Who Runs This Ruin?
Ahhh government. So who runs this place? Well,that used to be easy to answer. Simply Atlan Miskovar did. There was some popular election of a city council at the yearly city concordance, but on the whole the city  was a one man show. Miskovar allowed the guilds to run the trades, while he directed to development of the city. Although a priest of Hel, he was very pragmatic to enable the city to take advantage of the good qualities of other beliefs.So if you were a trader Hels port offered something no other city or kingdom can offer, freedom of enterprise.Now though the question is a bit more complex.T he guilds are nearly nonexistent. So the back bone and money flow which made Miskovar so powerful have been cut off. To make matters more confused the High Sage has attempted to streamline the governmental system and exert a more secular control of the city. Then to make it even more confusing you have an all powerful navy now dictating the military fortunes of the land based military. A direct change in functions as they existed before the Great Destruction (Great Rebirth to the Lathanderites).So while everyone in some position of power seeks to restore Helsport,each has a different path of getting there. The smart player will be either the one who manages to seize power and destiny of the city for himself,or back the right faction in their quest for control.  Miskovar's Heraldry can be seen below.

Where Do You Go On Sunday?
OK so you are a devout worshipper of your godand  youwish to perform a service of worship to the god. Yep you got it ,there are no temples. To make matters worse, you are supposed to worship the official goddess  of the city, Hel. So even before you can say hi toyour god, you firsthave  to pay the weekly tithe to Hel. When the Templars of Hel knock on your door look pathetic and destitute, but you better pay them something. If you happen  to be a Lothanderite, be careful. Your kind is universally blamed forthe  Great Destruction. As such keep your faith secret. While there are many of  your kind currently streaming into the city, you are still subject to the impromptu  purge. Also making things difficult is the oddity of the Orcish worship of  Lothander. While the Lathanderite immigrants to their promised land of Helsport  keep coming, they are becoming more and more aware of the growing schism  in the faith as practiced in Helsport, Vs the rest of the world.  But there are rumors afloat that the REAL Padre is still in the city!

So You Have  Been Drafted!
One of the obligations of citizenship is the duty of military  conscription. If you look closely at your papers you will find that you are assigned to a section of city wall. During combat between the city and its  numerous enemies,you are expected to report to and defend that section.  Another bonus to citizenship is the likelihood of outright conscription.If  new soldiers are needed for some enterprise you may find yourself  living the life of a soldier.

But wait I am female you say!
Makes no difference Helsport is rather progressive in its  views of women as soldiers. If you are selected for a non combat duty you  will not be paid or billeted, so you better hope you can afford to pay the  Templars of Hel while you are serving for freely. If you cannot pay youmay  find yourself permanently assigned to the army until such time as you can  pay the back tithes you accumulate. What is worse is you are expected to  provide your own uniform. Wise citizens buy a uniform the first chance they get by going to a tailor. If you are called for duty,and you do not have a uniform one will be provided for you, but it will likely not fit and you  will spend triple what it actually costs. If you are less fortunate, you will  be conscripted for a combat expedition. Relax, should you be slain in battle your heirs and dependentswill receive a payment to secure their fortunes,but only if you have a will.Otherwise you will be paid in the plunder you and  your fellows create. Since the army is mostly on the defense though, villages will be few and far between.On the plus side you will be lead by some extremely competent and creativeofficers. Remember the citizen army of Helsport has never been defeated on the fieldof battle. Remember your city's battle cry,"To Hel with Freedom. Let Lathanders light show the way to victory" Ahhh Get Me Out Of Here Impossible! You actually want to leave this paradise? OK it happens.

There are several ways to leave to the city.
You are lucky if you become a diplomat or trader for you can get a passport out of the city fairly easy. Or you could hire yourself out to one of the military organization in the city and take your chances in  combat. You could pass through the gate on a false passport, but what if you  need back in? Then you could set up an enterprise that can justifiably require  you to leave the city. Or an easy was is to commit some vile crime that would  get you thrown out of the city. Less risky might be the climbing of the walls  if you need to be unnoticed.A few characters have even built tunnels beneath  the city walls to make it seem as if they never leave the city at all.
 

