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Message: <blockquote data-quote="khantroll" data-source="post: 5887930" data-attributes="member: 95652">Morrus: I'll have to take a deeper look at the WtBS. I remember reading either a preview or a review a while back, but was hip deep in another campaign and didn't give it much thought. Derren: Well, it's a lawful evil monarchy, and not everyone is alright. As with the LE alignment, as long as you follow the warped code, you stand a chance.  It's broken up into five districts, each headed by a Lord Marshall (a general of the original conquering army). Inside each zone, the Marshall may do as he pleases so long as it isn't detrimental to the entire kingdom. Every zone keeps its workers fed (if necessary) and it's exterior boarders defended, but the actual quality of life varies a lot depending on what you can do for the State and what zone your in. In the capital district, life is cheap. Undead are used for most manual labor, and much like the Pathfinder City of Cheliax(sp?), there are a good number of earthbound demons and devils here. Merchants and extremely skilled craftsmen, as well as magic users, are the only things that can be expected to survive here. Much like in a drow city, any perceived weakness will probably lead to death. Anyone caught committing a crime will be used in the Marshall's experiments. That ranges from theft to treason. Meanwhile, in the forest district, life is a little better. It's Marshall is a soldier, and is very much your typical medieval lord. If you know anything about Ravenloft, this like the Domain of Falkovnia. It's strict, and the military is always in charge, but keep your head down and your mouth shut and you might survive.On the far side of the spectrum lies a third district that is a nightmare land. For all intents and purposes, assume Ravenloft's Il-Aluk meets Hellraiser. The other two are somewhere between these three. It's the question of any fascist state; if basic needs are met, except for personal freedoms and justice, why would anyone want to overthrow the government? Just as in real life, the answer is a combination of the fact the populace doesn't like to know that its life and freedoms make taken away in an instant, and the fact that outside forces would rather not have fascist, militaristic empires at their doorsteps. So they help foment rebellion. It doesn't help all districts have a zero tolerance policy for sedition. Anyone trying to argue against the State will be executed painfully and without mercy.I know I'm not doing a great job of describing this here, and I'll have to get that down before game time. It might help if I illustrated the thought process I'm using. Take Nazi Germany, and give it the trappings of an evil fantasy empire. Undead, demons, dark magic, magical siege engines and killing machines. Yet still maintain the fascist sense of pride (at least within the military), and all the other trappings of Nazi Germany (including racisim; in this case elves). To aid in this, my Lord Marshalls are based on typical fictional depictions of high ranking Nazi officers:Lord Marshall of the Capital: A pastiche of Hitler and Joseph Mengele.Lord Marshall of the Forest District: GroeningLord Marshall of District 3: Pastiche of Joseph Mengele and Hemmler.Lord Marshall of District 4: Pastiche of Josef Kramer and Ernst KaltenbrunnerLord Marshall of District 5: Friedrich JeckelnA quick google of these men and their personalities will give you an idea of what the government is like in each district (or, just remember a certain Brad Pitt film).Second, now that you have an evil empire, assume that instead of a world war, it is left to native, underground forces to over throw. Outside forces are willing to help by smuggling supplies and intel, and perhaps training, but no one would want to go to war with this kingdom.  A little like France prior to troops actually landing there.Does that help paint the picture? To illustrate why there is a rebellion, and what exactly the PCs are up against?</blockquote>

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