[Forgotten Realms] Finally got an idea of what I want for my campaign...

[SurfMonkey01]

So, I started working on my Forgotten Realms game again. A while back I'd asked for help with ideas on both this forum and a few others. And I think I've finally got what I want to do.

There is a lich. A powerful, dangerous, as-yet-unnamed lich. Through the use of enchantments and items, he has managed to make himself appear as something other than what he really is. He appears as a young human male, of good alignment. This young man also happens to appear to be a long-lost heir to the throne of Cormyr, which is of course a bit of a mess right now.

So, this young man is given the throne, as is his "birthright." He seems like a good and fair king, cleaning up some of the messes the kingdom's gotten into. Then he decides to take it a little further. He begins to mass the armies of his great nation, and begins to conquer its neighbors. He claims that it's for their protection, it's part of the greater good. And the citizens believe him, because hey, he's their king, and he's a good guy. Heh.

Enter the PCs. One of them may or may not be a Purple Dragon Knight (he won't make up his friggin mind), but all of them are high-level champions of good. And this seems fishy to them. Hence their adventures. And just wait until they're hired to raise an army to battle back the forces of Cormyr... heh heh. I can't wait.

So, how's it sound?

*** edited to add: oops, forgot to take the tangency remark out of this -- i posted this on rpg.net first, then copied it over to here. i gotta start doing that the other way around, since most of my d&d ideas come from here ***

 

[Desdichado]

Tangency? Is this an rpg.net post that wandered over here by mistake?

Premise sounds kinda cool. A kind of FR Hitler, from the sound of it. Lots of potential hooks in there. Heck, I'd play it.

 

[Gregor]

Sounds pretty good, a few things to keep in mind though:

What has this false heir done with the rightful heir and infant Azoun V? I would imagine he would have the child eliminated in secret. What of Alusair, would she blindly follow this heir to war when she has spent the better part of her term as Cormyr's regent trying to rebuild the state? How does your false heir deal with the problems of exiled and antagonistic noble houses that still threaten to split the state? Will the mage Vangerdahast reveal himself when he learns of this plot? What lands will Cormyr seek to conquer ... Sembia, the Dales, Dragon Coast the Western Heartlands? If all of the above, who will he ally with to complete this military campaign? Will your false heir approach Zentil Keep in secret and form an alliance to crush the Dales? Or will he seek out the Vhaerunian Drow menace in Cormanthor for help in subjugating the dalesfolk? Will the armies of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Athkatla etc march out to halt Cormyrian expansion?

All in all that sounds like a good campaign you have brewing. Lots of political intrigue, foreign policy, expansionist evil. It has the potential to turn FR on its head and I like that.

Cheers,

 

[Calico_Jack73]

What if the Lich cast an improved version of Magic Jar (permanent until dispelled) and imprisoned the soul of Azoun V and put his own soul into the body of the infant. Liches are known for their far reaching plots and would have no problem biding his time until the infant is old enough to take the throne. You sidestep the whole problem with Alusair that way and throw an interesting twist into the campaign. Would she support the "King" even though his rule turns into a decidedly evil one or would she join the resistance?
I planned on doing something similar with the Psionic Power Mind Switch which is permanent until the caster returns to his body or Mind Seed which corrupts the target to become a mental double of the caster.

 

[SurfMonkey01]

So here's something I was just thinking of: how do I keep my little lich buddy's facade hidden from my players? They're the savvy kinds who have things like Arcane Sight permanencied on themselves... I was thinking of a combination of Misdirection and/or Nondetection, but I'm not sure -- what say you? How should I do this?

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Well, if the PCs never see the king, how would they know? You could have the king fake an assassination attempt on him by one of his political rivals, which would have a two-pronged effect. One: He rallies sympathy to his cause and simultaneously discredits his rival. Two: It provides him with a handy excuse to hide behind fortress walls as a "security measure".

And really, you're not going to want to drop the old Lich Switcheroo gambit until the end for maximum "Holy crap!"-ness from your players, right?

 

[SurfMonkey01]

Well, if the PCs never see the king, how would they know? You could have the king fake an assassination attempt on him by one of his political rivals, which would have a two-pronged effect. One: He rallies sympathy to his cause and simultaneously discredits his rival. Two: It provides him with a handy excuse to hide behind fortress walls as a "security measure".

And really, you're not going to want to drop the old Lich Switcheroo gambit until the end for maximum "Holy crap!"-ness from your players, right?

Well... one of the things I was kinda thinking of, in the interest of MAXIMUM dramatic potential, was this:

Our first game session opens with the pcs in a dungeon (the prison kind, not the standard D&D kind). There is another prisoner with them, a young man, who offers to help them escape if they take him with them. Assuming they do so, he will help them escape from the keep and even claim it as their own if they desire. Once they're outside, he will thank them and ask them if they would be so kind as to do him one more favor: escort him to Cormyr. When they ask why and who he is, he'll tell them...

Like I said, I'm toying with this. How's it sound?

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

The Lich in the Iron Mask, nice. I'm not a big fan of adventures that start with the crew in jail, but I guess it's a cool way to involve them with what happens later.

 

[doghead]

Two questions. Why has the Lich/boy allowed himself to be put in prison? Liches are probably powerful enough to avoid that. If he is staying incognito, is he going to be able to manage to get out without revealing his nature?

I'm not that familier with high level games (and all the associated spells, etc), but my feeling is that you should be prepared for the characters unveiling the Lich any time they meet him.

If you used the Lich possesses boy scenario, then you could have the characters themselves in prison as the result of a job done for a patron (directed by the Lich, who needed someone (possibly) to spring the boy). Although, again, why he couldn't just do it magically would need to be addressed. This approach would also allow you to keep the Lich out of sight to a much greater degree.

hope it helps

the head of the dog

 

[SurfMonkey01]

Why has the Lich/boy allowed himself to be put in prison? Liches are probably powerful enough to avoid that. If he is staying incognito, is he going to be able to manage to get out without revealing his nature?

He's in prison because he hopes someone will rescue him and he can get them to take him home... it's a lot less suspicious-looking than him just walking into Cormyr's front door and saying "Guess what? I'm a long-lost heir to the throne who just walked here all by myself and have no good excuse why I haven't shown up sooner"