How to Get Around in this Government
Well, here is where you need the all important blue citizenship  papers, and they must alsohave the proper  stamps to allow you to enter first the Government districtandthen enter  the Traders district. Suffice to say that the less knownyou are to the gate  guards, the more difficult your journey will be. Strangely bribes incash  and coins are not tolerated by the guards, however the smart citizen will  be able to offer favors that might be tempting to a guard. The problem is  that most new immigrants to the city do not have much to offer in bribes when  it comes to satisfying the guards. Remember it is possible to avoid any difficulties  altogether if you have enough papers and forms which state that your mission  to another section of the city is duly authorized, but since there are many  counterfeit and superseded forms this tactic can be very dangerous.
So why  all the forms?
Well, it rests in the theory of authoritarian control implemented  by Miskovar from the outset. The city of Helsport is actually a large privately  held conglomerate of business ventures and franchisees.To promote efficiency  some method of passive control was needed. To the averagecitizen, the blue  citizenship papers were used weekly to enter the Religious district, or more  rarelyto enter the Arena. Otherwise most daily activities took place inside  the Slum districts. Governmental policing was therefore largely confined  to the control of one district, i.e., the Slums. Anotherbenefit was thatrelatively  few government functionaries were required to run the affairsof state, since  most citizens avoided the hassle of trying to get intothe Government district  in the first place. Only people of some intelligence and skill would even  bother to attempt to do so. Another benefitto thissystem is that the Traders  district is largely devoid of any non-legitimate people. No thief could  successfully traverse both the government district and enter the Traders  district. It would amaze many players to learn that fewer than fifty N.P.C.'s  ran a city of over 100,000 people. An amazing efficiency based on the control  of the movement of people. But did the average citizen of Helsport mind these  conditions? In short no, because inside the Slum district the citizen was  enjoying a rare and precious commodity, absolute independenceand freedom.
So how does the system work now?
Well poorly at best, but itis improving  each day. Many of the guards have been conscripted from the survivors,meaning  that many have less than desirable abilities such as the lack of enough education  to read. While it was the practice of Helsport to insist upon the education of all citizens, in practice only the children who were of school age were  the beneficiaries of this practice.The adults were largely left to there  own devices. So for now it is relatively easy to bluff your way past the  guards and enter most areas of the city.But be forewarned, the more ostentatious your  journeys the more likely you are to suffer from the guard's common sense and  experience the full authority of the Helsport of old.

What Do You Mean My Papers Are Forged?
If you live in Helsport eventually one of two things will happen and will both lead to the same result. The first isthat someimportant  bit of paper will be lost by the government. The second is that someone will  forcibly lose that important piece of paper for you.Whether it is to get you in trouble on purpose, or accident eventually you will need to understand the laws of Helsport just to be sure you do not end up in theWhite Tower. While Miskovar laid down the law and the guilds sought to codify it, your number one culprit of paper causation is the guild of scribes. When first founded the scribes were intended to act simply as record keepers, but as a few years passed and favors and rights were demanded and granted some one had to come up with a legalsystem and care for it as it grew larger and more complex. As it stands right now,the scribes have so many specialized areas of law that no one can ever be sure that the law takes a definite position on any activity. For example murder is strictly a capital crime in Helsport.Yet the Assassins Guild has a permit toconduct all murders for hire in Helsport.To further complicate the matter, the Thieves guild has the exclusive right to regulate all illegal activities in Helsport and as such their permit supersedes that which has been granted to the AssassinsGuild.
In addition to the above no citizen in Helsport is  allowed to commit a crime or associate with those who encourage such actions  to happen,i.e., no one can have membership in either the Thieves or Assassins  Guilds.So as you can see things are a bit tricky. Lets go over the important  bits of paper one at a time. Get Your Citizenship OK first you must have  your citizenship papers. They come in several colors, but almost everyone  has a set of papers that are blue. The papers state the following key points.  First you area citizen of Helsport.  Second you accept the rules of the city council and Atlan Miskovar. Third  you agree to submit to military service at the pleasure of the city. Fourth  you accept no allegiance to any other mortal or immortal liege. And that's  it. Aside from stating what part of the wall you defendduring battle.

How do you get one?
In general you get it from one of two placesin  thegovernment district. If you go to the Government Building {a.k.a.Thieves guild}  they will usually issue it to you for some sort of fee orservice. But beware,  while easier, filling out your citizenship papersgivesthe thieves'guild  a whole mess of information about you. The otherplace you can go isgovernment  row. While you will fill out the sameexactforms, you can be usuallycertain  that your information remainsprivate.There is a drawback though, it is  that the forms are not always the most up to date and can be the causeof  difficulty. Another problemis thatthe official government of Helsport is  seriously understaffed and your papers might never be enrolled which can have  a devastating effects to you. The choice is yours, however. Then you might consider  forged papers,butthen you would be dealing with an unregulatedthief. C.Y.A. Here is thegoldenrule.If youthink you might need a paper saying you are allowed to do what you are currently doing, then get a permit before it's too late. It is completely possible to exist outside the paper jail, but while it is inconvenient, it can also protect you. For example when an assassin kills  someone, prosecution is normally dropped because the murderer has a permit  that states he is legally allowed to kill someone. But if he happens to lose that permit,or can not produce it in court and verify that it predates the alleged offense, he can expect a summary execution in "ChopChop Square." Butit is a double edged sword, the more permits you have officially sanctioning your actions, the more attention you attract to yourself. Keep in mind most citizens have a citizenship paper, and maybe a guild membership.You however will likely come up with all sorts of harebrained ideas and needs for permits and licensees since you are an adventurer at heart. Most citizens do not go to the extremes of paper hoarding that you are likely to create.

Small Business Administration
Eventually you will desperately need to accomplishsomethingthat either there is no guild for, or which is so outrageous that the government wants certain guarantees that no harm or liability will come to the city proper.For example if you wish to build a fleet of seagoing ships to plunder some far island, at the very least you will need some form of warrant stating that for all intents the city has disowned you, but if you succeed you promise to  give the appropriate guilds their fair share. The mostproblematic task you  will have is figuring out who to approach forthe warrant and how much it willofficially cost. In case you were wondering most of the scribes happen to be membersof the Nobility,and nobles in Helsport tend to be fabulously wealthy and fairly corrupt.