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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Mar 2009 : 16:13:36
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One of the newspapers I read each morning has one of those "on this day in history" sections on one of their spreads, and one of the things that had happened "today" was the assassination of Swedish king Gustav III in 1792. Now, when I saw that I realised that the reign of this particular king held the germs for quite a few plots:
Coming to power: Initially, Gustav III had no say in how Sweden was run - it was run as a parliamentary government - but using the disaffection with the corrupt powers-that-were he managed to pull off a military coup d'êtat to make himself more or less absolute ruler of the realm.
Ruling: Throughout his rule, Gustav managed to expand his power within the realm by playing out commoners and nobles against each other. Plenty of room for DMs who run intrigue-heavy campaigns to have fun with that situation, I think.
Making war: Feeling that he needed some glory, Gustav managed to get Sweden thrown into war against Russia. This was accomplished by having some Swedish soldiers dress up in Russian uniforms (made at the Royal Operahouse in Stockholm) and "attack" a Swedish border post.
Things didn't go as well as the king had planned, and at one point, several Swedish (well, most of them came from Finland, but that was of little importance before 1809) officers from the nbility gathered at a farm called Anjala to sign a document with various demands that they wanted the king to agree on in order for them to keep fighting.
The assassination itself: While the assassination was carried out by a disgruntled officer called Jakob Johan Anckarström, it was part of a far-reaching conspiracy that had as its aim to bring power over the realm back to a noble-led parliament, that part of it failed, though, as the head of the Swedish police was both ruthless and skilled enough to sweep up most of the top conspirators very quickly. One thing that has interested historians pretty much since the time of the plot is that with the exception of the assassin himself, most conspirators were treated quite leniently (imprisonment, exile, and so on rather than execution), some have speculated that the king's younger brother Karl may have had some knowledge of the plot and didn't want the investigation to go too deep.
So... anyone else got any good plots from the real world that they think (or perhaps know) can be used?
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There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
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Knight of the Gate
Senior Scribe
USA
624 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2009 : 18:16:05
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| S'funny, Ashe: in the early part of this decade, I did alot of research (actually moved to New Mexico for 3 years) on a book about the Lincoln County War. Never found a home for the book, but I've used elements of what I learned in a bunch of different games over the years. I'd never thought of using it in the Realms, but it's a great set-up for any sort of frontier/boom town type area. It seems especially suited to the Silver Marches, as the Native Americans become Uthgartdt, and the BIA turns into some equally well-meaning but totally corrupt arm of the new government of the Marches. |
How can life be so bountiful, providing such sublime rewards for mediocrity? -Umberto Ecco |
Edited by - Knight of the Gate on 16 Mar 2009 18:16:45 |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2009 : 19:35:52
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I've always had an interest in revolutions in the real world, especially the French and Russian revolutions. The French, because of the rapidly changing governments immediately after the revolution - Napoleon Bonaparte basically rose from being a lowly officer in the artillery to become the ruler of France, and, at times, of a lot of bits and pieces of Europe. A lowly officer (and yes, I know you can debate whether Napoleon was all that lowly to begin with), perhaps wth some buddies (Murat comes to mind) rising to the top of the heap. Very good stuff, I thought.
I remember once thinking about setting up a campaign around a similar theme - an old established government overthrown, a succession of governments in rapid succession, and an adventurer (or bands of adventurers) ending up with the Crown. I worked on it for an embryonic campaign world of my own, but I think it also could have worked quite well in a Tethyr-centered campaign, starting out immediately after the Ten Black Days of Eleint. Of course, that would wipe a lot of canon off the table, but with the 4th Ed Reset, that's no longer an issue anyway. Some local adventurers operating in the power vacuum, filling it, and then exporting their "revolution" to Calimshan, Amn, and the Lake of Steam. Yummy! |
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Using real-world events as plot ideas
