Adventurers and Society

[Jürgen Hubert]

As a continuation from this thread:

What is the role of adventurers in your campaign world? How do they fit into society? What do the authorities think of them?

Adventurers tend to be a violent, unpredictable bunch of people. Furthermore, they have the potential to become very powerful, and might not hesitate to get what they want.

Some people have suggested in the other thread that their power is a reason why the authorities should leave them alone. Personally, I'd argue that this very power is a reason why the authorities can't afford to leave them alone. After all, who knows when this power might be weilded against the rulers when a group of adventurers feels that no one can stop them, and thus try to take over?

No, I'd say that while low-level adventurers might slip under the radar, high-level adventurers must be paid attention to at all times.

Once adventurers hit a certain level, rulers of the region they commonly find themselves in will probably do one of the following:

Leave them alone: This might work with wizards researching arcane matters in their lonely tower, or monks founding new monasteries. As long as their attention is turned inwards, they can be ignored for the most part. Donate some minor existing structure and some land around it that you don't need - they might remember this favor later and come to your help if there's some kind of large-scale threat later on (but don't pester them with trivial matters). Still, it's probably wise to send a spy now and then to observe their activities - if the dead rise from the graveyards near the wizards' tower, you might have to resort to other measures...

Buy them off: Give them medals, rewards, minor titles, free visits to local taverns, and so on - whatever you need to flatter their egos, but what keeps them away from any real political power. If done right, this will keep them content and produce a large number of people generally amiably disposed to you. However, you still need to keep an eye on them. If any of them display ambition for more political power, you need to do one of the following:

Accomodate them: Give them real political power. Ideally, that means marrying some minor relative off to them - preferably one that's not close to the current line of succession - and then giving them a fief away from the capital. Ideally one close to a monster-infested border (which will keep them busy) and with a low population density (since that will make it difficult to raise a large army).

Play them off against each other: If adventurers are too busy competing with each other, they don't have time to plot against you! Sponser at least annual competitions for "The Greatest Warrior/Wizard/Whatever of the Kingdom" with fabulous prices - although the prices will be less important than the clash of egos involved! Send them off to (hopefully) suicidical quests for ancient artifacts - that will not only get rid of some of them, but possibly gain you some rather nice stuff for your own arsenal! (Although making those who succeed in such a quest "Knights of the Realm" or something like that is probably prudent, so that they feel that they have gained something as well...) If you think you can get away with it, feel free to have your agents spread rumors that the Bard from Party A has said something rude about the mother of the Fighter from Pary B... although you'd better be very certain that that can't be traced back to you. Actually, you should also take care to maintain a certain rivalry between the various adventurers who have joined your power structure as well, so that they don't ally to conspire against you.


Unaligned adventurers are a random factor that can disrupt the smooth governance of a nation at the worst possible moment. So they have to be dealt with... in one way or another.

 

[GwydapLlew]

I consider dealing with high-level adventurers as the same sort of difficulty has in dealing with supers in comic books. They are very dangerous, only held in check by others of their kind (or moral choices), and can do anything they want.

That being said, how a campaign handles adventurers gives me a great deal of insight into how much detail the designers put into the campaign. It's one of the reasons I like Eberron.

 

[Grymar]

They are certainly a factor. In the game I run certain members of the local law enforcement harass and follow the party around because they are not trusted with the amount of power they have since they are not a part of official law enforcement. They have even been falsely accused of crimes so there is a reason to lock them away.

Other members of the government try to recruit them and befriend them.

Carrot and stick.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Latharus Suel's place in society is to kick ass, take names, and then kick their fathers' asses for giving their kids stupid names.

Painandgreed could probably give a better answer as to how Mr. Suel fits in his campaign world's society.

 

[BeauNiddle]

The problem is not the adventurers - it's the monsters.

In a world without monsters then there would be definite limits put on the power of adventurers by legitimate authorities.

However in a world where a red Dragon can turn up in the neighbourhood and start annihilating your property having roving bands of trouble shooters makes perfect sense. The cost to a kingdom of keeping a fully kitted out military unit around is much much more than the occasional repairs needed when an adventuring party breezes through.

This is of course dependent on population density of monsters vs adventurers (vs civilization)

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

However in a world where a red Dragon can turn up in the neighbourhood and start annihilating your property having roving bands of trouble shooters makes perfect sense. The cost to a kingdom of keeping a fully kitted out military unit around is much much more than the occasional repairs needed when an adventuring party breezes through.

But how can you be sure that killing dragons and wrecking taverns is all what adventurers do? What if some of them wake up one day and decide to take over? What are you going to do then?

