[Raine]

I am a developing Dungeon Master and I wanted to try my hand at subtlety and intrigue. I have a basic idea that is simple enough to work off of. (Similar to a guild war only with noble houses and merchant princes). Any tips and help would be super cool, thanks alot!

[Dthclaw]

Well, if you post what you're thinking of doing we can provide you with ideas and possibilities. Otherwise, we don't have much basis to work on... we can help flesh out and mutate ideas, but flat out generating them is problematic when another person's nuances are involved

Otherwise, welcome to the boards.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Tip #1 - acquire a copy of Dynasties and Demagogues: The Sourcebook of Political Intrigue by Chriss Aylott, Atlas Games 2003.

There is a lot of useful stuff in that as far as RP details, and game structure is concerned. Realize that you will need to flesh out proper etiquette, ranks, at least one entire govenerment, and the political and economic climate on a local, national, and internation scale.

You will also want a LOT of NPCs fully fleshed out with with well-defined interrelationships, motives, pet peeves, etc.

[Raine]

Well, this will be a long post. Realize MOST of this is based loosely off of an entry in the Forgotten Realms Campaign. Also, I will be getting the Dynasties and Demagogues, since that seems to be the way to go with intrigue Tnx for the tip!

By Steel and Fire
For 34 years, King Azoun Obarskyr IV and his Royal Magician, Vanderdahast maintained peace and developed Cormyr with a skill unseen in all of Toril. Though never as rich as its neighbor, Sembia, Cormyr was envied for its strength and security. Under King Azoun Obarskyr IV, Cormyr's Western marches were settled in earnest, and territory disputes were rebuffed time and again by the King's wisdom. Unfortunately, the peace ended 2 years before Azoun IV's heroic death. Trouble began to brew along Cormyr's borders: orcs and goblins began to invade in numbers not seen in Cormyr for centuries, and old foes of the Obarskyr line, the ghazneths (magic-draining, winged creatures of great power), tore at the realm.
Cormyr roused itself for war, but was met with defeat on every occasion. Goblin castles arose in the north, and Vangerdahast was seriously injured while single-handedly toppling one with destructive might. To make matters worse, the Ghazneths were joined in the skies by a huge wyrm, the "Devil Dragon," Nalavarauthatoryl the Red. Enraged, the King and his daughter, princess Alusair, (Named by her men as The Steel Princess) decided to take up their arms. Though both lead their armies with bravery and courage against the goblinkin, Cormyr kept losing land to defeat after defeat.
In response to Cormyr's retaliation, the goblinkin made a bold move to take Arabel, a bustling metropolis, unable to defend itself against the onslaught. Only Vangerdahast's speed and skill allowed the entire city's populous to evacuate to Suzail by means of a powerful magical ritual. Suzail, though, was no better off, with the Ghazneths screeching through the sky in packs that would slaughter hundreds of Purple Dragon Knights and War Wizards. Nobles committed outright treason and openly defied the Crown Princess Tanalasta, making it very obvious that many among the nobles no longer felt any loyalty to the crown beyond their personal respect for Azoun.
By the end of the crises, the Devil Dragon and Azoun IV had slain each other on the battlefield, along with the realms mightiest warriors, officials, soldiers, War Wizards, and the highest nobility. Crown Princess Tanalasta defeated the Ghazneths, but died soon after in childbirth, giving the land a new heir: the infant Azoun V.
Today, the political climate is more stable in Cormyr, but what remains is a shaky balance maintained by the newly named Regent: Steel Regent of Cormyr, Princess Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr. Among her advisors are the Dowager (widowed) Queen Filfaeril and Battle-Sorceress Caladnei (elected by the prior Royal Magician Vangerdahast, too injured to continue his job). The question in this kind of situation is this: who has it right?
In By Steel and Fire, the nobles have begun to split into powerful factions. In addition, a few Sembian Merchant Princes have a lecherous interest in Cormyr so as to affect the country's affairs. A Player Character affects the course of history, as well as how each faction will fare throughout the game. Their influence is not the only thing that is shaping the fate of Cormyr, but that of the Non Player Characters. That is right; a number of other powerful figures will be active behind the scenes. Will you back a noble house to bring about revolution? Perhaps the Regent will have a problem with that, but I'm sure that other allied houses will be more than happy to bring down the family's millennia-long reign. Likewise if your interests are in that of money and trade, the Sembian Merchant Princes will shower you will gold if you can do what their agents cannot. Lastly, perhaps Regent Alusair is noble in her cause to continue on with the family line and rule. A royal asset who is on your side would certainly reward to maintain peace and bring justice to those who have been wronged.
This Campaign has the potential to be a multi-team game, with Player Characters in direct opposition of each other, or in allegiance of arms. All that remains is your choices, and that there will be many. What follows is a campaign primer, which will be supplementary reading. Failure to read this will not only rob you of a lot of the intrigue, but could allow you to make a fatal mistake. Likewise, those who read each side of the rebellion are likely to get an overarching feel for where things will go in the storyline.
5 Noble Houses, 2 Sembian Merchant Princes, 1 Regent Alusair
Eveningfall (elven), Nightingale (Human Conservatives), Amalith (Half-Elven/Human Liberals), Greycastle (Cormanthor Newcomers), Bersk (Human Moderates)
The Nightingale Family:
This family has long, deep roots in Cormyr. Since they have been in Cormyr since shortly after the country was founded, their influence has affected many of the current policies in Cormyr. Coincidently, they were the family to lose the most in the battles against goblinkin and the Devil Dragon.
The Nightingale Family seeks reparations from the Regent Aulair, and therefore wants to maintain the family line. They are far from allies, so neither provides any support, but The Nightingale Family actively thwarts the other families’ plans to dethrone the Regent and Heir.
All Player Character classes are used by the Nightingale Family, since their missions are Counter Operations. They may require the subterfuge of a rogue, the strength of a barbarian, the blessing of a cleric, or the spell-weaving of an arcanist. The family specializes in smithing (they were the armorers of Cormyrs infancy), and as such, they will often give rewards of metal. A unique weapon that the family has refined is the two-bladed sword, and is used by every member of the family. Those who prove themselves valuable to the Nightingale Family are gifted with this dangerous weapon.
Allies: Smithing Guild (20% off crafting price when in Suzail)
Adventurer’s Guild (Item loans of up to 2,000 X PC Level)
Merchant Prince Amblecrown (Free Transportation When on Mission)

