Encounters during a civil war

[Jay R]

In the game I’m currently running, the party will soon be moving through a very large (empire-sized) civil war. I’m looking for encounters, sub-plots and obstacles as they try to get through it. The war isn't part of their quest; it's just in the way.

Here are some particulars:

This is the Broken World. Its creation was … interfered with. Most of the time, it has almost no magic. When the magic returns, it’s not really controlled. It gets more and more dangerous, having chaotic effects with the weather, causing civilizations to crumble, bringing monsters in from other planes, etc. Things are bad now, and are only going to get worse.

They are ninth level characters. They will be tenth or eleventh by the time they get through the civil war. They do not have access to teleportation, and couldn’t use it if they did. [They don’t really know where they are going.] They actually have to go through the war.

The emperor died twenty years ago, and the civil war started not long afterwards. The PCs are from the edge of the empire, and the civil war really never affected where they were until about five years ago.

5½ years ago, the PCs, as first levels, accidentally brought the magic back. Because they were present at that moment, it is barely possible that, if they find the five great artifacts of creation, and if they grow powerful enough, then they, and they alone, could complete the world’s creation and stabilize magic on the world.

Five years ago they got involved in the western province. This involved a political adventure in which they brokered a deal that led to Merey’s (the PC) father running food into the war-torn Medoc province. It has been lucrative for all three sides in the deal.

Whatever’s been going on since then, the PCs don’t know about it. They were stuck in another plane for six weeks, during which five years elapsed on their homeworld.

They will begin by going through the Medoc province. They have some high-level contacts there (with whom they made the deal), but it’s been five years. Those contacts could be in charge, exiled, long dead, or arrested for treason – whatever serves the story.

I could easily have them meet Merey’s father if I need to tell the PCs some crucial fact or history.

Except for providing more chaos and trouble, the civil war has no connection to the PCs’ story. It’s just there to provide more problems for them, and to deny them a large, powerful government to turn to for help. So any encounters or subplots don’t need to connect.

So, any ideas? I need to provide difficult and threatening situations for them. Difficult and threatening situations are a DM’s stock in trade.

[KorvinStarmast]

1. Commodity shortages/rationing: PCs try to help town/city deal with the lack of wood/iron/grain/water.

2. Refugee flows. Roads and byways clogged up with refugees/people fleeing war, which makes them vulnerable to bandits, various hungry monsters, a dragon with a bad attitude.

3. A dragon. Treat the dragon (adult or ancient, your choice) as an apex predator but with the intelligence of a wizard. Their hunting ground/territory is probably a 50 mile radius (possibly higher) from their lair. The war / conflict is moving into their area, their domain, and they will react. One of the two warring factions needs to get the dragon to not waste their columns of troops/camps ... so the party is sent to work a deal. The dragon may exact a high price, or may be in a terrible mood and slay humanoid who gets close. Risky, but possible payoff with a successful dea/allowance of passage for a price/donation/something.

4. Same as above, but one of the factions wants to try and get the dragon to fight for their side, or aid them. PCs hired to work a deal.

5. Plague/ epidemic.

6. Battle: choose to join, try to stop, or simply go around. This can be presented in a myriad of ways.

7. Can't travel on horseback; all horses have been commandeered for the duke's cavalry.

At level 9, your PCs probably need to deal with extra planar infiltrators more than mundane problems:
Aberrations (star spawn, githzerai) bands who end up in the area.
Demons, devils, devas and fey who come through the planar cracks or were summoned by one of the factions in the civil war.

8. There is a weapon one of the sides wants but it's somewhere heavily guarded or inaccessible: hire the PCs to head into Shadowfell/Feywild/Void/Dragon's Lair to retrieve the weapon so that this party wins (or so they believe.) Great way to integrate an Artifact into the campaign.

9. One side just made a deal with the Stone Giant clan to fight on their side. PC mission: stop this one way or the other: negotiation or battle, what have you ....

10. The Duke or Prince just died in combat. Massive power struggle among his relations and followers insofar as who takes the seat now. Party gets entangled in this (related to a PC?) and you lean into some political intrigue with time pressure: the enemy army is marching on the capital, and unless this power struggle gets sorted out the army can't be assembled and led to stop them ...

