Post/Author/DateTime	Post
naturax 06-08-07, 10:10 AM	I would like you to share any of your gaming experiences as a player or a DM with interacting with the Sharn Council as a whole. I'm running a game in which the PCs and a couple of NPCs need to address the Sharn Council before they decide how to vote on a particular issue and I would like suggestions on how to handle the encounter. The situation is that Nolan has tabled a bill called "The Plan for Warforged Re-Education" which is about to be read before the Sharn Council. An NPC, a warforged diplomat, wants to speak before the council before they vote in order to convince them against it, and the PCs have an EXTREMELY good releationship with Kilk and they want to help grant the audience. What should it take to be heard by the council? I'm looking for what would make an exciting game session (considering how dry this event could potentially be). Thanks!
Rechan 06-08-07, 10:59 AM	I have a feeling not a lot of groups have dealt with the council in an official capacity. However. Off the top of my head, the Boromar and the Dreaming Dark have a few of the councilors in their pockets. They might try to do something before (or during) the meeting to help sway the action and argument in their favor, as the PCs may have been a fly in the ointment in their deals before. Or the PCs are messing with their plot and they need to steer things backwards. Depending on what the bill does, the Anti-Warforged crowd may be protesting or rallying outside the Council tower. This could potentially spill over into a riot if the Warforged diplomat gives a stirring speech and looks like it will sway the council, or if one of the Councilmen says something that sets them off. If anything, the anti-Forged rally could set up some serious tension. The Lord of Blades could have his finger in this pie too. Remember, the LoB is recruiting Forged constantly. If the situation looks particularly ugly in Sharn for the 'Forged, that helps him because then it encourages more 'Forged to agree with his propaganda. So the LoB could send an operative to disrupt the meeting, swaying it towards tabling the Bill.
naturax 06-08-07, 11:49 AM	...the Boromar and the Dreaming Dark have a few of the councilors in their pockets. They might try to do something before (or during) the meeting to help sway the action and argument in their favor... What exactly do you picture them doing during the meeting? Calling for the applicant to be tossed out? Convincing the Lord Mayor that the warforged shouldn't be heard? ... the Anti-Warforged crowd may be protesting or rallying outside the Council tower. This could potentially spill over into a riot if the Warforged diplomat gives a stirring speech and looks like it will sway the council, or if one of the Councilmen says something that sets them off. If anything, the anti-Forged rally could set up some serious tension. That's a really good idea I hadn't thought of and I thank you for it. The warforged diplomat doesn't need to address the council directly - but addressing the crowds could be even more effective. The Lord of Blades could have his finger in this pie too. Remember, the LoB is recruiting Forged constantly. If the situation looks particularly ugly in Sharn for the 'Forged, that helps him because then it encourages more 'Forged to agree with his propaganda. So the LoB could send an operative to disrupt the meeting, swaying it towards tabling the Bill. You mean disrupt the meeting, swaying it towards them being unable to pass the bill? The warforged diplomat has already kidnapped Nolan in an attempt to stop the bill, but that plan backfired since it just increased support for anti-warforged sentiment. Nolan has just been released at the Temple to the Sovreign Host (they have agreed to provide sanctuary to warforged in light of this looming crisis) and Nolan will be at the Council Hall to read his bill. I'm concerned that any rational warforged would realize that further violence would simply increase support for the bill. How do you figure a super-smart warforged could do something constructive to stop the bill from getting passed?
Rechan 06-08-07, 01:27 PM	What exactly do you picture them doing during the meeting? Calling for the applicant to be tossed out? Convincing the Lord Mayor that the warforged shouldn't be heard? Depends on the agenda. Do the Boromar like the 'forged? For instance, I believe (but could be wrong) that the Councilman that represents the Cogs is anti-forged, because the warforged are basically indentured servants that work in the foundries. If the 'forged were free or whatever, then a huge population of workers would have to be paid like normal people. If the Boromar wanted to "take him out" financially, they could put the pressure on their councilors to vote for the bill. They could be strongarming this guy - "We'll vote With you if you do ____ for us in the Cogs". The PCs could uncover this deal, or they could try to coax the Boromar to believe that it's in their best interest to free the Forged, or whatever. That's a really good idea I hadn't thought of and I thank you for it. The warforged diplomat doesn't need to address the council directly - but addressing the crowds could be even more effective. I just expect that the crowd and the threat of a riot could make the meeting itself more tense. You mean disrupt the meeting, swaying it towards them being unable to pass the bill? The warforged diplomat has already kidnapped Nolan in an attempt to stop the bill, but that plan backfired since it just increased support for anti-warforged sentiment. Nolan has just been released at the Temple to the Sovreign Host (they have agreed to provide sanctuary to warforged in light of this looming crisis) and Nolan will be at the Council Hall to read his bill. I'm concerned that any rational warforged would realize that further violence would simply increase support for the bill. How do you figure a super-smart warforged could do something constructive to stop the bill from getting passed? Yes, disrupt it. Possibly attack the councilmembers mid-meeting, with the intent of making a bad impression and forcing them to vote one way. The point is that the Lord of Blades wants the anti-forged bill to pass. Because that will convince Sharn's warforged population that they need to agree with the Lord of Blades, because he's the only guy who can ensure their freedom. Not only that, but if any Warforged terrorist (in the employ of the LoB) disrupts the councilmeeting, that will undoubtably raise anti-warforged sentiments among the rest of the city, and possibly push the anti-warforged racists into attacking innocent 'forged. Thus pushing the warforged population further towards the LoB.
