Coup d'état in Medoere

[Agis]

Greetings. :D

This is my first post here, so hello to you all. My name is Agis and I'm from Spain, so don't be surprised if my English is not entirely appropiate. ;)

The thing is, I'm going back to DMing after a long time, and I would appreciate your feedback on this.

This is our second session in Medoere, with the AD&D system.

PCs:
Priestess of Ruornil - Regent
Ranger'ess - Keeper of the Forests - candidate to 'paladin of Ruornil'.
Wizard'ess - Kind of dead - I'll tell you later.

On the first session the Regent was invested and they were all introduced to the state of the realm. Then, they all went on a tour to inspect the lands and find the sources for the wizard. As a matter of fact, it was more like a trip to the woods of the Realm and I'm afraid the game was a bit boring. Then the wizardess went into the Passage Tree and dissapeared, and that was the end of the game.

As far as the wizard is concerned I might bring her back as a worshipper of Avani (she is half-Khinasi) or as an evil character. It depends on the player, who hasn't decided yet.

Anyway, I think that the campaign needed something really good soon or it will sink. I was out of inspiration, so I rolled in the Random Events Table: 02 - Blood Challenge, so I thought that Altaweir Enlien will revolt now.

So the situation is this:

The Regent is on an awfully organized tour. She should have visited the nobles first and spent more time with the people. She is with the Ranger, Kotrin Skirvin and their guards. They are all on Darksword Woods.

Altawir has taken over the Celestial Palace. He has taken Elenir Goerin prisioner. Suris Enlien is being guarded over in the Temple of the Ninth Spell.
The Sword of Enlien is under his control, and he is going to recruit at least to units, to 'protect the realm against the impostor' and to protect 'our former ruler'. I might even add a schism to spice the whole thing out.

I expect the PCs to sign a deal with the rulers and guilders of Caerwil and to assure Alamier before doing anything. Diemed will 'wait and see', expecting a civil war to break out.

This action is perhaps too harsh for Altawir Enlien to take, but as the PCs haven't met him before, this is no big deal.

What do you think of the whole thing? Have I missed anything?

P.S. There are no wizards in the realm right now, so I guess that the first one to grab a wiz gets a big advantage.

[Riggswolfe]

The idea in general sounds interesting. If I were you, I'd sit down and write up a few notes on what you want to do with this campaign. This random event may have spiced things up for you but it won't work forever. And why was the tour boring? You could have used it to introduce all kinds of interesting NPCs and future plot threads.

[Gman]

Some quick thoughts on complicating matters and making things interesting. Hopefully you can follow my brainstorming.

What do the local population think of the new regent (or the old one for that matter) and Why were the Players chosen by the old Regent? Are they even related to the old regent? Did the old regent do this deliberately because they didn't like the other prospects or was suspicious of their motives or ties to other provinces.

What the local population thinks includes the views of the noble class, guilds/merchants and priests and any nearby wizards - all of which may have differing perspectives or conflicting views on matters.

Were there others that felt they were more suitable that have been passed over to give the PC the regency/throne??

What I am asking is have you thought about people that are unhappy about the PC's being suddenly made ruler - this can spawn a whole lot of plots.

Also the realm is probably more easily destabilzed at present. A few rulers nearby may have spies and diplomats dropping in to check for "possibilities" If things fell apart they may have to send in the peacekeepers to "help maintain Law and order". Some may be genuinely concerned (not wanting someone else to get a foothold ) Spiderfell??

If the Nobles have not been consulted and even visited are they already beginning to feel disgruntled and ignored.

The local church of Ruonil may feel that they should have more of a say in the control of the state "read - Altawir if you want" because the players are novice young and wilful and have no idea how things should be run "read - I'm older know better and should have the POWER" This can be just because the PCs are inexperienced and unproven - not because of anything evilly sinister.(but be evilly sinister and mean if you want -its quite fun. Mabey its an evil double of the old high priest of Ruonil)

Having a PC that is not also head of the church in a province would be the source of many pressures and problems.
Church vs state with the novice regent in the middle would be lots of fun.

I can't remember if being head of the church is automatic for the regent in Medoere but it is a theocracy (from memory) - This may be a debatable point of law now the old regent is gone because the player may not have been automatically confirmed as the head of the church heirarchy automatically. If you want -remember its your game you can make this the case! If they haven't been confirmed as being head of the church as well as the state then they really they have to strongly consider the orders of someone who is of a higher rank in the church. Or that person may consider themselves the rightful ruler on a religious basis. Even if a full grab for power is not the case an older powerful person with lots of connections could be awfully bossy, difficult and make powerplays vs a new regent.

Feel free to change the personalities of any nearby regents to suit your own campaign - this keeps players on their toes
i.e. UNLESS the PLAYER CHARACTERS have knowledge of nearby regents inside the game then just because the PLAYER read the book doesn't mean they can assume their characters know anything UNLESS they check with the GM if its true (its best to explain this to the players before you spring changes on them however)

People dropping by with dire warnings - being saved from assassins - dreams and prophetic visions.

Waking up just as the assassin climbs in the window as they are caught in that moonbeam from the suddenly break in a cloud.

Spider webs shadowing the moon.. hmm

Flesh out a few local lords and personalities to see who is on the PC's side and who is not - and who might be swayed - Politics can be fun. -
Give one merchant exclusive trade rights over a particular product and he's your man.
Go on a quest to return the lost son of a lord to win him over.
Find the ancient ancestral orb of Meodoere (gigantic glowing moongem) to prove your the rightful theocratic ruler.

[Agis]

Thank you for all the feedback!

I'll tell you how things stand now.

The PCs have been roaming Alamier meeting the nobles and rising an army.