In general, based on your description:

11. Wild Magic goes off frequently when PCs cast a spell, given how you have magic being unstable in the campaign at this point.
Take the Wand of Wonder table, and whenever a PC casts a spell there is a percentage chance based on spell level that an additoinal effet happens: wand of wonder thing goes off (roll percentilet to see which one).

a. If you cast a cantrip, no probss.
b. If, for example, you cast a 3rd level spell a percentile roll of 3 or less induces a wild magic surge. For a fifth level spell, percentile roll of 5 or less.

Have occasional reports of wild magic going off reach the party's ears.

[Unoriginal]

In the game I’m currently running, the party will soon be moving through a very large (empire-sized) civil war. I’m looking for encounters, sub-plots and obstacles as they try to get through it. The war isn't part of their quest; it's just in the way.

Here are some particulars:

This is the Broken World. Its creation was … interfered with. Most of the time, it has almost no magic. When the magic returns, it’s not really controlled. It gets more and more dangerous, having chaotic effects with the weather, causing civilizations to crumble, bringing monsters in from other planes, etc. Things are bad now, and are only going to get worse.

They are ninth level characters. They will be tenth or eleventh by the time they get through the civil war. They do not have access to teleportation, and couldn’t use it if they did. [They don’t really know where they are going.] They actually have to go through the war.

The emperor died twenty years ago, and the civil war started not long afterwards. The PCs are from the edge of the empire, and the civil war really never affected where they were until about five years ago.

5½ years ago, the PCs, as first levels, accidentally brought the magic back. Because they were present at that moment, it is barely possible that, if they find the five great artifacts of creation, and if they grow powerful enough, then they, and they alone, could complete the world’s creation and stabilize magic on the world.

Five years ago they got involved in the western province. This involved a political adventure in which they brokered a deal that led to Merey’s (the PC) father running food into the war-torn Medoc province. It has been lucrative for all three sides in the deal.

Whatever’s been going on since then, the PCs don’t know about it. They were stuck in another plane for six weeks, during which five years elapsed on their homeworld.

They will begin by going through the Medoc province. They have some high-level contacts there (with whom they made the deal), but it’s been five years. Those contacts could be in charge, exiled, long dead, or arrested for treason – whatever serves the story.

I could easily have them meet Merey’s father if I need to tell the PCs some crucial fact or history.

Except for providing more chaos and trouble, the civil war has no connection to the PCs’ story. It’s just there to provide more problems for them, and to deny them a large, powerful government to turn to for help. So any encounters or subplots don’t need to connect.

So, any ideas? I need to provide difficult and threatening situations for them. Difficult and threatening situations are a DM’s stock in trade.

After 20 years, it's gonna be less of a civil war and more the now independant pieces of a crumbled, lost empire fighting each others.

As in, there are people fighting in the conflict who are too young to remember when the empire was around and when the people they're fighting were part of the same country as them.

In general, it means that it's going to be a lot of smaller nations all either claiming they should be in charge or resisting when another nation tells them "I'm in charge".

The scars of war are likely still visible, especially the magical ones from five years ago, but they'd be scars, not open wounds.

[Duff]

Broken families.
Ghosts who were killed by family
Relatives who are on opposite sides and need help rescuing/reuniting/avenging/killing or making peace offerings to those on other sides
And family being involved makes it all more emotional, less rational and less predictable

[GloatingSwine]

After 20 years, it's gonna be less of a civil war and more the now independant pieces of a crumbled, lost empire fighting each others.

Not necessarily.

A civil war can brew for a long time, with periods where it looks like it's over and then suddenly it isn't when the person who looks like they're on top dies without succession or thinks they've established some kind of working regime that subsequently collapses due to another ambitious contender.

The waning days of the Roman republic was pretty much an on-again-off-again civil war for about 60 years from Sulla's coup up to the crowning of Augustus.

[Unoriginal]

Not necessarily.

A civil war can brew for a long time, with periods where it looks like it's over and then suddenly it isn't when the person who looks like they're on top dies without succession or thinks they've established some kind of working regime that subsequently collapses due to another ambitious contender.

