seeing like a state: a system for domain management

For every 100 primary producers (farmers, fisherfolk, miners, craftspeople who are producing materials for the same, traders engaged in transporting goods and otherwise serving the community, their dependent elders and children) who owe their allegiance - or at least a meaningful portion of their produce, whether that's defined in terms of taxes or rent or interest or protection money - to you, you get one surplus.

Multiply the surplus you get by two if the land/fishing/whatever is more than marginal, by four if it's positively lush and productive, and by ten if it's by a rare resource (like mining tin or coal) or during the slack season. Double it if you oppress them, as in rule through institutions designed to squeeze out as much surplus as possible. (You can oppress some section of the producing population but not others.) By default oppressing or not is up to the PCs, but diegetic details may imply that switching from one to the other requires a significant amount of work, quests, whatever.

Each point of surplus represents somebody doing something that has no immediate economic value to the community itself and is instead doing something for your (possibly perfectly benevolent or necessary) ends. You may want to designate these as soldiers or servants.

For the utility of soldiers, refer to your minisystem of choice for dealing with war. "Soldiers" here can refer to anyone permanently engaged in the process of improving your war capacity; actual soldiers as well as armorers and engineers and doctors and so on.

Servants are anybody engaged in showing off the mere fact that you have a lot of surplus to throw around. Other rich people will respect you basically proportional to the number of servants you can muster. 

Miscellaneous surplus might also be spent on something useful that isn't for war or for show; i.e., scholars researching the names of God that will allow you to cast the next spell, or whatever. (Obviously, scholars might also function as soldiers or servants, depending on their use.)

Jeon Min Seok

Passing the Buck

If you're off adventuring, or for every 5000 people you have indirectly working for you, you must appoint an NPC to act as intermediary. 

Intermediaries can be appointed by you or elected by the community. ("Election" might not be literal; at any rate the issue is to whom intermediaries are institutionally responsible. Likewise if there are literal  free elections but all candidates are in your pocket that's appointment in rules terms.)

If intermediaries are elected, or if intermediaries are appointed and you're oppressive, 2-in-6 chance that half the surplus is reported to you as existing, but actually doesn't.

If intermediaries are appointed and you're not oppressive, 2-in-6 chance the intermediary oppresses them anyway, then uses the extra surplus for themselves.

Community reaction rolls

When you're interacting with a community or institution or perhaps individual that's part of your domain, and they aren't oppressed (possibly just: aren't oppressed and have been been for some time), GM can roll on the following table. (Roll a d6, or d8 if they're sorta oppressed or otherwise affronted.)

1. Patriots who are enthuasistic about your rule and eager to come up with ways to help accomplish your goals.
2. Squeaky wheels who want to milk your reputation for benevolence. (If you have an appointed intermediary, they may complain they're being oppressed.)
3. Genuine squeaky wheels who have some problem that only you can fix. (If you do, they become patriots for an appropriate time.)
4. Mistrustful liberty-lovers who are (likely quite justifiably) jealous of the autonomy they've gotten used to and are worried you'll take it away.
5. Preoccupied with something that has nothing to do with you.
6. Opportunists who function as patriots if you've had a string of victories recently and mistrustful liberty-lovers if you've had a string of defeats.
7. Roll on next table.
8. Roll on next table.
   

If they are oppressed, or at any rate have been oppressed recently, GM can secretly roll on the following. (Use a d6, or a d8 if they're only kinda oppressed or have been at least sorta won over ideologically.)

1. Cowed and will do whatever you ask. (Other than be honest with you: they will tell you you're non-oppressive and great.) 3-in-6 chance of turning to open revolt if a nearby community has been in that and won some victories thereby.
   
2. Brown-nosers who want to advance within the ranks of oppression.
3. Trusting in the good of the czar and blaming your intermediaries (if any) for their oppression. 4-in-6 chance they do in fact know whether it's you or the intermediary that's the problem.
4. In open revolt or non-cooperation as soon as you show any weakness. (Give out some exemplary punishments in advance to make them cowed for a bit, while perhaps reducing the surplus they produce for you.)
5. Preoccupied with something that has nothing to do with you.
6. In acute crisis from some problem resulting from their oppression. (Helping them out may turn them into brown-nosers, failing to do so may bring them to open revolt.)
7. Roll on previous table.
8. Roll on previous table.
   

Stating the obvious

Adjust all numbers in accordance with diegesis and GM fiat. This system is Mosaic Strict.

(see also)