Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Calero 07-30-07, 10:55 PM	Manipulation, Murder, Betrayal, deceit, and lust for power. Those things are usually follow villians like a flea that won't stop biting. As a villianous noble in Cormyr I wish to pave a path of blood or gold, either one will suit me. In doing so my character's evil side will erupt with in, It is a guarentee. So, I am curious how to use this to my advantage and rise to the top. Please help. -Lord Calero
Meldread 07-30-07, 11:38 PM	It sounds fun. The first thing you need to do is realize that everyone is your enemy. I have the perfect deity for such a character: Gargauth. He is the god of betrayal, cruelty, political corruption and powerbrokers. You are surrounded by enemies. I suggest said character be a Wizard because without a doubt you'll have War Wizards on your back if you start stepping out of line. The ability to ward against scrying and generally protect yourself against arcane assault, as well as acting in under handed manners that are difficult to trace back to you is aided well by magic. The Harpers will be a major concern, and I suggest that you do not play evil stupid. In public and around those you can't trust put on a false facade. Do good works to boost your public image. Get involved with the Harpers, not to truly aid them, but to gain their trust and use them to your own ends. When dealing with Harpers allow them to think that they can manipulate you, when in reality you are the one manipulating them. Do what they want, listen to their advice, turn to them for help, and use all of that to gain insight into their plans. Then via proxy (never directly or in anyway traceable back to you) have someone doing the same with the Zhents. An NPC agent works nicely for this, someone loyal to you that you pay, or have under some magical compulsion. Another follower of Gargauth is excellent as being a member of the cult gives you connections that you would not otherwise have. Once you know what both the Harpers and Zhents are doing you can play them against each other. Follow suit with most of your other major enemies to ensure that they are blind to whatever you are doing. If their energies are focused elsewhere then they are not focused on you. Finally, remember one thing above all else: Knowledge is power. Do whatever you can to always be knowledgeable about what is going on, who is doing what, and generally where things are heading. With knowledge you can manipulate events that will gain you more power without actually lifting a hand to do it.
Bonzai 08-01-07, 03:59 PM	A fun villian I had created for a mod, was a cult leader. He was suprisingly effective, and gained a lot of power in a short time. The keys were the Leadership and Mother Cyst feats. First he established his cult following (leadership feat). These were from all walks of life, but mostly commoners and experts. People that are often over looked by those in power. Once the cult following was established, he implanted them all with a cyst. The cyst allowed him to scry on them, influence them, controll them, and even turn them into the equivelent of a DnD suicide Bomber. With their obedience assured, it was time to expand upon your power. Start slow, and pick targets with care. People with power, but weak willed. Perhaps a guard captian here, or a council member there. Implant your cysts while they sleep, or when they don't expect it. I find a familiar to be invaluable in doing this. My familiar of choice? A fluffy white kitten. People let their guards down, and never suspect that cat rubbing against their leg is about to set off an insidious touch spell. Once they are implanted, you can cause them all kinds of pain to insure their docile cooperation. With every tool you gain, your power and influence grows. Who cares if you are not the ruler of Cormyr. You pull enough strings behind the throne that it is a moot point. Just tread quietly and carefully, and no one will ever discover you. Aside from your trusted Cohort, no one need ever see your face. If some one is in danger of betraying your organization, you can detonate them from a far. To the world you are nothing more than a respectable noble, to your followers, you are a mysterious leader who must be obeyed without question. Perhaps one day you will do something about that pesky regent and snot nosed brat, but do you really want the responsibility of ruling a country? It's much better to take what you want, and let others clean up the mess.