Just because rulers tend to be NPC it doesn't mean they don't plan for this contingency...

 

[Shades of Green]

Accomodate them: Give them real political power. Ideally, that means marrying some minor relative off to them - preferably one that's not close to the current line of succession - and then giving them a fief away from the capital. Ideally one close to a monster-infested border (which will keep them busy) and with a low population density (since that will make it difficult to raise a large army).

In the avarage feudal system, knighting them would do the trick - not only will it keep them happy and burden them with various political tasks, but will also enable the ruler to use them to the benefit of the ruler and of the kingdom - for example, dealing with various annoting monsters and/or bothersome neighbours. Plus, offering the prince or princess as areward to adventurers just seems to fit well with classical fairytales and fantasy.

 

[Tonguez]

I am of the opinion that adventurers are mercenaries and thus can be equated to the historic mercenary companies of 15th Century Earth (if said mercenaries had super powers)

Anyway the 15th Century mercenaries were effective military operations and in many instances were better equiped, better trained and larger than domestic armies.

It should also be remembered however that a lot of the mercenary captains came from aristocratic/noble families themselves and so did have sympathies with the ruling class
(ie most PCs should be from aristocrat backgrounds NOT peasants made good *although peasants made good can work as a background)

Anyway
1.At low levels they are hired by the rulers just as DnD adventurers are

2.At higher levels some arere married into to minor noble families or sent away on long difficult missions (which might include founding a colony or becoming Lord Protector of the monster infested borderlands)

3.some become pirates and are hunted down by other high level PCs

also
I like the idea of 'legitimate' spies being sent to check on adventurers, that could be an interesting element to work in to an adventure

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I like the idea of 'legitimate' spies being sent to check on adventurers, that could be an interesting element to work in to an adventure

Yes, anything that heightens the sense of paranoia among the PCs is good in my opinion...

 

[kigmatzomat]

How depends on the local government.

In Tyrranicaldespotland you either join up with the Tyrranical Despot or you are an outlaw. It's kind of the despot way.

In LawfulFicticiousEuropeLand you either swear fealty to the king/lord or are an outlaw. It's the medieval way.

Things are easier and yet more complicated when the central power is less powerful. Weak kings, warlords, clan chiefs, and tribes are where small groups of heroes thrive. The only difference between an adventuring party with Leadership and a warlord/clan chief is the desire to settle down.

My setting is a mixed bag, where there are strong despots (great wyrm dragons) who really aren't concerned with the decade-to-decade affairs of their territory. Therefore adventurers can rise to power as long as they don't rise so high as to threaten the dragonlords. They can be brigands or heroes and as long as they stay below the dragons' radar all is fine and good.

Some Dragonlords/despots/nobility will "export" troublemaking adventurers, essentially giving them letters of Marquis to be official rabble-rousers, as long as the rabble they rouse is in another dragon/lord's demense.

I've roped the players into various roles, depending on locale.

In Blevin's Gap (small town) they are Patriciate; wealthy individuals with lots of coin but no traditional source of income (aka no farms, mines, or craftsmen). They loan the city money to provide improvements in return for a small interest-based profit and the right to own lands within the city walls.

Over in Bateka (large town), a large isolated city that the party helped break a siege, they are saviors. The party claimed several properties as their own as reward (many people died in the siege) but have also made efforts to help the city recover, importing livestock and supplies.

Palanthas (a british-esque capital city) they are members of the King's Division, vaguely like the Musketeers only more focused on the protection of the realm than the person of the King. They have the rank of Colonels within the military so nobles will take them seriously but also are expected to report on their actions to the High Chamberlain. They acquired their rank by simply being heroes; after doing the heroic thing 2 or 3 times in a very public way without screwing up, they were given military commissions.

Cross the ocean to Kristophan (romanesque capital city) and the party has the title of Imperial Champion. They had contacts with one of the senators who asked the party to represent him directly, and the Emperor indirectly, in the arena. The group agreed and won their match. Since it included dramatic uses of "outlander magic" the Emperor felt it was best to get a grip on the party and made them Imperial Champions, which prevents them from acting in the arena agains the Emperor and makes them swear to protect the person of the Emperor (possible conflict of interest or maybe not). They acquire social status and some small (for their level) stipend.

In the Tamire (mongolesque nomads) they are effete outlanders.

The quasi-feral Laesh (monstrous humanoid swamp dwellers) the party are ignorant softskins, blindly staggering about. The heroes are like giant children, trying to help but using excessive amounts of force when guile would suffice.