Last Hope of the Dynasty

This is a scenario designed for the use of Solar System. It will normally take 4-5 sessions to play trough, and while it starts in Baghdad, it will mainly take place in a legendary Samarkand. This scenario keeps the Transcendence-rules closely in mind, and, with the help of Use Cases, the goal is to plan and use several paths towards immense character impact on the ending of the scenario.

Last Hope of the Dynasty is a creation of Bearnie, and constitute his first venture into the Solar System.

Everything starts out with a letter. The Grand Vizier of the King writes of a recent palace coup to the kings only son, who is currently studying in Baghdad. The letter names the main instigators and some of the story behind the plot, but few of the connections between them. This is handed to the players before any characters is created - after that, it is their assignment to create the prince and the people who currently surrounds him (all player characters).

Although the locations of this scenario got historical counterparts, it does not strive towards accuracy. In this legendary time line Baghdad is a place of learning and enlightenment, ruled over by one of the first Muslim Caliphs. Samarkand is, in turn, the center of its own realm. Islam has been introduced, but some pagan gods still hold sway. If you want to make a picture of the general feeling of the setting, please refer to pop cultural sources like Aladdin or Prince of Persia.

“Everything goes”, as long as it stays within the borders of what could be termed orientalism or a passion for the arabic/persian middle ages. The most visible liberties I have taken is to introduce Bedouin tribes to the Samarkand area, and to apply a combination of an Arabic name culture and mainly Persian titles to the main cast.

This is a concept traditionally used within system development. The fundamental idea is to formulate a set of preferred usage beforehand, and to let this guide the creation. As this scenario aims to be as driven by the player characters as possible, the Use Cases is designed to promote their possibilities within the scenario framework. The following is examples:

• My family is in grave danger. I will protect them whatever it takes, even if it means sacrificing my own life.
• Behind every strong man stands a strong woman, or so the saying goes. Who the next king will be is not known, but that woman will be me.
• As a member of a minor Bedouin tribe, I will not only protect my people but take any opportunity to lead them to victory against our nemesis, the tribe of Bani Truf, and take revenge on their leader, Negel bin Nejd.

Plot-wise, many of the connection within the intrigue is left blank (see The Letter), letting the background and Keys of the player characters have a big influence on how these are formed. Crunch-wise, many Keys and Secrets is designed to have a connection to one of the Use Cases.