Meldread 08-01-07, 05:18 PM	Bonzai that's brilliant and totally creative. I love it. Once they are implanted, you can cause them all kinds of pain to insure their docile cooperation. With every tool you gain, your power and influence grows. Who cares if you are not the ruler of Cormyr. You pull enough strings behind the throne that it is a moot point. Just tread quietly and carefully, and no one will ever discover you. Aside from your trusted Cohort, no one need ever see your face. If some one is in danger of betraying your organization, you can detonate them from a far. To the world you are nothing more than a respectable noble, to your followers, you are a mysterious leader who must be obeyed without question. Perhaps one day you will do something about that pesky regent and snot nosed brat, but do you really want the responsibility of ruling a country? It's much better to take what you want, and let others clean up the mess. That right there sums up the key to being a successful villain in the Forgotten Realm's. Even if you want to rule the country it is often more effective to put someone else up as leader for the public eye, while pulling their strings like a puppet behind the scenes. If assassins come to take him out, they have effectively failed at eliminating the source of the true power in the kingdom and it is not overly difficult for you to put someone else in to replace him. Furthermore, while he runs the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom you can be plotting to spread your influence beyond its borders.
Calero 08-01-07, 06:27 PM	I am taken back at the ideas you have planted into my mind. I would never have thought of that... I'm just blown away. Thank you very much. You two are amazing, If I was really my D&D character I would seat you two as my chief advisors. Bonzai can be my master Archmage, Divinist. :D Meldread can be a huge hulking human covered in armor and an arsnel of weapons strapped to his back.:P Thanks sooo much! -Lord Calero
Suin Bahhar 08-01-07, 06:47 PM	There is power in numbers. Running business is about juggling numbers. War is about numbers. Political power is granted by numbers. These numbers may actually represent poeple but to the ones in power they become numbers factored in the equasion of balance in rulership. Deliver the numbers and wield the true power. Twisting numbers can break kingdoms, misinformation will derail sound business plans and can confuse objectives on a battefield. Spreading misinformation and falsehoods can foil gods, and thus can foil their subjects who get divinations from their gods.
Calero 08-01-07, 06:50 PM	Great, thanks! Sooo, what do you guys think? Should I have a "false" Lord to be in place of me as I take action behind the scenes? I rather like that idea. I also was thinking about wearing a mask or something to conceal my identity. Good idea? Thanks guys, your so great. -Lord Calero:D
Meldread 08-01-07, 07:34 PM	Should I have a "false" Lord to be in place of me as I take action behind the scenes? Absolutely. The only reason to put your own personal head on the chopping block is ego. Of course, in doing that you put a huge target on your back, and really you can have the power, the fortune, almost anything you want as long as you are willing to sit back quietly and be a manipulator. You -have- to be a Wizard and go generalist. As you gain levels it becomes less of an issue if you don't specialize, and really in the end versatility is the wizards strength. I also was thinking about wearing a mask or something to conceal my identity. Good idea? If you go Wizard there is no need for a mask. You can cast Alter Self which does more for you than any mask ever possibly could. With Alter Self you can craft a large number of different personalities to interact with a large number of people, making it effectively impossible to trace things back to you, especially if no one knows your real name or appearance. EDIT: I should point out that the above trick works even better if you steal the identities of others. For example, travel to Baulder's Gate or Sembia and look for a somewhat well off Merchant. Steal the identity of a commoner from Cormyr while walking around either of those places, basically gathering information on your would be victims. Once you've learned enough about them, who they are, some personal information, their general business practices, steal their identities when you go back to Cormyr. Don't focus on someone important, some slightly well off street merchant should work just fine. Why steal the identity? Simple. Should one of your puppets take a fall and start spilling the beans, and they begin searching for you, and find out that you don't exist... well that might cause them to begin to connect the dots. By stealing the identity of the merchant in another nation that would require them too actually go out of their way to hunt said merchant down. While they are hunting the merchant, it ensures that it has given you enough time to figure out what happened and plot your next move. Best case scenario is that they capture the merchant, and attempt to bring him to justice, only to find themselves being brought to justice by the Sembian Authorities / Flaming Fist (in Baulder's Gate). Worst case scenario is that they find him, question him, believe his story and then let him go. By the time they figure out they've been set up, you're already three steps ahead of them.
