Can I pick your brains for some plot ideas/suggestions?

[Odessa333]

Hello all!


So I'm a long time gamer here, with my first TTRPG being over 20 years ago. A lot of that time I was a DM, making up plots, traps, riddles, etc on the regular. I burned out, did a few years as a player, and I now find myself back in the DM spot. I took over running a module (Curse of Strahd) and the module is nearing it's end. The players have expressed wanting to continue with their characters, so I'll take that as a compliment. I have the bare bones concepts of where things go from here, yet I admit I'm nervous of going off the module rails here.


At the bare bones level, I have a player with an unresolved background hook, of trying to reclaim the throne of their Kingdom. The players voted on wanting to help the King reclaim his crown. With five PC's at level 10 at module's end, this is not an impossible goal. Political intrigue seems a must, and creating the many, many npc's needed for that to work is daunting already. I'm a bit worried on the combat aspect, as I can't throw low level guards at them every time. And they are high enough level where flight is becoming easier and easier, so harder to toss random encounters at them. I can't have little Timmy fall into the monster cave every week either.


I have at least a month to get ready for this, and really, I'm just getting started. I know I can use the other PC's background too, which is going to add in some fun elements (they have collectively angered several powers from Tiamat to Shar, so yea). My biggest problem is nerves at this point, and I know that. It helps me to talk to others, so I'd appreciate ideas, suggestions, comments, additions, deletions, substitutions, and anything else you can offer. Anything from an interesting encounter to a wacky NPC, I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Thank you for your time, happy gaming out there.

[titi]

First question I would ask to make the NPC is : How did the king lose his throne ? Was it a coup, an insurection ?
If it was a coup, did the culprit attack him with soldiers, or did they summon a demon (or something else) ?

Maybe you already have an answer in the PC's backstory, but if you don't it's a good occasion to chose what's going to be the first threat (elite soldiers ? fiends ? necromancers ?)

[Tawmis]

Hello all!
So I'm a long time gamer here, with my first TTRPG being over 20 years ago. A lot of that time I was a DM, making up plots, traps, riddles, etc on the regular. I burned out, did a few years as a player, and I now find myself back in the DM spot. I took over running a module (Curse of Strahd) and the module is nearing it's end. The players have expressed wanting to continue with their characters, so I'll take that as a compliment. I have the bare bones concepts of where things go from here, yet I admit I'm nervous of going off the module rails here.
At the bare bones level, I have a player with an unresolved background hook, of trying to reclaim the throne of their Kingdom. The players voted on wanting to help the King reclaim his crown. With five PC's at level 10 at module's end, this is not an impossible goal. Political intrigue seems a must, and creating the many, many npc's needed for that to work is daunting already. I'm a bit worried on the combat aspect, as I can't throw low level guards at them every time. And they are high enough level where flight is becoming easier and easier, so harder to toss random encounters at them. I can't have little Timmy fall into the monster cave every week either.
I have at least a month to get ready for this, and really, I'm just getting started. I know I can use the other PC's background too, which is going to add in some fun elements (they have collectively angered several powers from Tiamat to Shar, so yea). My biggest problem is nerves at this point, and I know that. It helps me to talk to others, so I'd appreciate ideas, suggestions, comments, additions, deletions, substitutions, and anything else you can offer. Anything from an interesting encounter to a wacky NPC, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for your time, happy gaming out there.

So, it doesn't have to be combat.
For the player who is trying to recover the throne - combat could be the worse thing, because people may perceive them as a murderer.
So this is a good chance to make it more about political. Perhaps the person who sits on the throne isn't the proper person - but what if they're really not all that bad?
I mean, they do some bad things, so there's a need/want to dethrone him or her - but what if most of it is not visible to the people whom they rule over?
So an all out murderfest to dethrone them is not going to win the people's trust.
But if the players succeed and free Barovia from Sthrad - you could introduce some NPCs that would be willing to speak on behalf of the hero(es).
As for combat and flying, keep in mind - for guards, the king worried about being dethroned has hired some strong hired hands (up the DC of the guards). And to ensure magic isn't used, employed several powerful wizards.
For NPCs make a few and see which ones stick.
So for example, last night - several of my players couldn't make it. But the previous session they'd encountered some Earth Genasi rebels whom they'd agreed to fight. So I turned two of them into "valid" NPCs - a Cleric and a Fighter (since we were down a cleric and artificer). The fighter became very fun - and the players latched onto her - just because I made her loud and constantly taunting the Paladin of the party to jump into the fight.
So you never really know what's gonna stick when you make NPCs.

