Chapter VI: Becoming a Prince
Assassinate the Prince
This plot element can be attempted at any time. The chances of
success, and of success in seizing power, greatly increase if the
Player Characters do some groundwork first.
The challenge is getting to the prince and killing him without
anyone tracing the crime back to them. If they succeed, then the
court is plunged into anarchy as people struggle for power. The
PCs do what they can within that. If they fail, the hunt for the
assassins is on. Very clever Players might be able to strengthen their
position at court by framing an enemy for the attempt.
Second-Tier Elements
Once the Characters have established themselves in the court, they
can prepare the groundwork for their takeover and betraying the
prince.
Gain a Powerful Position
The Player Characters aim to take control of a powerful position
within the principality, such as treasurer, general, or chief justice.
In a large principality, control of a fortress and a few settlements
would also qualify. The important thing is that the position is one
with enough authority to make its holder a strong candidate for
being the next prince if something unfortunate should happen to
the current one.
In order to even try for a powerful position, the Characters must
have the prince’s trust and more allies than enemies. (If they have
no enemies, they must have at least one ally.) Getting the position
should involve a further challenge.
Have the
trying to assassinate them. By this stage, the Characters’ allies and
enemies should have figured into at least four plot elements, which
set up the Characters’ activities at this point.
If the Characters succeed, they have the powerful position.
Betray the Prince
The purest form of treason: the Player Characters manoeuvre the
prince into a dangerous situation and then abandon him to his
fate. The Characters must hold a powerful position to attempt this
plot element, as no one with a lesser status has enough influence
over the prince.
81
Disinherited Children
If you are feeling cruel, the old prince can have a young
son, his “natural heir.” This is cruel because, if the Player
Characters do not kill him, he becomes a magnet for
discontent. Internal problems appear at a score of 25, rather
than 15, until he is eliminated. On the other hand, can the
Players handle murdering a Human child? If they do, they
had better make sure that no one finds out it was them;
murdering the heir immediately sets the Internal Trouble
Score to 30, and the same applies if evidence that they were
responsible comes out later.
A large part of the challenge of this plot element is coming up with
the treacherous scheme. It is important for the GM to remember
that the prince trusts the PCs (that’s why he gave them a powerful
post), and he does not know they are trying to get him killed.
If they lure the prince into a fight with powerful foes and do not
come to his aid, you need to play out the fight. The prince might
survive, but you should not simply decide that. Instead, give the
opponents to the Players, and have them try to kill the prince in
a full combat. If the prince does survive, the Players will really
feel that it is their plans that failed. Similar considerations apply
to other traps; although, it may not be as obvious how you can
involve the Players.
The second challenge is hiding the betrayal. If the Characters fail
to hide the betrayal from their allies, their allies abandon them.
Any ally who knows that the Characters betrayed the prince
immediately ceases to be an ally; he can no longer trust them. An
ally who was actually loyal to the prince becomes an enemy, which
has consequences for the chances of the Characters seizing power
successfully.
Frame the Prince
If the Characters can convince the court that the prince is a
worshipper of the Ruinous Powers, in league with Greenskins, or
a weak-willed “ethical” person, they might be able to get general
agreement to remove him. They still have to fight to take over in
his place, but at least they do not need to hide the fact they were
involved in getting rid of him.
Some princes might actually be corrupt, but corruption lets the
PCs off lightly, so it is not recommended. Framing a prince for
being ethical is e eme if
the Players can s s would
not be able to be nt to
make him at lea
Faking and prese
element. The PC usted
position to have
Characters are si osed to
believe the Char
The Player Char y
present the evide their
subjects accuse t , there
is likely to be a c gather
before that time,