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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jürgen Hubert" data-source="post: 3354689" data-attributes="member: 7177">As a continuation from <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=188697" target="_blank">this thread</a>: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.</blockquote>

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