Soulthieves: University demonstration subplot (unedited).
I had the beginnings of a sophisticated subplot occur to me today, so I'm just gonna write some stuff for myself here.
Koirola Network is a densely populated, heavily urbanized area serving as the administrative centre of Oggamund; the "Network" designation emphasizes the heavy involvement of each city of the conurbation in the immense task. But there are people there too, and for many life isn't exactly great. Poverty, prostitution, orphanage, pollution and corruption run full bore through these communities, particularly the largest, fortified cities in the north; the city walls hem in a lot of strife. They also hem in the acts of terrorism and sabotage by slippery nationalists from other provinces.
The University of Oggamund is located in Koirola Network, adjacent to the outer-ring city of Stokra, probably technically within city limits. Life is a little better out there, but the administrative burdens accumulate with each passing day of incompetence and stupidity up in Koirola. The students and faculty of the University are, of course, more educated than average, and are less inclined to violence, but all the same they're dissatisfied with the direction the Crown and the country are headed.
The subplot would involve a planned expedition by University students to Koirola and a demonstration outside King Shrobarg's castle gates. They don't exactly keep the plans hushed, though, and that's where the Oggamund Special Constabulary comes in. The Special Constabulary is the euphemistic designation of a Crown paramilitary force with branches assigned to certain... shall we say, trouble spots across Oggamund. They're not by definition an elite force so much as a brutal one. Unlike typical lawkeepers like the Oggamund Regular Police, the Special Constabulary is meant for swift large-scale deployment and action. Their purpose is to quickly and decisively suppress chaos. Of course, this includes peaceful dissent. The scenario would probably involve the Special Constabulary attempting to bait the students into doing something stupid, thus providing the casus belli for a brutal suppression; depending on certain factors, they may altogether forgo the baiting. It could also be noted that, as this is occurring just at the castle gates, the Royal Guard would have authority to engage violent demonstrators, although by nature the knights would tend to be more disciplined and unlikely to react to a peaceful demonstration. The Regular Police could also get involved, and the Special Constabulary could even seek support from the Royal Army and the Royal Air Forces. Basically, the scales rapidly tip against the unarmed students. This all is of course inspired by real-world phenomena.
The choices for the PC would decide the fate of the demonstrators and even of the university. In the runup to the demonstration, a PC visiting the campus would probably be informed of it and be asked by the right individuals to serve as a battle-versed escort in anticipation of Crown forces' actions. Conversely, the Special Constabulary in Koirola, in making preparations for the demonstration, would ask you to serve their cause instead; successful service in that case would probably result in the granting of an Oggamund Special Constabulary affiliation, which basically says you're willing to step up for the Crown (which is to say you're comprehensively pro-Crown). The side you choose to support, if any, and the degree of your involvement in the activities will affect the outcome. If you choose to support the students and you're particularly formidable at that stage of the game, the Special Constabulary may get extra pissed and call in extra help just to ensure you can't successfully resist the action.
The likely scenario for the pro-student PC would be to end up defending the students alongside other anti-Crown escorts during a minor skirmish and a following retreat through the city streets as citizens run for cover. Things could then develop in a few ways. Students might retreat to campus and no further action occurs, but violence here (and thus your level of aggression) would likely have had to be minimal. Students might retreat to campus only to find that the Special Constabulary or others later descend upon it, which would involve you more deeply in the defence of the campus itself. The students might just scatter and go into hiding for a while, and the police may or may not then occupy the campus. Another scenario would involve the Special Constabulary preemptively attacking campus even before the demonstration.
A complicating factor in the whole affair would be how involved the Oggamund Patriots Army gets. The Patriots Army is basically your Second Amendment gun-nuts, the civilians bearing arms, although in this case they don't even make a secret of supporting the Crown. It isn't an official Crown organization, and due to the fact they're not particularly well-equipped or well-trained they might even be somewhat annoying to the legitimate executive forces, but a pro-Crown force is still a friend on the whole. If the Patriots Army gets involved in the suppression at any point, this could result in violence far exceeding that engaged by the Special Constabulary alone; the lack of discipline would be especially prominent, and the Special Constabulary might even find themselves having to suppress the suppressors in that case. But even if they are tolerated by the Crown forces, the Patriots Army would unquestionably act in inappropriate ways, acting against city dwellers or pursuing the fleeing students. And since they're basically a bunch of hicks, they'd no doubt feel some disdain toward the students and the University and attack the campus on that grounds alone. Rape might occur as well. The end result to the University would be more than just a suppression of anti-Crown potentials; the student body and faculty might actually suffer severe casualties and an all-around low morale, leaving Oggamund's institution of higher learning essentially broken. Anti-Crown communities around the country, depending on their dispositions, would be saddened and angered, and this would have the potential to create even more problems. Of course, the Crown wouldn't have the foresight.
Mmm, complexity. Of course, if you choose to support the Special Constabulary, things would play out in the opposite directions, but the complexity might well be the same, although in the case of Patriots Army involvement, I suppose there could be the possibility of being assigned simply to interfere with their activities to prevent them from infringing too far on the Crown's monopoly of force.
The complexities extend to the effects of this quest selection on morality. It's not a simple matter of assigning certain morality adjustments to certain outcomes.
