unusual pupils; roll again for color

1

Smaller and slighter than their neighbors

2

Same height and weight as the neighbors

3

Either short and stocky or tall and slender

4

Much bigger and bulkier than neighbors

1

Intricate hair styles or braiding

2

Painted skin markings that sometimes change

3

Tattoos of some cultural significance

4

Piercings, whether minor or elaborate

5

Role or class-specific clothing items

6

Patterned hair shaving or depilation

7

Culturally-significant jewelry or accessories

8

Color choices with social meaning to them

9

Socially-meaningful animal motif items

10

Worn weapons, tools or trade implements

11

Significant scent or perfume uses

12

Impractical or elaborate role-based clothes

1

They possess an extra eye somewhere

2

An additional set of limbs or extremities

3

Extremely pronounced sexual dimorphism

4

Patches of feathers, scales, fur, or the like

5

They have a tail of some sort

6

They possess wings, whether useful or not

7

Their skin is an unusual texture

8

Sigil-marked by their creator in some way

9

The sexes look very similar to outsiders

10

They have a particular scent to them

11

Their voices are peculiar in some way

12

Additional or too few fingers or toes

13

They have animalistic features in some way

14

Have one or more manipulatory tentacles

15

They have light-emitting organs or skin

16

Their mouths are fanged or tusked

17

They have alien Outsider features somehow

18

Their proportions are distinctly strange

19

They don’t show age the way others do

20

Roll on "Optional Physical Quirks or Traits" and Roll on "Optional Physical Quirks or Traits"

