This is not all that interesting. I shall give a brief overview. It will probably not be expanded later.
The question is: Who Rules Atlantis?
This file considers some of the possible answers.
Prince Atlantis Atlantor 22nd is the 22nd of that name to sit on the Throne of Poseidon (there have also been other emperors with other names, and a few empresses). He is quite handsome, but has no other merit. He is not especially intelligent, but he is intelligent enough to realise that he has no political power whatsoever.
Atlantis Atlantor 22nd is not intelligent enough to realise that no emperor for the last five hundred years or more has had any political power whatsoever. They have all been figureheads. It is ironic that his face, the most handsome imperial face for several generations, is the first never to be stamped on coins.
Atlantis Atlantor 22nd is a 0th-level human. His stats are irrelevant as the player characters will never meet him.
Previous emperors have always married a daughter of one of the Dukes, and in due course Atlantis Atlantor 22nd will do the same.
The inheritance laws of Atlantis specify that titles are inherited by males in preference to females - younger sons inherit in preference to older daughters. This applies to the Throne of Poseidon (and also to Dukedoms and Earldoms, see below).
The Dukes are the heads of the nine major aristocratic families:
Duke Iazoq
Duke Pazaxtan
Duke Retashaza
Duke Svalk
Duke Talomzar
Duke Uzixue of Bradispan
Duke Uzmoylyr
Duke Xavartos
Duke Zrapurl
Until the wizards of the Institutes came to power, it was the Dukes who collectively ruled Atlantis.
Nowadays, the Dukes have no legal rights other than those possessed by any other citizen of Atlantis. In practice, they retain their traditional right to adjudicate disputes relating to land they own, but there is nothing in the written law giving them this right.
The Dukes and their families form a closed community. One of the daughters of one of the Dukes will, in due course, marry the Emperor. The other daughters of Dukes will marry sons of Dukes. If there are not enough daughters to go around, some of the sons of Dukes will marry daughters of Counts.
Although, in principle, dukedoms can be inherited by daughters if there are no sons to inherit, all of the current Dukes are male and all have sons.
Ducal families will generally have a town-house in the region east of the Law Courts and north-east of the offworld hotel district and a palace in an arc to the east of the Imperial Palace, in addition to any territory they may rule inland.
Dukes are 0th-level humans. Ducal families are wealthy enough to employ wizards amongst their retinue, and all of them do this. Such wizards will be specialists, usually but not always transmuters, of 6th or 7th level.
The Counts are the heads of the seventy minor aristocratic families (the
terms Count and Earl have the same meaning and are interchangeable). They
include:
Count Akiseph
Count Alaudulyn
Count Alesham
Count Asot
Count Dennieb
Count Dernie
Count Dugimbilh
Count Dytyrlax
Count Emevohlie
Count Judsubeyn
Count Kargossam
Count Kimmar
Count Maantzar
Count Milracq
Count Sephikath
Count Sosadhus
Count Sosbex
Count Tanthannet
Count Tirglekis
Count Tirievus
Count Unsius
Count Zakis
Count Zeranto
Count Zumandevi
Countess Amina Stalior
Countess Isalia Rometard
Countess Shalarina Shalahar
Countess Viderria Temilles
Historically, the Counts have never had any real political power in Atlantis, although several of them claim otherwise.
All Earldoms date back several centuries. Some were awarded to successful adventurers who cleared regions of monsters. Others were awarded to wealthy merchants who funded the Emperor of their day. Yet others were awarded to mistresses of the Emperor of their day when they became pregnant with the Emperor's child.
Nowadays, the Counts have no legal rights other than those possessed by any other citizen of Atlantis. In practice, they retain their traditional right to adjudicate disputes relating to land they own, but there is nothing in the written law giving them this right.
The Counts and their families are much less of a closed community than the Dukes. The sons of Counts often marry the daughters of other Counts, and vice versa, but the sons of Counts sometimes marry the daughters of wealthy merchants, and the daughters of Counts sometimes marry successful adventurers.
