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So I'm curious as to everyone's idea on this topic. Say for example you were part of an evil organization that wants to rule a good-aligned nation such as Andoran for example. What clever plan could you come up with that would be sufficient to get your organization to the top? What tools would you use and how would you use them?
As an odd aside, one of the peculiar features of Golarion; the nations on the Inner Sea are very stable, at least in name. While all of them have undergone changes in leadership and political philosophy the actual borders of Andoran, Cheliax, Taldor, Ossirion and Rahadoum are relatively static. Nex, Geb and Nidal are literally millennia old and pitifully static.
I blame High Magic as a stabizational force with no real world equivalent.
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Overthrowing a government is difficult at best. Historical examples show that it takes a lot for people to decide upon rebellion. At its heart people have to believe that the rule of law no longer stands and that they could do something about it. Short of some luck where an economic depression, military defeat, or some natural event causes discontent on a large scale taking over a nation takes planning, a ton of cash, and time measured in decades.
To give solid advice I need more information on the set up.
As an odd aside, one of the peculiar features of Golarion; the nations on the Inner Sea are very stable, at least in name. While all of them have undergone changes in leadership and political philosophy the actual borders of Andoran, Cheliax, Taldor, Ossirion and Rahadoum are relatively static. Nex, Geb and Nidal are literally millennia old and pitifully static.
I blame High Magic as a stabilizational force with no real world equivalent.
Considering the sheer amount of high level casters on Golarion, that theory might just hold merit.
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As Lazer X says, Its a matter of Story.
Lets take Cheliax and Andoran. I believe Andoran's revolution is only about 40 years old.
There are two places on Golarion (oops 3) where democracy has taken root. 1) I think they are called the Palentine counties in northern Ustalav. 2) Galt, and 3) Andoran.
I don't know much about the Palentine counties, if I have gotten the name right, but I think they achieved their "revolution" because of un interested and absent feudal lords. So the locals began governing themselves. The counties were too far from the capitol Caliphas for the government to bestir itself. Now I could be wrong about this.
Galt is a place where democracy has gone horribly wrong. It is ruled by the "mob". you have a revolutionary council after revolutionary which is fed to the Giutene one after another.
Then there is Andoran. Andoran comparatively is much more stable. Why is it much more stabel? I think because the writers would like it that way.
Now from Cheliax's point of view, I think they would greatly like to gobble up Andoran and reclaim their lost territory. However I think that they are patient. I think they are waiting for this "foolish" notion of every man being equal, and every peasant having a say in government, to finally collapse into mob rule like it has in Galt. Then they can ride in and restore order.....
all they need is time and a few agents prevocatours
Well that's just a pet theory of mine about Cheliax.
But really, as a GM you can do whatever you want. Whose to say the evil secret society will take over the government openly? why should they? They can control things behind the scenes, accumulate tremendous wealth through whatever means they can devise.....graft....."taxation".....business contracts......and by keeping the appearence of the legitimate government intact....it makes it much harder to rebel. If memory serves in Harry potter and the deathly hallows
Try this on for size. The King isn't really the king, but his evil vizier wizard who polymorphs himself into the King for those occasions he has to make a public appearance or issue a proclamation. Perhaps the wizard has a similacrum of himself tucked away for those occasions both he and the king have to make an appearance. Just a couple of ideas.
Easy.
Send your bad-guy wizard (minion) across the countryside, creating terrible weather to destroy crops and blame the government. Suggestion on local leaders to continue complaining amongst themselves. Use focused attacks like flaming sphere against granaries destroy stores.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
A hungry populace is an angry populace. There is no magic to create large-scale food. This process leaves all but the highest rungs in trouble, because without food, the commoners cannot pay taxes. Without taxes, lesser nobles cannot pay their taxes or maintain their armies to provide scutage. Without armies, nations have a tough time maintaining their borders. People flee to where there is food. Refugees tend to get other countries all riled up about the added resource cost. Without people, countries die.
A 13th level wizard can do this everyday, using overland flight, veil (to look like a bird all day), a couple of suggestions, and he hasn't even tapped his spell list. A four-mile diameter storm is going to obliterate several towns farms, and doing it for a month straight is going to leave the breadbasket of any nation ruined. Particularly cruel wizards might add insult by summoning up a fresh corpse out of the local graveyard (or making one out of some poor farm animal) and then spiking a town well. For those using aquaducts or foggara, that's what move earth is for. Heck, he might still have a 6th level spell to spare. This works for ports, too. Just ask the Persians at Artemisium what happens when a bad storm catches your fleet at sea. (This is the shipwreck scene before the battle in 300.)
With a crystal ball, he doesn't even need to leave home for more than a few minutes-- scry, teleport, storm and subterfuge, go home. Find your next target over the next morning's coffee.
Because these attacks start at the lowest rungs of society, they are likely to go unnoticed for longer, especially if the wizard is random in the distribution of storms. By the time the full effect is realized, he's likely to have completed his work. Once there's no food, there is no food. The correlation between famine and revolution has been noted a few times, this is putting it to practice using the wizard's skillset. (Ethiopia in the 1970's is one example, France in the late 18C is another)
You can get around this with magic, too, but it requires specialized research, which takes it's own time and not-insignificant costs. Who will pay those costs? Well, if the damage is initially scattered well enough, then the answer is "no one, because by the time they notice, it's too late." So, maybe they'll get a spell created in time, but depending on the level (given that just is create food & water and plant growth are both 3rd,) that means you're going to need a lot of 5+ casters, which requires some kind of established governmental caster organization-- not something terribly common in Golarion.
Each storm will destroy the farms of roughly 14 villages per casting, each village will have about 14 families of 7 people (three extended family members, two parents, three kids, considering each village has about 100 people) with their own field, that's roughly 200 farms. You need 100 5th level casters with this field-repair spell to recover from just one casting of control weather. Cone of cold has got nothing on control weather when your objective is widespread destruction.
Boom! What, is that thunder? Nope, the sound of revolution! Happy insurrecting!
-Ben.