Playing for other factions.

[Emilio Figueroa]

I like the War for the Crown adventure path. It even helped me create one of my best characters, and I like the political intrigue stuff and that many of the end bosses of the volumes can be defeated through diplomacy.

But as a political intrigue based game what I didnt like was that there is no options for choosing someone else tu put on the throne. I like Eutropia, she is charismatic and the fact that the choices you make in the game affects what kind of ruler she becomes, but I would have liked the possibility of even putting Pythareus or even a PC (most likely a human or half elf at best) in the throne.

What would be the best way to do such a feat?

(And yes, I know that many of the bad things that happen in the game is because of Pythareus. Well, more like the people working for him, because he seems kind of clueless of some of the actions some of those people do)

[YourNewShoe]

I that the easiest alternative is to put a PC on the throne.

Book 6:

Change things so that the Rhien uses some sort of special weapon (perhaps a crystal blade made using the soul crucible) that rends Eutropia's soul, making it impossible to resurrect her by normal means. Investigations by the PCs lead to this fact (perhaps there's some sliver of the material that broke off in the wound, which can be analyzed and/or made the subject of divination magic).

When the PCs reach the soul crucible, they find that while they can use it to bring her back, it's likely to be a lengthy, difficult process to stitch her soul back together - meaning that even if they don't have any ambitions of their own, someone will need to at least serve as regent for some length of time. This gives Good and Lawful PCs the moral backing to make the move of taking the throne themselves (even if only temporarily); a clause in Eutropia's will (perhaps hidden, to avoid destruction or theft? Or even stolen by Cassius, perhaps in need of reconstruction?) may even declare one of them to be her heir.

Then, Cassius' return doesn't unify Taldor - he's able to seize the capital and surrounding region, and portions of the country are under his control, but large areas are only nominally under his command, with local nobles consolidating power as it looks like an all-out collapse of the empire is at hand. Cassius, under the control of the spirits, brooks nothing even resembling disloyalty or disobedience and is poised to demand absolute servitude or death from the entire empire.

So now the PCs have to go and stop the spirit-driven monarch from hurling the nation into civil war. Engineer a public final conflict - perhaps Cassius has made a new Senate, filled with nobles he is sure are loyal (or even just representatives he is pushing into the role of senators) and it's during a grand coronation, in the senate building, that they confront him.

Then, whether Cassius lives or dies, the PCs defeat him and stand, surrounded by stunned senators, when the Mantle of Kings flares to life. In awe, the senators declare loyalty to the new monarch and, using this as a base, the party can quickly bring the country under control again; have either all of the most powerful nobles or their immediate representatives present, and have most of the others fall in line immediately when they see the Mantle of Kings (they did spend an entire book making this thing work, after all - let it be the Win Button for the entire cleanup process here).

To wrap things up, either have Eutropia decide to not come back (after all, her country is in safe hands and her brother has quite possibly moved on; she may decide her time is over) or just have her say, in two years or however long she needs to regenerate her soul, that she doesn't intend to take the throne, leaving the PC who took it temporarily as true monarch.

[Souls At War]

YourNewShoe wrote:

I that the easiest alternative is to put a PC on the throne.

** spoiler omitted **

I think Emilio Figueroa meant from the start of the AP.

The Player Guide kinda failed to fully convey the limitations there.

[Yakman]

Emilio Figueroa wrote:

I like the War for the Crown adventure path. It even helped me create one of my best characters, and I like the political intrigue stuff and that many of the end bosses of the volumes can be defeated through diplomacy.

But as a political intrigue based game what I didnt like was that there is no options for choosing someone else tu put on the throne. I like Eutropia, she is charismatic and the fact that the choices you make in the game affects what kind of ruler she becomes, but I would have liked the possibility of even putting Pythareus or even a PC (most likely a human or half elf at best) in the throne.

What would be the best way to do such a feat?

(And yes, I know that many of the bad things that happen in the game is because of Pythareus. Well, more like the people working for him, because he seems kind of clueless of some of the actions some of those people do)

The best way? (bear in mind, i've only skimmed book 6).

run it the same until book 6 (keep pythareus alive). when chaos threatens the realm, stage a dramatic scene in some prison tower where our pythareus is being kept. he makes a deal with the PCs - he takes over, but spares them and theirs, and restores order to the country.

to tie it back to book 5, he insists on sealing it with some kind of Axial oath to keep both sides on the up and up.

Taldor falls into his hands (save for the threat of the supervillains who the pcs face in the remainder of book 6) and reinvigorates as a more reactionary and militant regime, doing away with these silly pretenses of elevating bakers to the blood.