This is an outline for a historical campaign that I've been working on lately. One day I may go ahead and finish it, but odds are that I'll never get around to it; there are so many other things I'd like to do. Consequently, anyone who feels inspired to do something with this outline is welcome, nay encouraged, to do so.
Meanwhile, any helpful suggestions are welcome. But please don't make any comments unless you're willing to let me or someone else use them.
Comments?
Hans
Meanwhile, any helpful suggestions are welcome. But please don't make any comments unless you're willing to let me or someone else use them.
The Rise and Fall of Cleon III
The campaign is set at the Court of Cleon III and runs from his election as emperor to his death at the hands of Porfiria. It consists of a series of adventures about three months apart.
Adventures
Spring of 244
Martin II dies. Dynastic crisis resulting from his lack of close heirs is solved by the Moot appointing Cleon Zhunasthu emperor. And there is great rejoicing.
Campaign adventure: PCs solve some intelligence/special ops problem that brings them to the attention of Duke Whosis, the old Emperor's spymaster. [Any way to connect it to the succession crisis or to Cleon?]
Summer 244
Cleon III is still the fair-haired idol of the masses. He spends huge amounts of money on festivals, artwork, buildings, etc.
[Cleon's Ancient Roman analog, Caligula, started going off the rails when he had almost bankrupted the Treasury and started killing rich people to get their money. Is it even possible for Cleon to bankrupt the Imperium by spending money on Capital alone, however lavishly?]
Campaign adventure: PCs are sent (somewhere other than Capital) to recruit a famous artist or engineer. What could be the problems they have to overcome?
Fall 244
Cracks are beginning to show. The public hasn't noticed, but the higher nobles have. Cleon has shot a couple of vocal opponents on the privy council, although so far only when he has become enraged.
Campaign adventure: Either Duke Whosis the Spymaster has them cover up some scandal or he is already starting to set up a line of retreat for himself (Or his heir?).
Winter 244
Cleon begins ordering the death of inconvenient political opponents. He also starts killing off ministers and high-level bureaucrats to free up offices for his cronies. The year culminates in the Holiday Massacre where Cleon invites a large number of friends and opponents to a Holiday Ball. The friends are seated in one banquet hall and the opponents in another. At the stroke of midnight his troops kill off everyone in the opponent hall.
Campaign adventure: Rescuing someone from the Massacre? [Note: Be careful not to give the PCs an opportunity to avert the massacre or kill Cleon.]
Spring 245
Duke Whosis dies in an accident. (Actually fakes his own death, but the PCs don't find that out until later). New spymaster is one of Cleon's cronies. He's vile and not very competent. Cleon starts killing his opponents in batches and to expand his black list. One group of victims are the top executives of Zhunasthu Industries who displeases him. And he grows ever more difficult to please.
Campaign adventure: PCs gets assigned various nasty tasks that they may or may not choose to subvert.
Summer 245
Cleon get worse. (How?)
Campaign adventure: PCs are considered expendable by the new spymaster. Also, as proteges of the old spymaster they are suspect. It's just a matter of time before they get purged or expended on some mission. The Old Duke recruits them for anti-Cleon conspiracy.
Fall 245
Cleon starts killing off the families of his victims too. The conspiracy against him goes into high gear. The Moot meets in secret session and orders Porfiria to kill Cleon.
Campaign adventure: An indiscretion threatens to expose the conspiracy prematurely. The PCs must avert the disaster.
[Note: Check/decide on seasons on Capital; they almost certainly would not correspond to the calendar seasons.]
Further adventures suggestion: Shortly before his death, Cleon ordered the death of all his relatives. The PCs are dispatched to warn one of them, a third cousin who resides in the Spinward Marches. This turns the campaign into something completely different, a quest.
People
Cleon <?> Zhunasthu, great-great-great-grandson of Cleon II by direct first
issue. Born 201, 43 years old in 244.
Porfiria <?> Lentuli, oldest issue of the grandnephew of Martin II. Born 201, 43 years old in 244. She is childless (possibly unmarried?) in 244 (Oldest child born in 246).
Several other distant relatives of Martin II. (The reason why no clear heir
to Martin II could be found and the reason Porfiria was chosen by lot to
kill and succeed Cleon III).
Duke <Crafty>, Martin II's spymaster. Patron of the PCs.
Baron <Bootlicker>, later made a duke by Cleon. The noble who takes over the spymaster's job.
