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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeavenShallBurn" data-source="post: 3694906" data-attributes="member: 39593">Too much here to address in one post now that I'm back online butI'll try to hit the highpoints and better explain the Why of what I was figuring.Gilgamesh angle-Gilgamesh was as the epic says the son of a goddess and three parts divine to one part man.  In game terms a massive template, something like a paragon, simply as a result of being more god than man for all that he may be doomed to die.  So even if he doesn't go off and do great things (adventuring in D&D terms parts of his epic certainly count as such) he's already inherently BETTER and no lesser individual can claim rulership while he is there because who will follow a lesser man when the greater is already present?  This doesn't mean that hereditary rulership is impossible.  What it does mean is that the royal brats are going to be sent out to Prove the greatness which is a prerequisite of leadership while still young by adventuring which results in them gaining levels.  In fact they are going to be in competition to prove that they are the greatest of the claimants to the throne to cement their position as next in line.  Because in such a threatening world the lesser man simply isn't going to be acceptable the peasantry aren't looking for and won't accept a high bureaucrat they are looking for and need a protector.On Usurpation  The assumption that Usurpation is difficult is correct, it's not easy.  However even a cursory glance at history shows just how common it actually is.  Let's use the assumed period of the middle ages as a guideline.  Can anyone tell me how many times medieval ruling dynasties changed? I can already tell you its big.  For example lets take a look a England, Between 1066 and 1603 there are five and this is in the real world without the addition of people like high level characters.  While difficult it can be done, and when leveling is added into the setting this only makes it more possible.  In order to maintain that usurpation will require work but a high level character is also in precisely the right place to do it because his renown and deeds are already well-known.  Divine right is a great tool for a ruler but only really extends as far as his ability to back it with force.  The usurper needs only manage to create a plausible sense that he possesses a divine right of his own and largely maintain the status quo in most things to hold down uprisings.  The downfall of usurpation in Europe was not the concept of Divine Right but the rise of the Nation-State.  Before the nation and nationalism land changed rulers rather frequently during the middle ages in many places and for the most part the peasantry could care less so long as things went on they way they always had.  More than anything it was the nobility fearful of loosing their position that caused uprisings.  If care was taken to ensure both a core of loyal followers and a continuity of custom under the new ruler this lessened significantly.Further Thoughts on Levels and LeadershipOverall many of the things I take for granted are probably due to the fact that I prefer a more mythological and ancient than medieval feel in both games I DM and games I play.  In the face of a great many very good posts I will say they are not universal, especially when the overall feel being aimed for is more settled and modern in historical context.  But the idea that the children of rulers are sent out adventuring in order to prove their worthiness to take up the mantle of leadership is a traditional trope well mingled with the idea of the quest.  And provides a good reason for rulers to be more than low-level figures.  Of course this leads to the question of why do these high-level NPCs need low-level PCs.  The key is that threat thresholds change as level increases, the typical fodder of low level PCs is still viable as High Level NPCs aren't going to waste time on such minor things when they have much bigger problems to deal with.  As the Pcs increase in level this is where they should come into their own and it can be dealt with by emphasizing that this is the time when they should carve out their own domain and take a place among the well-known hero/leaders who came before.  Basically FR has become too crowded for such things, great heroes need lots of elbow room and big empty spots on the maps.  This plus a certain insularity which frowns on other such NPCs meddling in the affairs of their peers' territories can cover the "Why hasn't someone else done anything/" angle.  And for the higher levels yes these leaders should be going off to the planes and doing great things, there's room for it.  The planes are after all infinite and these great heroes should thematically be taking their legions off to crusade against the fiends or have a lark fighting the aesir (who doesn't love a fight where even the bodies wake up the next morning?).  Didn't the leaders of the Achaeans basically do just this when they launched the Trojan War?  These sort of things are great fodder for high level campaigns.</blockquote>

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