Although they believe, correctly, that they have no political power, the Counts have a good deal of influence, of which they are largely unaware. Atlantean aristocrats are notorious throughout the world, and when people think of Atlantean aristocrats they think of the Counts, rather than the Dukes, whom no foreigner ever sees. Most tales about Atlantean aristocrats are exaggerated, and while they centre on the aristocrats' arrogance and the stupid lengths they will go to in order to win bets, they also make mention of the aristocrats' courage and sense of honour. This world-wide reputation for courage and honesty gives the Counts and their families influence out of all proportion to their numbers. They are the people that others read about in glossy magazines and want to emulate.
Earldoms can be inherited by daughters if there are no sons to inherit, and some of the Earldoms currently have Countesses in their own right rather than Counts. The sample listed above (about one third of the total) is typical in this respect.
The Counts and their families will generally have a town-house less than four miles from the Marketplace of the Magicians and a castle or villa somewhere inland, more than thirty miles from the centre of Atlantis.
Counts are usually warriors of 3rd to 5th level. They are often wealthy enough to employ wizards amongst their retinue, and several of them do this. Such wizards will be specialists, usually but not always transmuters, of 5th or 6th level.
I shall leave at least half of the Counts unnamed, in order that player characters from an aristocratic background are free to choose their own surnames.
As the only standing military force in Atlantis, perhaps the Navy rules the city?
Historically, the Navy has never had any political power, and this is the way senior naval officers like it. They have sworn an oath of allegiance requiring them to protect the city and its citizens, and they take that oath seriously. As long as people treat naval officers with a modicum of deference and do not give naval secrets away to foreigners, they are content.
Almost everyone thinks that the Wizards of the Institutes now rule Atlantis. Even the Wizards think this. So it must be true, mustn't it? It certainly appears to be: people treat wizards with even more deference than they treat naval officers.
It is true that the Wizards make the laws. It is also true that, in extremis, it is the Wizards who enforce the laws, by fireballing serious offenders. But that is all they do, and there is a lot more to ruling than that. The reality is that wizards do as they please, always have done as they pleased, and always will do as they please, and that hardly ever means involving themselves in the affairs of the common people. The quiet coup which nominally gave power to the Wizards has changed nothing.
Kartgav Maglogienatalus, Overall Chairman of the Institutes, is skilled at illusion magic and even more skilled at bureaucracy. If any one person rules Atlantis it is he. However, he will not be succeeded by his offspring (he does not have any) but by whomever the Institutes appoint when the time comes for him to step down. His influence on the daily lives of Atlantean citizens is on the low side of hardly any. Many Atlantean citizens have never heard of him and would not recognise his name if it were mentioned in conversation (the best known Atlantean wizard, if not necessarily for the right reasons, is Genesse Stapo, Wardeness of the Institute of Enchantment).
In summary, the Wizards could rule Atlantis if they wanted to, but for the most part they cannot be bothered. They have far more interesting ways of occupying their time.
It is the merchants who have most of the money nowadays. So perhaps it is they who rule Atlantis?
Collectively, the merchants probably could rule Atlantis if they wanted to. But, like the wizards, they do not want to. They have better ways of using their time. They are busy making money. And, also like the wizards, merchants are not used to acting collectively. They are more used to competing against one another.
Merchants and wizards have a lot in common, do they not? It comes as no surprise that the sons and daughters of many merchants are students of magic at the Institutes. It also comes as no surprise that the Wizards, almost without exception, come from the wealthy merchant classes.
Perhaps the people rule Atlantis? There are, after all, an awful lot of them.
This suggestion does not stand scrutiny. For example, if the people ruled Atlantis, they would not impose on themselves the complicated and tedious tax system from which they suffer.
Perhaps the Secret Police rule Atlantis? After all, if anyone knows what is going on in the city, it is the Secret Police.
The fact is, though, that the three heads of the Secret Police are so busy misleading one another that they would not have time to rule Atlantis, even if they had accurate information to base their decisions on (which they don't, because they are constantly being misled by one another).
At least one person, Aliebde Talomzar, knows at least part of the truth. No-one rules Atlantis. It gets along very well without rulers.
However, even Talomzar does not know the whole truth. No-one can rule Atlantis. Atlantis is too big and has too much momentum of its own. The best that anyone, aristocrat or wizard or secret policeman, can do is to stop it going badly off course.