Reign of the Good King Skullfrost

[DangerAbe]

Hi Community,
I'm working on writing an adventure for my players (4th edition though it really doesn't matter) based around a beloved king that is slowly revealed to be evil.

My idea is that the king has been evil for several decades but his advisors (who are a small group of good men) have been tricking both the king and the general population of the kingdom.

Example: The king will do things like demand a team of four pure white horses and then if he finds a single black spot on one of the horses he'll order it killed but instead the advisors will give the horse to some local peasants.

In fact, the king believes that he's been waging a successful war against the neighboring kingdom for the past seven years when in reality his generals have just been giving him false reports concerning "the war" which in reality isn't happening.

The king is isolated from the outside world because he's sooo evil that he's transformed himself into a undead monster (lich or vampire probably). He believes himself to be a feared tyrant whose name invokes terror in both his own kingdom and all neighboring lands.

Yet in actually the local populace adores him for the past years of peace and prosperity. The neighboring kingdoms believe him to be a wise but eccentric ruler who refuses to see visitors because of a "skin-disease" which his advisors claim cannot be cured by known magical means as its a result of a curse from one of the gods of evil.

If a vampire then his advisors provide him with blood from donors who believe they are helping to cure the king's disease but they tell the king that the blood has been taken from his slaughtered enemies.

20 years ago there was a prophecy about the king's destruction and to prevent the destruction the king ordered all the children born at that time killed (which his advisors didn't do.)

One of the PCs will be the destined "chosen one" meant to kill the king... but the thing is that know one in the campaign world actually wants that to happen.

That's my general idea anyway. I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to turn the story into a D&D adventure. I'm trying to create something with multiple parts that will cover levels 1-15 but definitely not past level 20, I have no interest in running an epic campaign.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

 

[BriarMonkey]

Um...

There are a few rather large holes in that. First off, his advisors. If they are "good" men, then why have they allowed the king to remain on the throne - particularly if he is undead? Is he also mad, and thus easily duped or controlled? (If so, that would also fix the next item.)

Second, I would think a sane ruler would know if there was a war going on. Unless the kingdom is so large as to prohibit easy movement to the borders (magic anyone?), a simple military review would show that. A ruler who engages in war wants to know what's going on - so visiting the front is a very normal thing to do. After all, what better way to see how your generals are conducting themselves.

All things being equal, the king isn't. His advisors and generals are running the country. That being the case, do they keep him isolated and far removed from the population? If that is the case, then honestly, this is a really flimsy idea on the surface because if he is killed, nothing changes.

So, why does he need to be killed? The country is not run by him, he is a puppet - and no one suffers for the loss of a puppet (unless you are the puppet I suppose).

You may want to look at making some changes. For instance, if the king is truely a powerful undead, he can keep his advisors in check through fear and magicks. The advisors do what they can to isolate the effects on the populace, but things will trickle out and affect the kingdom. What if the king has a penchant for the pretty young folk. Having one's sons and daughters disappear without explanation would cause rumors and speculation - which can then eventually lead to finding out who the culprit is. That small line, if it has been allowed to go on for a long time (or has affected a lot of people) will sow seeds of fear without being heavy handed. That then can lead to exposing the king for the monster he is.

Something that also pops to mind are the emperors of ancient Rome. Most of the truely dispicable ones started out okay, and even had popular support. But as time went on, and their madness impacted more and more of the populace, they eventually fell - and in a couple cases, it was not the populace that fell their ruler, it was the other nobility.

K. I'll stop rambling and hope that it made sense.

Cheers.

 

[jonesy]

I kind of agree with BriarMonkey. There needs to be something which makes it imperative that the king stay as the king. A reason for why it would be better to continue fooling him, instead of just outright getting rid of him.

And there's another problem. Wouldn't the PC's find out pretty quickly that killing the king is bad in the situation?

 

[DangerAbe]

Yeah, there are definite problems with the story which is why I"m asking for help. The thing is that I REALLY like the idea of the beloved monarch actually being a terrible monster.

I'm thinking that early on at least one of his advisors tried to assassinate him after the king turned undead but he was no match for the king's supernatural power. So the other advisors then decided to placate the monster as much as possible rather than continue to attempt to kill him, an action that could destabilize the kingdom and risk their own positions, lives, and standing.
I'm thinking that there's also a rival noble family that or perhaps an uncle that would inherit the throne if the king is killed. (the uncle could be a known evil sorcerer and perhaps the king's old mentor.)

If I make him a vampire then that will explain why he can't observe the troops or the war. Risk of sunlight makes a journey to the front lines dangerous. The chief generals are all "in" on the conspiracy and so every report he gets is doctored.

