Currently running a Kingmaker homebrew and the party is at an interesting juncture of storylines that I am not entirely sure how to navigate. Their kingdom (Terabithia... seriously... THAT is what they chose) is pretty stable with regards to food, finances, steady gain of territory. The party has recruited several NPCs to fill out the roles of their kingdom-
This last part is important they allowed a witch/cleric of death to be their High Priestess. I initially created her as NE and as far as NPCs go she was one of the more fully fleshed out characters the party encountered. She also served as the HQ healer so that any ailment, curse, disease, poison, ability damage, etc. was temporary (at best) and just required asking her for assistance.
Part of her character is that she has never had a home or any sort of place to set up a safe haven for herself and her band of witch/cleric followers (she has the Leadership feat- seriously FULLY fleshed out NPC). While she is evil and DOES have an end game in mind for herself (destroy Urgathoa and Pharasma and replace them as the ONLY Goddess of death, she also is going to achieve this status without using the Starstone) but also has, for the most part, been given a GREAT deal of freedom and respect from the PCs (with the exception of thank yous... the party had a REAL hard time with that).
At one point the PC who was given/selected the King role decided to romance the priestess (I used a picture of Heddy Lamar as what she looked like... no one can blame him for the initial attraction). His affections were returned, but she decided that typical flirtations left too much to chance and used a bound Night Hag to ensnare his desire. PC failed his Will save, then he thought she was ALL THAT!
I am REALLY giving too much exposition, so I am going to fast forward a bit- lemme know if you need clarity in response so I can give details.
Eventually the priestess reveals that she used magic to manipulate the king (she actually comes out and says it to him- unprovoked, lets say it is because of guilt). The King was not really able to forgive her and another PC (Grand Diplomat) fearing that the union of the King and the Priestess would spell DOOM (it isn't THAT big of a secret that the Priestess is evil and has ulterior motives- though no one knows the hard truths of the matter) for Terabithia arranged an alliance with the King of Brevoy to have his sister Natala marry the king of Terabithia.
After meeting the king decided that yes, he prefers Natala. She is pretty forthright about her lack of interest in his as a romantic partner and that the marriage/alliance is PURELY political.
My crossroads is that I am not entirely sure what to do with the interplay between these two women (The High Priestess and the King's Consort). They are both of the NOT GOOD alignment. I was wondering what thoughts other DMs had? I was originally setting things up so that everything that happens with the current arc (defeat of Rovagug's cult) sets up the drama for the next story arc (which would be the Priestesses ascension)?
Thoughts? Ideas? Chastisements? Insults?- I will admit that my DM skills are mediocre at best, but the players are always VERY excited by the amount of intricacy I put into the plots and the threading that comes from one session to the next. (which again... I think is kinda the requirement for a long term campaign, and I more often forget things than remember so any tips on that would be useful as well)
Thanks :)