Calero 08-01-07, 08:38 PM	whoa, thanks. But i got a slight problemo. I have already chosen the path of a fighter and assassin. How can I use this to my advantage instead of the wizard? I also have a good sum of money, and a Hat of Disguise takes care of the Alter Self spell. I have many powerful men: One is a Wizard (Divinist), another is a fighter and leader of my twenty guards, a rogue that is a retired emisarry of Azoun (loyal to the bone and willing to kill for me), another rogue (overly fat and spoiled) whom keeps track of my money affairs, and last but not least a loyal messanger who is quite fond of me. I also have plenty of family who are loyal to me and follow in my path of treachery. I even have a Bane-Knight as a cousin. Anywhoo...I am already known to the public and such. I was thinking of making an act out of it and have an "assassin" (which will be one of my own men) kill a false version of me. I will make it public so everyone knows it, but only a few will actually know it isn't me. Tell me your thoughts. :D THANKSSS!!! -Lord Calero
Meldread 08-01-07, 09:06 PM	Well that could be slightly problematic. I would forego killing a fake you for now, simply because that will attract unwanted attention. Simply lay low, keep quiet, and let yourself fade into the background. Use your allies to manipulate affairs to your liking; the diviner should be scrying on your enemies and such. The retired emissary could be highly useful in certain situations and could no doubt give you lots of information that could prove useful to your schemes. Really... hmm... Do you have a cohort? You need more wizards. What is your reputation? A possible path for you is to get out of the public eye. Arrange for an extended trip outside of the city, to a slightly dangerous area when it comes to monsters. Use the fighter and the leader of your guards to begin hiring mercenaries to fight the monsters. Why do this? Well it makes you look occupied and busy. You are out of the city, and as they say 'out of sight, out of mind.' Make some statements along the lines of a personal crusade. Raid goblins, kobolds, orcs and surrounding ruins and other such abandoned places to increase funds. Think of it as "busy work" - you look busy, while you work on something else. Are these NPC's or other players? You really need magic to make your life simple, otherwise you are either at a huge disadvantage when dealing with an enemy or on equal terms. You should preferably always hold the advantage. The hat is useless to you, but could be useful for the emissary or the messenger. Follow my suggestion in the previous post, using the hat on the emissary. While you are outside the city, I suggest erecting a palisade and a makeshift fort with the intent of staying there long term. As you kill off the threats in the region use your funds to begin logging, farming and otherwise exploiting the area of its natural resources. In the end, you increase the funds and lands you control while simultaneously working toward larger plans.
Calero 08-02-07, 12:28 AM	I want wizards as well. I originally considered being a wizard, but chose a different path. My reputation is fair, and they are NPC's rather then Players. I have been stated with two options in the game. The first: travel to the Stone lands and wipe out a region of gnolls and hobgoblins (I will be ranked to a high noble and own the lands that I conquer) The second: take ownership of my uncle's hamlet as he enrolls pernamently in a strong position in the Purple Dragon Knights. Which would you choose? Thanks. -Lord Calero:D
Slayergnome 08-02-07, 07:28 AM	I would suggest do to your assassin nature you hire a small army to take out the area in the stonelands. Then with it as your own lands make a place where you can teach a loyal band of assassins in secret (perhaps work with the Fire Daggers or whatever that group of exiled noble assassins is called). Then publically take your uncles land and begin doing good works. You could even use your assassins or gold to hire humanoid tribes and whatnot in the Stonelands to work for you. Raiding your merchantile enemies and keeping other humanoid groups away from your own "lands" in the stone lands. Also try to use your political and money to get younger loyal members of your family into positions in court, and elsewhere. Having ears and eyes to gather intel for you is important. If you know something before someone else you have a advantage. If you set up a evil organisation make sure they are cell based. So if one group gets discovered they cannot sell out your whole organisations most importantly yourself.
