Politics & Intrigue
From Tazlure Gaming System Wiki
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[edit] Introduction
It is very difficult to determine what people count as political intrigue. Is it government, corruption, politics, nobles, wars? Many people think only of Courtly intrigue but why limit it at that? For instance, the merchant class is one level of society that has a huge interest in political intrigue. It can mean life or death for their trade.
[edit] Finding Motivation
What is certain however is that usually focuses on a form of a powerstruggle, whether that be in the church, the government or a merchant guild. Therefore to run a good logical political intrigue plotline you begin with determining the motives of each group. What do they want? What means will they use to get what they want? How does that oppose another group? Or does it successfully merge with the motives other groups?
Take a good look at history if you want to be inspired. Stories about the courts of Louis XIV, Elisabeth etc. show you some good examples with different groups involved in a power struggle, using both base action and the more subtle witty repartee and symbolism to get what they want. The De Medici family in Florence in the 14th century is another prime example. Read up on the religiously motivated Emperor Philips II and his adopted brother William of Orange who tried to get away from under his power, stimulated by a merchant country who wanted to break free of the empire.
[edit] Plot ideas
Doing plotlines on political intrigue require lots of work. It is usually reserved for senior players, and what ever juniors they pull with them on that path. You are best advised to brainstorm on this with other moderators. A lot of the political scene will already exist.
Here are a few ideas for plots involving political intrigue. Remember, most plots are motivated out of one of three emotions: ambition, jealousy/envy, and revenge.
[edit] Downfall of a rival
One way to climb the ladder is to see to it that someone above you falls from grace. This is also another way to pay back someone who has offended you. A player is hired to plant incriminating evidence in the rooms of the opponent. Part of the plot must involve a way for the guards to discover it. It could be a book about demonology, a forged letter offering to commit treason, or a forged letter from a supposed agent acknowledging success in murdering a known rival of the target. In the latter case, one must actually kill a third party to blame on the rival. The rival is too busy defending himself to impede the intriguer. In the end, even if the rival is vindicated, he will be forever surrounded by suspicion.
[edit] Spying
This is a critical tool for any intriguer. You could employ a player as either the spy, or the counterspy. One technique is to place a spy in the household of a rival. Another is to have a player either bribe or seduce someone who is in the household of another. Another way would be to employ a player to place a crystal inside the bedroom or secret study of the rival, so that the intriguer can better scry his rival magically. A true Spymaster will also set spies to spy on spies, for they are a notoriously untrustworthy lot. Successful spying plots can lead to blackmail plots, see below.
[edit] Marriage Alliance
Nobles advance in society through marriage. Matrimony has nothing to do with love and everything to do about alliances with other families. Players could be hired to cause a rival for a lady or lord’s hand to meet with some downfall. See plot #1 above. Another plot is to find something to blackmail the father with. See plot #4 below. Alternatively, a player might be hired as a go between to negotiate a marriage contract. Of course, rivals could try and bribe the player to betray their lord or lady, or perhaps the player falls in love with the person that they are there to negotiate for. Another twist would be to hire a player to do something good for a particular family, so that credit is earned by the employer (e.g. House #1 has had a family member kidnapped. House #2 hires a player to find and rescue that member so that House #1 will think favorably of House #2 and be receptive to an offer of a marriage alliance. If the player fails, then House #2 can disavow knowledge of it).
[edit] Blackmail
A very potent tool in intrigue. Players can be hired to steal an incriminating letter, or to recover it from someone who has come upon it. The target of blackmail could be a rival house, but a government official is a better target, for they will fear for their life and position if found out, and would more readily do favours for the blackmailer. Another method is to hire a player to kill a blackmailer, to seal his lips. Maybe a player finds that the piece of blackmail is a wayward daughter who was seduced and betrayed. Perhaps the player falls in love with the daughter and their loyalties become mixed. A player might be hired to seduce someone and create incriminating evidence. A priest with a vow of chastity would be a good target for an enterprising lady, for example. Maybe a player is hired to get incriminating evidence on a blackmailer. Or, a clever person being blackmailed arranges to turn the tables on the blackmailer by confessing the sin to some higher authority and then try and turn that authority against a person that would stoop so low as to blackmail a person with it.
[edit] Murder
This is the ultimate technique for the downfall of an opponent. The key is subtlety and misdirection. One must be careful to make it look like an accident or to pin the blame on an innocent incapable of defending themselves. NPCs should be very, very careful about broaching this idea with a player, for it gives the player something to blackmail the NPC with, and then they would have to be eliminated. No, an NPC should try and inflame a player against someone and only hint at what a good deed it would be if something bad were to befall that person. If the player volunteers to intervene, only then will a specific amount of crowns be offered. In the end, the NPC should plan to slay the player in a betrayal, so that all “loose ends” are tied up and there are no opportunities for blackmail arising for it. A straightforward plot might be to hire the player, who might be a good swordsman, to provoke a man of honor into challenging the player to a duel. Then, if the player kills him, it will be legal.
[edit] Bribery
A noble needs a network of spies and corrupt officials. Someone has to tend to these sources as a go between. A player could be hired to deliver payments to a source and then find that the source is also working for a rival. Or maybe the player is robbed of the money before he/she gets to deliver it. This causes the employer to think that the player has embezzled the money. Maybe the player finds an informant dead and pockets the cash. Maybe the player is caught paying a corrupt official and the government imprisons the player to find out who hired him/her.
[edit] Forgery
An intriguer’s best friend. Maybe a player is taught how to become a forger. Maybe she is hired to deliver forgeries. Maybe she is a victim of a forgery.
[edit] Rumourmongering
The use of gossip is an underrated weapon. Hiring players to go into taverns and spread malicious rumours about a rival, or good things about an employer is always an easy plot and an easy way to earn money. But if a player is good at this subtle art, they can become quite powerful and rich in their own right, with their own agents to spread poison, for pay.
