Any player with enough resources can purchase land and soldiers and create his or her own town. These towns can have their own set of laws that, if disobeyed, will cause retailiation from the town guards. In addition, if a player makes enemies during the course of the game, the player can ban the other player from his or her town. If the banned player enters, the guards will unleash attacks upon that player.

Taxes can also be levied by the owner of a town, and can be different based on a character's allegiance. For instance, one could make a tax of 5% for residents and 15% for non-residents, thus enticing people to join the town and offer support for the economy and security of the town. This player-controlled universe has little administrator moderation, with the technical support people simply helping with bugs or dealing with cheaters.

Shadowbane allows players to have a sense of control only available to the strongest characters of existing MMORPGs and hopes to create a self-regulating community using that control. The story will be created by the players and for the players. In a genre defined by the relationship between a player and his or her character, such a character-based architecture should make for a terrific experience.