All Hail the King, Baby

[Haltherrion]

It occurred to me while reading the current thread on how to handle high ranked PCs (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/274073-justifying-adventuring-when-youre-boss.html), that as best I can recollect in all the years I've played D&D, which does stretch back over 3 decades, I don't recall ever running in or being in a campaign where there were PCs who became king or queen and the campaign kept going. Not even sure we had anyone make king at all but we might have ended a campaign or two that way.

Probably did it early on and just don't remember it any more but it got me wondering how often it happens in other campaigns. Thus, another chance to use the handy polling feature on EnWorld.

It's not that I disapprove and I'm not really sure why that is. It's probably just the type of setting my group tends to run: not that kingdoms don't appeal but maybe other things appeal more. We have had holdings from time to time but not the supreme crown.

So, please vote away and share your thoughts on how often and/or why if you like.

 

[Blackrat]

We've rarely gotten to the point where they make kings, but barons and such are pretty usual. I do remember at least one campaign where the pc's carved out a little kingdom for themselves in forgotten realms' Border Kingdoms. That campaign pretty much started with one of the pc's being crowned.

 

[Leatherhead]

Never had a game where people played kings or queens. A prince or princess or dictator or high priest or appointed arbiter of an entire planet have happened (with the campaign still going). But never kings or queens.

 

[weem]

I have had a campaign where a player became more powerful than a King... but otherwise, never have my players achieved that... of course, there has never been much of a desire for that from my players - I would not have an issue if that were a goal.

 

[coyote6]

I voted "once ever", but that's not literally true, as they ended up as officers-in-charge and executives, not kings & queens.

In one campaign, the dimension-hopping PCs found an abandoned space station floating in a solar system that was a once-and-future dimensional nexus, and moved in. They then used it to house refugees from various cross-dimensional crises, and thus ended up running what is essentially a city-state in space. With vampires, refugee gods, messianic children, spacefaring elves, and so forth.

 

[Voadam]

In one game I became part of a ruling triumvirate of a city state and it went on for years after that.

In one game I was a king in one of the C series of BECMI modules dealing with rulership issues. That wasn't a long term campaign though.

 

[TerraDave]

In the one long running campaign, they became lords, and one was "chosen", but that was about it.

Not even lords in the other long running game (though they did get to use some artifacts and destroy a demigod type being).

 

[Stormonu]

Had one character that was (unknown to him) a Prince, and another who (was aware) he was the son of a Baron - in the same group. However, neither character assumed a position of power while the game was underway.

 

[S'mon]

About half my full (multiyear) tabletop campaigns have had PCs become monarchs, I'd say.

 

[Krensky]

Never, but that has far more to due with the players choice of characters and their characters personalities and goals. In other words, no one wanted to be a monarch or pursued stories that would lead to it, so it's never come up.