1

Individual rights and freedom of action

2

Courage and valiance in danger

3

Honesty and truthfulness in speech

4

Eloquence and social expertise

5

Raw strength and personal prowess

6

Discipline and obedience to the law

7

Filial devotion to family and parents

8

Education and knowledge-seeking

9

Piety and devotion to the gods

10

Beauty and seductive charm

11

Conquest and domination of others

12

Ascetic unworldliness and pious poverty

13

Harmony with nature and existing life

14

Ethnic purity of blood and culture

15

Cunning and the ability to trick others

16

Subtlety and indirectness of action

17

Prosperity and accruing material wealth

18

Submission to the collective will or culture

19

Hardiness and endurance before woes

20

Honor and maintaining one’s integrity

21

Sexual license and wantonness

22

Submission to lawful authority

23

Personal development and limit-pushing

24

Justice and fairness between people

25

Purging evil and expelling the wicked

26

Personal sacrifice for one’s causes or purposes

27

Building things in service of their posterity

28

Faithfulness towards one’s chosen friends

29

Dominating and possessing other people

30

Exploring the unknown and discovering secrets

31

Seeking fortune in new places or new roles

32

Social progress toward some eventual utopia

33

Excellence in one’s profession or trade

34

Loyalty to one’s friends, family, and own

35

Vengeance and execution of just vendettas

36

Restoring some real or imagined glorious past

37

Unity and elimination of group differences

38

Magical prowess and occult ability

39

Sharing wealth and goods with others

40

Membership in an elite bloodline or caste

41

Personal indulgence and luxuriant pleasure

42

Scheming subtly against enemies or rivals

43

Remembrance of the past and memorializing history

44

Aesthetic beauty in material goods and architecture

45

Zealous guardianship of their own land or holy sites

46

Humanistic reason and “rational” religion

47

Industry and the ability to work tirelessly

48

Leadership and charisma in the group

49

Pacifism and peaceful resolution of problems

50

Societal or ethnic superiority over all outsiders

1

Extended family out to cousins and like kin

2

Religious factions or faith alliances

3

Regional and province-based identity

4

Ethnic membership

5

Professional guild or trade-specific group

6

Identity based on their local community

7

Educational ties to institutions or traditions

8

Patron-client relationships with major figures

9

Hereditary loyalty to a political group

10

Trade guilds specific to particular roles

11

Dynastic lineages with cadet branches

12

Lineages based on ancient hero-ancestors

13

Numerous castes of hereditary workers

14

Inheritance of an ancient body modification

15

Astrologically-determined birth groups

16

Warbands or civic military service groups

17

Voluntary mutual-assistance brotherhoods

18

Far-flung clans of affiliated families

19

Having or lacking noble blood

20

Ideological groups or philosophical sects

1

Victorian England

2

Standard Medieval Fantasy Land

3

Spring and Autumn China

4

Pre-Columbian North American Tribes

5

Mali Empire

6

Unified Dynastic China

7

Imperial or Republican Rome

8

Greek City-States

9

Mongolian Steppe Nomads

10

Modern-day America

11

Renaissance Italy

12

Imperial Persia

13

Early Medieval Europe

14

Byzantine Empire

15

Incan Empire

16

Fantasy Viking Land

17

Sumerian or Assyrian Empire

18

Aztec Empire

19

Post-Islamic Arabia

20

Polynesian Islanders

1

There is a single nominal monarch

2

There is a monarch and several under-kings

3

There is a group of approximate equals

4

There are a large number of small rulers

1

Hereditary nobility of blood

2

Powerful merchant-princes and oligarchs

3

Sorcerers and the arcanely skilled

4

Magically-empowered bloodlines

5

Proletariat peasantry or artisans

6

Minority ethnicity of long historical rule

7

Clergy of one or more local faiths

8

Citizens of a special city or old homeland

9

Outsiders or nonhumans of a certain type

10

Warlords or military leaders

11

Clan heads or ethnarchs of particular groups

12

Colonizer viceroys of a foreign hegemon

1

They’ve simply always been the rulers

2

They’re thought wiser and more virtuous

3

Their martial prowess is awe-inspiring

4

The gods chose them as the leaders

5

They were chosen by popular will

6

They’re loved for their benevolence

7

They utterly crushed the last batch of rebels

8

They brought greater prosperity to the land

9

They smashed the prior government

10

They brought order out of bloody chaos

11

They led the nation to greater glory and pride

12

They seem less bad than the alternatives

1

Subordinate lords pledged to the ruler

2

Obedient commoner bureaucracies

3

Magically-empowered enforcers

4

A major religion allied with state power

5

A powerful and respected judiciary

6

Savage brutes on the government leash

7

Economy-controlling officialdom

8

Divine blessings and curses on the people

9

Ingrained obedience in the populace

10

Hireling enforcers employed at need

11

Sorcerers in service to the ruler

12

A specific ethnic client group of the ruler

1

King or queen over lesser lords

2

Autocrat with non-noble officials

3

President chosen by certain electors

4

Warlord recognized as the strongest

5

Seniormost representative of the ruling class

6

Divinely-chosen leader of the land

7

Monarch for a fixed term or situation

8

Wielder of some magical legitimacy

1

Nobly-born peers of the realm

2

Seniormost figures in the ruling class

3

Elect chosen by ruling class electors

4

Hereditary heirs to their positions

5

Warlords with the strongest backing

6

Oligarchs of greatest wealth or influence

7

Divinely-chosen representatives of their class

8

Bureaucratically-chosen ministers

1

The ruler’s trying to crush a too-powerful lord

2

Ministers are trying to usurp power

3

A grand scheme has gone terribly wrong

4

External diplomacy has bungled something

5

A usurper secretly controls a major power

6

Foreign rivals are backing malcontents

7

A different class demands a share of rule

8

The existing ruling class wants more power

9

A disfavored class is being oppressed

10

Popular discontent is destroying legitimacy

11

The prior ruler’s incompetence still harms it

12

The heir is unacceptable to many

1

They’re an outsider with few existing allies

2

They’re newly-ascended to the throne

3

They have some basic ties with strong allies

4

They have a hard core of useful supporters

5

They have an extensive support network

6

They’re practically an institution of their own

1

Their chief schemes too much against rivals

2

