We're starting chapter three, and the PCs aren't sure if Ileosa is your typical Lawful Evil Korvosan monarch but just a little more misguided than usual or, conversely, if she's the Big Bad Evil Guy. The strongest evidence against her at this point is that a possibly-insane person claimed that she was behind the plague.
She has intelligence 15 and Wisdom 13, and I've been trying not to have her do anything too stupid.
The players are looking to analyze her economic policies to determine whether she's overall a beneficial force for Korvosa or if she's bad for the city. Being true Korvosans they don't care whether she's evil or not; Queen Domina almost certainly was, and she's the best thing ever to happen to the city.
I don't understand economics as well as my players do. What can I tell them about what the queen is doing? The quarantine of Endrin Island is an obvious one, but since the PCs have actually gone there and determined that the plague is still there they don't actually fault her for it, though they think there are more proactive stances she could take.
I've mentioned that the housing market is spiralling into decline, since with so many people leaving the city (or just dying) it's very much a buyer's market. The Varisians are unhappy and the Shoanti have left, but the trade route through Bloodsworn Vale has just opened up (thanks to the PCs). What else should I tell them?
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Ileosa's stats may not actually be that good at the beginning of chapter 3. Her numbers break down as follows:
Str 18 (+4 devil-bound, +3 inherent; base 11)
Dex 28 (+4 devil-bound, +4 inherent, +6 item; base 14)
Con 28 (+4 devil-bound, +4 inherent, +6 item(crown); base 14)
Int 15 (+3 inherent; base 12)
Wis 13 (+2 devil-bound, +3 inherent; base 8(!))
Cha 36 (+4 devil-bound, +5 inherent, +6 item(crown), +4 levels; base 17)
It's specifically noted that Ileosa gains all her inherent bonuses at level 14, and I'm not sure if she's reached that level by the start of book 3. The devil-bound template is acquired even later than that, sometime in the book 5-6 region, by my reading.
In short, the reason for my chucking these numbers up is to say; by all means, let Ileosa be stupid. Well, stupid isn't quite the right word; I think it would be better to say that you should let Ileosa be short-sighted, petty and impulsive. Her base Wisdom is 8, after all. It may be 13 by the time she's prepping for immortality, but its base is still in the gutter. She hasn't naturally increased her Wisdom in any way by the end; it's all magical props.
I'm mostly saying this because when I played through Crown of Fangs, our group had a great time examining all the stuff Ileosa gets up and having conversations like this;
Player A: 'Could the Queen be behind this? She might be evil, you know!'
Player B: 'That's ridiculous! Such an action might have small short-term benefits, but in the long term the consequences would be disastrous! What kind of evil mastermind would do something so short-sighted and idiotic?'
From an economic perspective, the Queen's actions are hideously detrimental (c.f.: the plague) and I suspect her policies would be similar. This is a woman who thinks the best way to clean up the 'riff-raff' (read: everyone earning less than 50 gp a year, or whatever) is to unleast a lethal plague, with no way to control its spread, and no thought to the impact it would have on trade, if nothing else!
Economically, her perspective seems to be that of a spoiled child; she simply can't understand that what she's doing could actually hurt her wallet, because there will always be money for a Queen. She's not concerned with gathering revenue; she's just stripping the treasury bare to pay for inherent stat bonuses, gigantically powerful custom magic items, and so on... ;)
To wrap up this rambling, disjointed excuse for a post, I would suggest that your players discover Ileosa's economic policies are vicious, unfair, and often bewildering. I'd suggest you concoct some taxes that will only really affect the poor while leaving the rich scot-free; maybe a tax on anyone walking through a city gate who isn't wearing shoes, or something similarly silly. Of course, Ileosa will likely ramp up to taxing anyone and everyone to within an inch of their lives once she figures out the treasury isn't bottomless, and actually starts needing a sizeable income to play for her profligate ways.
Illeosa is, at heart, a woman of above-average intelligence, hampered by a total lack of impulse-control and an utter inability to consider the long-term consequences of her actions. She's just smart enough to make some really stupid decisions. However it pans out, you should be able to make it clear that Ileosa's the most selfish woman to ever walk the earth, and that everything is all about her. That's the kind of thing that makes a lethally bad ruler, regardless of alignment.
