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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dioltach" data-source="post: 5994895" data-attributes="member: 21843">Think of a way in which the Pope will try to convince the authorities at the temple to support him: despite the rational public debate, this will generally involve bribery and blackmail, or a combination of both ("This is my offer: I recommend that you accept it, otherwise people might find out about ...").Next, consider what the temple will be giving up, or what values will be compromised. The bigger the bribe or the more serious the blackmail, the more the temple will be compromised.See how the PCs feel about the outcome. Then offer them possibilities for some political manouevering of their own: They might uncover proof of the bribery and have the temple leaders deposed and replaced by stricter or less corruptible leaders. They might find something else to blackmail the leaders with, to force them to reject the Pope's offer. And so on.I've been rewatching the HBO series Rome recently, and it has some nice examples of how bribery works.Caesar to Chief Augur: "I'm afraid I missed your charming wife's last birthday. Perhaps I could send her a gift to make up. How about 100,000 sestertii?Chief Augur: "Well, that would certainly be a start ..."Caeser: "Then 150,000 sestertii."Chief Augur: "My wife has expensive tastes."Marc Antony: "Your wife should be careful that she does not become greedy."Chief Augur: "Ah."</blockquote>