Enemies: Evenfall, Amalith, Greycastle, and Bersk Families
Merchant Prince Jassan
People of Interest:

Malos Nightingale: This is the current leader of the Nightingale Family. He is the previous leader’s nephew and never expected to be thrust into his current position. Malos is brash and quick to anger, and wants The Steel Regent to pay for his family’s near extinction. He shows much promise in the Two-Bladed Sword and is unafraid of wielding it on those who cross him, including his fellow Cormyrians.

Tess Nightingale: The widowed wife of the Nightingale Family’s previous leader. She has been reclusive since her husband’s death, but is occasionally seen taking walks with Malos late into the night.

I do apologize for any grammer problems and spelling errors, but that should give you an idea of where I want this to go. Any help will be useful.

[Dthclaw]

So... are you looking for where to begin? What direction to take from a certain beginning point? I'm still not sure what you're after :/

[Rintaran]

Alright, so the PCs are looking for some weapon upgrades right? Well, these allies of the Nightingale Family, the smithing guild, offer them some discounts if they "run a few little errands" for them. These errands are drops that the Nightingale family is using to manouevre one of the other families into accusing the Regent, or someone the regent trusts indefinitely of something underhanded. The individual accused can be the person that has been advising the Regent not to make reparations to the Nightingale family for their losses.

Now, while the individual is removed from their post, temporarily, the Nightingale family, and those they manipulated, gain some measure of influence as the one detracting from them is no longer whispering in the Regent's ears. However, a full investigation is ordered, and the heads of the Nightingale family take it upon themselves to hire "the best and brightest" to uncover the truth behind this: the PCs. The PCs can then be manipulated to find proof that the dirty individuals are the ones that made the accusations (through discovered letters, bed-side snooping, romantic encounters, seduction, bluffs, etc). Once you begin to near the end of that arc, the accusing family suffers a major blow to reputation (possibly turning outlaw) while the Nightingale's endure a major boost (as their one detractor who whispered in the ears of the Regent now thanks them for their help in clearing his/her name).

From there, you can easily snowball in any direction you please. By this point, the PCs should be so wrapped up in the various intrigues, seductions, and undercurrents (including back-biting within each particular faction based on where the allegiances may lie), that you could run this quite well, for quite a long time...

Just a few ideas that you may want to work with... I'm sure something will be tangible enough for you to use.

[Raine]

Thank you for that wonderful example Rintaran! I can see where my brain has been "Slash/Hackified" because I started thinking about how I would change it. But if I just follow it exactly and just add flavor, I could begin to emulate how I should think. I think I will try that! Emulation is the first step to self-sufficiency > : D. I'll post anything else on here in case anyone would like to see where I'm going with this. But I'm currently deployed over seas, so I don't get much time right now. Tnx again!

[Raven Bloodmoon]

When it comes to finding whacked out, screwed up, overly-complicated plots, nothing beats real life. Look up some of intrigues from the middle ages, dark ages, anything from the Vatican, even through today.

Something Red said to me the other day really struck me as funny. You can take a real world country, change all the names and dates of its history and have a far deeper, more fantastic setting than anything I've seen published to date. He used the example of France. Conquered by a world-spanning empire, is attacked by a foreign power, rebels and destroys the great empire as well as its enemy. Is later attacked by its old enemy. Gets embroiled in a hundred-year war, has a general caliming to be sent by God lead a devstating campaign against an enemy, is later conquered by its first enemy and rescued by its allies twice. Legends and conspiracy theorists speak of its royal line tracing its heretage to the supposed son of a deity. Is one possible resting place for one of the greatest artifacts in the world's history. The list goes on and on.

Point is, look up some of the screwed up things that really have happenned. Change the names and dates. You have an intrigue-laced court. Look up some of the chinese political games if you really want your head to burst, and chances are, your players aren't even familiar with them, so you won't risk anyone figuring out yoru dark secret.

[MishRaKhan]

I would create charaters that were hard and mean on the outside that the PC's deal with that were actualy the good guys. Pleasant and freindly characters that were actualy bad guys to begin with. There would always have to be people behind the villians all the way up the ladder.