D&D General How to approach hostility (in the background) between in-world countries caused by players?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So the players in one of my campaigns in my homebrew world kind of...accidentally started hostility between a Kobold nation and a Wood Elf nation. Whoops!

It's not to the level out outright war, like massed troops, it's primarily diplomatic hostility however I'm envisioning that some skirmishes or guerrilla warfare may be starting to occur to a small extent.

I'm not quite sure how to approach this in a way that gets the PCs partly involved in dealing with it, making them aware of how it is growing (they currently aren't in the zone of either country), and somehow make them aware of consequences for what they have done. In the future, if nothing eases the tension, it could blow up into more active warfare. The PCs are about to hit 6th level btw.

Would love to hear suggestions, but also if you know of any GM advice books or resources that specifically give advice on how to engage PCs in bigger conflicts like this, I'd like to read some material. I follow many podcasts and have read numerous books on GMing advice, but haven't come across much in terms of different ways to involve PCs in growing hostility between well-established large countries.

Assassins showing up to kill them for what they've done would be my suggestion. It gets the players involved in immediate action, and then there's the question of "why are wood elf and kobold assassins trying to kill us?"

 

[Stormonu]

Some of the consequences would probably start as economic

• Country A stops accepting coinage from country B (or forces conversions at poor rates)
• Country A starts counterfeiting currency from Country B to hurt the value of County B's coinage/wealth
• Disparaging songs/poems/chants about the rival country start cropping up ("Yankee Doodle"), possibly leading to Bards (or others) having to be cautious, get licenses, be fined or otherwise be treated as criminals "riling up sedition"
• Merchants on either side are hassled, have tariffs applied or out of patriotism may refuse to sell/buy from members of the other country
• Privateers/Merc raiders/marauders/cattle raids are sent to plunder wealth from country A and return with it back to country B
• Weird laws spring up disallowing citizens of country A from performing acts/festivals/worship associated with country B
• Visitors from Country A to Country B are held for ransom (though that may hit a little too close to current events for some)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

ETA: Also, it'd be fun to have a NPC point out that the party caused it. "Are you the (in)famous adventurers that triggered the current political tensions? Can I have your autograph"

Make it a rich war profiteer whom they wouldn't normally hang out with -- or like -- who's a really big fan of theirs, with suggestions of other places they can cause trouble.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Then in general, I'd suggest that patrons and questgivers should feel like they are positioning themselves towards a potential conflict. The dwarf that hires the team to find a priceless Elven relic wants it because they can sell it to one of the militaristic factions within the Wood Elven Court. Maybe clearing out that haunted mine will allow the owner to sell their ores to the Kobold kingdom that is buying up all the steel they can for forging weapons.

ETA: Also, it'd be fun to have a NPC point out that the party caused it. "Are you the (in)famous adventurers that triggered the current political tensions? Can I have your autograph"

Haha! That's a great idea! They do have a growing reputation, mostly positive. I love the idea of smacking their character's egos just a little bit with a reminder that they have inflamed aggression between countries. I guess that's what happens when you steal the Royal Wizard's spell book instead of copying only what you need from it...and you happen to be on a diplomatic mission at the time.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Make it a rich war profiteer whom they wouldn't normally hang out with -- or like -- who's a really big fan of theirs, with suggestions of other places they can cause trouble.

Oooh, that's hilarious. "Could I suggest that you also de-stabilize the Dwarven alliance with the Orc nation...?"

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Some of the consequences would probably start as economic

• Country A stops accepting coinage from country B (or forces conversions at poor rates)
• Country A starts counterfeiting currency from Country B to hurt the value of County B's coinage/wealth
• Disparaging songs/poems/chants about the rival country start cropping up ("Yankee Doodle"), possibly leading to Bards (or others) having to be cautious, get licenses, be fined or otherwise be treated as criminals "riling up sedition"
• Merchants on either side are hassled, have tariffs applied or out of patriotism may refuse to sell/buy from members of the other country
• Privateers/Merc raiders/marauders/cattle raids are sent to plunder wealth from country A and return with it back to country B
• Weird laws spring up disallowing citizens of country A from performing acts/festivals/worship associated with country B
• Visitors from Country A to Country B are held for ransom (though that may hit a little too close to current events for some)