The waning days of the Roman republic was pretty much an on-again-off-again civil war for about 60 years from Sulla's coup up to the crowning of Augustus.

True, but there's a big difference between "people are fighting for who's in charge of a mostly still-holding government in control a mostly intact territory" like for the Roman Republic's last days and "ruler of the territory died, the government splintered, and the fractured shards have been at odd since" like after the deaths of Alexander or Charlemagne.

I could be wrong, but to me it seems like OP's setting is more in the second case.

[GloatingSwine]

Given that OP wants the civil war to be an ongoing factor after 20 years, it seems reasonable to find narrative where that can be the case, instead of insisting that it wouldn't be.

Which is reasonably exemplified by the 1st century BC Roman Republic (which was functionally already an empire in all but name in terms of how Rome related to the provinces). Rising claimants and ideals which each spend a little time on top before being thrown aside or murdered without anyone establishing a stable succession, but with enough overall unity for the big prize to still be up for grabs rather than overall fragmentation.

Which informs the sort of ideals and levers the characters they interact with might have (even if they're using those levers or fuelling their ideals for an orthogonal goal of fixing the world, if the political landscape is important enough to be worth mentioning then it should ask questions about who they want to deal with along the way). Ambitious claimants, usurpers, staunch defenders of a rightful successor, or revanchists looking for a return to an earlier time of stability for the Empire irrespective of the bum in the seat might all crop up.

[Unoriginal]

Given that OP wants the civil war to be an ongoing factor after 20 years, it seems reasonable to find narrative where that can be the case, instead of insisting that it wouldn't be.

OP did not say that they wanted the civil war to be exactly the same as the day it started, just still ongoing.

Saying that in 20 years people would have settled into a new status quo where power players have secured holdings isn't "insisting that it wouldn't be".

Which is reasonably exemplified by the 1st century BC Roman Republic (which was functionally already an empire in all but name in terms of how Rome related to the provinces). Rising claimants and ideals which each spend a little time on top before being thrown aside or murdered without anyone establishing a stable succession, but with enough overall unity for the big prize to still be up for grabs rather than overall fragmentation.

The thing is that such a situation means that *most* of the empire remains in "business as usual" mode, with sometime a wave of assassinations, a couple towns getting burned as example or some armies clashing when things get heated.

That is much more different from what OP presented that what I mentioned, I think.

Ambitious claimants, usurpers, staunch defenders of a rightful successor, or revanchists looking for a return to an earlier time of stability for the Empire irrespective of the bum in the seat might all crop up.

This is true.

There will likely also be:

- Weapon merchants
- Mercenaries
- Leaders trying to carve out their own piece of the land
- "Everything is fine" head-in-the-sandists
- Religious authorities supporting opposite sides and threatening/undergoing a schism
- Religious authorities providing stability (and acquiring power by doing so, even if it's not their goal)
- Idealistic revolutionaries gunning for maximum change ("idealistic" not meaning "has benevolent intention or methods", but "has strong ideals")
- Ancient entities who are confused, upset or excited by the changes in the status quo
- Newly created/emerging entities who are confused, upset or excited about the previous
- Representatives of new and old philosophies, rising and declining depending on the events
- Scholars of various ilks who are either a) trying to secure their (and their knowledge's) safety until the troubles die down b) waiting to see where the coin lands to back the victor c) oblivious to how fragile their situation is d) actively working to make one side or the other win
- Social outcasts and oppressed minorities seeing the situation either as a new danger to deal with or as an opportunity, if not both
- Foreign nations looking at the former empire's situation and making their moves, especially if the empire was hindering them and now it's too broken to stop what they were doing before.

[Jay R]

Thank you everybody for your comments and ideas. Even the ones that don’t match my vision of what’s going on are expanding the possibilities.

And it's my fault that some of your ideas don't match my vision; I haven't communicated the state of the Broken world sufficiently. I'll try again:

Spoiler: some more information

Show

It was an extremely large empire. The emperor died 25 years ago. But that didn’t really effect the westernmost province where the PCs came from. They didn’t even know that the emperor was dead until after the game started about five years ago. [And I'm not sure if the PCs know it yet.]