[Mastikator]

Retaking a throne by force is tricky unless the player is planning on being a tyrant, since the guards, knights, court wizards etc that they kill in the process are their own people. BTW a knight is CR 3, so 10 of those would be a serious threat to the players (not that it would be an interesting encounter, just saying there are higher CR humanoids).

However I would consider how they're going to take the throne, do they mean to just waltz in and say "step down" because that shouldn't work, they would need to turn the NPCs over to their side. They need proof of royalty and proof for the people of the court that they should change sides. This might mean something like the ancient crown of the player's ancestor, which just so happens to be stuck in an ancient haunted ruin.

The kingdom that the player wants to capture might also have enemies. And there might be other contenders for the throne as well, maybe someone with a weaker claim but a bunch of assassins at their disposal, or someone else who has made a deal with a hag/fiend for power and has supernatural warriors to fight by their side but it would be terrible if they came into power. All these forces may be barely be kept in check by the current monarch and if the players are uncareful will unleash on the court.

[kazaryu]

At the bare bones level, I have a player with an unresolved background hook, of trying to reclaim the throne of their Kingdom. The players voted on wanting to help the King reclaim his crown. With five PC's at level 10 at module's end, this is not an impossible goal. Political intrigue seems a must, and creating the many, many npc's needed for that to work is daunting already. I'm a bit worried on the combat aspect, as I can't throw low level guards at them every time. And they are high enough level where flight is becoming easier and easier, so harder to toss random encounters at them. I can't have little Timmy fall into the monster cave every week either.


i have a few thoughts on this.

-the first is that its incredibly easy to upgrade 'low level' guards. and i don't just mean as a DM, i mean in world. giving the guards access to consumable magic, like oil of sharpness, is a reasonable explanation for why the guards are dealing more damage. other things like potions of aid or shield of faith can explain guards being a bit beefier. 'so what, the guards just...have access to infinite potions and oil? no, of course not. but they could easily carry some things around for a 'just in case'. you can even have this add some interest, give the occasional guard a potion of dragon's breath.

-additionally, what is the purpose of those combats? if its just a random combat out in the streets, the far larger concern of the PC's should be escaping ASAP...because if the alert goes up, it won't be long before even more guards, better guards, or possibly even adventurer level mercenaries start showing up. If the combats are a result of the PC's going after key targets then there's no reason to believe that the primary guards will be basic town guards (i.e. CR3). those types might be present as a stopgap, but surely in a world with magic the incumbents can afford some nastier surprises for would be invaders/thieves/revolutionaries. (idk the whole story but i think my point is clear).

-depending on the exact scenario for how the PC was originally deposed, and how the PC's go about trying to run this coup you've also got the option of just...straight up mercenaries being hired and they don't have to be mortal mercenaries. take a look at yugoloths. or they could be bound creatures. flight can be a boon to the PC's...but it also presents a vulnerability. both in visibility, and in the fact that they need to protect whatever method they have of flight at all costs or its going to be...rather painful.

-for random encounters...you don't necessarily need to have them. they're great for low level parties as a sort of 'the world is dangerous. this is why adventurers exist'. but as the party has leveled up, even if they're travelling on the ground you can always describe 'well you do get attacked by X, but as you're level 10, this isn't a big deal anymore'. or even ask them 'how do you want to handle this'. with their response potentially playing into their reputation, which can feed into the intrigue. maybe once or twice you can bring in relevant major encounters. like a dragon just happens to be flying around. Later, if the antagonists ever find out the PC's plans. then 'random' encounters can be mercs actively hunting the PC's. groups that are better equipped than the standard dangers the PC's might encounter on the road.

