Greetings!

Throughout history and mythology, people everywhere have believed that a special group of people were blessed by the gods, and possessed the divine anointing to rule as absolute monarchs, and sometimes as God-Kings. More or less. Goddess Queens as well.

In the fantasy world, how much have you developed such a divinely-anointed group of people? Do you have monarchs ruling that are blessed by the gods?

Of course, things can get really interesting when Player Characters rise to the throne and become the ruler, whether they are Kings or Queens.

I've had several Player Characters become rulers of their own realms in my campaigns through the years. It was especially interesting when one of my players--her character married a great Prince, heir to the throne--and afterwards, she became the Queen of the Vallorean Empire. That development--and realization--her coming to grips with facing that--was hilarious, and absolutely EPIC! In many ways, she shut her the fuck down from it all. It took her a whole week to recover, and get her thoughts in order. *Laughing* She was "Gobsmacked" from it all. On one hand, she was thrilled and exhilarated from achieving such absolute status and power--while also being profoundly terrified--at the implications, the scope, the constant and overwhelming demands of political and even spiritual rulership, leadership, and authority.

How have your Players encountered or dealt with royal rulership?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

They kill them and take their stuff.

The best part is when the PC's meet their older more powerful PC's and realize what tyrannical dicks they've become and now want to kill them for the same reasons they played them to begin with.

Circle of Life and all that jazz.

  Closest was one of the noble blooded characters was awarded land and title by a grateful Baron (he was already of noble birth, but was a 3rd son, and in my Aquilonia, he gets a small income and his starting gear, but not lands and inheritance) he and the group had done some major favors for.  He also attracted a company of professional soldiers and many of the former staff of the manor and castle (a badly worn structure) and is now in the process of restoring the Castle and wondering what role he will fill should the King call out to the nobles for service.  The player was surprised a bit when this was offered, as they were promised a great reward, the Baron was a bit low on cash and heavy on land with the recent passing of a childless noble, so he made the offer with a promise that the player and his group would serve a less than usual form of vassalage and be at the ready should the Baron need special skills to get something done, and would only be pressed to normal military service/duty under emergency circumstances.

  I came to this as a reward because this group has managed to last through some pretty heinous situations I put them into (we use GURPS, and it is Conan's world as a setting, so there is very little to no fast healing available) and keep all their body parts and stay alive.   Some of the die rolls at the most tense times have come out amazing (there is a Cimmerian who is damn near un killable, in as much for the player's ability to hit a critical or great damage roll in situations that are literally do or die) and after a years in the campaign and consistent adventures in the border town they are in, it made sense.   Technically Conan is still not king yet...so I guess if the newly risen lord were to try to work his way up he could, but the players also know that is going to open a nest of vipers (court intrigue and backstabbing) they may not be equipped to deal with (Draghr, evil sorcerers, and giant snakes are more in their wheel house).

Quote from: Ghostmaker on March 21, 2022, 08:15:59 AM
They kill them and take their stuff.

What is best in life?

Kill your enemies.
Take their stuff.
And to hear the lamentations of the DM.

Quote from: SHARK on March 20, 2022, 06:27:44 PM
Greetings!

Throughout history and mythology, people everywhere have believed that a special group of people were blessed by the gods, and possessed the divine anointing to rule as absolute monarchs, and sometimes as God-Kings. More or less. Goddess Queens as well.

In the fantasy world, how much have you developed such a divinely-anointed group of people? Do you have monarchs ruling that are blessed by the gods?

Let's talk rulers empowered by the Gods, with some spark of the divine. I will, once again, stan for one of the best written RPG supplements out there, The Primal Order by Peter Adkison. Avail on DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118293/The-Primal-Order

If you want rulers who have the power of the Divine, make them Demigods, as per The Primal Order, and watch the fun. It's GREAT.

They can throw up shields such that no non-Primal weapon can hurt the Demigod until they chop through the shield, can fire a burst of Primal energy that can cut through every kind of defense, can duplicate spell effects using Primal, and so forth.

Being blessed by the gods would give them a huge boost above mere mortals.

Also, you could give them levels in Cleric, or whatever the local equivalent in your preferred system is.

Quote from: Daddy Warpig on April 07, 2022, 04:50:48 PM

Quote from: SHARK on March 20, 2022, 06:27:44 PM
Greetings!

Throughout history and mythology, people everywhere have believed that a special group of people were blessed by the gods, and possessed the divine anointing to rule as absolute monarchs, and sometimes as God-Kings. More or less. Goddess Queens as well.

In the fantasy world, how much have you developed such a divinely-anointed group of people? Do you have monarchs ruling that are blessed by the gods?

Let's talk rulers empowered by the Gods, with some spark of the divine. I will, once again, stan for one of the best written RPG supplements out there, The Primal Order by Peter Adkison. Avail on DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118293/The-Primal-Order

If you want rulers who have the power of the Divine, make them Demigods, as per The Primal Order, and watch the fun. It's GREAT.

They can throw up shields such that no non-Primal weapon can hurt the Demigod until they chop through the shield, can fire a burst of Primal energy that can cut through every kind of defense, can duplicate spell effects using Primal, and so forth.

Being blessed by the gods would give them a huge boost above mere mortals.

Also, you could give them levels in Cleric, or whatever the local equivalent in your preferred system is.

Greetings!

YES! I have that book, The Primal Order, too! Excellent book. It bursts with inspiring ideas and like a huge buffet table filled with all kinds of neat details to add to the game world.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: SHARK on March 20, 2022, 06:27:44 PM
In the fantasy world, how much have you developed such a divinely-anointed group of people? Do you have monarchs ruling that are blessed by the gods?

Quote from: SHARK on March 20, 2022, 06:27:44 PM
How have your Players encountered or dealt with royal rulership?

My current campaign is Incan-inspired fantasy, and while it is not historical, something it keeps is that the emperor is divinely appointed by Inti. He doesn't personally have godlike powers, but has a great deal of power (matching high-level adventurers) as well as divine guidance. Also, upon the death of his mortal body, he is mummified and stays around to give continued guidance from his palace-tomb.

The PCs are all agents of one of the past emperors, which gives them enough authority to go troubleshooting without being part of the traditional power structure (which extends from the current emperor). The campaign hasn't been very involved in imperial politics as the action has been out in the provinces. However, I have had one PC who is a princess, which has made cause to discuss the issues more.