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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36817 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 10:04:43
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So I was thinking last night, whilst failing to get to sleep, on the Fire Knives attempting to assassinate King Azoun IV.
And then it occurred to me to maybe change it up a bit.
What if, instead of just a simple murder, they decided to kidnap him first, and kill him later?
If they could get Azoun out of the Palace and to a secure location where he couldn't be found, magically or mundanely, they could hold him for a while, watch everything that happens, and then kill him at leisure.
The major thing about doing it this way, at least from a Fire Knives perspective, is that it causes a lot more chaos to have the King missing, as opposed to having his body found.
At least, that's my current thinking. This was, admittedly, a late-night, can't sleep idea -- so it may not pan out. I'm looking for thoughts and ideas on what would happen in Cormyr if Azoun IV suddenly disappeared without a trace.
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6365 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36817 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 11:50:28
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Oh, they want to kill him.
What I'm thinking more about is what would be the response, within Cormyr, to his kidnapping. How would the nobles react? How would Vangey and the War Wizards respond? Who takes the helm while he's missing, and what is said about that?
See, if he turns up dead, immediately, then the Crown passes to the next person. But if he's missing, then it all becomes questionable... |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6365 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11868 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 14:12:18
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| It wasn't the fire knives or Azoun, but in the novels for 4e, they did similar stuff with the king missing, etc... |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4690 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 17:51:40
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In part confusion occurs if there is not a good plan in place in the absence of the King. If Azoun has in place designated person to rule if if is missing there would be less confusion. Oh unexplained missing still would cause uncertainty and factions would generate rumors about if the King is dead, abdicated and so on.
If there is not in place a strong and powerful second in command the degree of confusion would be greater because of those that would step forward claiming it is their duty to rule in the absence of the King.
In both cases there would be rumors about why the King is missing. There would be power struggles between the factions. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36817 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 17:54:22
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Dead king, powerful nobles, young or female heir. Sounds like the perfect recipe for fictionalized politics. The more greedy houses (especially the three royal families - crownsilvers etc) will want to marry to tanalasta or become regent for young azoun.
Vangerdahaat will probably try an impersonation for a time. I might steal your idea for a time
I'm thinking of the incident in 1341. Tanalasta, if she was around, was a child; Azoun V was decades away from birth.
And I was hoping for some specific actions various groups/individuals would take. |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 19:48:36
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My familiarity with lore is blurring a bit lately; I don't have any specific actions to suggest. I can throw some power groups into the fire though.
The least-subtle of the machinations would probably come from the families with shaky ties to the throne -- unrecognized heirs by philandering, without the honors bestowed upon the families that are more openly favored by the crown.
There's also the Fire Knives themselves. Of course they want Azoun himself dead, but do they want to control or destroy Cormyr as a whole? Doppelgangers/ghaunadan/shifters could be immensely helpful in either pursuit, but is the alliance reliable? Or maybe they're being assisted/used by something with more resources... that rabbit hole could lead anywhere.
Various churches have an interest in the stability/instability of Cormyr. I think you could make a case for any/all of them, but Bane, Tymora, Siamorphe, and Helm and/or Torm and/or Tyr come readily to mind. (I would pick Helm to foreshadow the betrayal Cormyreans seemed to feel after the TOT when they blamed Helm for that area of ongoing chaos, but maybe that's just me.)
Sembia, of course. Along the same power-hungry/greedy lines, there must be ambitious wanna-be warlords among both the Dalesmen and the brigands west of Cormyr.
Behind more veils and subterfuge, I would also expect agents of certain dragons, the Xraunrarr beholders, a malaugrym maybe, shades or phaerimm if you play them smarter and more subtle than the official version, and of course drow.
An interesting (in my opinion) campaign could come from dissidents seizing power in a backwater area of Cormyr... the failed coup which inspires a young Gondegal to later do a better job of it in Arabel. I would prefer to make it a very *good* plan, which only fails due to the quick wits and tireless legwork of particularly resourceful PCs... their success is what makes it forgettable for the people of Cormyr, resulting in Gondegal failing to foresee some of the problems he faced in his own pursuit of glory. A sort of "there is so much more going on behind the scenes that regular folk never hear about" lesson in the complexity (some would say futility) of politics and ambition.
Best of luck with it! |
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JohnLynch
Learned Scribe
Australia
243 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2018 : 21:19:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Oh, they want to kill him.
What I'm thinking more about is what would be the response, within Cormyr, to his kidnapping. How would the nobles react? How would Vangey and the War Wizards respond? Who takes the helm while he's missing, and what is said about that?
See, if he turns up dead, immediately, then the Crown passes to the next person. But if he's missing, then it all becomes questionable...
I reckon it wouldn't be the first time that the King has gone missing. I expect they'd make excuses for him for a few days (everyone in the court is accustomed to the King doing this). After a week they might start getting a little bit concerned and so they get a body double to fill in for the King. After 2 weeks Vandergahast is panicking. He suspects everyone. Not wanting to tip off the guilty party, he gets the fake King to continue being King (i.e. Think Dave the movie).
Those most loyal to the King would be placed under intense scrutiny first as Vandergahast assumes it is one of them. More than a few of them will likely get put off side by this scrutiny and withdraw support from the King. He may eventually relent and inform some of them from the dire situation.
He uses more subtle methods on other suspects. I believe the Fire Knives would start spreading whispers that the King is an imposter under Vandergahast's control. One of the nobles who suffered under Vandergahast's interrogation could bring in the PCs at this point to see what is going on.
If Vandergahast is found out he's branded an usurper and a warrant for his arrest is issued. He of course flees, transforms into a dragon and remains beyond the reach of the Cormyrean law.
Civil war could very well break out, with those who identify with the old Kingdom of Espruar potentially using the entire affair as a pretext. Lots of other enemies of Azoun IV and Cormyr will also likely want to involve themselves in escalating the hostilities.
The PCs could sweep in and nip it in the bud. They'll have had a heads up that something wasn't right soon after Vandergahast started investigating so they have the advantage of working on this problem for a while which could help them in settling the civil unrest (depending on how long it's been since Azoun IV went missing). |
DM of the Realms: A blog for my Forgotten Realms adventures. |
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The King is missing!