Ileosa's stats may not actually be that good at the beginning of chapter 3. Her numbers break down as follows:
Thank-you so much for all your number-crunching and responses! This is a great exercise.
It's specifically noted that Ileosa gains all her inherent bonuses at level 14, and I'm not sure if she's reached that level by the start of book 3. The devil-bound template is acquired even later than that, sometime in the book 5-6 region, by my reading.
At the kick off to chapter three she kills a level fourteen character with one blow, which is why I think that she already has a lot more levels. In any case, I've established that she has already made the deal with Sermignatto, so those are definitely in place IMC.
In short, the reason for my chucking these numbers up is to say; by all means, let Ileosa be stupid. Well, stupid isn't quite the right word; I think it would be better to say that you should let Ileosa be short-sighted, petty and impulsive. Her base Wisdom is 8, after all. It may be 13 by the time she's prepping for immortality, but its base is still in the gutter. She hasn't naturally increased her Wisdom in any way by the end; it's all magical props.
You give some great examples, and I'm convinced. Thank-you! For the most part then I'll tell the players that the queen's policies are as you describe. I'll make the point that the only good thing about the economy right now is the opening of Bloodsworn Vale, which is all the PCs' doing. I'll say that expert analysis (from, for example, House Jegarre) indicates that unless things change drastically Korvosa's economy is going to continue to degrade and before the end of the decade the city will no longer be able to function.
Does that sound right? Do I need specific examples?
No, no, no, no, no! Queen Ileosa is a forward-thinking monarch. She's transitioning the city to a new economy based on high-end tourism and luxury goods. That's why she hires only the very prettiest guards. She's creating a consumption-based economy, based on masked balls, hors d'oeuvres, fashion, dragon-riding and perfumes.
She's also engaging in secret negotiations to open up Korvosa to trading with other planes of existence. Every other city will be trapped in terrestrial trade. The global economy is so last year.
Or at least that's what I'd have her toadies say.
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Concerning the necessity of specific examples, I really think that's dependant on your roleplaying group. Some groups prefer the broad-brush approach to things like economic policy, while others want to know about each and every detail. You know your players better than I! :)
On a more general note, I think you should certainly make it obvious that Ileosa is a parasite of gigantic audacity. She has absolutely no interest in 'giving back to the community', or improving the lot of the people in 'her' city. Everything's about advancing her agenda, getting her more fabulous jewellery, getting ever closer to her ultimate goals. She's certainly going to be spending money like water; her equipment alone runs into the hundreds of thousands of gold pieces, and she's having to outfit an entire private army, to boot! I suspect that by the start of book 3, the point at which she realises she's going to need to raise money and fast isn't far off. I'd suggest that you have her begin implementing some stupendously draconian taxes just before your players enter Old Korvosa with rumours that it's only going to get worse.
One idea is is follows;
Have analysts worried at the start of the book, predicting the collapse of the economy within the decade. Lots of chewing of moustaches and worried muttering in gentlemans clubs, all that sort of thing.
After her new round of economic policies has been unveiled, the economic analysts go into convulsions. Cue monocle-popping-out, "this is outrageous! She's taxing the clergy?! She's taxing the ORPHANAGES?!" levels of shock, possibly followed by a fetching greyish pallor and a light afternoon stroke. Revised forecasts for the economy predict its collapse within the year. (Obviously, this length of time stands to be revised based on how long you envisage books 4 and 5 taking.)
Thank-you both for the input.
I keep coming back to "Bluff +34", and I think that roguerouge definitely has the idea in terms of continuing to have her justify what she's doing in a way that (for whatever reason) gets believed by a lot of people. For example, there are the five Great Houses and yet only the Arkonas seem to be against her.
As for my players' tastes, they get sad if I spoon-feed them. I really like the taxing of the orphanages and the clergy though; that will shock them a bit. The premise of my campaign is that the PCs all belong to just such a club as Ninjaiguana describes, so I'll drop some chatter along those lines.
I haven't been too overt in my hints about her economic policies, but now they're actually getting them analyzed by professionals. I think that this is the time for me to give them hard information along the lines of the city can't sustain these expenditures unless some sort of radical change happens. I really like the justification of the cross-planar trade ambitions though. It's vague and if it worked then the city would suddenly be able to afford a lot of what has happened, and theoretically would even start to grow again.