Twenty-five or so years ago, a governor at the very edge of the empire was rising up and claiming independence. A military unit was sent to deal with it. Their orders were to put down the rebellion and take charge. All the older officers died, and Angmar, the newest officer, managed to take over, and appointed himself provisional governor. He sent word back to the capital, but has not heard anything since. He rules the province in the emperor's name, but is for all practical purposes independent. But he was a new officer and had no experience or training in leadership. Angmar is essentially all the government there is in that province. I have a barely competent leader incapable of dealing with the growing chaos in place for the same reason that Cornelius Fudge was the Minister of Magic in Harry Potter – so the PCs will get all the adventures.

Five years ago the magic came back, and it is uncontrolled. Monsters and people from magical races are appearing from other worlds. Chaos (in the common English sense, not the D&D alignment sense) is breaking out all over.

The PCs took part in a minor political problem, in which they negotiated a treaty with the rulers of Medoc (the next province in), to bring them caravans of food regularly. The father of a PC is in charge of the caravans, and they are guarded by some young casters that the PCs managed to befriend. [Related question: what level should five years of caravan guarding bring you to, in a war and an age of chaos? They were 2nd level untrained casters when they first appeared.]

Five families are vying for the empire, and they all know that if they lose now, they and their entire families will be put to death. “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

The party are in the western province, and will be heading into the heart of the empire. They know very few details about the chaos there (although they alone know why the chaos is growing worldwide).

So no, there is not a new relative calm as people adjust to the new normal. No matter how calm it was yesterday, bulettes may tunnel up into the middle of your town, or a tribe of dwarves or gnolls might appears nearby, needing a home. Even if nothing happened at or near your village, you may be overrun with refugees from the town where it did happen. There is not enough food, even with Merey’s father’s caravans.

There is no “business as usual” mode. Even without a civil war, things would be falling apart. The PCs’ sleepy little village has had fissures open up in the ground attacks from undead, grimlocks, trolls, goblins, orcs, a few magical beasts, a flesh golem, and has recently been taken over by doppelgangers. There is no relative calm anywhere.

Usually, in an Age of Magic (also called an Age of Chaos), civilization collapses completely. That’s what will happen over the next few years, unless the PCs manage to create an actual miracle – not a 9th level spell, but something that should be beyond the reach of mortals.

I know the general condition of the world, where it’s going, and what handbasket it’s in. What I’m looking for is specific encounters.

Again, thank you for all your thoughts. Some of them may wind up happening elsewhere, and even the ones I can’t use are opening up more thoughts in my mind.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

• Band of deserters.
• Faction A took a person of personal or political importance to Faction B hostage and the PCs have to rescue said hostage in return for aid. Bonus points for magical phenomena of some sort occurring halfway through the rescue attempt which can help/hinder/distract the PCs.
• Two factions are attempting to broker a marriage alliance to gain an advantage over their neighbors and the PCs are called upon to assist (prevent things from going pear-shaped due to assassination, smooth things over during talks, prevent runaway bride and/or groom etc.) or interfere depending on which side reaches out to them. Or maybe they haven’t been contacted by any of the factions involved, they just find out one of the items they need is part of the dowry and they have to find a way to obtain it.
• Something of importance - a historical item, a person with important knowledge, even just a needed wagon of food - is in the path of one or more armies and is likely to be destroyed if not retrieved quickly (think Monuments Men).
• A town’s well has been poisoned.
• A local lord went all Vlad Tepes and made a ‘forest’ of impaled bodies to send a message to a rival. Then two or more predatory magical whatsits showed up to scavenge and are fighting over it.
• All the thatched roofing in a given town turned into flocks of birds.
• Any metal items brought into a certain area gradually turn into clay.
• ’End of the world is nigh’ cult.

Also you’ve probably considered this already, but if it’s been five years the PCs’ family and friends should probably be surprised to see them still alive.

[Sapphire Guard]

A small time bandit suddenly develops magical abilities and becomes a bigger problem. Adventurers expecting an encounter with the usual three bandits level one encounter discover that they are still level 1 bandits but have high level spells. (Wild magic?)

A random miller/blacksmith etc uses magic to make a really successful business, which becomes valuable enough that one of the factions wants it, and the PCs are either seizing it or defending it.