They have also cut a deal on the merchants, as they want the supplies of armor and weapons to Braeme to be delayed. Unfortunately for them, Altawair is making business with Endier. :D

Altaweir is consolidating his dominion on the basis of continuity. The idea of the high priests supporting him is really good. That's something I will definitely use, and it makes a lot of sense for a schism.

Well, so on Alamier the PCs have an army of 1.000 strong, with lots of knights. Unknown to them, Braeme is hiring pikemen. :D The Treasury is in Braeme, away from the PCs, so it will be a matched fight, and that's the problem. The conflict is going to leave Medoere very weak, so weak that it would be very easy for Diemed to take over.

So Altaweir next move will be asking the PC to marry him. He plans to retain the control over the temples whereas she will be on charge of the law holdings, and their heir will again reunite all the power on him or her.

They will also have visits of embassadors from Roesone and Ilien, but I haven't decided on their positions yet. Of course, a stronger Diemed is bad for everyone, but will Roesone and Ilien go as far as choosing sides?

The one thing that would stop the war would be the discovery of the Paladin of Ruornil. However, I think that the candidate has not proven herself yet.

By the way, to the question to why the regent was chosen I have a very good answer: her blood. 96 - Anduiras - Animal Affinity (lion)... A nemesis for the Spider! She is beginning to discover her powers and that is making the people of Medoere understand that she is something special.

Last but not least, last game was more fun! :D

[kgauck]

Diemed should not wait and see, though she may pretend to do that. Rather, through spymasters (Lasica Diem?) or one of the guilders who has holdings in Diemed (one of them is likeley favorable to what is going on - isn't Altawair already working with Endier?) Heirl should be spending money and regency to quietly encourage trouble and help friends.

Ghoere will also take an interest, but that is more of a wild card. Perhaps her real interest is isolating Roesone so that its more vulnerable to her machinations.

[Agis]

I see. But at some point, Diemed might invade Medoere. How would her army be? In that case, I must decide on the role of Haelyn's church in all this. Details, details... ;)

[kgauck]

There are several ways to figure out how big the army should be, but what is more important is the ratio of Diemed's army to Medoere's. Diemed has 23 levels of province and and Medoere has 9. So roughly their army should be twice the size.

Given the small spaces involved, Diemed should hold nothing back. No force could be left behind which would make a difference in case Avanil invaded anyway, so leaving a unit behind would be a waste of a unit.

[AndrewTall]

Given the small spaces involved, Diemed should hold nothing back. No force could be left behind which would make a difference in case Avanil invaded anyway, so leaving a unit behind would be a waste of a unit.

I'm not so sure. Leaving no units means that the province is undefended - how charitable then of the Prince of Avanil to send a few troops to defend the land if rumours of goblins spread - Duke Boeruine probably used a similar argument with Talinie...

I would also expect a units or two to be left on the coast in case of pirates, a few more near the Spiderfell to ward off minor incursions, and then the remainder - probably at least half again Medoere's number, but likely twice if Diem did any planning at all to be sent. One also has to think tactically as a coastal nation, if every fighting man in the country is sent then what stops a galleon of troops from Roesone taking the capital unopposed?

The troops left behind will probably not be front line troops - militia should be plenty as they are as much for show and to maintain calm as to potentially fight, but it takes a very trusting man to leave his lands visibly defenceless while they have a single passable border.

[Gman]

Does Medoere have any long standing pacts with any other provinces? Which they may or may not choose to hold to seeing that the regent has changed (legally should carry over).

Would these other provinces really want to see a very powerful Diemed on their borders??

Diemed may have hired Mercs/ raised levies at some time which some rumour of may have reached the ears of the PC's etc. (no that mercenary troop you want has already been hired...)

Personally if I were Diemed I would choose to wait until a large civil war was fought and then hit the depleted and exausted troops - "to protect the weak and innocent from violence - of course"

[Gwrthefyr]

The Ilien PS mentioned a tripartite alliance between Medoere, Ilien and Roesone which could be used to cool down Diemed.

[kgauck]

If a small number of troops is held back to meet a major invasion force, they will be useless. If Avanil invades, a unit of Pikemen and Archers won't be a bump in the road. Instead rely on your fortifications to delay an invader while the whole army returns. If Roesone puts a whole army in a province, defeat it with your whole army and the survivors will surrender to you, unable to board ships in the aftermath of a battle. Now Roesone is vulnerable.

Dealing with Avanil is matter of diplomacy, not strategy. Diemed should be close enough to Ghoere that Avanil fears throwing Diemed entirely into their camp, but not so close that Avanil has nothing to loose. The happy place for Diemed is to be close and cooperative with Ghoere without recognizing their bid for the Iron Throne. At least not until Diemed is re-united. Such a delay also guarantees that Ghoere continues to pursue that recognition. Put Avanil into the situation where they choose not to invade and risk a wider war with Ghoere.

Never risk your whole affairs on a portion your resources. There is no benefit to holding back a few units. If something happens back home, you are well close enough to divert a small portion of your forces back if that move makes sense for operations in Medoere. Cavalry can be there in days. The long terms effects of raids are small.

There is no prize like the reunification of Diemed. The real risk is that either because of Avanil or because of Diemed's own failures, Diemed must become a client of Ghoere. No other risk shares the same magnitude. This can be avoided by a swift and decisive victory in Medoere.

[Agis]

Hi.

We still haven't resumed our game after all these weeks, but soon we will.

By the way, how likely do you think is the possibility of Diemed supporting one side? Diemed could offer their troops in exchange for vassalage of the Regent of Medoere or even for all the law holdings of the land.

The interesting point here is that perhaps, if the PC regent doesn't accept the deal, the usurper will. :rolleyes: