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One of my groups has recently usurped a lesser lord in a relatively populated province (homebrew setting). Motivation was an unhappy peasant class, and their own ideas that he was doing a poor job ruling. I want to get across just how boring and mundane the day-to-day ruling of such a province can be. So I'm going to have a couple one-on-one sessions with the members of the group that are picked to sit in the noble's seat for daily petitions. (Bad GM warning: I am actually trying to bore these players in the one-on-one session, so that they raise up some NPC to be the ruler. This will, probably, eventually lead to a storyline later on where the peasants revolt again against their choice.) What I'm looking for is a list of petty requests and or arguments to bring before them. (If there's a book out there that already has this, please point me in that direction.)
Starting ideas:
Farmer John keeps moving his fence-line into my field.
The miller is skimming grain when he grinds my wheat.
The innkeeper's wife is trying to seduce my husband.
I'd also like some to be more serious, such as:
The tax collector is stealing.
The sheriff *adult content warning
Barbara (spurned mistress) burnt my barn because I won't leave my wife.
Come on Paizo community, help me get enough requests to fill up a sizable random table. I'd like to get at least 100.
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Farmer Fran drives her sheep through the river and it is fouling my water.
Animal dung is filling up on the streets.
Bread has gone up 5 copper pieces in a month.
The Rusty Bucket Tavern is watering down their ale.
Locusts are threatening this year's corn crop.
A blight is killing the potato crop.
Sam is not painting his side of the fence.
These are great! Keep 'em coming.
merchant caught with a "fixed" scale.
Yeomen slacking practice so they can get the harvest in.
Peasants hiding food to cheat on their taxes.
Merchants cheating on their taxes.
An angry farmer demanding a "pitchfork" wedding for his pregnant daughter.
A land-squabble -- check out the beginning of Henry V for arguments to establish a right to land.
A shopkeeper puts up a sign which obscures his neighbors sign.
Poachers.
Cure the sheep's flux.
Cure the children's flux.
Build a palisade for our village.
The noble next door raided my farm and took my cow.
Joe Taggit is plotting (counter)revolution. (Actually I want Taggit jailed so I can swoop in on his land/business/daughter/wife.)
Loose livestock raise hell and crop damage.
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here's some based off judge judy - petty as they come:
The village smithy is making horse shoes thinner than last month (so they wear out quicker) and charging more due to inflation.
My newly wedded next door neighbour is very noisy during the night and day. My children ask questions LOL
My next door neighbour is learning the noiseist instrument possible.
My neighbour borrowed my tools and say they are his
My neighbour borrowed my cart, returned it at night with a broken wheel or axle, but wont pay for repairs.
my lodger left owing rent
My husband left my in debt (the husband ran off with his gay lover)
You'll need a few that sound real, but aren't.
Demon possessed me and made me cheat on my wife, steal a pig, move my fence line, etc. of course there is no demon. Just think of real life examples and apply them to your setting.
New cult worshiping a false (non magical) idol causing problems. (all hail Banjo!)
Bat boy lives in my cave. Check the inquirer for fraudulent supernatural occurce ideas.
Still need more of these. Current suggestions are awesome, but many of them are similar in style. Help me out. :)
The neighbour's goat got loose and ate all my vegetables
Visitors trampled on my crops just before harvest
My husband/wife just died and I need help to support our children
A beggar keeps sitting outside my shop and scaring off my customers
My landlord turned me out of my home, can you help?
My son/daughter wants to split up from his/her partner, but the in-laws don't agree.
The baker is giving shortweight on his bread
This woman stole from me
Granny died and left no will and the family can't agree on who gets what from her possessions
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Those damned adventures came through town again and impregnated my daughter (again).
Farmer Dan's cows keep eating my crops.
My neighbor shot my best hunting dog.
The Idol that my neighbor is building in his front yard is rude and offensive.
