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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WayneLigon" data-source="post: 3443851" data-attributes="member: 3649">OK, let's take over Saerloon. There needs to be nothing 'epic' about it. Normal 'commoners' and 'experts' take over businesses and nations in our own real world every year. YOU guys being 7th level should make this actually fairly easy unless your GM is going to be making, say, the captain of the guard an 18th level paladin or silly stuff like that. Find out what his expectations are about NPC levels or this is all going to end in tears.Getting the business is simple if you have a Charisma-based rogue, a Bard, or a decent wizard in the group. You do your research and find a rich merchant with a (preferably)  daughter or son of marriageable age. Marry the child, then bump off the old man in a way that seems like an accident, or maybe drive him mad with visions from the depths of Hell. It's a classic. You inherit the business and can go from there. Later on, make sure the kid dies of pneumonia or you addict them to a drug only you supply and it's yours free and clear. Any number of other tactics similar to this should be obvious.Creating a climate in which his current business cannot thrive is also a good tactic; say, using some subtle alchemical mixture so that people who eat at The Rusty Nail tavern routinely get sick, or the swords made by Ye Olde Armoury Depot start breaking. Drive his business into the ground and you can pick it up for a song, then re-open Under New Management.Both of those should appeal to half-fiends because not only do you accomplish your goals, but you ruin the lives of others in the bargain.OR you spend that loot on a way to permanently Charm the guy and he's your best friend for life. It's as good as owning the businees. I'm sure you ccan convince him to retire and sign everything over to you. The Marriage gambit works best, though, since no magic is involved other than attraction and lust.Now... why did you need this business, again? It depends a lot more, I would think, on the position of the business owner. If you can take over the guildmaster of a major craft, then you have considerable political power in that city. FRom there, it might be a short step to mayor and complete control. to do that, though, you may need to subvert the council of merchants presently located at Ordulin who elect Saerloon's leader. To subvert them you need either craploads of cash or you turn them against each other. it depends on the exact party resources but you need a way of changing people's minds over the long term. Charm is well and good but don't rely on it; it sets off magical detections and can be saved against. Working at a few of them long-term with Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidation should be enough to win the day. Gold never hurts, though. Some good blackmail should be easy for y'all to get as well. Or create situations in which you can obtain blackmail material. Don't wait for the apple to fall into your lap!You position one of your number as the front leading man, a merchant of known fairness in business and sobriety. He can be a depraved monster in private but as long as he keeps the cash flowing along, not many people in Sembia are probably going to care. then once the subversion of the council forces the election of your man into office, he places the rest of you in key positions (captain of the guard, head wizard, etc), or you subvert the others with pleasures and promises only Hell can deliver on.If you can, by all means someone needs to take that prestige class that serves Asmodeus, I think. That ability to find out secrets once a week is invaluable in this particular situation. You find that one secret that must never, ever come to light and you can wrap that person around your little finger.</blockquote>

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