[Mastikator]

A thing to consider when taking the throne of a kingdom is that killing the guards is still a failed result, they aren't really enemies, they're your future guards, and they died protecting your future kingdom. The DM needs to make a head count of how many countrymen the PCs kill, and have the kingdom subsequently suffer for it. This really is one of those kinds of quests that the players can't murderhobo.

[Unoriginal]

To take over a kingdom, you need to make the peopoe and organization who are allied with the current king not actively oppose you.

Both internally and intertionally, a kingdom depends on a network of important tasks and the people carrying them out. Getting on the throne while angering the priests guarding the Abyss portal, the Lionbane nobles, the southern farmers and the neighboring duchy that's keeping the coast safe from pirates and sea monsters with their world-famous fleet is a bad move, unless you can impose your will on them through power. But that will cause conflicts you'll have to deal with.

[Arkhios]

Since Barovia is a region (presumably) within the Shadowfell, surrounded by an impassable mist, I had this idea that maybe the mist could act as a gateway of sorts (in a way similar to the old Shadow Walk (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shadowWalk.htm) spell) to other realms with strong connection to the Domains of Dread.

I used to run a campaign that began in an ancient labyrinthine, multi-layered metropolis (only known as the Labyrinth), centered around a sky-piercing obsidian tower, which the citizens of Labyrinth call The Needle. The Labyrinth's original name has been lost and forgotten in the winds of time, and its first layer was originally built on top of a gateway to Shadowfell - or The Plane of Shadow, whichever you prefer - (the players did not know this at first, but eventually uncovered some of this information). Gradually over time the population of the Labyrinth changed as new rulers took over the previous and nations rose and fell. Each culture gradually built new layers upon layers until the Labyrinth's original layer became inadvertently the foundation for several cities built upon other cities, slowly sinking to the ground (and possibly into the Shadowfell itself).

Exactly below the Needle and the lowest city there lies the tomb of the former goddess of Death, Uria, the predecessor of The Raven Queen in our homebrew setting. Obviously, as a deity of death, especially undeath, Uria couldn't actually be killed. Instead, she was sealed away forever by The Raven Queen and her Twelve Champions, the First Hexblades. The First Hexblades willingly entombed themselves as part of the ritual to keep eternal vigil on the Tomb of Uria (which is a huge crystalline structure, reflecting an image of a decaying woman in eternal stasis; the woman's race would appear to match with each onlookers' race, whether or not Uria had any connection with their culture).

In the campaign, it turned out that, unknown to even The Raven Queen at the time of Uria's binding, a lesser Old One from the Beyond ended up trapped inside the Tomb with Uria's crystalline tombstone. For eons afterwards, it had been luring lesser creatures in an attempt to be released from the Tomb, until it finally found a candidate who actually managed to do that. This is where my players came to picture. Initially they were tracking the person in question for other reasons entirely but inadvertently ended up thwarting their bigger plans. However something went wrong, and - long story short - the PC's ended up fighting with the lesser Old One, which, fortunately for the lesser Old One, led to releasing it and, unfortunately, Uria from the Tomb in the process, who in turn unleashed her remaining powers of a now lesser deity upon the Labyrinth, shattering the boundaries between the Shadowfell and Material Plane, and transforming Labyrinth into something horrible. As Uria departed from the Tomb, all went dark for the PC (for those still alive) and the session ended (it was around midnight so I had to do something!).

My intention (which I made clear to the players) was at the time to continue the campaign with Curse of Strahd. The PC's would've been saved by the Raven Queen's Herald, who delivered them to the borders of Barovia, perhaps by mistake or because it was the least hostile area within a reasonable distance. From there, the players would've had to solve the mystery surrounding Strahd, and surviving that, find a way back to their home world, or somewhere else entirely.

...

With that out of the way, maybe you could use some of that? So that when your players finally finish with Curse of Strahd, they travel through the mist to an unknown metropolis of the Dead, with an ancient goddess in rampant search for revenge upon that insolent upstart, The Raven Queen, who since their previous encounter had increased in power and deific status in the cosmic sense.
Essentially it would be nothing short of a war between deities of the life and death, where The Raven Queen prefers a balance between life and death, while Uria would prefer to turn the mortal realm into her domain of undeath.

