Since the establishment of a formal city government, Magnimar has been led by two political bodies: the Council of Ushers and the Office of the Lord-Mayor. When the city was established, this egalitarian arrangement was meant to assure that no one man would have too powerful a voice in the citystate’s governing. After more than a hundred years, though, this noble effort has become embroiled in officialism, paper shuffling, and the ambitions of its members.

Supposedly the most powerful political institution in Magnimar, the Council of Ushers is defined by its charter as an assembly of the eldest, most experienced, and most influential of the community’s leaders, overseen by an executive moderator. As the city has grown, so too has this legislature, and what began as a group of the city’s 15 most active and outspoken family leaders has bloated into a delegation of 117 members, rife with bored nobles, scheming power-seekers, and greedy merchants. For all the assembly’s corruption, though, many honest business leaders and political activists passionately (and often, frustratedly) seek to serve the will of Magnimar’s citizenry. From its impressive chambers known as Usher’s Hall, the council debates matters of city-wide import and makes decisions regarding the area of influence outside Magnimar’s walls—effectively governing the city-state as the fledgling nation it’s becoming.

Undisputedly the most politically powerful man in Magnimar, Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras is a paunchy, self-serving politico more concerned with his own comforts than the needs of the underprivileged he hears so much about. Having managed Magnimar for the last seven years, Grobaras handles the immediate needs of the city, indifferently settling matters relating to the distribution of city funds, use of the city watch, and the concerns of countless citizens groups, all while welcoming bribery and lavish gifts. Although the finest Lamasi fashions and his numerous chins make the lord-mayor’s self-indulgent foppishness blatantly apparent, they hide a silver tongue and the private wealth to give nearly any promise form. While his station would have him uphold the mandates of the Council of Ushers, he often ignores such duties, proving much more attentive to whether or not his personal declarations are enforced. Grobaras’s mandates are rare, but—without the need for council review—sometimes prove grossly biased or potentially damaging to the city. Fortunately, the secretary of the lord-mayor, Grobaras’s personal assistant and messenger Valanni Krinst, personally vets many of the orders from the lord-mayor’s office.

A third political body operating outside of the city government is the Varisian Council. Formed at the request of the city’s elders more than 80 years ago, the Varisian Council assures that the Magnimarian government does not infringe upon the rights and traditions of Varisia’s native peoples—peripherally including the Shoanti—who live in close-knit neighborhoods and transient tent and wagon communities throughout the city.

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