BRC
2015-12-18, 07:58 PM
This is an idea for a campaign that I had a while back. I lack both the group and skill needed to run it, but I figured I would post it here anyway to flesh it out.
The Campaign is set in the prosperous City-State of Kaven. For centuries Kaven has been ruled by a hereditary line of Dukes and Duchesses. While the Ducal Court handled the general affairs of state, it had no time for the day to day minutia of running small towns, not to mention managing the city of Kaven itself.
And so, While the Dukes ruled from their palaces, the city of Kaven itself was a republic. Citizens elected a council of aldermen and a mayor, all of whom served at the Duke's pleasure of course.
Until recently. Last year, a group of heroic adventurers, investigating a string of mysterious disappearances, stormed the Duke's palace. They exposed that the Duke, as well as much of his court, were secretly worshippers of the Demon Lord of Greed, and that they had been sacrificing their own citizens in exchange for power and favors from their diabolical master. With these revelations, the citizens rose up against the Duke. Answering the Citizens's cries for help, an order of Paladins from the nearby Sacred Isles sailed into the city to drive out the cultists. The Ducal Court was destroyed, the palace was looted, the duke was killed, and the surviving cultists, once privileged aristocrats and major officials, were either killed, captured, or driven into hiding.
The Paladins then set about the work of rebuilding Kaven, seeking to create a blessed society like the Sacred Isles. However, they encountered a problem. The Ducal Court had been controlled by the Cult, and so its authority was illegitimate according to the Paladin Oath. However, the Cult had never spread beyond the Court. While the Municipal government flagrantly accepted bribes, rigged elections, and carried out shady backroom deals, they were NOT worshipers of the demon prince. The Paladins had to respect their authority.
And so, they called for a vote. In one year's time, the people would choose, either construct a government from their own, or accept the Paladin's stewardship.
The Current Situation
The campaign opens about two months after the Duke's fall, one year before the Referendum. The Barricades have come down, the Citizens are trying to get back to their lives, the Military had been controlled by the Duke, and with nobody to pay them have been disbanded. The City Guard is a sliver of it's former self, and so the Paladins are serving both to keep the peace, and deter foreign enemies from attacking.
Because of their role in defeating the duke, and keeping the current peace, the Paladins are quite popular in the city. Meanwhile, the old City Council is the closest thing to a government left, and the Paladins are oath-bound to obey the Council's decrees.
The PCs
For this campaign, the PC's will be playing as a city alderman and his staff. In six month's time, the Alderman will be up for re-election. In one year's time, the city will vote on the Referendum.
The PC's job, keep the Alderman in office, stop the Paladins from generating enough goodwill to win the Referendum, serve their constituents, blackmail/scandalize their political rivals, keep their own dirt from being revealed, accept enough bribes to finance their lifestyle/campaign, but don't LOOK like your accepting bribes, rebuild the city, and get yourself in a good position to take over the nation if the Paladins lose the referendum.
Their Tools: Wits, cunning, diplomacy, subterfuge, Bribes (Both accepting and giving), a complete and utter lack of scruples, and the fact that the Paladins must obey any laws the City Council passes.
While this would certainly take place in a DnD-esque Setting, I'm not convinced that D&D would be the best system to run it. Plus, even with the skeleton I've outlined above, there is still a LOT of work to be done before this is playable.
So many political campaigns focus on courtly intrigue, but scheming viziers would be useless in the world of street-level bareknuckle democracy.
The Campaign is set in the prosperous City-State of Kaven. For centuries Kaven has been ruled by a hereditary line of Dukes and Duchesses. While the Ducal Court handled the general affairs of state, it had no time for the day to day minutia of running small towns, not to mention managing the city of Kaven itself.
And so, While the Dukes ruled from their palaces, the city of Kaven itself was a republic. Citizens elected a council of aldermen and a mayor, all of whom served at the Duke's pleasure of course.
Until recently. Last year, a group of heroic adventurers, investigating a string of mysterious disappearances, stormed the Duke's palace. They exposed that the Duke, as well as much of his court, were secretly worshippers of the Demon Lord of Greed, and that they had been sacrificing their own citizens in exchange for power and favors from their diabolical master. With these revelations, the citizens rose up against the Duke. Answering the Citizens's cries for help, an order of Paladins from the nearby Sacred Isles sailed into the city to drive out the cultists. The Ducal Court was destroyed, the palace was looted, the duke was killed, and the surviving cultists, once privileged aristocrats and major officials, were either killed, captured, or driven into hiding.
The Paladins then set about the work of rebuilding Kaven, seeking to create a blessed society like the Sacred Isles. However, they encountered a problem. The Ducal Court had been controlled by the Cult, and so its authority was illegitimate according to the Paladin Oath. However, the Cult had never spread beyond the Court. While the Municipal government flagrantly accepted bribes, rigged elections, and carried out shady backroom deals, they were NOT worshipers of the demon prince. The Paladins had to respect their authority.
And so, they called for a vote. In one year's time, the people would choose, either construct a government from their own, or accept the Paladin's stewardship.
The Current Situation
The campaign opens about two months after the Duke's fall, one year before the Referendum. The Barricades have come down, the Citizens are trying to get back to their lives, the Military had been controlled by the Duke, and with nobody to pay them have been disbanded. The City Guard is a sliver of it's former self, and so the Paladins are serving both to keep the peace, and deter foreign enemies from attacking.
Because of their role in defeating the duke, and keeping the current peace, the Paladins are quite popular in the city. Meanwhile, the old City Council is the closest thing to a government left, and the Paladins are oath-bound to obey the Council's decrees.
The PCs
For this campaign, the PC's will be playing as a city alderman and his staff. In six month's time, the Alderman will be up for re-election. In one year's time, the city will vote on the Referendum.
The PC's job, keep the Alderman in office, stop the Paladins from generating enough goodwill to win the Referendum, serve their constituents, blackmail/scandalize their political rivals, keep their own dirt from being revealed, accept enough bribes to finance their lifestyle/campaign, but don't LOOK like your accepting bribes, rebuild the city, and get yourself in a good position to take over the nation if the Paladins lose the referendum.
Their Tools: Wits, cunning, diplomacy, subterfuge, Bribes (Both accepting and giving), a complete and utter lack of scruples, and the fact that the Paladins must obey any laws the City Council passes.
While this would certainly take place in a DnD-esque Setting, I'm not convinced that D&D would be the best system to run it. Plus, even with the skeleton I've outlined above, there is still a LOT of work to be done before this is playable.
So many political campaigns focus on courtly intrigue, but scheming viziers would be useless in the world of street-level bareknuckle democracy.