Facilitating an "accident" [PF]

[Govinator]

So the aristocracy in my PF game right now is pretty starkly divided. Mostly because a foreign ambassador has been playing hell with internal politics, bribing several nobles and working to turn the aristocracy against itself.

One of the members of a certain faction has rather suddenly died, and all of his holdings have passed on to his daughter. This daughter is going to hold a public funeral for her father and has invited all of her father's friends to attend, the PC's included.

One of the Senators in the ambassador's employ sees this as a great opportunity to facilitate an "accident" at a function where so many of his enemies will be gathered.

My question, is how can they put together something that will be dangerous without being blunt about it? If it was a wedding they could poison the cake or something, but this is for a funeral and that's where I am having trouble.

Any thoughts? What could they do that would at first seem like an accident?

Edit: The more I think about it, the more I like the thought of this being the spark that ignites a civil war. What could happen at the funeral that could do this? The only thing is that the corrupt senator wants to keep his involvement as the instigator of this a secret.

[Asrrin]

The funeral procession passes by a grain silo or something equally combustible during an especially dry period of weather. When it catches on fire and/or explodes, it spooks the horses drawing the PCs/daughter/coffin, causing a massive stampede as the crowd flees from the spooked horses. A sabotaged carriage that breaks down right as this happens unceremoniously dumps said precious cargo in the path of the stampeding horses, and the "accident" ensues.

[themourningstar]

Weddings have cakes in our culture- why not have funerals in your setting have some customary food?

[Raven777]

You don't have lunch after funerals?

[Fouredged Sword]

Kill a few people with negative levels 24 hour before hand, and leave the bodies in the funeral parlor. Exactly 24 hours after their death, they rise as wights. That can be a serious threat to a funeral when nobody though to come armed.

Also, slipping a plague or two into the area through a glyph seal or two hidden on something that people will be handling. It triggers the plague spell, so the targets don't even notice they failed their fort save for several hours. Plenty of time to remove the glyph seal and make a getaway without drawing notice. The initial target will spread the sickness to others in the event, hitting many birds with one stone.

[dupersudi]

If you're not having the senator aim at a specific target it's going to be pretty hard not to be blunt.

That being said, if the dead guys death was suspicious you could go with the senator using mass suggestion to frame someone/make the guests at the funeral blame the person violently, you could target either a PC or a NPC that the PCs like.

You could also raise the dead guy as a nasty type of undead if that could fit in the campaign.

Someone could take advantage of so much attention being placed on the funeral and rob a bank or attack something(anything that would draw the PCs after them). Or the attempt(whatever it is) could be botched and the PCs can rush from the funeral and save the day.

[avr]

So many important people will have guards, right? Probably several different groups. Suggestion or similar might be able to start a fight, then nature takes its course with the gathered tensions.

Alternately there's landslides, bridge collapses, lightning striking the church or a fire otherwise starting, poison in the wine at the wake, arranging for the funeral procession to cross paths with an angry mob, whatever.

[almightycoma]

Make it look like bad weather, and worse luck killed them. depending on your level I suggest call lightening (3rd lv spell),call lightening storm (5th level spell), or control weather (7th level spell). That last one would probably have to be a scroll though unless your in higher level game or using level reducing shenanigans.
edit: I used the 3.5 spell levels my bad

[NevinPL]

Any thoughts? What could they do that would at first seem like an accident?
Well, IRL people like big gatherings of other people, so they can blow them up. Or just hold them for ransom. Especially if they're important, wealthy, and kill some of them as a example, warning.

Does Pathfinder has Tarrasque ? If yes, he wakes up in the vicinity.

Are there some prisons, asylums near ? They broke out.

Some very greedy Red Dragon, that wants some new "bling", and aristocracy gathering is "all you can wear and eat" buffet.

Use some magic to look like someone else, and play both sides against the middle, mislead, provoke.

Leave some cursed, or magic prison items.

The undead thing others mentioned.

[Dissonance]

Does the antagonistic party have access to the body beforehand? If so, make the body the catalyst of a fast acting air-based poison. Then raise it as an undead and command it to only show it and start the tearing of throats during the funeral.

Two simple and easy tricks that will have far reaching consequences.

