Portrait of Auster Denoerval, by Virginie Carquin
Fantasy organizations are not limited to the grandiose and world-shaking. Scores of bureaucratic organizations run silently beneath the surface, serving to frustrate and stymie your characters in pursuit of their goals. Terry Pratchett, Franz Kafka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Stanislaw Lem, and J. K. Rowling all used them to good effect. Often they also serve as humorous interludes, as in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker series. Can they be satirical or offer social commentary? You bet. Often a minor character appears who offers up some pompous resume tidbit, and with this in mind, I created a list of impossible and not-so-impossible bureaucracies below.
Bureaucracies
| Division of Unmentionable Mummification
Ministry of Reptilian Petrification Department of Gustatory Purity Task Force for the Relinquishment of Religious Idols National Institute of Mercantile Transformation Regional Institute of Virtuous Education Managerial Division of Domestic Communication Imperial Task Force on Strategic Studies Federal Task Force for the Creation of Healthy Aesthetics Managerial Institute for Strategic Hygiene Druidic Hearing on Intelligent Horticulture Bureau of Eldritch Battlecraft Imperial Federation of Paranormal Persuasion Federal Division of Philosophical Inquiry Civic Bureau of Artful Labor Imperial Institute of Human Love Robust Hearing on Witches’ Adventuring Federal Institute of Magical Freedom Managerial Bureau of Insidious Comedy Imperial Commission for Free Athletics Managerial Commission on Spiritual Freedom National Institute of Mercantile Management |
Bureaucracies also include scholarly societies as might be found associated with a college or university.
Scholarly Societies
| Bindenum Institute of Ophidian Intelligence
Imperial Task Force for the Study of Military Oddities Royal Academy of Archaic Discoveries Crossneedle Royal Campaign for Demonic Rights League of Imperial Scholars The Order of Hooded Sages Professors of the Phlegmatic Trillium Bright Wheels Literary Society College of the Iron Laurel Studious Society of Perfumed Fools Way of the Fiery Wheel Students of the Fulsome Heart Scholars’ Conference on Gently Persuading Religious Literature Sage’s Conference on Progressive Legendary Diseases The Blacksmiths of Literature Drovers of Civilization Tricksters of Intelligence Buskers of Warcaft The Flaming Faction of Hell’s Scholars The Eternal League of Skywise Scholars Imperial Academy of Draconian Discoveries Academy of Dignified Military Education |