They’re out of touch or lazy in their work

3

They recently suffered a bloody purge

4

Enemy forces have allies among them

5

They’re distracted by factional infighting

6

The leadership tends to ignore their advice

7

They tacitly usurp power from the ruler

8

They’re committed to a very bad idea

1

The bureaucracy is extremely efficient

2

The military leadership is fiercely loyal

3

It has great legitimacy with the populace

4

It has firm economic control over the land

5

The populace is convinced it will bring good

6

Its diplomats are remarkably cunning

7

An expert spymaster serves it well

8

It has access to powerful sorceries

9

It’s got firm ties with an important faith

10

Nobles have magic blessings or gifted blood

1

Precarious its authority questioned by some

2

It has significant problems, but it functions

3

Relatively stable, with strong legitimacy

4

Stable, able to endure even fierce shocks

1

Rapaciously grasping tax-farmers

2

Ill-disciplined and thieving military troops

3

Bribe-hungry and meddling magistrates

4

Ever-watchful informers among neighbors

5

Tithe-hungry collectors from the state faith

6

Corrupt and untrustworthy market officials

7

Carelessly superior nobles and their retinues

8

Thuggish constables or city guardsmen

9

Pitiless inquisitors hunting out dark magics

10

Law enforcers acting as if they are the law

11

State scholars teaching vile principles

12

Corrupt village headmen acting as tyrants

1

A major official was executed for treason

2

A critically-necessary heir was born

3

A chief minister fell rapidly from grace

4

A high noble made rebellious noises

5

A major faith was offended by the rulers

6

An allied nation was angered by some act

7

An enemy nation’s spy ring was revealed

8

A vast governmental project was announced

9

Corrupt officials plundered a great plan

10

A major new bureaucracy was formed

11

A heavy tax was levied to deal with an issue

12

A general was dismissed for incompetence

13

A folk hero rose to dangerous popularity

14

A major infrastructure project was begun

15

A fief or territory was put in new hands

16

Certain merchants were fined to beggary

17

A terrorist attack by rebels or external foes

18

A major faction of officials collapsed

19

A large bureaucracy was dissolved

20

Internal province borders were redrawn

1

Aboriginal peoples united in the area

2

They were refugees from a fallen land

3

They were exiles or losers of some civil strife

4

They were colonists who became independent

5

They were magically created or shaped here

6

They all followed a faith or ideology here

7

They were a conquering army gone native

8

They migrated here for profit or plunder

1

There were no other humans living here

2

They were wiped out in warfare

3

They were utterly assimilated

4

They were driven into exile

5

They became the ruling class

6

They became an oppressed underclass

7

They were partially assimilated

8

They retained small areas of self-rule

9

Roll 1d8 twice; both happened

10

No one can agree on what happened

1

Barbarian invasion

2

Colonial incursion from a greater power

3

Decadent society or a great social evil

4

Divine wrath upon them

5

Domineering neighbor

6

Economic collapse

7

Failed external war

8

Ideological divide

9

Incompetent governance

10

Internal refugees from disaster

11

Loss of cultural confidence

12

Magical calamity

13

Malevolent religion

14

Miserable poverty

15

Natural disasters

16

Noble infighting

17

Religious or ideological excess

18

Resource exhaustion

19

Scheming wizards

20

Some titanic monster

21

Tyrannical rule

22

Unsuccessful expansion

23

Usurpers seizing control

24

Vicious civil warfare

25

War with a stronger power

1

A brilliant and inspirational leader arose

2

Organization and unity overcame the trouble

3

Grim determination and enduring the evil

4

Faith strengthened them against the woe

5

Skillful use of magic resolved the problem

6

Martial prowess and military cunning

7

Diplomatic ties and outside help

8

Industrious labor and tireless exertion

9

Economic brilliance and trading acumen

10

Ruthless but effective sacrifices were made

1

A terrible regional evil was driven back

2

Academies were built that are still honored

3

Ancient foes were united together

4

Grand Workings were sorcerously raised

5

It controlled the trade of the entire region

6

It was hegemon over its weaker neighbors

7

Its armies were fearsomely mighty

8

Its culture was compelling to its neighbors

9

Magnificent works of art were created

10

Numerous legendary heroes arose

11

The populace was tremendously prosperous

12

Wonderful works of architecture were built

1

Its people were too deeply divided

2

Its leadership was hopelessly inept

3

The gods cursed it to ruin

4

Decadence and self-absorption doomed it

5

It was vastly overconfident in its plans

6

Its neighbors conspired to help ruin it

7

It was actually two crises, and it was too much

8

It was culturally exhausted and apathetic

9

Some tried to take advantage of the crisis

10

Its strengths were useless against the problem

11

The crisis was far too vast and overwhelming

12

Some leaders were allied with the crisis

1

They fled for refuge to a neighboring nation

2

They sought to hide in a dangerous wilderness

3

They were exterminated by bitter rivals

4

They degenerated into savage remnants

5

They were enslaved by their enemies

6

They were magically transformed or twisted

7

They were shattered into pockets of survivors

8

They became a remnant shadow of themselves

9

They forcibly migrated into a weaker land

10

They formed the nucleus of a new culture

11

They split into several new, smaller groups

12

Roll twice; the resultant groups hate each other

1

Battleground

The group’s territory ended up as a battleground between two stronger rival powers, and they suffered bitterly for it.

2

Betrayal

Either they betrayed some trusting neighbor to a foe, or were betrayed in turn by such a false friend.

3

Brutal Oppression

Some portion of the group was reduced to a state of wretched subservience by the rest.

4

Class Struggle

Different classes were in conflict, either subtle or overt, all seeking their own gain.

5

Consequences

Pick an event of a prior age; it had longterm consequences that were good, for a bad event, or bad, for a good event.

6

Decadence

Old strengths and glories crumbled away into decadent remnants, the group becoming indolent and indulgent.

7

Depravity

Vile debauches, unclean habits, and base hungers became commonplace among the group.

8

Desolation

Some portion of the group’s territory was rendered uninhabitable by something, either permanently or for a long time.

