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TheThan
2010-04-26, 05:19 PM
I’m currently writing out a campaign arch for an upcoming dnd game. It involves a succubus that has infiltrated the upper echelons of the nation’s nobility. Specifically she’s got the King’s (and Queen’s) ear. She’s effectively the power behind the thrown and is using it for her own ends. However she’s been rather busy with other tasks and has also managed to corrupt the local church by seducing the high priest (church of pelor if your interested), and his right hand man a paladin.

These two have been so badly corrupted that the paladin has fallen (stated him out as a paladin of tyranny), and the priest (cloistered cleric) has created a secret (debauchery based) cult, with plans (laid out by the succubus) for summoning more powerful demons into the world.

Now the pcs are going to have to rout out and stop this succubus and her two henchmen and return the kingdom back to the good side of things. The cleric and paladin will have to be killed or captured, no amount of reasoning will change their alignment back, as well as the succubus because well she’s a demon. The other npcs that have been influenced and corrupted by the succubus and her minions are not so far gone that they cannot be redeemed.

That leads to my problem, how do I show my players a city that is being corrupted from inside out? I’m considering using the taint variant presented in the SRD, but I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for. I need to come up with things to show the players as they work through the campaign arch that shows the effects of the presence of the succubus and her warping of the leaders of the nation. So does anyone here have any ideas?

The Glyphstone
2010-04-26, 05:36 PM
Have it reflected in the order and state of the city. As her corruption increases, the leaders start paying less attention to keeping public order, and it degrades. The streets start getting filthy, regular patrols of city guards vanish while streetwalkers and bums/cripples start to hang out in the formerly 'good' parts of town. The sort of merchants that wouldn't show their faces outside the black market sell their wares openly in the town square. Maybe the thieves' guild is taking advantage of the disorder, or maybe they're worried about the declining situation.

TheThan
2010-04-27, 12:59 AM
Well I was thinking of doing something with slavery. I imagine that this is a country that has never had the issue arise, therefor they don’t have any anti-slavery laws in place. So when people start buying slaves (from another country the PCs will probably end up heading to later) there is no law stopping them. It’s not right on moral grounds, but it’s perfectly legal (or rather not illegal) according to the laws. Aside from that, I’m still sort of stuck.

I want to go a bit deeper than moustache twirling villainy here, I want to show the effects of evil on a personal and local scale.

WildPyre
2010-04-27, 01:18 AM
A few public beheadings of people that were willing to speak out about the decline of the kingdom should do nicely. Hangings work too... bonus points if the condemned goes down with pride and still speaking out.

The streets and buildings should be recognisable as well built structures that have fallen into a state of disrepair, signs of a once great and proud nation who's priorites have drasticly shifted.

I like Glypstone's ideas too.