Power Vacuum in Drelev

[Harley Quinn X]

So my party just made their way into Fort Drelev, and performed a not-so-stealthy assassination on Baron Drelev. Spoilered for length, I guess.

The Assassination:

They flew to the top of his tower under cover of night and Invisibility, hid in his closet until he came in the room (with Lady Maray) for some... after-dinner activities, and yanked Lady Maray when the Baron went to wish his wife goodnight. After tying Lady Maray up, they pulled her into the closet and waited for the Baront to come back to ambush him. A fight ensued, as the party Wall of Stone-ed over the door to the bedchamber. Imeckus brought the baroness, and two guards in with a Dimension Door (I changed one spell per level of his spells to some less combat oriented support/utility spells, since he probably wouldn't have had reason so blast everything to bits on a casual day.) A lightning bolt from Imeckus and a crit from the Baron led to the death of the party's Oracle, and then fortune turned in the party's favor. The Baron and the guards got mowed down by a series of crits. Imeckus made his retreat, true to tactics, via Teleport. The party figured the deed done as best they could, and several guards still hacking their way through the wall of stone over the door, fled via Teleport to revivify their Oracle.

The party abducted Baroness Pavetta, and Lady Maray willingly chose to be teleported out with the party as the town would probably suspect her of foulplay since a guard that survived saw Lady Maray in the bedchamber and she's generally a newcomer to the fort.

Quite the feat, as they were only level 9 when they flew in and I didn't nerf the Baron. However, the party is pretty content with their efforts in stirring up trouble, and has little/no desire to "liberate" the town. This should leave plenty of room for a power vacuum in Fort Drelev, and some things that they may have forgotten that needed to be done.

TL/DR: Party snuck into the keep, killed the lord, and are content to let the chaos sort the rest of the town out.

So with that said, I'm looking for feedback on how to handle some issues!

Power Vacuum:

Who fills the power vacuum, if there is one? My initial guess would be Mr. I, since he already pacified Drelev Keep through warfare and intimidation. But at the same time I feel like he wouldn't bother. How long with Fort Drelev fester before Pitax steps in? I am thinking of letting Pitax score their own Liberation points and once they earn the requisite amount, Pitax takes over Drelev Demesne. I'm thinking that since they are only marginally interested, they may earn 1d2-1 LP per week to take into account any relief efforts, economic stimulation, and the Languishing penalties involved with going about it half-cocked.

Satinder may make a good choice, but there's little way for her to fulfill the work to take over the kingdom on her own and probably not without serious hassle and resistance from the remaining guards/nobles in the fort.

Mr. Numesti:

The party kind of left Terrion there at the keep, as they only made it through the top of the keep. With Drelev no longer in power, and no real need to keep Pitax happy, I don't think they'd need him alive. They were told by Kisandra that her father is being held prisoner in the keep, so shock-and-awe tactics were a bit careless on the party's part, I think. But careless enough to get the man killed? I kind of think so, especially if Pitax gains control of the fort.

Refugees:

The party has not gotten to encounter area X, with the refugees. Since they were arguing about whether to head to Fort Drelev, perhaps these should become refugees headed from Fort Drelev to Mivon to escape the chaos? It would be a good opportunity also guilt trip the PCs a bit.

Finding the Sisters:

With the library (M27) unsearched and no desire to head back to the castle until things pan out, any clues for finding the Black Sisters and Armag's Tomb? I couldn't figure anything else out except the Baroness and Lady Maray, but I don't think the Baroness would care enough to know exactly where the tomb is, and Lady Maray would only have some cursory knowledge, as she's heard about this through the baron.

The Runaway:

So after the hurting Imeckus put on the party, they are jonesing for a rematch with him. Can you think of a reason why Imeckus couldn't/wouldn't make his way into the leadership or service of Mr. I? I can't think of a reason why not, especially given his propensity for using divination spells to spy on people. He's make a great Spymaster for Pitax.

Thanks for the help.

[Orthos]

Stroon should definitely hike it back to Pitax - that's where he's from, after all, and he's only in Drelev due to invitation from his sister. And yeah, he should be all about offering a hand to I.

[Chuckbab]

As suggested by some in these boards, I'm planning to play Chapter 4 as a Cold-War kind of conflict between Pitax and the PC's realm, with Drelev weak and busy with the barbarian menace in the middle.

I think what happened in your game is a perfect opportunity to try to take that route. Anyone taking the reins of Drelev will probably be in a shaky position for a while, and Pitax and the PC's realm could try and gain influence and/or invade.

