A list of government systems in the Valley

There's many ways to govern a society. From the strictly lawful to the anarchic, there needs to be some rules, and method of both deciding and enforcing those rules. The Valley has been around for a while, and most places have a pretty stable system.
=== Tsar ===
* Government: Magocracy (The Council of Mages)
* Method of Appointment: Unknown
* Alignment: True Neutral
* Current Leader: High Lady High Arcanist Gwendil Teyr'ranaric, Seer.
* Tsar is unusual, as it's had a few systems of government over the past two millennia, including a democracy and a theocracy. After it was mostly leveled in 1024E, a group of mages claimed the city and set about rebuilding it. The identity of these mages isn't widely known, but their successors rule the city to this day. Successors are chosen by their own internal council, and the public gets no real say in the matter. Tsar is a difficult city to say the least, home to over 50,000 very diverse people. The people expect the council to keep the city free and safe, and the council does an amazing job of this. The laws of the city are pretty straightforward and common sense, but are strongly enforced (some would say excessively so). This leaves everyone in the city safe and happy, and able to get on with their lives.
=== Skor (and Tarrens Junction) ===
* Government: Monarchy or Regency
* Method of Appointment: Divine Right, or public ballot
* Alignment: Lawful Good
* Current Leader: Her Majesty Her Honor Queen High Arbiter Illden Aerim of Skor, Favored Soul of Thyr, Long May She Live.
* Skor is ruled by the descendants of the god of kings: Thyr Aerim. This has been a mixed bag, as while history recalls many great monarchs of the past, there's been a lot of bad eggs in recent memory. When the people of Skor don't like whomever is on the throne, they're either killed or exiled, and a Regent is elected in a public ballot. If a future Aerim can win one of these elections, the city reverts to a monarchy.
* Generally a good monarch is the times when the city prospers, as during those times it's very literally blessed by a god.
* Skor has a complicated and exhaustive legal code, trying to be as fair and just as possible. There's an ongoing tradition for the truly great kings to try and update and reform the laws as times and culture changes.
=== The Calaelen Dominion ===
* Government: Democracy of a sort.
* Method of Appointment: Survey to elect guild members, guild members elect a Mayor.
* Alignment: Chaotic Good
* Current Leader: Lady Major Freydan DeJun, and Mistress of Blades Adjudant Tabitha
* The Dominion has a relatively simple system, being as it is a very young nation. Since it's hard to classify who is and is not a citizen of the dominion, a survey is taken of interested parties. For example, to elect the Guildmaster of Trade, merchants and traders are surveyed to see who they'd most prefer in the role, and that person is then appointed. A vote is only organised when there are multiple appealing candidates.
* In theory the guild then selects a Mayor and Adjutant, but this is yet to come up. 
* Laws are set on a per-settlement basis, although there is some general rules that apply to all. Greyton has strict laws that curtail some freedoms in exchange for security as well as protecting labor (Greyton particularly values hard work, and believes that people's entitlement to fair pay trumps most other concerns). Other settlements like Dejune are much more lax to allow people from many cultures and races to coexist without favoring some over others.
=== Sandpoint ===
* Government: Monarchy of a sort.
* Method of Appointment: Each leader selects their successor
* Alignment: True Neutral
* Current Leader: High Lord Mayor Deverin of Sandpoint
* Sandpoint is a very old city indeed, and one that survives on trade. There's a very definite noble class who select their leadership from among themselves. The city has been lead by a Deverin for centuries, and ironically seem to be a more consistently capable family than the Aerims.
* The laws of Sandpoint focus on supporting and protecting trade, aiming to make all citizens as wealthy as possible. The laws are also very careful to prevent organised crime, protection rackets of anything of the sort.
=== The High Council of the Valley ===
While not a nation, the High Council is an important institution. This allows representatives of the "Four Great Nations" i.e. Skor, Sandpoint, Tsar and the Mitran Church to come together and formally discuss matters. Often these are matters of coordination, so that the laws in one place don't cause problems in another, but sometimes they're also matters where everyone needs to come together to tackle a common problem.
Also present at these meetings are representatives from the 4 great institutions (The Great Downward, Mirrax Marines, Ironclade Goods and Services, and Glodsson Heavy Industries). Also present are representatives from the Dwarflands, The Dales, and other minor cities (such as Aberdeen).
The leader of the 4 great nations are defacto members of the council (becoming High Lords or High Ladies), and each can name some number of independents as Lords or Ladies. This is important as only the members of the council are permitted to speak or vote at these council meetings. The council meets on the first day of each season.