Assassinate the Emperor?

ChameleonX · Jul 18, 2019

I'm running an Elder Scrolls campaign using a modified version of 5e D&D, set in the years between the beginning and ending of TES 2: Daggerfall. All the spells and mechanics of 5e are in play, with just the player races, spell point system, and some homebrew content added on.

Well, I've been putting emphasis on the political unrest and breakdown of confidence in the empire following the revelation of Jagar Tharn's imprisonment and impersonation of the Emperor, and the subsequent decade of ineffectual and divisive rule. I expected that this would be a good time for heroic adventurers to make a name for themselves, but one of my players has gotten it in his head that the best solution is to assassinate Uriel Septim VII, and possibly destroy the Empire in it's entirety.

I've pretty much flat-out told him this isn't going to work, but he's stubbornly refusing to back down and has already had his character try to poison a priest of Akatosh and openly announce his intent to commit high treason. It's a pretty sandbox-y game (given the source material), so I don't have a pressing reason not to let him try. The only thing is he's being cagey about what he actually intends to do, probably because he's trying to pull something over on me.

So, I guess I'm asking for advice on how others would handle this situation. It wouldn't be as much of an issue if he hadn't successfully roped a bunch of the other characters into his scheme. I kind of want to avoid having a legion descend to annihilate the entire party and raze their base to the ground.

Eltab · Jul 20, 2019

A rabble-rouser NPC with similar ambitions - destroy corrupt ruling class, take their place, govern wisely (or 'wisely') for rest of his life - arises and gathers a crowd about him. They raid an armory or magical storehouse. They beat up a smallish army or police unit. The PCs get to hear about all this, as it is happening "just over the horizon" from them. Eventually they are approached by an agent of the rabble-rouser to join his cause (as underlings not leaders of course). The Authorities finally bring the hammer down on the rabble-rouser and his forces just as the PCs arrive in the vicinity and can watch. Let the PC decide if he is ready - or can craft a plan to get ready - to be on the receiving end of that.

Scott Christian · Jul 20, 2019

Sandbox kind of implies he can go this route. I get it though, it's a route that's doomed for failure, or at best, they succeed, yet all your material is wasted.

If you're asking how others would handle it, I would let them do it. I would create an entirely new quest line:
- finding the right plants for poison (troll lair sounds good)
- meeting with the Dark Brotherhood (if they are around)
- going to find some coin to bribe specific guards
- breaking into the library (golem guarded or something like that) to steal the blue prints of the castle
- gathering intel from the local thieve's guild on secret passages the King may try to escape from
- having a detective start to catch on to his scheme (could be your protagonist)
- maybe a quest for invisibility cloaks or something in some ruins
- then, let the story come to a climax - them breaking in, try to kill the king, and then escape!

A good adventure. Lots of room for double-crossing. And saves your source material for another campaign.

(And, on a personal note, I always talk to my group ahead of time about character motivations and alignment. If they veer from this, they need a exigence, not just for them but for the group. But, if they just always want to play opposition to whatever the gamemaster's story is, then maybe they aren't built for a campaign that's story driven. Maybe they're better off with dungeon crawls.)

GMMichael · Jul 20, 2019

I'd just implement the level-scaling guards from TES 1 - you know, the ones who would destroy you no matter what level you were?

Were the Blades defending the emperor back then? A couple of encounters with really intimidating Blades might dissuade the assassin PC.

Also [SPOILER!!] I read somewhere that Skyrim got out of the assassination problem by saying the emperor was actually an impostor. So the assassination was a success, but not on the right person. Even if I read that wrong, it might work for you.

Or... can't kill the emperor if he's on vacation. Somewhere far away.

FrogReaver · Jul 22, 2019

ChameleonX said:
I'm running an Elder Scrolls campaign using a modified version of 5e D&D, set in the years between the beginning and ending of TES 2: Daggerfall. All the spells and mechanics of 5e are in play, with just the player races, spell point system, and some homebrew content added on.

Well, I've been putting emphasis on the political unrest and breakdown of confidence in the empire following the revelation of Jagar Tharn's imprisonment and impersonation of the Emperor, and the subsequent decade of ineffectual and divisive rule. I expected that this would be a good time for heroic adventurers to make a name for themselves, but one of my players has gotten it in his head that the best solution is to assassinate Uriel Septim VII, and possibly destroy the Empire in it's entirety.

I've pretty much flat-out told him this isn't going to work, but he's stubbornly refusing to back down and has already had his character try to poison a priest of Akatosh and openly announce his intent to commit high treason. It's a pretty sandbox-y game (given the source material), so I don't have a pressing reason not to let him try. The only thing is he's being cagey about what he actually intends to do, probably because he's trying to pull something over on me.

So, I guess I'm asking for advice on how others would handle this situation. It wouldn't be as much of an issue if he hadn't successfully roped a bunch of the other characters into his scheme. I kind of want to avoid having a legion descend to annihilate the entire party and raze their base to the ground.

Let them try. Don't hold back any punches when they fail. They make new characters and learn from their mistake. Most importantly though. If they do everything just right, you must be prepared to let them succeed.

When they are running the mission, give them ample opportunities to turn back. Be very fair, as you've already made it clear you don't want the emperor to be assinated by them. You're goal can't be to preserve the emperor. It's to ensure the players feel like you gave them every opportunity to succeed or walk away from a really hard task.

Imaculata · Jul 22, 2019

I tend to adapt my plot to what the players want to do. If they want to kill the emperor, run with it. Have them gather allies that have the same cause.

Topramesk · Jul 22, 2019

What level are the characters? I think that a plot like this would be very tough even for high-level characters.
Anyway, I'd let them try but would make progressively more clear that it's an Evil choice, probably leading to an alignment shift.
Also, their action are surely going to attract a lot of attention, both from enemies and from those who'd like to use them for their own ends. My TES lore is a bit rusty, but I think in that period the King of Worms is still around, you could see how they react when vampires and necromancers start contacting them as allies.

Assassinate the Emperor?

ChameleonX

Explorer

Eltab

Lord of the Hidden Layer

Scott Christian

Hero

GMMichael

Guide of Modos

FrogReaver

As long as i get to be the frog

Imaculata

Hero

Topramesk

Explorer

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