You could even stage a conflict for power between two puppets. For example, Imeckus could try to hold Drelev as a Pitax-pawn while Lord Numesti (arguably a Restovian) would be more inclined to side with the PCs.

[Chuckbab]

For extra mayhem, don't forget the other neighbors : the barbarians in the north (who won't claim territory as per the kingdom building rules but will cause problems) and Mivon in the south.

This war could escalate as Chapter 5 progresses (probably without the Rushlight Tournament) and ends with the siege of Pitax and an epic confrontation with Irovetti.

[pennywit]

If you're looking to add something interesting, and maybe do some welding, you could run Courts of the Shadow Fey. Drelev's death suddenly leaves an opening for the faeries of the shadow court ...

[Harley Quinn X]

Actually, Pennywit, I was looking into that when I was finishing up Book 1 or 2 with the party. Great reminder. I could have the Shadow fey inhabit the town of Drelev.

I has originally planned to introduce Ms N. as a rival with the queen of the shadow fey for the affection of the same Eldest. Having won the eldest's affection, the queen of the shadow fey moves into the material plane, and makes good motivation for N to want to impose her fate on the Stolen Lands.

I'll have to look into that again.

[redcelt32]

No that there was anything wrong with the party's tactics...however, letting things sort themselves out is not always without consequences. Take the Middle East for example...

If the father is killed, have Kisasndra become a more passionate protester of the party than a certain Bard from Book 2. Unrest should go up until they deal with this...

If the barbarians take over, well, the sorting gets an awful lot messier. If there are any paladins or good divine characters, their gods should be sending them dreams of what is happening at the fort for at least a few nights, so they think a bit about what their actions bring. In particular, Sarenrae might do this , since she has firsthand experience with being hasty(see how the Pit of Gormuz was formed).

You could also have a hag coven or other evil fey group (Pennywit had a great suggestion above) take over the fort, just to keep that flavor going. See the section above about dreams, except this time, they are grinding bones to make their bread.

Some other options, depending on how far afield you wish to go:

- a large black dragon from the swamps, along with a horde of nightscale kobolds.

- demon worshipping boggard tribe

- Wizards from the Technic League (assuming you want to add a techno or steampunk feel to your game)

Any of the above could ally with Mr I or at least have an agreement with him, including harassing the PCs kingdom for a fee.

[pennywit]

You might not want to stat out Fort Drelev as a full kingdom, but you might sketch out some Drelev events and some Unrest levels. If your players don't do anything, Unrest in Drelev goes up, and Bad Things Happen there, culminating in a feuding and wars on your players' borders or something.

A few more possibilities:

* Hannis Drelev holds the Fort under charter from the Swordlords. If he is deposed with no ruler in place, they may send somebody new to rule Drelev.

* The Tiger Lord Barbarians could take over the place. Your players will no longer face Armag in a tomb, but Armag at the head of an army of barbarians and Drelev conscripts.

* Castruccio Irovetti (who is already planning war) sends agents who blame the power vacuum on the players' kingdom. Whoever takes over in Drelev declares war, and Irovetti backs his play.

* Introduce Eranex, the creepy fey silver dragon from Dragons Unleashed. She takes over Drelev and rules it for its own good ... and to further her own strange agenda.

[Lee Hanna]

Depends on how you interpret inheritance and succession. Off-hand, I'd say Lady Dreleva has the best claim, and if the players won't back her up, she will go to the Swordlords to seek aid in reclaiming her land. While she's at it, she may complain about the sudden offing of her late husband, without trial, by a party that had no jurisdiction over her family's lands.

How well connected are the Strogons to the other 7 noble families in your Brevoy?

If Imeckus is heading back to Pitax (I missed that he came from there?), perhaps the brother & sister could team up to bring two streams of power to town to take it over for themselves. Or they could end up fighting each other for it, too.

If the Tiger Lords are still out there, and the PCs have no logical way to find out about Armag's Tomb, then by all means, have the barbarians, now led by their transformed Twice-Born, ride into town and sack it for themselves. And then ride on the PCs kingdom (with Irrovetti's blessing).

IMC, my group just did much the same thing, but they killed both Drelev and Maray, and intend to leave Lady Dreleva in charge. She managed to convince the party that she was not at all part of their plot to seize the PCs.

A wild card may be Numesti-- Kisandra may also flee to the Swordlords, or Irrovetti, to plead for aid, since the PCs didn't help her at all, and may well have gotten her father and sister executed by inaction.