9

Diplomatic Coup

The group achieved an extremely successful alliance or affiliation with a neighboring group that may yet persist.

10

Economic Boom

Circumstances produced a burst of tremendous prosperity for them.

11

Enemies Within

A hostile sub-group inside the group worked to do it evil, perhaps on behalf of a neighbor or due to some old grudge.

12

Evil Wizard

A malevolent sorcerer, arcane cult, or other powerful magical entity caused a great deal of trouble for the group.

13

Exodus

A significant chunk of the group packed up and left for some supposedly-superior land.

14

Exquisite Art

The group produced art that is revered to this day, either in general or in a specific medium or form of literature.

15

External War

The group faced a war with some external enemy or rival nation, with grave consequences.

16

Freakish Magic

A particular type of magic was developed here that is unknown elsewhere, and its practitioners keep its secrets well.

17

Golden Age

Everything went remarkably well for the group for an extended period of time, allowing prosperity and success.

18

Good Wizard

Some magic-using entity of great power protected the group, taught them magic, or otherwise assisted them.

19

Great Awakening

A tremendous wave of reform, purification, and re-commitment to venerable values swept through the group.

20

Great Builders

The group constructed a great many vast palaces, monuments, estates, or other structures of wide fame.

21

Great Infrastructure

Some tremendous work of infrastructure was accomplished: canals, vast walls, roads, aqueducts, mines, or the like.

22

Hero King

Some king or other ruler achieved legendary glory in war, diplomacy, or governance. Their name is honored even today.

23

Immigrants

A large group of foreigners entered the land more-or-less peacefully and may or may not have been welcomed.

24

Inefficient Rule

The group’s governance was impractical, inefficient, or corrupt, holding to values that turned out to be unhelpful.

25

Internal War

A straight-up civil war was sparked in the group, one that involved all or many of its members.

26

Loss of Confidence

Some encounter with a new group or some shocking event made the group lose faith in its own customs and values.

27

Magical Disaster

Some large-scale magical disaster scarred the group, either natural in nature or the result of someone’s sorcerous doings.

28

Magical Tech

The group developed a useful and widespread magical tech or infrastructure that may have survived into the present.

29

Natural Calamity

Earthquakes, multi-year droughts, tsunamis, meteor strikes, or some other ruins smote the group.

30

New Horizons

The group discovered new territory, whether trans-dimensional, a far terrestrial region, underground realms, or the like.

31

New Rulers

The group’s former ruling dynasty was replaced, either peacefully, through intrigue, or perhaps through outright conquest.

32

Noble Function

Aside from the usual roles of nobles, their ruling class was all expected to fill some specific role: priest, mage, scholar, or the like.

33

Noble Strife

The group’s nobility found itself embroiled in assassinations, petty wars, and mutual struggle.

34

Plague

A sickness of vast scope culled many of the group, and may yet linger in some form.

35

Poverty

Circumstances conspired to reduce the group to a state of great poverty and harsh simplicity for a time.

36

Power Brokers

The group was a critical regional power broker for a time, their aid or influence critical in determining who would be the hegemon.

37

Praetorian Coups

Soldiers or guardsmen in service to the ruler ended up becoming the ruler’s electors or deposers.

38

Priest King

One or more religions became deeply intertwined with the legitimacy of the ruling class, priests becoming nobles and vice-versa.

39

Rare Resource

A uniquely valuable resource was found or manufactured by the group, which used or traded it to full effect.

40

Religious Fall

A once-honored religion collapsed, perhaps through divine displeasure, human corruption, or harsh suppression.

41

Religious Rise

A powerful new religion arose among the group

42

Resource Collapse

Some critical resource ran short; water, arable land, timber, magical power, or the like.

43

Secession

A substantial portion of the group’s territory tried to secede from the rest, successfully or otherwise.

44

Terrain Change

Some portion of the group’s land slowly changed its basic ecosystem; plains to forest, desert to savanna, or the like.

45

Total Collapse

Whether due to war, civil strife, magical curses, or sheer decadence, the group’s society collapsed into anarchistic chaos for a time.

46

Twist of Fate

Roll again-

Roll on "Historical Events" (columns: 1))  ;  if the event was positive twist it to ultimately be a negative to the group, and vice-versa.

47

Urbanization

One or more urban sites became unusually heavily populated, growing vastly and having a wide net of supporting towns.

48

Weak Throne

The central government of the group became weak, and feudal lords or subsidiaries gained much effective independence.

49

Xenophilia

The group adopted many customs from their neighbors and many foreigners joined the group.

50

Xenophobia

The group conceived a strong distaste for foreign people and their customs, curtailing outside contact.