So I'm planning this campaign where the PCs find an exiled royal family and the true heir to the throne who can usurp an evil king. Problem being, the heir is gonna be a big deal and I don't want him overshadowing the players. I'm thinking they'll be hired on as bodyguards since maybe the prince is a pacifist?? Maybe he'll be off for a while learning how to rule? The general idea is that they'll travel with him (once again this is risky as I don't want my character to be more important) and fight their way through to the palace and help him take over.
I hope I can make him likeable enough so that my idea isn't completely derailed, but I also really want to avoid railroading and making him the focus. I kinda subconsciously based him off of Martin Septim but unfortunately I never got that far into Oblivion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
make him less powerful and have him be snarky at the start saying stuff like "I don't need gaurds" then something bigger comes to kill him and he keeps the PCs as gaurds, then then start to get along and then once finally storming the castle they have became friends.
I want it so he doesn’t know he’s royalty and has to be convinced of it by the party, so maybe instead of him being snippy and rude he’s just stubborn and suspicious of their intentions?
Make the heir super weak, like so weak that they almost have to protect him, that way NONE of the glory goes to the heir and the characters feel like they're the heroes of the story.
It's sort of like the fellowship of the ring, like Frodo is important, but he literally would have died like 17 times had it not been for Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, and Legolas, and when you ask someone who's their favorite character from fellowship/lord of the rings, HARDLY anyone picks frodo. Most common answer in my history is Legolas, I'm more of a Boromir and Gimli guy myself lol
instead of him not knowing he's royalty, could it be that he simply doesn't tell anyone that he's royalty? you've gotta assume if you're the one true heir to a usurper's throne, you're going to play that very close to the chest for fear of having assassins sent after you, or having people capture and turn you in to curry favor with the king and all that.
so maybe you could get your party on the "defeat the evil king" track on their own, and then you can introduce him as an NPC who shares their goals and wants to help. This would keep the narrative focus on the party because they think he's just an ally NPC. Then, when the time is right, you can have this big reveal somewhere down the line that they've been travelling with the one true heir this whole time. Maybe he starts acting even more cautious and shady as your party gets closer to the main city/castle for fear of being recognized and your party has to figure out why. Maybe a member of the king's court spots him, setting up a big confrontation/reveal moment. I think you could get a lot of mileage out of taking this approach
instead of him not knowing he's royalty, could it be that he simply doesn't tell anyone that he's royalty? you've gotta assume if you're the one true heir to a usurper's throne, you're going to play that very close to the chest for fear of having assassins sent after you, or having people capture and turn you in to curry favor with the king and all that.
so maybe you could get your party on the "defeat the evil king" track on their own, and then you can introduce him as an NPC who shares their goals and wants to help. This would keep the narrative focus on the party because they think he's just an ally NPC. Then, when the time is right, you can have this big reveal somewhere down the line that they've been travelling with the one true heir this whole time. Maybe he starts acting even more cautious and shady as your party gets closer to the main city/castle for fear of being recognized and your party has to figure out why. Maybe a member of the king's court spots him, setting up a big confrontation/reveal moment. I think you could get a lot of mileage out of taking this approach
You also gotta be careful with that....if the group doesn't think he's important, they could let him die lol which VERY LIKELY might happen in this game. So I would NOT keep that secret for long. Maybe his secret is let out, or something, maybe he's travelling with the group, they go to a tavern where they see a wanted poster for the heir and then they pin him and question him and then he's forced to reveal it.
You could have him be a kid. The players can be both his protectors and his teachers. Have him young enough he needs help, but old enough he can learn, and take of his own general needs.
You could have him be a kid. The players can be both his protectors and his teachers. Have him young enough he needs help, but old enough he can learn, and take of his own general needs.
That's a great idea make him 7 or 6 and super cute so the players like him (no one likes seeing a 7 year-old die) and have him keep his royalty a secret because whenever he says that he is a prince evryone always calls the usurper to kill him.
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The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
He wont overshadow the players as long as he remains an occasional narrative feature. He shouldnt be with them all the while, if theres work to be done, ruins to clear, dungeons to delve, or even ancient crowns to uncover, why would he be there?
PCs can work for someone who, independantly, is more important to the plot, but usually they are facillitated by the players, and therefor their achievments are extensions of the PCs. This is fine - as long as the PCs feel important and their actions and direction arent being governed every single step of the way.
If hes unaware of his lineage, perhaps itd be better to make him a bastard commoner. This would allow him to be any age and remain clueless - or even reluctant to take on a leadership role, thus giving the PCs more room to work with, both decision and direction-wise.