- The noble family will take a large blow the their reputation considering their recently dead father was then revealed to be undead, in public no less.
- As others have already stated, people are probably unarmed at a funeral, which might help it score an impressive kill count while it's rampaging the funeral.
- Those it doesn't kill will become affected by the fast acting poison that emanates from it. possibly killing them and bringing the kill count even higher.
- If the funeral procession is standardized, It will be all to common that the most important people will be sitting up front. Nearest to the body. The undead body. Can you see where I'm taking this?
- It will badly shake the daughter that her father was raised, and if she survives. Who is to say that the antagonistic nobles don't see an opening to comfort/convert her?
- The antagonistic nobles could take advantage of this to smear the reputation of all that was present during the funeral. (ex. You didn't bring a weapon? How stupid, always be prepared I say. / Did you honestly think that everything would be alright there? I mean her father died under mysterious circumstances. you would have to be a fool to think that nothing would go wrong. / ect. ect.)

I know whites have been mentioned already as well as the raising of the body in questions. However I wouldn't suggest any undead that can create spawn or the like. The aristocracy probably would favor a one off undead since it will accomplish the deed as well as be unable to get far enough to threaten them before it is destroyed.

[Lord Vukodlak]

This is supposed to be an accident right? Not something seen as a deliberate assassination? Turning the body of the deceased into an undead just points to deliberate tampering with the body. And just because this is a funeral is absolute ZERO reason to believe no guards come armed. To say there wouldn't be a legion of armed guards with these many nobles around sounds a little ridiculous to me. In modern society coming armed to a funeral would be bad taste but in a Medieval society coming armed and dressed in ceremonial armor to a funeral would be acceptable.

If the OP really want's it to be something that could look like an accident. The Senators could simply sabotage the roof of the church so it would collapse on everyone inside during the funeral. It could be made to look like termites or rotted wood.

[Govinator]

My internet had gone out for the past few days, my apologies for not responding!



If the OP really want's it to be something that could look like an accident. The Senators could simply sabotage the roof of the church so it would collapse on everyone inside during the funeral. It could be made to look like termites or rotted wood.

I like this, I like it alot! Someone could also cast a delayed lightning spell or something, and a little bit later the lightning hits and causes the roof to collapse. Causes suitable chaos and confusion! I also like the idea of the nearby prison having a breakout at the same time.

The more I think about it, the more I like the thought of this being a spark that ignites a civil war. We can scale back on the "subtlety" and aim for confusion and chaos.... As long as the main perpetrator isn't obvious then it should be much easier to achieve.

[Lord Vukodlak]

The more I think about it, the more I like the thought of this being a spark that ignites a civil war. We can scale back on the "subtlety" and aim for confusion and chaos.... As long as the main perpetrator isn't obvious then it should be much easier to achieve.

To add further chaos a few senators and ambassadors could have unanticipated delays.(carriage wheel broke, waylaid by bandits etc) that conveniently made them late for the funeral so they weren't caught in the collapse making them look guilty once the investigation reveals the collapse wasn't an accident.

[Govinator]

To add further chaos a few senators and ambassadors could have unanticipated delays.(carriage wheel broke, waylaid by bandits etc) that conveniently made them late for the funeral so they weren't caught in the collapse making them look guilty once the investigation reveals the collapse wasn't an accident.

Oh, that's good. Devious, I love it!

[ArcanistSupreme]

Does Pathfinder has Tarrasque ? If yes, he wakes up in the vicinity.

Taking this to a slightly smaller scale, "somehow" a rampaging beast finds its way in the path of the funeral procession:


The tiger cage of the traveling circus nearby is left open
A troll wakes up after being subdued and drugged, has no idea where it is or how it got there, and is not happy
Something caused the cattle of the nearby farm to stampede
A nearby orc tribe picked this day of all days to attack

[Fouredged Sword]

For a beast to wake up and wreck havok, I prefer a pyro or cyro hydra. You can knock then out, and trim the heads until they are significantly more powerful than the creature you knocked out.

Drop it with int damage and use a lesser restoration to wake it up before flying off.

[ArcanistSupreme]

For a beast to wake up and wreck havok, I prefer a pyro or cyro hydra. You can knock then out, and trim the heads until they are significantly more powerful than the creature you knocked out.

Drop it with int damage and use a lesser restoration to wake it up before flying off.

Or just use whatever appropriately CRed animal or magical beast so the PCs can try to kill it before it kills too many bystanders for some extra tension. Int damage is a good idea, and if the thing is dumped on-site 24 hours beforehand, it will automatically heal 1 point of Int and regain consciousness. It will be disoriented, confused, and understandably angry.