Fabius Maximus 08-02-07, 11:13 AM	It's all about levers. Every person has weak points that you can exploit. Even if you can't find out the weaknesses of some people, you can create them, like making a person addicted to a drug, for example. The tricky part is finding out. You'll need funds to employ spies or diviners (knowing their weak spots would also be helpful). And you should pick your targets carefully. It's no use to "recruit" only military officers who are susceptible to bribes if you have no money to bribe them with. Merchants, bankiers, rogues, thieves, clerks, soldiers. It's the mix that makes it effective. Oh, and trust no one. Always have a contigency plan in your sleeve (better make it three), and have no scruples to do away with those irritating obstacles that cannot be influenced by fear or greed.
Calero 08-02-07, 11:20 AM	haha, thanks guys. You really know how to do this stuff, huh? Well any more info would be more then helpful. :D I think your right, I need to come up with a few back up plans. But how do i do this? And what are good back up plans? Thanks sooo much! -Lord Calero
Bonzai 08-02-07, 11:27 AM	Given that information, I would have to ask what the resources of the hamlet are? If the hamlet has anything worth exploiting, then by all means, take advantage of it. Why start from scratch when you can have a running start. From there, I would look to expand my influence and holdings. The leadership feat may still be worthwhile, as from it you can start your own theives guild. The mask idea can be a good one, as theatrics like that tend to build the sense of awe and mystery around you. Your cohort will run the day to day affairs of the guild while you present world with the face of a fair and just noble. Have the guild strike at your rivals. Have them strike at your self too, for appearances. But you can always ensure that your losses will be minimal, and the money will be more or less moved from one pocket to another. Since you are an assasin, then you need to apply a different sort of method to gain influence. Spy on people, and blackmail them. Perform dirty deeds for those in power, and have them owe you favors. Threaten, take hostages if need be. A well bribed city guard or two can give you much. A modified memory here and there can also be a powerfull tool. With that sort of magic at your disposal, it would be an easy thing to assasinate the leader of a rival hamlet, and have the guards think the man's son did it. Heck, you could disguise yourself to make you look like the son while you do the dead, and then alter the heirs memory in his sleep. Now you will have gotten rid of a powerful rival, and ensured that his house hold will remain in chaos for a long time. Long enough for you to move in and chip away at his holdings. Just be sure that there is no connection between you and the guild, present a smiling face to the world, and slowly expand your empire. As your power grows, you can work on a grander scale, and perhaps one day aspire to the thrown. But all that in it's proper time. For now you have a hamlet to run, and a guild to form.
The_Wrath_of_Talos 08-02-07, 12:22 PM	I want wizards as well. I originally considered being a wizard, but chose a different path. My reputation is fair, and they are NPC's rather then Players. I have been stated with two options in the game. The first: travel to the Stone lands and wipe out a region of gnolls and hobgoblins (I will be ranked to a high noble and own the lands that I conquer) The second: take ownership of my uncle's hamlet as he enrolls pernamently in a strong position in the Purple Dragon Knights. Which would you choose? Thanks. -Lord Calero:D With your two options which has the better profit potential? Is their any natural resources worth fighting for in the stone lands, and what does the hamlet have to offer? Otherwise exploit the gnolls and hobgoblins in the region. Organize them for mercenary work, attack rival convoys, create terroristic problems in order for you to come to the rescue building up your reputation. You could also create your own human mercenary group for safe passage through areas where you have stationed your gnoll and goblinoid forces for a resonable fee of course. With your current resources pickup a ring of chamelion or some robes of blending so you or an emissary can go out to recruit your forces. Also if you choose to conquer the stone lands you now have a better reason and more publicity by organizing the savages in the area.
