Grey Powers

One of the defining aspects of Tolkien’s fantasy worldbuilding is black and white powers – Mordor is evil, and evil to the core, while Lothlorien is a good power.  There is no trade dispute or diplomatic question to be negotiated away which will allow these to powers to coexist in peace – Mordor is bent on domination, and Lothlorien will resist.  That core conflict drives a great story.  However, that structure doesn’t work very well if a creator is building a world with conflicts more like history, where kingdoms or people groups can conflict, live in peace, or ally with one another as circumstances change.

Thus the concept of a ‘Grey’ power; one that is not entirely black or entirely white.  This can be challenging world-building, as it is hard to deliberately build in flaws to a power the author favors, and often difficult to see the virtues of a power the author sees as an opposition faction.  Making the decision to make Grey Powers in a worldbuilding setup can lead to benefits in later storytelling or roleplaying, however, as it opens up far more of the world for general storytelling use. 

A worldbuilder can ask several questions to help make their nation or people group less black and white. 

What are the strengths of this power?
How do these strengths lead to or create subtle weaknesses?
What are the weaknesses of this power?
How do these weaknesses lead to hidden strengths?

Let us create a simple grey power as an example – the Duchy of Exum.  Exum is a feudal society ruled by a Grand Duke/Duchess, with a very strong law system, and many temples to every deity or supernatural power that has followers within their borders.

Their strengths would be a stable, hereditary government system, coupled with a strong system of laws and law enforcement.  This could create a number of weaknesses – a society with strong laws and a very stable government could easily frustrate the ambitious or thwart innovation and positive changes.  While the plurality of temples and priests suggest a lot of tolerance for differing points of view, a weakness might be a lack of a powerful religious authority to restrain the power or excesses of the nobility, or perhaps a too-permissive attitude towards cults or faiths which cause harm to others, or who challenge the lawful nature of the society.  Of course, these potential faults are only suggestions; but what flaws would serve to create conflicts, tensions, and hooks for good stories in this environment?

This example state might seem somewhat oppressive to folk from less organized and lawful societies, or perhaps dangerously heretical to another from a more theocratic civilization – but unlike in black and white societies, these are not ‘kill on sight’ issues.  A priest from a neighboring theocracy could still enter the Duchy, shop at the shops, get a meal in a tavern and have debates in the street with the local nomadic priest of the god of brewing. 

When starting your worldbuilding, be sure to decide from the beginning if you are creating black and white powers, or you’d prefer to work in a few more shades of grey.