alright heres one for you GM's out there, I'm doing a campaign heavily focused on 5 kingdoms that are at war, each kingdom is headed by a powerful ruler.
This is a high fantasy game, so really anything goes, so far I've got one ruler. King Tristan, rides a dragon valiantly into battle, is shows no mercy to the enemy and will stop at nothing to protect his people.
What are some ideas for powerful rulers? maybe a witch/sorceress? a giant toad with psychic powers?
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ALL HAIL HYPNOTOAD
you know what i was goin for, my man
maybe some kind of benevolent monster that requires sacrifices of people? not wholly nice but the populace sees it as a good deal for them due to his political and social acumen?
How about a lady who's a TACTICAL GENIUSSS!!!!
A set of identical clones who all share the same set of memories and can inherently communicate without speaking. This allows them to think at several times the speed of regular people, and when one of them dies, that one can (eventually) be replaced though psychic brainwashing.
A gestalt ruler, if that makes sense.
A literal demon bound to a mortal body, but here's the catch the demon is not malevolent it's sole interest is money and so he is a top-notch economist and a shrewd businessman his only goal is to own the richest kingdom in the world. But he still has demon form and still pretty badass when he has to fight.
Do you want us to come up with ones, or post powerful rulers from our games/games we've played?
Since one's a paladin or some shit, you obviously need his diametric opposite, the Wytch King! He rules over the Blighted Lands and rides a dragon into battle too! Except it's *skeletal*. Alternately, you can have the Bog Queen, who rules over the Swamplands and rides a Nightmare. Either way, they both have an army of undead at their command.
Another option is the Desert King, whose forces are mostly light infantry and cavalry. Good at raiding, bad at stand-up fights, mostly defensive and exploitative of local terrain. Maybe they chain-bind djinni to augment their forces or something.
Perhaps a fourth rules over an island chain or something. Think Greyjoys, but more trade and less 'Muh Iron Price!' All their trading affords them a nigh-invincible fleet which can defend the islands and allow them to launch raids on coastal regions, but they have difficulty reaching anywhere that's not near the ocean or a navigable river.
...
Drago-
>rides a dragon
Ah, so dragons here are big scary animals, huh? Okay.
Lich, who only needs that duchy to power his research, believes that there is no knowledge or secret that must be left undiscovered, so he's a combination of artificer Da Vinci and occult dr. Mengele
Hobgobbo warlord, his country is set up to feed his ever-murderous gobbo-wermacht.
Faerie magi, protector of massive forests and pure meadows, teacher of druids and God-warchief of several barbaric tribes
Mernchant republic: ruling council is 3 good duys who want their people to prosper, 4 greedy asses and 2 kinda neutral pragmatists
A fallen angel, conquering the world to gain more power because he knows that the only celestials who can stop him can't interfere directly
Hail Queen G-string.
The eternally illustrious Charles of (insert place here);
Though he rules the weakest kingdom of the five, he styles himself as an almighty emperor, creating a cult of personality which extends to paying local religious groups to use his likeness in sermons.
I suppose this pic is semi-relevant to the conversation
both, either. Im asking GM's because they tend to be more creative, thus the want to run a game.
plus this is mostly so i can get ideas, and everyone can share ideas. you ask other people because they can come up with things you never would have thought of, like
>Hobgobbo warlord, his country is set up to feed his ever-murderous gobbo-wermacht.
i certainly never would have thought of it, very interesting
I've said it once, I'll say it again.
Udoroth the torturous king, demon king! Badass and a good big bad, easy to hate, don't need some grey area bullshit.
kek is that you?
Me again, If you wanted a non bad guy so that the players can actually negotiate without risk of being mutilated then try.
Vampire lord Silona Bonewald, tactical genius, leads her army herself because she doesn't trust others will get the job done. Looks for any avenue to improve her standing in the eyes of her public.
Likable and talented, as long as you Give her emotions and feelings, and not your usual vampire brooding.
Plus, since she's a war commander she can't go out and do fetch quests, but guess who can? The local murderhobos.
Am I simplifying things too much when I give sovereigns with greater influence full names, while lesser sovereigns just get a title and surname?
Rakshasa wizard. Old, depraved, sadistic but smart, knowledgeable and really capable in all that a king can need. His court hates him because it is almost impossible to kill or even get an upper hand on him and constantly finds new ways to humiliate those who try. Also his closet long burst with stored skeletons and they are spilling all over the place - though it's not like he cares.
