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Something I've wanted to do for a while is add more literary themes to my campaigns, something to center my story and anchor my ideas around. All RPGs have "good vs evil" kinda thing, and Kingmaker has several themes already, I'm just not great at identifying them. I want to make sure I /do/ define them though, because my group is very interested in RPing the kingdom and I want to challenge them on this RP basis.
Because building a kingdom is inherently political, I want to emphasize that I am avoiding any modern takes on ideological themes. I've had a conversation with my group about this - Kingmaker takes place in a fantasy world where Good Kings make their kingdoms thrive, and there's no global corporations or human atrocities happening behind the scenes. We're all fairly active politically, but we want to play RPGs where a child's understanding of the world is true. All of this is to say - be very careful using any of this, talk to your players, use safety tools, and try not to think about (gestures at everything).
The Land Needs No Kings. This is like the classic "power corrupts" theme, but with a twist of society itself being corrupting (oh jeez, what did I just say last paragraph!). The line "This Land Needs No Kings" is spat by Oleg, and echoed by various folk in the lands (I'm dotting safer areas with small, unnamed 3-4 family thorpes). This means, if there were no "lords" around, the Stolen Lands would be peaceful. They want to be left alone.
Society in this instance is the Stag Lord, Irovetti, Drelev, Armag, Vordakai - all human (well, and cyclops but they're the humans of their time) and all tyrants. I'm going to echo this with Brevoy and Mivon, with Brevic backstabbing and Mivonese infighting causing many of their people to risk joining the heroes' kingdom.
Hargulka (who for some reason - even a decade ago when running the hot-off-the-presses original - I thought was female until writing this) is a queen of trolls (and I'm homebrewing it to be true). As written, she'll take over the countryside and grind bones for bread, but I'm going to change it. Even with Nyrissa's (undefined) influence, she wants a safe place for monsters hunted away by Swordlords. Gurija, who I'm changing to a Mivonese hobgoblin who learned Aldori dueling but was never accepted in society, convinces her that the PC's kingdom is worth eating.
As for the Sootscale Kobolds, they're corrupted by Tartuccio, and otherwise content warring with mitflits (which isn't great but at least they aren't inflicting tyranny elsewhere); and the Greengripe Goblins are pretty chill before the cult. It's big society's influence that corrupts these peoples, who are otherwise content to get along with their lives.
For the Kingdom, the PCs will need to make sure they're different. Of course they're not tyrants, but I'll be making sure to flavor all applicable events with difficult choices they must make; sacrifice their own power to do what's best for the kingdom. Only then will they be able to provide something more to the people of the Stolen Lands.
Whisperers Behind the Throne. Less of an ideological theme and more of just a recurring thing - almost all of the villains are being manipulated by another force. In fact, so are the PCs being manipulated by Nyrissa! Most of them are manipulated by Nyrissa, but Armag has the Sisters, Hargulka has Gurija, Foras has, uh, Yog-Sothoth.
Not only are the players manipulated by Nyrissa, but I'm going to have the Lantern King play more of a role, if hidden. He whispers in the heroes' ears in the form of an old poem, which reaches the ears of the PCs through dreams, found tomes, that pesky golden gnome, or even Linzi having a strange spark of imagination. As the Lantern King is fey, and has a different perception of time than we do, he foretells the "Ten Trials" that all kings go through (that doesn’t make sense, but hey, fey). This is meant to guide the players somewhat, for mercurial reasons, which Nyrissa has no clue about.
Each of the ten verses below relates to the first ten chapters, and is revealed to the PCs shortly before the important part of their corresponding chapter. Right before the Black Tears attack Jamandi, right before heading into the cradle at the breach, after the heroes retake Briar, etc. The second verse does differ in that it covers all of Ch 2. (Also, I really hope that people like this. I spent a LOT of time getting the right poetic meter going, and even got a subscription to a Shakespearian website to get appropriate archaic words!)
The Ten Trials
'Fore the iourney yet enkindles, likely rulers sup and mingle,
knowing not the night's devices, lie abed with hopes beleev'd.
Yet the sable princes countlesse, spilling blood with daggers soundlesse,
hale our crownes unto the fire: lo, the kingdome is conceiv'd.
Commer crownes explore their holdings, new foundations thus unfolding.
They emboss a vicious hart to fashion footeholds 'pon his grave.
Battle won, the fog reveales just whose life our heroes steale -
scarcely but a namelesse childe; lo the kingdome's start is paved.
Arest with structured walls surrounding, newfound barons their lands counting.
Beurocratical adventures, toyling whilst their foes dost wake.
Ferret fiends whose shadowes skitter: dragon false and scorn'd thieves bitter,
fire-brands, Moone sins, heibarr's bane; lo, the kingdome's fortune makes.
'Twixt the challenge prior facing, to our noblest word debasing,
from the thicket storme-sway'd fiendfolk gath'ring up corival sortes.