As a background, Uria had succumbed to madness long before she was bound in the first place, which is why The Raven Queen, formerly only a demigod and Uria's Avatar or a Herald, sought to end her reign, and to take Uria's place as the deity of death, to bring balance rather than wreak havoc. That said, although The Raven Queen isn't excatly evil, she isn't the nicest individual either; essentially it boils down to siding with the "lesser evil" to fight against greater evil.

[KorvinStarmast]

A thing to consider when taking the throne of a kingdom is that killing the guards is still a failed result, they aren't really enemies, they're your future guards, and they died protecting your future kingdom. The DM needs to make a head count of how many countrymen the PCs kill, and have the kingdom subsequently suffer for it. This really is one of those kinds of quests that the players can't murderhobo. In order to remove the current king, a few things need to point toward a need for change... pick one or more from the following.

0. Current King is infertile/sterile, can't seem to produce an heir. One of his bastards has been named the heir but is unfortunately not in the least bit popular due to {pick an unattractive trait: gambling, overbearing, enamored of a foreign realm's {something} or {someone} rather than eligible members of noble families of the kingsom, cowardly, what ever ...)

1. The people feel the heavy hand of injustice.

2. The kingdom is in a crisis of some kind (draught, crop failures, plague) that the current king cannot resolve. Criticism is met with draconian countermeasures.

3. Current king is married into a family of {foreign realm} and the people do not like the king's bride. (An interesting take on this was done in Robin Hobb's first Farseer trilogy, but in that story the foreign queen eventually won the people over. For your scenario, you'll want a more scheming, selfish kind of queen/consort NPC in place to make this work - she is behind various minor nobles losing their lands which then get rewarded to relatives from her homeland ... ).
Overtly removing that mate/queen/consort has ramifications, like war with the other kingdom / realm

4. King is possessed by a fiend of some sort, or there is a magic jar thing going on. The PCs have to discover this, find whomever is using the king as a puppet, dispose of them, and in the process the current king either abdicates or it's too much for him and he dies/is rendered insane, etc. That's got the risks of being a railroad plot, though.

5. The king is plotting to join the kingdom with another kingdom which is against the popular will of the nobles/court/people. The reason that he is doing this is to gain personal wealth and because foreign realm has {some cool special thing and a very desirable mate} that he desires. This king's personal desires overwhelm his obligations to the kingdom. <= This one is probably your most fruitful line, since the party still has to track down and expose the foreign influence, expose whatever mage or bard is whispering in the king's ear, and discredit the king such that the nobles support the PCs bid to restore the "rightful" king to the throne.

But be careful: the Denethor problem isn't an easy one to resolve. You need to assemble a substantial body of loyalists to the current king, and these loyalists Need To Be Won Over by the party and the heir.

What favors can the party do, or what missions can the party accomplish, for these current loyalists that will make them more open to the new king's taking over?

To take over a kingdom, you need to make the people and organization who are allied with the current king not actively oppose you. Bingo. Said it more concisely than I.

Both internally and intertnationally, a kingdom depends on a network of important tasks and the people carrying them out. Getting on the throne while angering the priests guarding the Abyss portal, the Lionbane nobles, the southern farmers and the neighboring duchy that's keeping the coast safe from pirates and sea monsters with their world-famous fleet is a bad move, unless you can impose your will on them through power. But that will cause conflicts you'll have to deal with. Party can assist that duchy by the sea in putting down a sea monster that has threatened shipping/commerce, for example. Dragon Turtles come to mind, or Krakens, as a possible side quest which wins them renown at this level.

[Sigreid]

What I would do is develop the key NPCs their routines and schedules. Decide if there is a powerful force behind the throne etc. Basically define the opposition and what they would do to respond to various threats to their power and how they actually regard the PC. Then what information the party gets and what happens is passed on their initiative. Until/unless they create enough of a ruckus to be focused on, your role should be responding to the party's initiative.

[stoutstien]

Are you looking for a critical path or more along ideas for things to place and then set them in motion and let's the outcome be what it is?

[da newt]

IMO this type of campaign is far more difficult / involved than most. There are so many factions and people involved, and only a small % can be solved w/ combat. I'd try to find ways to streamline the arc into sort of side quests that can be dealt with in what ever order the PCs choose.


