Hello all. I'm writing this down mostly for my own benefit, in an effort to congeal my thoughts about my upcoming Kingmaker campaign. I haven't played Pathfinder for a couple years (due to grad school) but I'm doing a 5-week rotation in my hometown and I figured it would be a great time to do a marathon of games with my old gaming buddies. We figured doing an Adventure Path/Module would be the best, and Kingmaker won the vote!
I've purchased all six portions of the adventure path (although I only anticipate getting through the first two) and read them extensively. My PCs are as follows:
Human Ranger (affiliated with Aldori Swordlords)
Half-elf Wizard
Human Rogue
Given the fact that they are missing a healer, I'm actually going to have Jhod Kavken become a part of their charter. He will start 1st level, like them, and will still have his motivations to secure the Temple of the Elk. However, he will help the PCs topple the Stag Lord, as a bandit king donning an antler crown and bringing terror to the Stolen Lands would be almost a mockery to Old Deadeye.
As a huge fan of the Song of Ice and Fire series by GRRM, I'm going to be including a good deal of plot and intrigue and no small portion of redcelt32's write-up. I decided that King Regent Noleski Surtova was written as too isolationist and politically inexperienced, when he would know that his succession to the Dragonscale Throne would mean a potential civil war. Therefore, I made him more progressive, which effects the campaign start somewhat. In the past year, he has made several changes to the small council (including raising Lord Howlan Garess to Hand of the King) and has announced his intent to marry Elana Lebeda, thus binding his House to Rostlandic nobility. These and other changes have caused quite a stir, but people are talking more about wedding plans and council appointments rather than civil war.
In fact, only two barriers exist for Surtova to declare himself the one true king of Brevoy: an heir (which he is working on) and the Crownlands belonging to House Rogarvia. House Surtova took over the Crownlands of House Rogarvia with a hands-off approach, which actually suited most of the Rostlanders just fine. However, it would be impossible to delcare himself King without the void in the power structure filled. He could take the lands officially for House Surtova, or he could divvy the lands up among the other Houses equally. Noleski, in a prudent manner, chose to raise one of the houses sworn to House Rogarvia to be the new High Lords of the Crownlands. This would make the Rostlanders happy, make this new High House in his debt, and leave the Aldori Swordlords of Restov unscathed in the power change.
Enter the PCs with their charter into the Stolen Lands. The campaign will begin in Restov, with the PCs meeting the other groups, including Maegar Varn and representatives from House Drelev. The Hand of the King, Howlan Garess, will also be there, to lend the support of the Dragonscale Throne.
Next:
My overarching plots (i.e., how I plan to get rid of Nyrissa)
That is pretty good. I like it!
I personally played up the fact that Surtova was more a warrior than politician. He doesn't really understand why the other houses haven't fallen in behind him. His sister was the real schemer and managed to push him the way she wanted to go... right until talks about him needing to marry started to get serious. She offed him and seduced Lord Orlovsky (who I played up as the uber politician) with promises of more power. He was named Regent after he succeeded a coup d'tout on the Restov after marrying his daughter to the Lord Mayor.
Now the exiled Sword Council has taken up residence in the Stolen Lands trying to wrestle power so they can use it as a staging point to rally and go to war against the Surtova and take back Restov!
Pretty good times!
First session:
Drawing inspiration from many of the other games that I have seen on the forums, I began the game in Restov. The players were invited to a feast hall run by the Aldori Swordlords, but the man waiting for them was none other than Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius. He presented them with the charter, and they agreed. They also met Maegar Varn, who was given his own charter, as well as Jhod Kavken.
A short travel to Oleg's later, they ambushed Happs Bydon and his bandits, and after interrogating the prisoner, have all the information (and horses) required to ambush the Thorn Ford camp by nightfall.
Overarching Plots:
I plan to do away with Nyrissa. I do not think that she is well represented in the early adventure paths, so I do not want to incorporate her as an overall BBEG. Actually, my plan is to embrace the sandbox nature of the Stolen Lands and the Kingmaker AP. The Stag Lord, Hargulka (and his monster kingdom, a la Dudemeister), Vordekai, and the Tiger Lords will all (mostly) be seen as independent agents, all vying for control of the Stolen Lands in there own right.
The only overarching plot I plan to have is Irovetti and Ilthuliak. I am toying with a plot point idea: Ithuliak was present during the Conquering of Issia and Rostland, and took a stand against the two red dragons in order prevent their southward march through the Stolen Lands. He slew the two female reds, but was severely wounded. He retreated to the Thousand Voices, and fell through a "bleed" into the First World. He will be the BBEG. I will tweak his spells, to make him focus more on enchantment and possess Finger of Death, and Irovetti will be his thrall instead of Nyrissa's.
As for other minor points, I really want to focus on the idea that the Stolen Lands is untamed. I'm going to bring in Howl-of-the-North-Wind early, so my players now that there is some stuff in the Greenbelt that they cannot fight just yet.