Follow'd fast by blinded mourner, shivers homesteades, mowes street corners;
making rivers redly runneth; lo, the kingdome's road contorts.
Seedes of ruin subtly spreading, threatning like to peace beheading.
Mothers's canker waxing so to spreade its way through stock and stone.
As it reaches full bloome's upsets, heroes venge their fallen subiects
thin the cradle at the breach; lo the kingdome's seedes are sown.
When an innocent young questant finds betray-ed emp'ror restant,
wicked wakes and breakes entombment; ravens rivals midst one night.
Heroes parley moone-lit guardants; past their datelesse vigil ardente;
Smash the cyclop't throne of bones; Lo the Kingdome's future's sight.
Reborne warlord steales obeisance of the cravven prince complacence;
Gives affiance to his thrall's oath, flies to brooke his forebear's brawne.
Weary rulers buckler legions, hew the twice-born tyrants's heathens
Trading blood for blood as forehand, Lo the kingdome dusks its dawn.
Favoured bastard, treachrous rival; wishing fortune's swifte revival
Sealed away the fool queen's bosum; flouting stocke, her trust begrudged
Hero lords o'rtake his nation -- Infiltration! Liberation!
Once their castle singly stands; LO the kingdome's worthe is iudged
Long past, deathless stove off timeless; eld verse new, divinely crimeless.
She, new goddess, stone plug sealed off; compassed warring factions bothe.
If the hero lords determine; watcher foes hear gravely sermone,
or they say not, either way; lo the kingdome seales its oath.
Measured goode with en'mies foyle; her fair heart strews cross the soyle
All at once, the land embraces as she breaths a thousand breaths.
Watch the sins past fly the sweete breeze; hark the angels singing how these
stolen lands are stolen no more; lo the kingdome lastly rests.
---
So, what do people think? Any themes that you all are putting in your campaigns?
This is pretty cool and I may have to consider stealing or repressing that idea of a poetic prophecy to govalpng with the party... but I especially had to comment because...
Hargulka (who for some reason - even a decade ago when running the hot-off-the-presses original - I thought was female until writing this) is a queen of trolls (and I'm homebrewing it to be true).
DITTO. In my long-fizzled Kingmaker game the party just learned of the, "Queen of the Green" Hargulka, who is a troll woman for the same reasons you give above XD
This is AMAZING and so beautifully done. Is there any chance you could explain it a little? Like, the references and such in it? I understand most of it, I think, but a few bits elude me.
For sure, and thank you! One note is that I tried to use chapter titles when they were evocative enough, which skews it a little.
1. The heroes mingle and make friends, not realizing that the Black Tears (sable princes) will attack. "into the fire" is the chapter title.
2. Commer (newcomer) crowns (nobles). Emboss a vicious hart is to hunt a vicious stag. They kill the stag lord, not realizing that he's Like That because of his father -- the stag lord doesn't even have a name.
3. This one is a bunch of events from Chapter 2. First off, I am very proud of "beurocratical adventures" fitting the meter. Ferret fiends skittering is just means that bad guys are around. False dragon is Tartuk; scorned thieves are the black tears attacking in the kingdom event; fire-brands are Grigori and other rabble; moon sins is the werewolf (I hate this line). Heibarr is a river kingdom that was destroyed partially due to a cult of Gyronna; its bane represents that cult.
4. The storm-swayd part is Hargulka's consort, Gurija. She claims to be "sent by the thunderclouds". Otherwise this is just Hargulka and the owlbear.
5. The seeds destroy the peace, the heroes go to the cradle of lamashtu to stop it.
6. Vordakai is woken by a random explorer. He ravens (devours ravenishly) the heroes' rival, Varnhold. The heroes talk with the moon guard, the nomen centaurs. The cyclop'd throne is just whatever Vordy's got going on right now.
7. Armag cows Drelev, trusting his word that he'll be obedient. The heroes fend off armies, then hunt down Armag and his crew.
8. Nyrissa's favorite, Irovetti, finds and hides Briar (the fool queen's bosum/heart). The heroes take over his kingdom; they're done one their castle is the only one standing. At this point, Nyrissa judges the kingdom good enough.
9. This one was weird. Chapter 9, Pharasma vs. Yog Shothoth. Pharasma is the "new" goddess, comparative to the Lantern Prince and Yog, /I think/. It's not clear. She seals off the area, trapping both factions. If the PCs want to, they can deal with this, but either way the kingdom is ready for the Apology.
10. This one represents Nyrissa succeeding. She absorbs the kingdom in her "loving" embrace and "the stolen lands are stolen no more"
In my game, each of these is proceeded by "The First Trial" "The Sixth Trial" and so forth. Once they finish chapter 10, I plan on calling chapter 11 "The Eleventh Trial" to represent that the prophecy wasn't entirely true.