Some thoughts / questions that may help you think this through:

Where are the rightful leaders? (do they need rescue, is the PC the long lost heir, etc)

How did the usurpers gain the throne? (insidious plans to disgrace the rightful rulers, internal coup, invaders w/ superior forces, etc)

Who is leading now? (grand wizard/lich, impostor succubus/dragon/changling/rakshasa ... , etc)

What is their power behind the throne? (a cabal of clerics, a coven of hags, elder beasts, colony of mindflayers, small group of superior warriors, barbarian horde, spy's and assassins, red wizards, etc)

Why do they need to go - what makes them evil?

stuff like that.

[Corran]

To take over a kingdom, you need to make the peopoe and organization who are allied with the current king not actively oppose you.

Both internally and intertionally, a kingdom depends on a network of important tasks and the people carrying them out. Getting on the throne while angering the priests guarding the Abyss portal, the Lionbane nobles, the southern farmers and the neighboring duchy that's keeping the coast safe from pirates and sea monsters with their world-famous fleet is a bad move, unless you can impose your will on them through power. But that will cause conflicts you'll have to deal with.
Also the common folks. They can be a force of stability or insurrection (even directly against high-ish level PCs).

@OP: I'd make the current ruler a tyrant who rules with an iron fist (you know, to enhance the villain element in them). But. I'd still somehow (maybe the tyrant has skilled and well meaning councilors and is not dumb enough to neglect their advice) have them enjoy enough popular support. I'd make part of the reason why the tyrant is still supported by a significant portion of the population, to be the comparison with the previous ruler (ie the PC's family), to whom I'd even add a negative title, like the accursed. Many people still hate the old king, cause they claim that he was incompetent and that the kingdom suffered greatly under them. Perhaps problems caused by the ones who eventually made the coup, or was it actually incompetence and bad ruling? Heck, I'd even go with full blown propaganda at this point. Not only was the previous ruler abysmal and cursed by the gods, but the new ruler (who brought safety and stability, heh) is blessed by the gods. Everybody has heard of the story of how during the coup the new king was stabbed in the neck but miraculously they were not even wounded, the dagger shattered to pieces and the offender dropped dead on the spot.

[Sigreid]

Also the common folks. They can be a force of stability or insurrection (even directly against high-ish level PCs).

@OP: I'd make the current ruler a tyrant who rules with an iron fist (you know, to enhance the villain element in them). But. I'd still somehow (maybe the tyrant has skilled and well meaning councilors and is not dumb enough to neglect their advice) have them enjoy enough popular support. I'd make part of the reason why the tyrant is still supported by a significant portion of the population, to be the comparison with the previous ruler (ie the PC's family), to whom I'd even add a negative title, like the accursed. Many people still hate the old king, cause they claim that he was incompetent and that the kingdom suffered greatly under them. Perhaps problems caused by the ones who eventually made the coup, or was it actually incompetence and bad ruling? Heck, I'd even go with full blown propaganda at this point. Not only was the previous ruler abysmal and cursed by the gods, but the new ruler (who brought safety and stability, heh) is blessed by the gods. Everybody has heard of the story of how during the coup the new king was stabbed in the neck but miraculously they were not even wounded, the dagger shattered to pieces and the offender dropped dead on the spot.

It could be a fun plot twist if his kingdom has become a relatively fair democracy while the PC has been away.

[Corran]

It could be a fun plot twist if his kingdom has become a relatively fair democracy while the PC has been away.
Haha, yes. Or even... obligatory Monty Python reference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qT-C-0ajI).

[Odessa333]

(nods) Ok, ok, some good stuff here, thank you. As to the 'how they lost the crown' bit, I can post that:


"The current Queen came to power in a coup. The area is known for it's instability, and most rulers come to power in this way. She was the niece of the queen before her, and in her coup she killed much of the current royal family, to prevent anyone coming for her. She's had a long reign of 30 years now, that has seen some good times for the kingdom. Yet in her old age, she has become paranoid of death. Knowing full well that most rulers don't die of old age, she has started to regulate who can own weapons, requiring licenses for spells, and other measures so that only those loyal to her can bear arms. The people are not happy with this, and in trying to prevent a coup, she is creating the conditions that will bring about her own downfall."

