Old PC became Political advisor... Now I need 5 years of what happened

[DontEatRawHagis]

So one of the player characters from the last game I ran became the advisor of a race of beaver people run by a King known as Waffletail.

If you have heard this before and are in my group don't read ahead.

So my new campaign is 5 years after the previous game and the PC has been there to setup the new government.

So the PC has become advisor to this kingdom in the woods. However the Player made his PC very right wing Economics leaning in the political spectrum, he is in real life as well but I don't want to make fun of him. I'm more reaching out on how to represent this in a non-demeaning way.

For instance the kingdom has become more inclusive and has set up a strict border, but there are privately owned and operated roads that are owned by individuals within the city.

Essentially it's a limited monarchy now with a strict capitalistic support of freemarket ideas. Most benefits within the society are owned by corporations.

Anyone have ideas?

Note: Previous actions of this PC was killing a duck that helped them for no reason, befriending the Beaver People, and pretending to be a Governement Official and proceed to try and take control.

[LokiRagnarok]

Can't you ask the player what the advisor would do?

[geeky_monkey]

Ask your player what would have happened if everything had gone to plan over the last 5 years.

Then roll a percentage dice and work out how much of that actually happened. He may have had a master plan but he's still trying to run it in a world of selfish individuals and meddling gods.

For example you've mentioned the roads. Perhaps the best road is owned by a greedy owner who charges far too much. As a result a log of travelling merchants are bypassing it and using a cheaper back road pass (to avoid the strict borders and stringent inspections - they might have exotic goods they don't want people to find), which has led to a influx of bandits moving into the region.

Or a monopoly has formed and is causing economic chaos in the region, trapping people who cannot afford to leave.

Both of those are plot hooks formed by the PC's plan.

[LibraryOgre]

I rather like Geeky Monkey's suggestion... let the player outline what he wanted to have happen, and then give a chance that it did not. After all, the best laid plans of mice and ministers often go awry.

[DontEatRawHagis]

I'll try that. The only reason I wanted to keep it secret is so I don't give away what I'm planning for next session.

[genmoose]

If you want to keep this secret from the original PC, then I think you can have fun with unintended 2nd and 3rd order effects from what could have been his noble intentions.

So let's say that in general everyone in Beaverland adopts capitalistic principles and the following 'good' things happen:

1. People have more money
2. Large scale growth
3. Higher tax revenues
4. Higher standard of living
5. More leisure time

Now let's see what could happen if the plan was not well executed or if 'stuff happens' as it is bound to do.

1. Folks have more money than before and in general the kingdom is much more prosperous. However this then creates an environment where evil folks can swindle people of their new found wealth. Maybe you have con artist selling 'miracle cures' that are junk or potentially harmful. Maybe he's somehow causing disease or problems only to show up to 'fix' the issue and collect a hefty sum. Or maybe he's just setup an old fashioned Ponzi scheme and run off with everyone's money.

2. Rapid growth has exceeded all expectations which has put a strain on basic services. Disease could spread or there could be a shortage of food. Maybe they need some raw material and demand has outstripped local supply forcing the town to send out a team to gather more of this rare resource.

3. With increased growth comes increased tax revenue (even if the rates have gone down or stayed flat). The kingdom has more money than it knows what to do with. It could also fall victim to an external scam. Or it could have become corrupt with some of the new officials skimming off the top. [from a historical perspective this often happens when an outside source tries to push a market system on a society or culture that isn't used to it. Think Afghanistan or Iraq]

4. As the standard of living has gone up, people start to demand more luxury goods. Some folks may start to demand new vices that were previously beyond their reach; drugs, booze, hookers, etc. Those elements bring crime and more corruption.

5. More more time on their hands, the folks can start screwing around with things they don't normally touch. Maybe someone got their hands on some artifacts or other magical gizmos beyond their control and opened the door to all kinds of evils.