Rechan 06-08-07, 01:30 PM	Also, among your anti-forged rally, I suspect you'd also have a few religious nuts. You know, someone who thinks that Cannith stole souls from Dolurrh to power the warforged, or that the creation of the 'forged will usher in the destruction of Khorvaire. Or that the Mourning was the fault of the 'forged, given that the LoB is living in the Mournland - he caused it so he could have his own territory unchecked. Maybe you could have a multitude of street preachers saying this a day or two before the meeting, trying to recruit more anti-forged protestors for the rally. Basically, do anything to build a sense of tension, like the meeting itself is really the tipping point. Play up the angle that the council's vote one way or the other could lead to a lot of disruption, either from the racists or the warforged population.
naturax 06-08-07, 03:07 PM	Basically, do anything to build a sense of tension, like the meeting itself is really the tipping point. Play up the angle that the council's vote one way or the other could lead to a lot of disruption, either from the racists or the warforged population. I like the idea of having religious nuts at the protest. Fortunately I've already done a lot of build-up before the bill: the night before the Daask attacked the Boromars in half a dozen key locations AND thousands of goblins spilled out of the entranceways to the cogs in Cogsgate (and I put another one in The Stores) rioting and stealing AND a bunch of warforged led by a Prophet of the Lord of Blades (who calls herself Talis) were seen marching through the city in organized warbands. (note that despite any actual evidence that the warforged themselves caused any damage, but the headline of the Sharn Inquisitive the next day was "Warforged & Daask: Two Faces of Terror") So now, reading the bill should be a climax for this story-arc. It makes for a better story if the bill passes, but I want the PCs to be in the thick of it, trying to help their warforged diplomat friend from preventing the bill from going through. I really like the idea of the LoB *wanting* the bill to pass, so I can picture a group of warforged at the Council Hall looking to start a fight with supporters of the bill while the warforged diplomat is trying to calm everyone down.
OctaviusIII 06-08-07, 03:35 PM	Having worked in government, the way anyone gets to address a Council or Parliament is by being invited as a witness during committee hearings when the bill is being considered but BEFORE it goes to the floor for a vote. In other words, you wouldn't be able to talk on the Floor of the Council Chambers - only councilors would get to do that - but you would be able to speak to the committee that considered the bill in the first place. However, you would have to be invited by one of the councilmembers that sits on the committee. There are three other options. The diplomat could give a speech to the entire council as a visiting dignitary, although the council would have to pass a resolution to allow it. Many towns have open meetings and conduct business with the public present and able to give their piece. Your PCs would be able to talk during one of those, when their turn comes. Having the diplomat talk as an invited guest would still apply. Lastly, you could have the diplomat and the PCs speak from the gallery above the chamber, which is highly out of order but somewhat dramatic. Guards would immediately try to pull the disrupting person from the gallery, so it would be quite a struggle. You'd have to find a way to balance this with what would obviously be high security - I'd be quite surprised if your PCs got visitors passes. If you have friends in the Council it might not be that hard, although they'd definitely try to get to in front of the body through legitimate means first. Anyway, on the note of how to play it up within the government itself: if it's anything like the early US Congress, there may be fistfights every so often in the chambers. If it's parliamentary, there's the daily Question Period, which is a rather raucous time of the parties in Opposition asking pointed and sometimes insulting questions of the party in Government. Lots of yelling, foot-stomping, and heckling there.
Rechan 06-08-07, 04:38 PM	Anyway, on the note of how to play it up within the government itself: if it's anything like the early US Congress, there may be fistfights every so often in the chambers. If it's parliamentary, there's the daily Question Period, which is a rather raucous time of the parties in Opposition asking pointed and sometimes insulting questions of the party in Government. Lots of yelling, foot-stomping, and heckling there. Early US? Heck, some Eastern European/Asian countries still have riots in the chambers between the politicians. And then there was the time one of the senators in the US broke his cane over the head of another senator over slavery in the 1850s.
OctaviusIII 06-08-07, 05:54 PM	Early US? Heck, some Eastern European/Asian countries still have riots in the chambers between the politicians. Heh, good point. I forgot about how the Texas legislature had a literal uprising against the Speaker: assemblymen had to be literally restrained by the marshall from attacking him!
yrogerg 06-09-07, 09:49 AM	Keep in mind as well that the Sharn Council *is* massively corrupt. Personally, I don't picture PCs having much luck with them unless they're going to that meeting already knowing how each Council member is going to vote already. I would suggest sending the PCs around to influence each council member individually, whether through bribery, blackmail, underground alliances, or just good ol' convincing them. The specific tactics, of course, would depend both on the PCs and the council members in question.