These all make sense, I'm struggling a bit figuring out how to get them involved in this without being just "telling them" about this. Right now, they are in a 3rd country. I could at least inform them some of this is happening because they are about to have a conversation with the royal family so he could at least inform them of some of this. I like the coinage detail. It's a bit abstract, there's nothing they could do to deal with it, but it makes a nice concrete soundbite to bring the hostility to life. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Oooh, that's hilarious. "Could I suggest that you also de-stabilize the Dwarven alliance with the Orc nation...?"

"I'll pay for your travel and give you some magic items to cause even more trouble!"

"... thanks?"

 

[Stormonu]

These all make sense, I'm struggling a bit figuring out how to get them involved in this without being just "telling them" about this. Right now, they are in a 3rd country. I could at least inform them some of this is happening because they are about to have a conversation with the royal family so he could at least inform them of some of this. I like the coinage detail. It's a bit abstract, there's nothing they could do to deal with it, but it makes a nice concrete soundbite to bring the hostility to life. Thanks for the ideas!

Glad you liked them - some ideas for uses:

1) The party has a lot of coins from Kingdom A. Nobody will take them and they have to get them exchanged for gems or deal with the black market.

2) The party gets paid with counterfeit coins, and then get caught with them (or told the coins are counterfeit)

3) Marauders from country A attack where the party is, threatening to leave no survivors to prevent reprisal.

4) Between adventures, at the local tavern the party is listening to the latest songs. Town guard shoulders their way in, threatening to arrest everyone, and at least hauling in the local bard. The party either needs to convince the guards they were innocent bystanders or face fines and threats not to repeat the songs/tales they just heard, or possibly face imprisonment.

5) While shopping, local thugs trash the shop and/or harrass the shopkeeper about their loyalty to "the wrong country". Or the party needs something from a local individual only to find out they've been taken in for questioning/loyalty testing.

6) A war profiteer (@Whizbang Dustyboots ) seeks to hire the party to stir up trouble and have it blamed on one of the countries - or possibly try and draw the 3rd country into the conflict

7) A NPC asks the party to rescue someone whose been unjustly abducted by one of the rival kingdom's forces (or a misguided group claiming loyalty to one)

8) Party is asked to thwart an attempt by one of the two countries to create an alliance with a powerful, spiteful creature that could shift the balance of power (A dragon, a sphinx with knowledge of a powerful war spell, a pack of griffons that could be used as flying mounts, etc.)

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Glad you liked them - some ideas for uses:

1) The party has a lot of coins from Kingdom A. Nobody will take them and they have to get them exchanged for gems or deal with the black market.

2) The party gets paid with counterfeit coins, and then get caught with them (or told the coins are counterfeit)

3) Marauders from country A attack where the party is, threatening to leave no survivors to prevent reprisal.

4) Between adventures, at the local tavern the party is listening to the latest songs. Town guard shoulders their way in, threatening to arrest everyone, and at least hauling in the local bard. The party either needs to convince the guards they were innocent bystanders or face fines and threats not to repeat the songs/tales they just heard, or possibly face imprisonment.

5) While shopping, local thugs trash the shop and/or harrass the shopkeeper about their loyalty to "the wrong country". Or the party needs something from a local individual only to find out they've been taken in for questioning/loyalty testing.

6) A war profiteer (@Whizbang Dustyboots ) seeks to hire the party to stir up trouble and have it blamed on one of the countries - or possibly try and draw the 3rd country into the conflict

7) A NPC asks the party to rescue someone whose been unjustly abducted by one of the rival kingdom's forces (or a misguided group claiming loyalty to one)

8) Party is asked to thwart an attempt by one of the two countries to create an alliance with a powerful, spiteful creature that could shift the balance of power (A dragon, a sphinx with knowledge of a powerful war spell, a pack of griffons that could be used as flying mounts, etc.)

Oooh, i like number 7. One of the players is a Wood Elf from one of the two countries. His adoptive mother could have been kidnapped by a Kobold war party. Cue the rescue mission.