I like the idea of the occasional disappearances of young people within the capital as the king goes out to hunt. That could serve as a good lead-in for the adventurers.

I guess the adventure would work with the king slowly realizing that he's been duped for several years at the same time as the adventures realize that the beloved rule isn't who he is said to be.

 

[jonesy]

It's a really interesting setup, and I like the duality of it.

Could you perhaps run it as a conspiracy theory? There's a rebellion movement which is convinced that the country isn't actually as well off as it seems, and who know what the king is, but haven't been able to convince anyone, since, they are conspiracy theorists. And they would be the ones who contact the PC's?

And then on the other side there would be other evil beings, not part of the government, who would like the king to find out how things are so that they could turn the kingdom evil.

 

[BriarMonkey]

<deep breath>

Okay, this is all going to be off the top of my head (in so far as it took me a while to try to think through this), so please bear with me.

Overall, we need a monster. This foul being runs the kingdom, but has only limited real power over the affairs of state - those powers being held by a small group of advisors and the kingdom's generals.

So...

For as long as people can remember, King Skullfrost has guided the kingdom along a course of peace and prosperity. Seen as reclusive and a bit eccentric by the common folk, little ill will is shown in public. On rare occasion, the King may preside over a special night-time celebration, but for the most part, one of his few advisors tend to public events and matters of state.

In private however, there are stirrings and rumors. It is said that undead occasionally walk the streets and make off with citizens - who are never to be seen again. And too, there are strange going's on, late at night, at the King's homes. Odd parties are said to be held, yet no one has ever seen anyone coming or going...

Away from public eyes, the nobility has reason to fear the king. In the past, a mere whisper of dissent would mean the noble disappeared, with no mention of them to be allowed across one's lips. Talks of usurping rule has always been found out and led more than a few down a dark path, from which entire families simply disappeared into the night.

The King's few advisors know what is going on, yet are unable, or unwilling, to completely stop it.

The advisors are able to play the King off of the nobility, and so, can keep the nobles in check - which affords them a relatively unopposed rule of the kingdom. With the King's degraded mental state, the advisors try their best to keep the King's attentions focused on matters other than law and policy. On occasion though, the King's will must be done, lest a bloodbath again occur at court. In these times, it is only for the grace of a short memory that the advisors are able to alter such decrees.

Behind the curtain, things are hanging by a thread...

Scores of years ago, the King was enamored with a young maiden. Unfortunately, this maiden was a vampire who had designs on the throne. One thing led to another, and the King was turned, and the maiden slain. As the King transformed, his grip on reality failed. Too much was this curse to bear, and his mind retreated. Although powerful in form and physical ability, only rarely are glimpses of his former will seen - and at those times, the insanity that grips his mind can also be seen.

Any more, the King idles away his time in frivolous pursuits - fancy dress balls; the arts; hunting; and of course, feeding. When presented with an issue, he is equally as apt to ignore it as he is to lash out and try to "remove" it.

It is in this state that things currently reside. The King, a vampire with a failing grasp on reality, is king only in title - with little real power. The noble houses seethe at how they have been treated, always looking for any chance to claim the throne, especially as the King has no heir. Too, the noble houses view the advisors as a threat, and should the King ever present a weakness... As for the advisors' part, they want peace for their peoples. They know the nobles are a threat, and the King slaughters innocents to survive, but they also know the loss of the King would mean their own lives and the nobles would fight amongst themselves to gain the throne.






Mind you, there are still some holes, but mayhaps there are enough ideas in there to help point you in a good direction. (As an aside, I've always liked morally ambiguous and politically scheming adventures. Gives players something to do besides smack stuff with a pointy stick.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Instead of making the king a dupe, I think the king has to know he's been thwarted in his evil ambitions, but not have acted to wipe out all of his advisors -- maybe he knows he'd be killed instantly if he did, and is playing a long game setting things up before dropping the hammer. Things can finally fall into place after the player characters have gained a level or two and have come to know the king as a good leader.

Otherwise, your BBEG is too dumb to be much of a threat.

I like the idea, with that aspect addressed.

 

[aco175]

I'm reminded of a Friends episode- "But they don't know that we know that they know"..

And thus the messers become the messees.

The evil King can be playing the part of being duped by his advisors but being able to undermine them along the way. Sort of like a demented cat and mouse game.

 

[DangerAbe]

The King Skullfrost name is just a filler because I thought it sounded funny to say the "good" King Skullfrost. There'll be a new less blatantly evil name in the actual game.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Can there at least be a Castle Skullfrost? It's kind of a fun name.