Meldread 08-02-07, 01:10 PM	Take both paths. Tell your uncle that you'll take the hamlet, and once he gives his blessing, promote your messenger to Viceroy and send him there to handle things in your stead. Ensure that he keeps in constant contact through letters and such, which would allow you to rule the hamlet through proxy. Once things are heading in the direction that you want, and feel confident that he can handle his administrative duties you can turn your focus elsewhere while only checking for the occasional updates. As you send your new Viceroy to the hamlet, march the rest of your men into the Stonelands. Carving out your place in the Stonelands is going to be an uphill battle. You're going to need to be strong, you're going to need more men, you're going to need to be crafty, and most importantly you are going to have to be ruthless. If you manage to conquer even part of the Stonelands, you could easily become the richest (or one of the richest) nobles in all of Cormyr. However, you don't have enough men at the moment to even lay claim to the tiniest portion of the Stonelands, but that isn't necessarily a problem. There is plenty of good loot to be found in the region, and after finding it through scouting you can march your men there to raid old ruins and such. This should increase the coin in your coffers. At the same time, you need to send off men to the Dalelands, Cormyr, and Sembia. You don't want mercenaries to aid you, as not only will that cut into your profits, their loyalty will be to the coin and not you. Instead, you need to create a militaristic order that will see themselves as crusading knights. Their ultimate loyalty will be to you. As knight's they need a code of conduct. They need an ideal in which to live their lives, which can simply be called the Rule. These knights will reject the standard codes and beliefs of the knights that came before them. They will turn their back upon generosity believing it a luxury no true man can afford, modesty a lie that belittles a man's strength, mercy a mistake and justice an illusionary ideal. Valor is the only virtue in which both can agree because Valor is, at its core, about strength. Strength is what the Rule is founded upon. It is about the strength of a man to over come the obstacles put before him, to conquer beasts and monsters, to lay claim to nations and rule it from a throne. They can view the world, as it really is, not through the eyes of bards and poets. They know that the strong prey upon the weak and in the end only the strong survive. It is the fundamental precept woven into every stone and beast in the world, a wolf does not show mercy to the lamb, or modestly defer to the wishes of the bull! No! He eats the one and stalks the children of the other. So too must your men be strong, and so too should these ideals be embraced by your men. From those ideals, you can formulate the Rule, and from the Rule come the eight precepts by which all members of your knightly order are expected to live their lives. 1. Demand obedience from those beneath your station. 2. Offer obedience to those above your station. 3. The mandate of a man comes only through Strength. 4. Weakness is rewarded by death. 5. The weak must earn your protection and loyalty. 6. Battle is the only true expression of chivalry. 7. Avenge any slight or insult to your lord, however trivial. 8. Death before dishonoring your lord. Send out men to recruit from low born and commoner families in the Dalelands, Cormyr and Sembia. With recent events there are certainly many parents who want better for their children, and you can provide that opportunity. If they sign their children up you can forward them a small advance payment - say 5gp or so. You then become the legal guardian of the children who are then officially your squires. Go to orphanages and get the children there as well because it will be cheaper in the end. Through your precursor raids into the Stonelands you should be able to make enough coin to buy equipment for these young men and women, aging from 14 to 16 years of age. It may take a few years of training until they become capable fighters in their own right, but when they are they will be fully indoctrinated. At the same time, search for younger children who have the potential for arcane talent. You will have to focus on younger children to ensure they are properly trained and indoctrinated. It takes roughly eight to ten years for the average wizard to learn to cast his first cantrip, but if they are rigorously trained they might learn sooner. Keep your arcanists separate from your knights. As a squire prepares for knighthood have him placed under a Geas as part of his initiation, and the same goes for the arcanist who is about to become a fully-fledged wizard. Weave it into the initiation process, and call it a binding oath or some such. The geas should be somewhat open ended, along the lines of, "You shall carry out any order given to you by <house name> and you shall never raise blade nor spell against the members of <house name>." While a geas can be removed so it is not full proof, it does ensure that the majority of your men and women are loyal to you… or else. So to recap my suggestion is this: Promote your messenger to viceroy and send him to manage the hamlet in your stead. Take the rest of your men to the Stonelands to scout out potential places to fortify and raid. Raid promising locations for coin, and then send out men to the surrounding regions to bring back youngsters who can be trained as squires and apprentice arcanists. Solidify your small hold in the area of the Stonelands, and then as your squires become knights and your apprentice arcanists become wizards push outward through force. In the mean time, turn the goblin tribes against one another through clever uses of diplomacy. Finally, check out this thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=13242494) on the Stonelands. Ideas on how to deal with the Stonelands once you've conquered them can be found in that thread.