Local fortune teller suddenly gets accurate visions, has to make a break for it.

[Duff]

A small time bandit.

I'm imagining a halfling who steals time.

But more seriously, good suggestions

[Sapphire Guard]

That too. It's all very confusing.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'm imagining a halfling who steals time.

Or a movie ... by Michael Palin.

Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy adventure film co-written, produced, and directed by Terry Gilliam.
It stars Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Richardson, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Peter Vaughan and David Warner.
The film tells the story of a young boy taken on an adventure through time with a band of thieves who plunder treasure from various points in history. {Played by midgets in the original film}

In 1979, Terry Gilliam was unable to set up the film Brazil, therefore proposed a family film. Time Bandits was co-written with fellow Monty Python Michael Palin, financed by ex-Beatle George Harrison's HandMade Films and filmed in England, Morocco and Wales. The film was released in cinemas on 2 July 1981 in the United Kingdom and on 6 November 1981 in the United States. On its initial release, the film received mainly positive reviews from critics, opening at number one at the weekend box office in the US and Canada, and, by the end of its run, grossing $36 million on a budget of $5 million. {I saw it when it came out and enjoyed it very much

[gbaji]

Or a movie ... by Michael Palin.

That was exactly what I thought when I read "a small time bandit". Great film IMO. The map they had actually inspired a similar object in my own game.

[Jay R]

Lots of great ideas. Thanks.

Also you’ve probably considered this already, but if it’s been five years the PCs’ family and friends should probably be surprised to see them still alive.

Yes, indeed. Worse than that, they are known to be dead. Five years ago, they were briefly the rulers of the village of Drachenheim. They very publicly rode out to stop some threatening monsters. Their horses returned alone. [That was when they were transported to the Feywilde.]

They are about to ride into Drachenheim, where they are certain to be recognized. They expect an enthusiastic welcome.

Meanwhile, some magic near Drachenheim has been raising the dead in nearby cemeteries, and Drachenheim has been attacked by lots of undead lately -- by their own dead.

The PCs will certainly get an enthusiastic reaction.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Yes, indeed. Worse than that, they are known to be dead. Five years ago, they were briefly the rulers of the village of Drachenheim. They very publicly rode out to stop some threatening monsters. Their horses returned alone. [That was when they were transported to the Feywilde.]

They are about to ride into Drachenheim, where they are certain to be recognized. They expect an enthusiastic welcome.

Meanwhile, some magic near Drachenheim has been raising the dead in nearby cemeteries, and Drachenheim has been attacked by lots of undead lately -- by their own dead.

The PCs will certainly get an enthusiastic reaction.

Oh dear. Sounds like fun!

On the subject of undead:

• All the horse, cow etc., remains at the local tannery have risen and overrun the place.
• Any items of leather or bone make sounds as they did in life, leading to things like rabbit fur slippers that scream every time you take a step or armor that moos. Attempts by the townsfolk to switch to other materials ran afoul of the local forest spirits who violently objected to their trees being chopped down to make clogs, clear fields for cotton etc. Alternatively, any items made from the hides of intelligent creatures (EX: dragons) can now speak - possibly offering advice or accidentally revealing the existence of a murderer, intelligent deer in the woods, etc.
• Every time a new baby is born in a particular hamlet, a new grave appears in the local graveyard.
• A noblewoman’s mirror has started showing the reflections of her city’s recently dead; these appear to be banging on the glass from the other side in a panic.
• A particular town has a custom of leaving notes for their dead, but lately it seems the dead are writing back. (This also allows for the possibility that nothing magical is happening at all - it’s just a gifted forger screwing with people for laughs/money.)

[Vogie]

• A small sect of people are wandering around the edges of the territory with a prophet preaching about an end of days.
• A group of witches gets pissed off at a local mayor and puts a sleeping curse on the on their town
• A local area that has been relatively stable for a while gets hit with a earthquake, tornado, mudslide, or other natural disaster, requiring a bunch of aid from the surrounding area.
• A pair of large powerful families marry their kids together, and now that local area is upset with that one united family is technically more powerful than the local area's leaders.
• One town in the valley has to evacuate - the local dam is failing, and they need to get things out before it breaks.