The Emperor's uncle, Claudius to Cleon's Caligula. This one does not survive, though. Perhaps let the PCs meet him a lot in the first adventures, then have him killed off early in the final adventure, when Cleon starts to purge his family?
A rival team in the PC's organization. They hate the PCs and the feeling is
no doubt going to become mutual.
The campaign is set at the Court of Cleon III and runs from his election as emperor to his death at the hands of Porfiria. It consists of a series of adventures about three months apart.
Adventures
Spring of 244
Martin II dies. Dynastic crisis resulting from his lack of close heirs is solved by the Moot appointing Cleon Zhunasthu emperor. And there is great rejoicing.
Campaign adventure: PCs solve some intelligence/special ops problem that brings them to the attention of Duke Whosis, the old Emperor's spymaster. [Any way to connect it to the succession crisis or to Cleon?]
Summer 244
Cleon III is still the fair-haired idol of the masses. He spends huge amounts of money on festivals, artwork, buildings, etc.
[Cleon's Ancient Roman analog, Caligula, started going off the rails when he had almost bankrupted the Treasury and started killing rich people to get their money. Is it even possible for Cleon to bankrupt the Imperium by spending money on Capital alone, however lavishly?]
Campaign adventure: PCs are sent (somewhere other than Capital) to recruit a famous artist or engineer. What could be the problems they have to overcome?
Fall 244
Cracks are beginning to show. The public hasn't noticed, but the higher nobles have. Cleon has shot a couple of vocal opponents on the privy council, although so far only when he has become enraged.
Campaign adventure: Either Duke Whosis the Spymaster has them cover up some scandal or he is already starting to set up a line of retreat for himself (Or his heir?).
Winter 244
Cleon begins ordering the death of inconvenient political opponents. He also starts killing off ministers and high-level bureaucrats to free up offices for his cronies. The year culminates in the Holiday Massacre where Cleon invites a large number of friends and opponents to a Holiday Ball. The friends are seated in one banquet hall and the opponents in another. At the stroke of midnight his troops kill off everyone in the opponent hall.
Campaign adventure: Rescuing someone from the Massacre? [Note: Be careful not to give the PCs an opportunity to avert the massacre or kill Cleon.]
Spring 245
Duke Whosis dies in an accident. (Actually fakes his own death, but the PCs don't find that out until later). New spymaster is one of Cleon's cronies. He's vile and not very competent. Cleon starts killing his opponents in batches and to expand his black list. One group of victims are the top executives of Zhunasthu Industries who displeases him. And he grows ever more difficult to please.
Campaign adventure: PCs gets assigned various nasty tasks that they may or may not choose to subvert.
Summer 245
Cleon get worse. (How?)
Campaign adventure: PCs are considered expendable by the new spymaster. Also, as proteges of the old spymaster they are suspect. It's just a matter of time before they get purged or expended on some mission. The Old Duke recruits them for anti-Cleon conspiracy.
Fall 245
Cleon starts killing off the families of his victims too. The conspiracy against him goes into high gear. The Moot meets in secret session and orders Porfiria to kill Cleon.
Campaign adventure: An indiscretion threatens to expose the conspiracy prematurely. The PCs must avert the disaster.
[Note: Check/decide on seasons on Capital; they almost certainly would not correspond to the calendar seasons.]
Further adventures suggestion: Shortly before his death, Cleon ordered the death of all his relatives. The PCs are dispatched to warn one of them, a third cousin who resides in the Spinward Marches. This turns the campaign into something completely different, a quest.
People
Cleon <?> Zhunasthu, great-great-great-grandson of Cleon II by direct first
issue. Born 201, 43 years old in 244.
Porfiria <?> Lentuli, oldest issue of the grandnephew of Martin II. Born 201, 43 years old in 244. She is childless (possibly unmarried?) in 244 (Oldest child born in 246).
Several other distant relatives of Martin II. (The reason why no clear heir
to Martin II could be found and the reason Porfiria was chosen by lot to
kill and succeed Cleon III).
Duke <Crafty>, Martin II's spymaster. Patron of the PCs.
Baron <Bootlicker>, later made a duke by Cleon. The noble who takes over the spymaster's job.
The Emperor's uncle, Claudius to Cleon's Caligula. This one does not survive, though. Perhaps let the PCs meet him a lot in the first adventures, then have him killed off early in the final adventure, when Cleon starts to purge his family?
A rival team in the PC's organization. They hate the PCs and the feeling is
no doubt going to become mutual.
Comments?
Hans
