D & D running a kingdom rules set?

[Xenophon13]

Any one know of a d20 rule set for charachters who want to start and run a kingdom

[Eleas]

Any one know of a d20 rule set for charachters who want to start and run a kingdom

Okay, first, you'll have to decide on how it's to be presented in the story.

What I mean by this, is that your characters are presumably still going to be pursuing goals. But in which capacity? If they are rulers 24/7, they're hardly going to be out and about doing adventury stuff. In other words, are they actually going to be managing all the minutiae of running the kingdom personally? If not, then you may as well make their goal the center of a campaign, and the various missions and quests they take would then be small steps toward the end goal of creating that kingdom.

There are doubtless something more boardgamey out there as well that you can use. As to whether it's integrated into the d20 mechanics proper, I can't say. My gut tells me your best bet is Dynasties and Demagogues if you're running D&D 3.0 - 3.5, and that one (while well-written) would need some work to take you all the way.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

A good DM is a good place to start. A DM who wants to run such a game should have a good enough grasp of the ruleset and the group to be able to improvise or even devise some simple rules to run from.

Beyond that, I seem to recall a "Stronghold" sort of sourcebook for 3.x D&D which had rules for acquiring and running various castles and other significant land holdings. If you can find that, such a thing would be an excellent basis for your game.

You can always borrow from other rule systems as well. Dark Heresy Ascension provides rules for the party's political power and clout (called Influence) which behaves very similarly to an individual character's statistics. For example, instead of testing Strength to bash down a door, the characters test their Influence to see if they can strong-arm a local governor into compliance.

[lance]

You could try Birthright, its second edition, but the actual ruling rules isnt that incompatable to 3rd

[Raesene]

You could try Birthright, its second edition, but the actual ruling rules isnt that incompatable to 3rd

At the Birthright wiki you can get some information about the setting. They had some conversion guides to 3.0 and 3.5, although I couldn't find them immediately. I played it in a Cerilia-based campaign several years ago, my group and I had fun conquering a domain for us and ruling it afterwards.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Beyond that, I seem to recall a "Stronghold" sort of sourcebook for 3.x D&D which had rules for acquiring and running various castles and other significant land holdings. If you can find that, such a thing would be an excellent basis for your game.

Yeah, the 'Stronghold Builder's Guide' is a good suggestion, especially if you want the NPCs to build it from the ground up as it has rules that determine cost and how long it will take. There's also 'Cityscape' for when an urban sprawl forms around your redoubt.

There's also some non-WotC books for city and Empire building specifically 'Book of Stronholds & Dynasties', 'The City Quarters' series of books (Temple & Thieves Quarters), Sword & Sorcery's 'The Book of Taverns'. 'Tournaments, Fairs, & Taverns' from Natural Press, 'City Works' from Legends & Lairs, Gary Gygax's 'World Builder', 'Dynasties & Demagogues' covers political intrigue, that's just some.

Mainly though, you just need a good DM.

[Solauren]

I'd also suggestion 'Power of Faerun' by Wotc. Expanions on Leadershop options for Ruler types.

[Sycrus]

For other non-WotC options, I'd suggest either Fields of Blood or Empire.