The PC is not part of the current royal family; they are part of a previous royal family that is thought to be long dead. The backstory I'm working with doesn't mention if the current Queen is married or have heirs. Her reign seems like a bell curve; a rocky start, years of peace, and slowly going crazy.

[Mastikator]

The backstory doesn't mention heirs, but it doesn't exclude them either. Be wary of letting the queen have no heirs because if she doesn't then the PC wins by default once she's dead, all he needs to do is to prove that he is who he claims to be and the people of the court will yield to him. That would make going murderhobo the most logical choice.

If she has heirs then killing the queen accomplishes nothing and the players will have to choose to use wits and finesse. I think she should have heirs, at least a handful who she birthed, and maybe a handful backup people she named as her heirs in the event that her family is killed.

[Sorinth]

I think generally you'll want to establish several factions and for the coup to be successful (Beyond the fight) the party will have get some percentage of factions on board. Some factions could be large organizations such as the army or a powerful church, but others can be as small as an influential NPC.

Some faction ideas,
- The Army: Obviously the leadership of the army is filled with the queen's cronies and are loyal. However there is a retired former general who still commands loyalty/respect from the common soldier. The PCs can win over this faction if this former general supports them, however they aren't very political and care more about stability of the kingdom, and even if they personally dislike the queen they value the 30 years of peace that she brought. Winning over the army will result in less bloodshed as only the most loyal will have to be fought.
- The Mercantile Alliance: The five wealthiest merchants in the kingdom have an informal alliance whereby they work together to enrich themselves. They have defacto monopolies over many areas of the economy and work together to keep it that way. Since they are getting rich under the queen they are quite happy with the current state of affairs but have no real loyalty to her and would turn on her if they think it will be more profitable to back the PC. The main benefit of winning over this faction is propaganda and financing.
- The Judiciary: The high court is composed of some odd number of judges, a minority of the judges are straight up in the pocket of the queen, but the others are a mixed bag of personalities. The goal here is less to win over the high court but for the court to declare the PC's lineage as true.
- The Outlaw Barron: This is basically a Robin Hood rip-off, a noble who became an outlaw and is in charge of a rebel group of freedom fighters. Probably don't go quite as far as robbing the rich to help the poor, but overall the noble does do a lot of good of the commoners, some of that is no doubt cynical as his power base is the commoners so helping them out means more recruits for his freedom fighters, but overall is generally a good person.
- The Architect: A famous sage/architect makes their home in the kingdom. They are not only a powerful wizard but well respected by everyone as they have created a number of grand magical public works. Things such as water fountains that provides endless clean drinking water, gravity defying buildings, animated statues and other public art, a permanent wind corridor that blows the stink of the forges/tanneries away from the city, etc... The wizard is known to be non-political in the extreme, they care deeply about the city but don't care that much about the population beyond a general sense of well being. As an example providing free endless clean drinking water isn't about actually helping the people, it's about making the city into a jewel that others can only aspire to.

In terms of combat, the description of the queen makes her seem ripe for making bargains with fiends and/or exploring necromantic options. Since you just did Strahd I'd go the fiend route but still possibly promising immortality. This connection should have started to be reflected into her most loyal subjects. So for example, the champion of the Queen's Guard is rocking a set of Demon Plate, some advisors are very clearly Warlocks, etc...

[Segev]

Coming up with a town that can serve as the party's base of operations while they plan to engage with the politics of court might be useful. This might be the capitol, or it might be something more on the outskirts. Either way, use it as a way to showcase the recent peace and wealth of the kingdom and the way that the Queen's increasingly paranoid policies are running it down. Highlight the problems the common folk, the merchant class, and the minor nobility face.

A lot of immediate problems, a 10th level party can solve quickly and easily; let them use this to build up their rep here. But show that the systemic problems are things that mean the easy immediate problems are going to keep coming back if the PCs don't stay and keep solving them, playing whack-a-mole. Let them see ways to get the people on-side by championing against the things that the Queen is doing.