Calero 08-02-07, 03:00 PM	Whoa. Awesome ideas. I will use them all. I also want to create a theives guild in the shadows, how do I go about doing this? I am blown away guys. haha. I like the idea of accomplishing both tasks at once.:D I also have a few other questions: What magic items would be a good thing to have? How do I form a back-up plan? How do I start my theives guild as well as my milita? What allies should I make? I want to have more magic abilities, how do I get this? Thanks. -Lord Calero
The_Wrath_of_Talos 08-02-07, 04:13 PM	What magic items would be a good thing to have? How do I form a back-up plan? How do I start my theives guild as well as my milita? What allies should I make? I want to have more magic abilities, how do I get this? Thanks. -Lord Calero The type of magic items you will want is anything that helps conceal your charector or help him out diplomatically. Such as robe of blending, ring of chamelion, ring of misdirection, boots of tracklessness, scent blinder, silent portal discs, choker of elequence, etc. The best back up plan to have is one that redirects the blame of the incident or a good foreign problem to take you out of the spotlight. Starting a theives guild should be relatively easy. Purchase a building in a low profile area and start looking for some like minded theives and cut throats. Raise taxes so more commoners are led toward a life of crime and pick out a good alias(you dont want to get blamed for the purse snatchings around town). You can also ask a temple of mask, shar or another evil deity for funding. Forming a milita can also be easy depending on the amount of power you have over the land. You can hire several military advisors and start a draft. Just remember you still need a large enough agricultural community to take care of your troops. Any allie you make should be easily controled and manipulated. You want to be in control of circumstances and have the upper hand in all trade agreements. Just keep a large supply of nukes in your back pocket whenever you go to discuss terms. Finally, for magic abilities you need a decent leveled wizard. The permenency and wish spell are your only chances for abilities with out turning into an undead. Look into permanent assasin senses, haste, cat's grace, and other attribute enhancing spells.
Calero 08-02-07, 04:21 PM	Thanks sooo much for answering all of my questions! Your great! I have a few more questions :D: How do I get started with all of this? What is my first move? What god should I worship (besides gargauth, whom is by the way a pretty cool god)? I own a moneylending buisness, what should I do with this? How can I strike fear into my enemies eyes as well as my allies? Thanx!!!! -Lord Calero
Meldread 08-02-07, 04:56 PM	I own a moneylending buisness, what should I do with this? Keep it running. Have the rogue who manages your finances head it up if necessary. You can't micromanage everything so you will require others too do the day-to-day handlings for you. Think of yourself as the 'brain'. You are in charge, and the others ensure what you want done happens. A suggestion I have when dealing with the Stonelands is working out an arrangement with a small cult of Talona. Have them create a powerful and deadly disease that seems too only have an effect on goblins. Then infect the goblin tribes one by one and sit back as a tribe is ravaged by the disease. Any who aren't killed send in your men to do the clean up, and then have your wizards go in to animate the dead goblins as zombies. As the goblins rise as undead, you infect another tribe with the disease, send in the zombies, kill the tribe, raise them and repeat. When you are done wiping out the Stonelands you'll have a ton of zombies, but you can use that to your advantage by using them as slave labor. You'll have to be careful because you'll have the Church of Lathander, among other undead-hating organizations giving you the evil eye, but since they are only goblins they MIGHT let it slide. Put the undead to work in mines and on building projects that require lots of labor. If you get a bunch of angry people looking your way, create a two way portal leading to an unpopulated place in a mountainous region a good distance away from Cormyr. (Somewhere in Vaasa or further east.) Build a castle out there and have the zombies act as guards or whatever. Think of it as your zombie warehouse and private retreat if you have to leave Cormyr for any reason. As you gain wealth and influence you can also build other two way portals that link with that castle allowing you to quickly move between cities and countries. How can I strike fear into my enemies eyes as well as my allies? Simply let your actions speak for themselves. There is no need to try and intimidate them once you are in the room. They should be afraid before you even arrive.