Just thoughts. I'm sorta glad I wrote it all out, anyway.
Koirola Network is a densely populated, heavily urbanized area serving as the administrative centre of Oggamund; the "Network" designation emphasizes the heavy involvement of each city of the conurbation in the immense task. But there are people there too, and for many life isn't exactly great. Poverty, prostitution, orphanage, pollution and corruption run full bore through these communities, particularly the largest, fortified cities in the north; the city walls hem in a lot of strife. They also hem in the acts of terrorism and sabotage by slippery nationalists from other provinces.
The University of Oggamund is located in Koirola Network, adjacent to the outer-ring city of Stokra, probably technically within city limits. Life is a little better out there, but the administrative burdens accumulate with each passing day of incompetence and stupidity up in Koirola. The students and faculty of the University are, of course, more educated than average, and are less inclined to violence, but all the same they're dissatisfied with the direction the Crown and the country are headed.
The subplot would involve a planned expedition by University students to Koirola and a demonstration outside King Shrobarg's castle gates. They don't exactly keep the plans hushed, though, and that's where the Oggamund Special Constabulary comes in. The Special Constabulary is the euphemistic designation of a Crown paramilitary force with branches assigned to certain... shall we say, trouble spots across Oggamund. They're not by definition an elite force so much as a brutal one. Unlike typical lawkeepers like the Oggamund Regular Police, the Special Constabulary is meant for swift large-scale deployment and action. Their purpose is to quickly and decisively suppress chaos. Of course, this includes peaceful dissent. The scenario would probably involve the Special Constabulary attempting to bait the students into doing something stupid, thus providing the casus belli for a brutal suppression; depending on certain factors, they may altogether forgo the baiting. It could also be noted that, as this is occurring just at the castle gates, the Royal Guard would have authority to engage violent demonstrators, although by nature the knights would tend to be more disciplined and unlikely to react to a peaceful demonstration. The Regular Police could also get involved, and the Special Constabulary could even seek support from the Royal Army and the Royal Air Forces. Basically, the scales rapidly tip against the unarmed students. This all is of course inspired by real-world phenomena.
The choices for the PC would decide the fate of the demonstrators and even of the university. In the runup to the demonstration, a PC visiting the campus would probably be informed of it and be asked by the right individuals to serve as a battle-versed escort in anticipation of Crown forces' actions. Conversely, the Special Constabulary in Koirola, in making preparations for the demonstration, would ask you to serve their cause instead; successful service in that case would probably result in the granting of an Oggamund Special Constabulary affiliation, which basically says you're willing to step up for the Crown (which is to say you're comprehensively pro-Crown). The side you choose to support, if any, and the degree of your involvement in the activities will affect the outcome. If you choose to support the students and you're particularly formidable at that stage of the game, the Special Constabulary may get extra pissed and call in extra help just to ensure you can't successfully resist the action.
The likely scenario for the pro-student PC would be to end up defending the students alongside other anti-Crown escorts during a minor skirmish and a following retreat through the city streets as citizens run for cover. Things could then develop in a few ways. Students might retreat to campus and no further action occurs, but violence here (and thus your level of aggression) would likely have had to be minimal. Students might retreat to campus only to find that the Special Constabulary or others later descend upon it, which would involve you more deeply in the defence of the campus itself. The students might just scatter and go into hiding for a while, and the police may or may not then occupy the campus. Another scenario would involve the Special Constabulary preemptively attacking campus even before the demonstration.
A complicating factor in the whole affair would be how involved the Oggamund Patriots Army gets. The Patriots Army is basically your Second Amendment gun-nuts, the civilians bearing arms, although in this case they don't even make a secret of supporting the Crown. It isn't an official Crown organization, and due to the fact they're not particularly well-equipped or well-trained they might even be somewhat annoying to the legitimate executive forces, but a pro-Crown force is still a friend on the whole. If the Patriots Army gets involved in the suppression at any point, this could result in violence far exceeding that engaged by the Special Constabulary alone; the lack of discipline would be especially prominent, and the Special Constabulary might even find themselves having to suppress the suppressors in that case. But even if they are tolerated by the Crown forces, the Patriots Army would unquestionably act in inappropriate ways, acting against city dwellers or pursuing the fleeing students. And since they're basically a bunch of hicks, they'd no doubt feel some disdain toward the students and the University and attack the campus on that grounds alone. Rape might occur as well. The end result to the University would be more than just a suppression of anti-Crown potentials; the student body and faculty might actually suffer severe casualties and an all-around low morale, leaving Oggamund's institution of higher learning essentially broken. Anti-Crown communities around the country, depending on their dispositions, would be saddened and angered, and this would have the potential to create even more problems. Of course, the Crown wouldn't have the foresight.
Mmm, complexity. Of course, if you choose to support the Special Constabulary, things would play out in the opposite directions, but the complexity might well be the same, although in the case of Patriots Army involvement, I suppose there could be the possibility of being assigned simply to interfere with their activities to prevent them from infringing too far on the Crown's monopoly of force.
The complexities extend to the effects of this quest selection on morality. It's not a simple matter of assigning certain morality adjustments to certain outcomes.
Just thoughts. I'm sorta glad I wrote it all out, anyway.