Try to have some of them have good reasons, though, too, so just "the Queen did it; it's bad, and should stop" won't be an easy solution to the problems. Make the complexity of interlocking and competing objectives a source of her paranoia; let her see conspiracies where really there are rivalries.

I'd kind-of build your NPC roster and conspiracy board from outward-in: start at the top, with what she's dealing with that has her paranoid, and think of what laws and rules she's implementing that are meant to be a problem (and why). Then, jump to the low level, where you're building the entry point for the PCs, and flesh out the impacts these policies are having and why they are creating problems that are not intended by the Queen. You can focus on building the NPCs and their plot elements at that level, and then grow it back towards the Queen's court as you have time and the PCs interact with it.

[Sigreid]

(nods) Ok, ok, some good stuff here, thank you. As to the 'how they lost the crown' bit, I can post that:


"The current Queen came to power in a coup. The area is known for it's instability, and most rulers come to power in this way. She was the niece of the queen before her, and in her coup she killed much of the current royal family, to prevent anyone coming for her. She's had a long reign of 30 years now, that has seen some good times for the kingdom. Yet in her old age, she has become paranoid of death. Knowing full well that most rulers don't die of old age, she has started to regulate who can own weapons, requiring licenses for spells, and other measures so that only those loyal to her can bear arms. The people are not happy with this, and in trying to prevent a coup, she is creating the conditions that will bring about her own downfall."

The PC is not part of the current royal family; they are part of a previous royal family that is thought to be long dead. The backstory I'm working with doesn't mention if the current Queen is married or have heirs. Her reign seems like a bell curve; a rocky start, years of peace, and slowly going crazy.

This is pretty close to the plot I'd The Sword and The Sorcerer.

[Danielqueue1]

The way I am doing it in my campaign, is map out the movers and the shakers, the large factions and shadow organizations. The quirky NPC's and lovable goblins can be improvised, added and removed as part of the overarching faction umbrella.

In a tumultuous environment a DM can tie almost anything to anyone as long as you already have the framework.

You said that the current queen is restricting magic. Neat. A demon attacks a village where her favorite cousin was having an embarrassing affair. You can have it be...

•The loyalist wizards making the Queen more paranoid by blaming rogue mages so she will put more restrictions so that they have a tighter monopoly on magic.
•An enraged noble house paying rogue mages to get rid of the evidence of the embarrassing affair.
•A foreign agent trying to tie up the kingdom's resources so they will be easier to invade.
•The cousin consulting with demons on how to usurp the queen's throne. Then losing control of them.
•Two factions were moving on each other and didn't even know the cousin was there.
•The demon is completely unrelated, but every faction is blaming the others in a bid for power or to avoid destruction.

Flexibility and player uncertainty give you as a DM room to adapt. Something as simple as "You find the symbol of of the royal mages tucked away in one of the empty scroll cases you found on the body." Can keep the players busy for several minutes while you get the next part ready.

Also I recommend at some point finding a criminal organization with copies of the symbols and seals of several groups and a pile of half finished forgeries. From that point on they will have to interact with multiple people to be sure that the orders they pulled off the bad guy (or stole from their room) weren't a false flag operation.

Finally, let the guards be beneath the party. Have a street thug get trounced in one hit. At their level let the people moving against them be faction agents, well funded mercenaries, and assassins. Let your NPC bad guys summon mobs and run away. Have a team of assassins each wearing a Cloak of the Monteback hitting with poisoned arrows then skulking into the shadows again. But, and this is the most important part, If the party catches them do not pull a Diabolus ex Machina to have them escape without a good reason. Reward the party for thinking of something you hadn't.

[Clistenes]

A thing to consider when taking the throne of a kingdom is that killing the guards is still a failed result, they aren't really enemies, they're your future guards, and they died protecting your future kingdom. The DM needs to make a head count of how many countrymen the PCs kill, and have the kingdom subsequently suffer for it. This really is one of those kinds of quests that the players can't murderhobo.

Just a point: Even if he manages to take the throne bloodlessly, I suggest hiring new guards. I wouldn't want guys with dubious loyalties to be in charge of my safety, just saying...