Assassinations!
September 14th, 2010
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another exciting edition of Grave Plots, where we seek to bring you an ever-growing supply of interesting adventure ideas and plot hooks. This week I would like to discuss the topic of assassinations. Now, I know that I’ve done assassination hooks before in other Grave Plots, but this week we’ll be looking at assassinations as the focal point for the adventures to be had.
Poisonings are some of the most heavily romanticized forms of assassination, and so the fact that they make for interesting adventure hooks should come as no surprise. Favored by killers-for-hire modern, historical, and fantastic, poison is both difficult to detect and allows the assassin to be far away from the target when he dies. When you add in the magic readily available in a typical D&D game, you get a whole new slew of challenges that take assassination via poisoning from grim encounter to full-blown adventure. A few of these new challenges are outlined in the following plot, The Poisoning of Sir Medren.
The Poisoning of Sir Medren
Sir Medren, a powerful noble and the new ruler of the township of Nierme, has recently made a series of declarations instituting a group of new laws with the aim of increasing public safety and security in Nierme. While his reforms have been by and large good for the people of Nierme, they make it very difficult for Nierme’s underground to operate. The organization known as the Vale has long been using Nierme as a base of operations while conducting their fight for freedom against the tyrannous King Gordian, ruler of Irhiem, a kingdom that borders Nierme to the east. Because they must operate in secret, the new laws in Nierme are making it very difficult to ferry refugees out of Irhiem, smuggle in relief supplies, and conduct raids against his forces. The Vale has tried convincing Sir Medren through an intermediary that he should support the Vale’s effort to bring freedom to the people of Irhiem, but unfortunately Gordian is one of Medren’s cousins and it is his firm belief that the rumors of oppression in Irhiem have been strongly overstated and that the Vale are a dangerous group of terrorists bent on destabilizing the region. Because the Vale failed to reason with Sir Medren, and his laws make it too difficult to continue their campaign against Gordian they have decided that Sir Medren must be removed from Nierme at all costs. Believing the only permanent solution to their problem will be the death of Sir Medren, they have concocted a cunning plan but will need some help.
From here there are two basic ways the adventure could turn, like two sides of the same coin, and where you choose to lead the PCs and what actions they take will determine the overall shape of the adventure. So before moving on with this hook you should decide whether the PCs will be attempting to assassinate Sir Medren or preventing said assassination from ever occurring. Either way, knowledge of the plot will likely be integral to actually running the adventure.
Without the PCs’ interference, the Vale will use the following plan to assassinate Sir Medren. The Vale intends to use a dose of dark reaver powder (see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook), acquired at great expense, to poison Sir Medren’s Sunday dinner. In order to accomplish this, one of their agents, a man named Szeres, has managed to secure a position within Sir Medren’s kitchen staff. Unfortunately it seems that Medren has become wise to the possibility of an attempt on his life and has taken to having his food tested for poison by a druid in his service, Horace, who casts detect poison at every meal. Also in their way is Emily Harven, who has taken to personally preparing all of Sir Medren’s food. They have arranged for outside help (possibly the PCs’) to help take the druid Horace’s spell out of the equation (the Vale intends to kill him and replace him with an imposter, though other methods of counteracting the druid’s spell are of course possible), and to seduce Emily Harven and convince her to slip the poison in the food. While this was originally Szeres’ job, due to an unfortunate incident on his first day at work Emily absolutely refuses to trust him.
The actions taken by the PCs could shape the future of the entire region, as either killing Sir Medren or stopping the Vale from succeeding in their grand mission could have far-reaching and perhaps unexpected consequence for the peoples of Nierme and Irhiem, as well as the PCs. PCs interested in seeking a more diplomatic solution can in fact convince Sir Medren to help the Vale, but only if they can bring him concrete evidence of his cousin’s tyranny; a simple witness will not suffice as Medren will view all but the most extraordinary people as in league with the terrorists. Sufficient proof of Gordian’s activities can be found, but it will be difficult, because though he keeps excellent records of all his activities, he keeps those records locked deep in the dungeon of his castle in the heart of Irhime. An alliance between Sir Medren and the Vale could destroy Gordian’s tyranny once and for all, freeing the people of Irhime and greatly improving the quality of life for all involved. Until the PCs act however, the fates of Irhime and Nierme rest balanced on the edge of an assassin’s knife.
Killing someone and making it look like an accident is another hallmark of a good assassination. While in modern times this typically means setting electrical fires or pushing people down stairs or some other such inelegant brutality, in times before forensic science arranging an accident might very well have meant a cold-blooded murder followed by claiming that the death was an accident. A good example would be the end of Bleda the Hun, when (according to some sources) he attacked his brother Attila during a hunting trip: though Attila prevailed in the combat, had he not Bleda could have claimed that he died while hunting and none would be the wiser (according to other sources, it was Attila who used the hunting trip to assassinate his brother and he did in fact cover up his death as a hunting accident). In the following adventure idea, A Hunting Accident for the Lord Governor, we attempt to recreate a similar situation.
A Hunting Accident for the Lord Governor
In this hook, Erik Iron Beard, the dwarven lord governor of the noble and ancient city of Dagis-Iruz, far removed from the rest of civilization, is on a hunting trip with his long time friend and confidant, Benthiric. Unknown to Erik Iron Beard is Benthiric’s secret ambition to take the throne of Dagis-Iruz and rule this land, using Erik’s tragic death in a hunting accident as a springboard for his claim to the throne. He has hired the PCs to help him in this, and when the caravan reaches a predetermined point they are to help him overwhelm his bodyguards and slay Erik Iron Beard, then agree to attest that they happened upon the injured hunting party and helped to drive off the monsters that attacked Erik’s entourage. If you would rather defend Erik Iron Beard, set the PCs up as his bodyguards and use various NPCs for the would-be assassins. Unfortunately, if Benthiric escapes, then he sows seeds of doubt in Erik Iron Beard ability to rule Dagis-Iruz, and triumphantly returning loyalists may find another fight on their hands when Benthiric and a group of dissidents go for another try at Erik’s life. Alternatively, when the PCs return with Benthiric a group of fanatical loyalists blame the PCs and Benthiric for the death of their leader and attack without further provocation.
Whatever happens, the PCs’ actions will change things forever in Dagis-Iruz and they will be forced to deal with whatever consequences may follow.
That’s it for this week’s Grave Plots. I hope you enjoyed them, and if you have any ideas for a future Grave Plots feel free to let me know, and you may see your suggestion in a future article. Until next time, let me wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.