The Woes of Rulership

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0110

A Guest Article By Jared Hunt

Table of Contents:

[show]

To those on the outside, being the boss may seem like the best job around. Seen from the top, however, the sacrifices, responsibilities, and woes involved make being in charge a little less glamorous than it might appear. Here are just a few of the potential woes faced by people in positions of power and some tips on how you can work them into your campaign.

Constant Danger

A ruler is usually held ultimately responsible for the welfare of his kingdom and so, they face constant danger:

Foreign powers who might wish to see his lands become their own.
Rivals for power from within.
If things are not to the liking of the masses (and they usually aren’t) a leader’s own people might seek to harm him in the hopes that things will change.
In any society there are those who are “unbalanced”. These individuals pose a threat out of proportion to their numbers as they are difficult, if not impossible, to predict.

With all of these threats (and more) constantly looming over the head of the ruling individual, it is no wonder that where you find rulers, you find bodyguards.

Characters might find themselves involved at any level of this potential conflict:

Posing a threat to the ruler.
Acting as bodyguards (the protection of rulers has become such a recognized problem that many game systems offer the bodyguard, or a variant, as a PC class).
Being in the position of authority themselves.

Lack Of Privacy

Though modern tabloids are famous for offering daily updates on the doings of people in authority, this is not really a new development. News of the activities of the king, queen, mayor, etc. has always been a staple of gossip from the barroom to the knitting circle.

Some of the things you hear might even be true. Consider, however, the potential for error, particularly in the case of second, third, and fourth hand gossip. It might seem best to simply ignore such idle words, but the wise ruler knows that perception can all too soon become reality.

Dealing with privacy issues can become an obsession, leading to rulers who hide their very identity through means both mundane and magical.

PCs can become involved on either side of the issue:

Helping to protect the ruler’s privacy.
Attempting to pierce the veil of secrecy that might surround a ruler.
Assisting a stir-crazy ruler to escape for a while.

Lack Of Trust

As the old saying goes, “it’s lonely at the top”. When you’re in a position of power, it can be difficult to know who to trust. There’ll always be people who will be after your job and the benefits they perceive it to entail. This means that everyone is a potential enemy.

Every ruler must continuously ask difficult questions such as:

Are my advisors keeping my best interests in mind or are they just after my job?
Is my loving daughter approaching to embrace me, or do the folds of her gown hide a poisoned dagger?
Is this invitation to visit an old friend a welcome relief, or a trap?

Characters might become involved in the tangled web of a ruler’s mistrust in many ways:

Spying on the king’s advisors.
Being set-up to draw attention away from a disloyal subject.
Being spied upon themselves (and how will they deal with a royal spy once the PCs catch him?)

Responsibilities

A common problem faced by rulers of all types is the burden of responsibility and the decisions it forces. The common man works for his living and at the end of the day he goes home to relax. A ruler, however, remains on duty for the duration of his reign, every hour of every day.

Often, in high places, marriages are merely convenient arrangements. Passions can become squashed in the face of political pressures.

Moral responsibilities can also present a quandary for a ruler:

Is it okay to sacrifice the lives of a few for the betterment of the many?
If one must die to save ten, would you be willing?
What if the one to be sacrificed is a friend or relative?

There are few easy decisions when you are at the top. Also consider the ruler who does not wish to be one. Literature provides many examples of such cases, but one of my favourites is Perrin from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. At every turn he attempts to avoid being put in charge, but fate has other things in store.

Characters might be affected by a ruler’s responsibilities both directly or indirectly:

A character’s family dies as a result of a ruler’s decision. Will the character now take revenge for what might have been a morally sound decision?
The princess is being forced to marry against her will to seal a treaty and prevent war; will the characters aid her escape or force her to stay?
A character in a position of power must make a decision that affects many lives.
A ruler has decided he no longer wants the job and asks the characters to assist his escape.

Fear For The Future

While your average civilian certainly worries about what the future might bring, history will generally not hold him responsible for how things turn out. A ruler faces the prospect of not only shame during her lifetime, but the potential to have her misdeeds preserved for posterity.

Lines of succession are another great worry for many rulers. The birth of twins has been known to tear apart a kingdom before the children are even old enough to speak, let alone assume a throne.

A weak child might be a burden to an ordinary family but to a ruling family it might mean disaster. Advisors and rivals alike are quick to note weakness in both father and son.

Consider the implications such fears might have for characters:

The queen asks the characters to protect her incompetent son from ambitious rivals.
A mistake or misdeed must be covered up lest the reputation of the ruling family be tarnished for all time.

Keep in mind that anything that applies to kings and queens of old applies equally to modern positions of power, whether those positions are political, religious, or commercial. The CEO of a major corporation might wield equal or greater power than the ruler of a small country, and religious leaders both past and present have been known to alter history with a single proclamation.