Calero 08-02-07, 05:16 PM	...wow. Who is the cult of Talona? THANKS SOOOO MUCH MELDREAD! YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A HELP!!!!! (virtual hug) :D -Lord Calero
Meldread 08-02-07, 05:58 PM	Talona is the lesser goddess of disease and poison. She is also known as the Lady of Poison, Mistress of Disease and Mother of All Plagues. Her church sells poisons, antidotes and medicines, and her priests often travel Faerun constantly seeking out new diseases and afflictions while spreading rumors to increase the reputation of Talona. Throughout their careers, Talonaites work with magic and study to build their personal immunities to various poisons and diseases. They can be found treating the diseased, acting as food tasters for paranoid rulers and wealthy merchants, and burying those who have died from disease. Whenever a realm or city-state casts out or punishes any Talonites, for any reason, her priests work to cause a plague in that place to exact "Talona's price" for such insults. Talona as one can imagine is not overly popular in the mostly good and neutral aligned Cormyr, but through you they could get the respect they so desperately crave. They will get the chance to work their darkest and most dire of plagues upon those who stand before you; while at the same time protecting your own people against Talona's power.
Bonzai 08-03-07, 06:04 PM	Mechanicly, I would think that you will need the leadership feat. Your cohort should be the one who handles the day to day operations. It's up to you to plan the jobs that will keep it going, and funded. Since you own a money lending buisness, there is much potential for lining your pockets. Make sure that your customers pledge valuable assets as collateral... land, livestock, their prettiest daughter, etc... The next step is making sure that they default. This is where your theives guild comes in handy. Rob them of the money they would use to pay you with, then forclose on them. You will be doubling your profits. Of course if you do this too often people will suspect, so only do this for the choicest of plums. As for inspiring fear of you, thats not a good thing. Keep a low profile. The fewer who know of your shady side the better. On your public persona, you want to be loved and respected by all. Well, if you take advantage of others misfortune, it is to be expected. You are a buisness man after all. You may even go so far as to donate money to a poor widow here and there (you made her a widow after all).
Meldread 08-03-07, 06:14 PM	Keeping with Bonzai's line of thinking, as you campaign in the Stonelands paint it as a bigger victory for Cormyr. Turn yourself into a Crusading patriot and inflate your victories. Cormyr needs a "hero" and now would be a prime time to ensure that you, or someone you control, seizes that mantle before an enemy does.