If you write the narrative so that he is overwhelmed without much of a chance to react, and the PC's have to save him, that might create a nice dynamic. Basically if you keep the reins in the hands of the players by making them the more capable people that know how to act and where to go, you could keep it interesting for the players. On the other end, you could avoid him becoming a bumbling idiot by having him involved in party discussions and decisions, but then if a final decision needs to be made, defer to the party. This way, you keep control in your players hands, but make a fleshed out NPC that is competent in their own right, just not as competent as the players.
Also if you give him some fighting skills is fine, as long as you make sure he is significantly weaker than the party.
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So I'm planning this campaign where the PCs find an exiled royal family and the true heir to the throne who can usurp an evil king. Problem being, the heir is gonna be a big deal and I don't want him overshadowing the players. I'm thinking they'll be hired on as bodyguards since maybe the prince is a pacifist?? Maybe he'll be off for a while learning how to rule? The general idea is that they'll travel with him (once again this is risky as I don't want my character to be more important) and fight their way through to the palace and help him take over.
I hope I can make him likeable enough so that my idea isn't completely derailed, but I also really want to avoid railroading and making him the focus. I kinda subconsciously based him off of Martin Septim but unfortunately I never got that far into Oblivion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
make him less powerful and have him be snarky at the start saying stuff like "I don't need gaurds" then something bigger comes to kill him and he keeps the PCs as gaurds, then then start to get along and then once finally storming the castle they have became friends.
I want it so he doesn’t know he’s royalty and has to be convinced of it by the party, so maybe instead of him being snippy and rude he’s just stubborn and suspicious of their intentions?
Make the heir super weak, like so weak that they almost have to protect him, that way NONE of the glory goes to the heir and the characters feel like they're the heroes of the story.
It's sort of like the fellowship of the ring, like Frodo is important, but he literally would have died like 17 times had it not been for Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, and Legolas, and when you ask someone who's their favorite character from fellowship/lord of the rings, HARDLY anyone picks frodo. Most common answer in my history is Legolas, I'm more of a Boromir and Gimli guy myself lol
Published Subclasses
instead of him not knowing he's royalty, could it be that he simply doesn't tell anyone that he's royalty? you've gotta assume if you're the one true heir to a usurper's throne, you're going to play that very close to the chest for fear of having assassins sent after you, or having people capture and turn you in to curry favor with the king and all that.
so maybe you could get your party on the "defeat the evil king" track on their own, and then you can introduce him as an NPC who shares their goals and wants to help. This would keep the narrative focus on the party because they think he's just an ally NPC. Then, when the time is right, you can have this big reveal somewhere down the line that they've been travelling with the one true heir this whole time. Maybe he starts acting even more cautious and shady as your party gets closer to the main city/castle for fear of being recognized and your party has to figure out why. Maybe a member of the king's court spots him, setting up a big confrontation/reveal moment. I think you could get a lot of mileage out of taking this approach
"To die would be an awfully big adventure"
You also gotta be careful with that....if the group doesn't think he's important, they could let him die lol which VERY LIKELY might happen in this game. So I would NOT keep that secret for long. Maybe his secret is let out, or something, maybe he's travelling with the group, they go to a tavern where they see a wanted poster for the heir and then they pin him and question him and then he's forced to reveal it.
Published Subclasses
You could have him be a kid. The players can be both his protectors and his teachers. Have him young enough he needs help, but old enough he can learn, and take of his own general needs.
These are all fantastic suggestions; thank you!!!
I really like the secret heir/wanted poster idea, that seems really cool
That's a great idea make him 7 or 6 and super cute so the players like him (no one likes seeing a 7 year-old die) and have him keep his royalty a secret because whenever he says that he is a prince evryone always calls the usurper to kill him.
The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
He wont overshadow the players as long as he remains an occasional narrative feature. He shouldnt be with them all the while, if theres work to be done, ruins to clear, dungeons to delve, or even ancient crowns to uncover, why would he be there?
PCs can work for someone who, independantly, is more important to the plot, but usually they are facillitated by the players, and therefor their achievments are extensions of the PCs. This is fine - as long as the PCs feel important and their actions and direction arent being governed every single step of the way.
If hes unaware of his lineage, perhaps itd be better to make him a bastard commoner. This would allow him to be any age and remain clueless - or even reluctant to take on a leadership role, thus giving the PCs more room to work with, both decision and direction-wise.
He grew up in a matriarchal society and doesn't believe that he's even eligible to rule.
If you write the narrative so that he is overwhelmed without much of a chance to react, and the PC's have to save him, that might create a nice dynamic. Basically if you keep the reins in the hands of the players by making them the more capable people that know how to act and where to go, you could keep it interesting for the players. On the other end, you could avoid him becoming a bumbling idiot by having him involved in party discussions and decisions, but then if a final decision needs to be made, defer to the party. This way, you keep control in your players hands, but make a fleshed out NPC that is competent in their own right, just not as competent as the players.
Also if you give him some fighting skills is fine, as long as you make sure he is significantly weaker than the party.