Just so I'm clear, all Ileosa actually cares about at this point is getting the statuary and sacrifice system in place so that she can power the Everdawn Pool and become immortal, right?
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Just so I'm clear, all Ileosa actually cares about at this point is getting the statuary and sacrifice system in place so that she can power the Everdawn Pool and become immortal, right?
As far as I understand it, yep. With a sideline in making sure those pesky player characters get their just desserts for daring to oppose her. ;)
As for Ileosa's impresive Bluff score, I agree that she's a consummate liar, but I think she uses her skills in that regard less and less as she approaches her endgame. After the assassination attempt, she's riding high - the Crown of Fangs has made her practically impervious to harm, and with the Sable Company disbanded and the Grey Maidens fully mobilised, there's no group with enough clout to oppose her. And if anyone tries making a fuss, well, that's what dungeons are for, isn't it? Plus, the whole attempted assassination has likely put the fear of god into the common people; taking a crossbow bolt to the head without flinching? That's just not right! She's got such a strangehold on the city by that point that she doesn't need to play nice or spin a tissue of lies to keep the populace happy - and besides, after the plague, the city's not exactly in a proactive mood.
In short, the closer to book 6 she gets, the more stereotypically evil I see Ileosa acting. Much more 'Mwahaha, no-one can stop me now!' and less 'Evil? Moi? Surely you jest!' Of course, she may try and retain a sliver of goodwill to help with her blood harvesting practices, but that's really up to you.
Whatever you decide her actions are, rationalize by thinking about what would be the FABULOUS!!! effect of doing it? Think like a bard.
And, yes, once she's so, very, close to succeeding, her rationalizations will be less and less.
Also, you might read The Evil Overlord List: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilOverlordList
Just so you're ready to play....
If you want more info on the luxury model of city economics, try looking here: Dubai.
As you can see, Dubai's decision to radically increase the tourism, service, and real estate sectors gives them great press, but actually puts them deep in debt and the property values spiked and are now declining. But will your players know that? Likely not. So if they call you on this out of game, you can just drop the Dubai name and they'll at least find some face validity in the Queen's "plan".
I love these boards. :) Thank-you again, everyone!
With a sideline in making sure those pesky player characters get their just desserts for daring to oppose her. ;)
So all I need to do now is somehow convince my players to do something that can be construed as opposing the queen? :D
She starting to think that they're easily-deluded saps who will do whatever she wants them to do. They've already demonstrated a willingness to give some blood at an altar to Asmodeus, for example.
Whatever you decide her actions are, rationalize by thinking about what would be the FABULOUS!!! effect of doing it? Think like a bard.
I like this a lot. :D
Also, I'm a big fan of the evil overlord list. Ileosa is clearly well on her way already! I'm not sure how far I can push this without it seeming silly, but perhaps some early silliness will lead to later revelations being even creepier?
The female PCs will fit in Gray Maiden full plate, but I'm thinking that the men wouldn't. Maybe they'll try the prisoner gambit when it's finally time to infiltrate.
Actually, reunification with Cheliax (if she can sweet-talk the Chelish representatives to the city into it) would be a handy stepping stone for Ileosa towards her goal of becoming the next Big Thing in that country...
That's a really good point. In my game His Excellency Darvayne Gios Amprei was discredited on Erastus 15, and it is now Rova 18. Surely that's been ample time for the empire to send a new ambassador, right?
That's going to complicate things, though. The ambassador isn't going to be very influenced by Ileosa, and is frankly going to be pretty unimpressed with everything in the city and probably very willing to say so, possibly in a loud and public manner. This will undermine Ileosa's efforts to cow her own aristocracy.
Okay, so clearly Ileosa can't allow a new ambassador to just show up and take residence unless it's someone of her own choosing. Perhaps Ornher Reebs (who pretty much has to be in on her schemes, and thus knows all about her plans to ruin the city) can pull some strings back in Egorian? The queen basically wants someone who will show up, string her populace along, then leave when things get even worse, right?
The Dubai example is a really great one to pull out if people start metagaming. Thank-you!