Gargarios 08-05-07, 02:42 PM	Keeping with Bonzai's line of thinking, as you campaign in the Stonelands paint it as a bigger victory for Cormyr. Turn yourself into a Crusading patriot and inflate your victories. Cormyr needs a "hero" and now would be a prime time to ensure that you, or someone you control, seizes that mantle before an enemy does. Crusade long enough and maybe the commoners will even give you a grand title, such as The Protecter of Cormyr or General of Greatness. With this title, peasants would die for you, and any enemies you have south would be destroyed by mere peasants (if not by your servents). You could get away with murder, because your "fans" would never think you would do such a thing. They would lie, pretend to be witnesses, and say you were innocent. Meanwhile (back at the ranch, lol) you are killing your enemies in the Stonelands. And setting up your theives guild in some small city or town. As an assasin you could kill higher commanders on the field of battle and say they were killed in battle to your (surviving) commanders. With them gone, you would need to be promoted to fill the gap. This would need to be done very very carefully, for if you were caught it could mean court marshall, exile, or even death. I wish I was the DM for this campaign, it would be fun dealing with assasins and nobles like this... :plotting: Best of luck
Meldread 08-10-07, 08:52 AM	Check out Markus' excellent work on the Stonelands at the link below. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=895558&page=2
Calero 08-16-07, 03:58 PM	Thank you everyone. I appreciate all the help that has been given. I have another idea that came into mind. What if I start a beggar uprising in a city? A populated city no-doubt that has a few snot-nosed nobles, just to add flair. Anywho, if i can get some beggars to start making a mess of things, It can allow moi to take advantage of the nobles' weakness during a time of peril. I will undermine their foundation and set up mine in their place. Idea good or no? Thanks for the feed back. Lord Calero
Meldread 08-16-07, 09:54 PM	I don't know, it depends on how you intend to go about carrying it out. I don't think it would be productive, though, because beggars typically do not stand up well against armed guards, something nobles can afford to hire.
godbeepit 08-16-07, 11:57 PM	One thing to be careful of is not managing too many plots at one time. All the information that has been put forward is excellent and I wish you all the best with your power-grabbing.:) But, what I would warn you is that some of the information given to you doesn't line up very well with tips someone else has suggested. For instance, one person told you to try and keep as low a profile as possible and just let everyone forget about you, whereas another encouraged you to keep up a good facade and have everybody love you. That's one of the more obvious ones, but don't do everything like you stated you would. Especially since you aren't a wizard, it will be incredibly difficult to ensure loyalty in your followers as well as manage far-reaching effects. Essentially, what will end up happening is you will end up hobbled as you rely on your staff of wizards which may decide one day that you don't deserve the position as much as a puppet they control. So while all of this is great, be careful not to overburden yourself with too many jobs as well as not relying entirely on anybody. As has been stated, don't trust anybody.
Bonzai 08-17-07, 01:16 AM	I agree. Focus on a few key plots at a time. I advocate keeping a well loved public facade, while your underworld alter ego keeps a low profile. The mob is an easy thing to win over, but a terrible thing to have unleashed. Appease the little people, and reap the awards that brings. Ride the public good will to new heights of power, but don't hesitate to use underhanded means to secure your success.
darkkage 08-18-07, 02:32 AM	Although it may already be to late, to me the best place to be a criminal isnt Cormyr, its Skullport. If you have to start a different game that would be a better place, but that is my opinion. After reading this post I can already see a villian I want to make using the ideas of this thread, imagen a skullker street kid with the leadership and mother cyst feats. My only difference with this threads ideas is that my character is a priest of Gargauth not a wizard. This is for two reasons, first is that being a skullker street urchin means that he probabley cant afford to be a wizard, and the second reason is that he would be able to command the skulking cysts better with his rebuke undead ability. Think about it, street urchin use leadership to attract the homeless in skullport then use necotic cyst on them or just walk around the city and implant drunk or uncontious people (there are a lot of those in skull port). Soon you have a large power base and command skulking cysts to implant more. You then start targeting slaves as they are moved into and out of the city. then start implanting some soilders of the two leading gangs in the city and have them start making attacks on each other and make them ripe for takeover by a puppt you implanted. You can then use slaves or street people to infect the numerus drow, drugear, and other races that will go back to their cities. With time and patience you might one day infect matrons and rule entire drow houses or cities. The same with the drugear, mind flayers, and other underdark races. Thats not all, not only is skullport a great crossroads, but it is right under WATERDEEP, imagen the power you could have if you nailed a masked lord or just a few merchent lords. My idea character so far is a NE half-drow cleric of Gargauth. If you guys have any advice before I make my character I would love to hear it. P.S. Sorry for stealing ideas off your thread Calero, but these ideas are so good I have to try them. Plus I am new to the game and have never been a "Evil" character, but now I finally have somthing to base him off of.