The bard nextdoor is way too loud and can't play his lute worth a darn
I'm going to bump this in hopes that I can get about five to ten more people adding their ideas.
Thanks in advance for any that do.
I'm going to bump this in hopes that I can get about five to ten more people adding their ideas.
Thanks in advance for any that do.
Look at the "Heralds of Vlademar" novels IIRC they are by Mercedes Lackey. many of the novels have some great examples of the petty problems the Heralds have to solve in the name of the ruler.
First example I can think of off the top of my head is:
Two families have shared a valley as pasture land for a couple of generations. Now the younger sons who have inherited can't get along. Both insist the majority of the valley is theirs. By the records the creek was the dividing line. But a physical examination makes it obvious the creek bed shifts with the floods every spring.
However, I wouldn't suggest trying to bore the players into becoming adventurers again. I'd just say, "I don't want to be GM for a bunch of boring council meetings and audience petitions. Pick a ruler to leave behind or we start a new campaign."
The brewer beer has gone sour and the yeast can no longer be used for bread (foreign yeast strain got introduced)
The hop harvest was bad and we wont have any to make the beer (hops are a preservative)
My neighbor's dog got into my chicken coup
The local lord is taking an extra 10% of grain for himself.
Local neighbor wants to set up a trade route to you.
Local neighbor wants to transport goods through your lands.
Local neighbor wants to move troops through your lands to attack a neighbor
Wedding proposal out of the blue. -also for your children/brothers/sisters
OOOH THE ONLY THING YOU CAN'T AVOID
TAXES
make it clear from all numbers that taxes MUST be raised to keep the area in working order
but make the people protest loudly, so that what ever decision they make the people don't like them
AND THE KICKER it's such a small amount the the pcs could easily pay out of pocket (like 50 silver total for the area) and in fact you want them to cave and do that so it sets a president and they'll feel they need to each time
Better to just state right out that you don't want this to become Lords and Logistics. Tricking a player will backfire on someone. Example, many of these problems are simply solvable by saying "go to the lower court" and moving on. If one player decides to actualy handle management, you are still not adventuring, and youre deeper into the politiking.
All the village merchants are accused of price fixing regardless of goods sold. Turns out they are but at the behest of the lower court justice system which is providing the goods / services at a vastly reduced rate to the surrounding villages. Which in turn are re selling the goods back to the merchants for distribution with a higher cost due to import tax imposed by The high court justices which are aware of this practise as they set the tax rate for the treasury and skim the extra revenue generated.
The pcs have a political minefield with the corrupt justice system, corrupt merchants and angry populace!
Several of this ones are based on the french series Kaamelott.
The old Jenna, who works as a healer and midwife, is accused of being a witch. Prove is that the young Mitch played her some prank and now his hair has turned blue !!
Farmer Guethenoc is telling everyone that the ruler has flirted with his daughter Madenn at the last festival and now she is pregnant.
Farmer Guethenoc complains that farmer Roparzh killed his donkey. Farmer Roparzh complains that Guethenoc's donkey was eating all his turnips.
The local Innkeeper is complaining that several local knights are eating and drinking ale every day in his inn. He wants the ruler to make them pay their bill.
The knight Karadoc is asking that the ruler makes his young brother Kadoc a knight. Problem is that Kadoc is severely mentally limited.
The ruler's mother is using the requests session to meet him. She complains that the ruler could come and visit her more often !!
A group of farmers learnt that the wine drunk in the castle is imported from Taldor. They request the ruler to drink local wine and invite him to taste their products.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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More fantasy ones...
Tavern A has hired a bard to lure people from tavern B with magic.
Local respected citizen C comes to the ruler with and offer to open a temple to forbidden religion D.
Kobold tribe sends emmisary to ruler to keep mining compay from plundering their lair/ancestral home. (hey, they're LE...)
See above Lizard men complaining about logging concern.
Human drovers file complaints against band of centaurs undercutting them on hauling things.
New dam/mill/construction is opposed by local druids.