Anyone have ideas on how to make politics interesting? Things like having the various ruling positions having to make interesting decisions.
For example; I'm going to have Maegar Varn come a visit on a state visit and try to make a peace pact with the PC's. To sign the deal he will promise marriage of his eldest (and very attractive & talented) daughter to seal the marriage. But since the kingdom is currently only size 5 and with no nice places to stay he will honor the agreement 1 year hence with the promise that the PC's build an appropriate living space for a ruler. Within 1 year Vh vanishes. Not only does it give some interesting role playing opps. Once VV happens the PC's will really care about the fate of its citizens. I'm undecided if the daughter will live or not.
The Warden will have to make a decision on a crazy case in the farmlands where one family decides to trade his cow for an unwilling daughter of another family who promptly runs away. So now the daughter is gone and he wants his cow back. If the part investigates where the daughter went she turns up as a 14 year old victim to poverty and a prostitute in the town brothel.
Anyone have any interesting challenges for the politics running of the country?
I've done something similar in regards to Varnhold. Both Varn
and Drelev have visited Kyshahn (PC kingdom) during book 2. See Hargulka's Monster Kingdom for other political difficulties I've thrown the PC's way.
Yeah, straight up swiped some of your stuff. I decided to go a little slowly thought and decided that the monster kingdom would only come to pass if the PC's daddled too much. But the trolls are already trying to make allies. My PC's loved the trolls speech wing King Scootscale. The line about kobolds being treated like variant halflings is classic.
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Thanks!
A trick I found was good was to take NPCs from the book ahead and have them either name dropped or visit in the previous book. So Maegar and Holly (his daughter), I replaced Maester Pendrod with a Pathfinder NPC of my own creation who served on the player's council briefly as a Magister before taking an archaeology job in Varnhold (which will be expanded later).
I plan on dropping more Bullywug foreshadowing and Tiger Lord Barbarian foreshadowing in the form of terrorist attacks from Gyronna's cult. Also that sexy cleric of Calistria and Drelev's general and his daughters need am early intro.
Sort of a side note, but it would be wonderful if Paizo were to offer an AP dramatis personae, which would make these sorts of things a lot easier for GMs.
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These are politic type things I'm thinking about, looking for ideas like this. Where the rulers have to make a decision that could impact their kingdom.
Farmers form a council
Farmers in one hex decide to form their own council but they still pay taxes to the ruler. This council determines they need to decide rules not set down from the ruler. They decide a few of the farmers they don’t like and would rather not have in their community, so they decide to confiscate their lands and re-distribute to the members of this arbitrary council. The deposed go to the ruler to dispute this decision. If the ruler doesn’t rule fairly unrest 1 to the kingdom.
The Duel
A local has his fiancee wooed away from him from an adventure staying temporarily in town. He challenges the adventure to a duel to the death to settle the dispute. The local is killed in the duel. Party has to decide is this legal? If dueling is legal I will use it later in the campaign.
I found this one on line and think I'll use it:
Pig
The Plaintiff: Family
The Defendant: A Pig
The Charge: The pig was accused with unauthorized entry into a house whereupon the pig did willfully disfigure the face of a child, as a result of these injuries the child then departed this life.
Should someone have to make retributions for this and if so what? The grieved family wants to hang the pig.
Read more: http://purpleslinky.com/trivia/history/strange-medieval-animal-court-cases/ #ixzz1goQAeBpX