He looks constantly bored and speaks softly never raising his voice. Even in deathly danger.
But for all personal shortcomings his kingdom runs like a well oiled machine with spiky bits.
This kingdom would probably lack in powerful NPCs due to them trying to deal with the king and meeting an untimely end but will have a good group tactics schools and a lot of different highly specialised military personnel.
...
The Witch Queen who rules a magical kingdom filled with the finest minds in the land. The nobility is entirely made up hereditary magicians and everyone from artisans from common farmers know at least some simple spell to aid in their everyday lives. Blacksmiths and glassblowers may know how to beckon hearth spirits to tend their fires while the farmers may know simple methods of appeasing the spirits of the land to ensure a good harvest. Due to the land's magical nature as a homeland for numerous spirits and elementals, they enjoy a high standard of living. They are famed for their magical artillery and their order of magic knights. They see a war of conquest as a way of sharing their culture and prosperity with the rest of the world.
The Saint King who rules a powerful theocracy. He sees the war is a mandate from his god to unite all the peoples beneath one faith. He will relent in the face of divine intercession, but this hasn't happened in some time.
The Sword Emperor whose land has eschewed magic in favor of nurturing the power within. Supernatural martial arts and powerful ascetics abound. The Sword Emperor is rumored to be one of the greatest swordsmen alive. A single sword stroke could drop the moon, while a second would cut it in two. He believes that his people must remain strong, devoted and disciplined above all else, and that it is discipline and self-mastery that make both a good ruler and a peerless warrior.
The Bandit King doesn't rule a real kingdom, more of loose confederation of free cities run by a massive organized crime syndicate. Nonetheless, she aims to steal the other four kingdoms and make them part of her treasury.
FPBP
Not necessarily hypnotoad, but some non human that controls its subjects via mind control.
You could have them as a counter point to , who is largely benevolent, but requires the occasional human sacrifice.
Old King Bone, Lord of the Undead. He's a dusty old skeleton that likes to joke around and party. Turns out the undead kingdom is a pretty chill place, but the other kingdoms keep barging in on his parties and slaying his citizens because "undead must be evil!" so he's putting his foot down. Obviously a necromancer, but prefers to trap people in a lotus eater spell so they'll waste away and end up joining his ranks. Plays the drums like a motherfucker, also uses them in combat to give orders to his troops.
Some guy from here made a random generator for high fantasy female rulers a while ago. I'm rather fond of it. It's really good if you're looking for inspiration for strange and unearthly entities. It's under the button marked 'strange dragon royalty'.
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Aside from that I'd suggest having at least one of your kingdoms ruled by some sort of 'high council', rather than a straight monarchy. Perhaps its made up of powerful wizards, or particularly ancient vampires/undead. I reckon that could add some variety.
I'm uncreative, so how about the Paladin King?
With a will of iron the Paladin King moved his lands; crushing evils and doing all he could, the amount of belief in his god is so great, angels of that god are readily present in his realm.
Through his belief, most in his land have converted to his religion; while he himself does not require them bent to his god, many commoners do it themselves. This is either out of respect for him, or the fear of being ostracized by their peers.
The government would be run by a council of leading church members, with the Paladin King holding a power seat. Though the Paladin King would more commonly be seen roaming the capitol, looking for those who need him.
He is humble and noble, yet worldly and unyielding. This also lends itself unto his other traits; he is stubborn to a fault, and while he was a born fighter he was not a born leader. There is a reason for his council; His dominant personality helps keep the land steady, but the Church is what ultimately guides the land.
His favored weapons are his war hammer and his faith; often angels of his god will join him in battle, whether he wills them to or not.
A charismatic nobody who lucked, charmed, lied (and magic tricked?) his way into ruling a kingdom that had emerged a chaotic mess from a civil war with the previous ruling elite dead or disgraced.
He's not ambitious and would just as soon give up the throne, but somewhere along the line he made a pact with a brooding and overbearing [demon, fey, crooked family member, choose as appropriate] who now has him by the balls and pulls all the strings.
The uneasy pair rules erratically over a still-broken realm, but there are so few domestic rivals and so many standing armies from the civil war that they have a lot of power in the short term.