A few days ago I made a thread asking for advice about a game I'm running where the PCs want to rebuild a capital city...

A few days ago I made a thread asking for advice about a game I'm running where the PCs want to rebuild a capital city after they destroyed it accidentally last session. I've got lots of good advice but I still need some details ironed out if anyone wants to help. Here's what I got so far:

>The kingdom was ruled by a psycho who just came out of nowhere after the previous king dies without any surviving hairs.
>The PCs foiled his plan for world domination by destroying a powerful weapon buried underneath the capital city with the help of an NPC (let's call her Laris).
>In the process of doing this, the PCs triggered and earthquake that completely destroyed the city and the mad king. The PCs promise to help Laris rebuild the kingdom.
>Laris, as it turns out is like Daenerys Targaryen in that she's actually the last hair of the original royal family and wants to reclaim the throne by rebuilding her kingdom.
>However, a BBEG who claims to be the next in line shows up and challenges Laris for the throne.
>Laris has to rebuild the trust of the people while the BBEG tries to show her up and sabotages her.

Here's what the PCs can do to help Laris:
>Provide food
>Deal with bandits and looters
>Help rebuild and find shelter
>Heal the wounded
>Get help from neighbor villages
Here's what the BBEG can do to interfere:
>Release body-snatching creatures to wreak havoc on the population then swoop in and save the day if the PCs can't
>Infect the food the PCs provide with parasites
I don't have any structure besides this so far. Any suggestions?

>previous king dies without any surviving hairs
Tell us more about your folate fantasy

The lack of political intrigue is shameful. Their first order of business should be finding a suitable regent, then assisting them in any way they can until they are betrayed at the end of the arc and learn that they are not great politicians.

That made me laugh.

Nicely done user.

The fuck does this mean? It's not even my setting, it's the one in the book.
>Have the PCs decide who should be in charge and help them up the latter and then finally say LOL NOPE at the end and make all their hard work worth shit.
No thanks.

Fine, then cut the betrayal, but cities are not rebuilt by shining happy people, they're rebuilt by good leadership and an interested party. Putting players in charge of something open ended is never a good idea anyway.

Yeah, my party wanted to do this. I asked them if they wanted to rebuild and they voted with a clear winner. Besides, "open ended" is a lose term in role playing, there is never a single outcome.

Yes, but when you're rebuilding a city there are tons of little things going on that you cant just brush over, not out of a sense of simulation, but out of a need for narrative consistency. Whenever players in any of my game's dabble in regeme change of any kind, unless they themselves have experience that makes them fit for administration, I always make them back another party as a source of resources and leadership.

>The fuck does this mean?

The correct term for a child legally able to inherit property is "heir", but the way it was spelled in OP's post indicates that the king died without any of his hair surviving.

>Yes, but when you're rebuilding a city there are tons of little things going on that you cant just brush over
Isn't that what describing the scene is for?
>Whenever players in any of my game's dabble in regeme change of any kind, unless they themselves have experience that makes them fit for administration, I always make them back another party as a source of resources and leadership.
But they are backing an NPC with true leadership

Then rather then turning into a facebook game with micromanagement, they should just be told what's wrong by the acting regent, respect his rule, and do what they can to help.

>Didn't even bother reading the op.

But that's exactly what I'm gonna do. The PCs will be sent on quests to get help and resources, and they have to do so while the BBEG does the same and tries to stop them.

I did. Simple things like food, construction, etc should be handled. They should be working on bigger things that require them to actually think of a solution and call on their skills. Problems that competent regents actually have.

Finding advisers. Reforging alliances. Performing acts to cement legitimacy.

>hair

I plan on doing this in 2 parts. The first is to establish order, hence why everything's simple for now. If the PCs still feel like going this route, then I pull out all of the GoT political twists. If not, then the PCs go on adventuring.

Ehhh pretty boring senpai.

Let the NPCs handle the lame stuff you mentioned.

The BBEG has body snatchers ffs.

Scenario ideas:

>The city is torn between different gangs and miltias, the crown is barely in control and the players have to prevent a massive slaughter by all means necessary.

>The BBEG replaces key figures with body snatchers to destabilize the situation even further. He also replaces the leaders of several gangs and militias too form an army. With tthat he could pacify the city and take the crown.

>With infected food storages he lets the tensions escalate to start a civil war.

This. Everything mentioned is NPC shit. The PCs should be defending against the BBEG;s machinations and dealing with his agents.

>The city is torn between different gangs and miltias, the crown is barely in control and the players have to prevent a massive slaughter by all means necessary.
There is no more crown. Anyone with power is dead. The whole idea is that there's no one in power so it's up for grabs. I like the idea of people needing to pick sides, and possible riots though.
>The BBEG replaces key figures with body snatchers to destabilize the situation even further. He also replaces the leaders of several gangs and militias too form an army. With tthat he could pacify the city and take the crown.
I used the term "body snatchers" to simplify it. They are animals that reproduce by laying polyps in a corps, then converts it into a "shell" that the creature then uses for mobility. They can't dupe anyone, nor can they follow orders.
Killing BBEG outright isn't off the table, but doing so makes the PCs look like their backing a tyrant. My whole idea is that the PCs need to inspire trust in the people and get them to help the effort and to back their NPC.

I should probably mention that these body snatchers are planted by BBEG so he can fend them off and make himself look more competent by comparison. But if the PCs can stop them first, then they could look more impressive.

Then let them figure out a way to get it done right. They can frame him, they can hire a high-dollar assassin him, they can entice his lieutenants or they can find a place for him in the new regime. The possibilities are endless and you made a facebook game. Gratz

Never said they couldn't do those things. What I have so far is just IF they want to do things the honorable way; I still have things to figure out, and I made this thread to get more ideas. I may not sound like it but I really do appreciate all this feedback.

And to address the criticism of things being too boring and for the NPCs to handle, I'm trying to make it as interesting as possible. The option "provide food" for example will have the PCs travel to a village where the people have cornucopia technology and broker a trade deal in exchange for ridding the town of monsters or something. Same with helping rebuild, the PCs aren't going to be hammering in the nails (if they don't want to), but instead they're going to have to find resources and willing architects.

>There is no more crown. Anyone with power is dead. The whole idea is that there's no one in power so it's up for grabs. I like the idea of people needing to pick sides, and possible riots though.

>Its up for grabs

Yeah and militias and gangs forming turfs and starting little wars is exactly what would happen. Every guard captain, criminal etc. that is able to form a little group of armed men is able to have is own little kingdom in the destroyed city.

If central power is gone completely you essentially have Somalia.

>I used the term "body snatchers" to simplify it. They are animals that reproduce by laying polyps in a corps, then converts it into a "shell" that the creature then uses for mobility. They can't dupe anyone, nor can they follow orders.

Good, then the BBEG has to find a competent killer. Then he has to replace key figures to cause chaos.

>If central power is gone completely you essentially have Somalia.
Ok now I see what your saying. I did have it that there would be multiple rivals at first, but I felt that that was a little too complicated and made the BBEG seem less noteworthy, so technically there are only 2 turfs.
>Good, then the BBEG has to find a competent killer. Then he has to replace key figures to cause chaos.
I guess the only key figures would be the PCs. I can see assassins going after them.