The Regent's Throne
The Regent's Throne
Read aloud
The palace bells ring once, then fall silent as armed figures pour through the inner gallery. Beyond the guarded doors, Duchess Seraphina is waiting with the proof you have spent months assembling, and the Council is gathering to decide who will govern for Prince Emeric. Somewhere behind you, a servant calls for the Empress's physician.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Expose Seraphina's deliberate manipulation before the Council
- 2Prevent the strike from turning the succession crisis into a palace takeover
- 3Secure a legitimate regency for Prince Emeric
- 4Determine Seraphina's place in the new orderOptional
The clock
Run the siege as an immediate clock: attackers move toward the least-defended royal figure on round 1, shift toward a hostage or escape route if blocked on round 2, and begin withdrawing once their force falls below half strength from round 3 onward. A commander may fight harder and longer. Separately, Aveline's illness reaches its established end during this Act. Choose a moment that supports the table's emotional pacing; do not make her survival depend on rolls, tactics, or resource use.
Scenes
- 0:00The Palace Breaks Its Silence
- 0:45A Case for the Necessary Hand
- 2:15The Seam in the Record
- 3:15The Crown's Empty Chair
- 4:45The Regency Takes Its First Step
Cast
- Duchess Seraphina VaneAntagonist and possible limited regency adviser
- Perrin SunreachWildcard
- Prince Emeric VarkosWitness and heir
- Captain Maera ValeAlly and palace security commander
The hook
Set the scene
The bells begin with a single warning note. In the Imperial Palace, that sound travels through polished stone and glass before armed figures emerge at the far end of the gallery. Captain Maera Vale shouts for staff to clear the passage. A closed door separates the party from Aveline's private chambers; another opens toward the Council chamber, where Seraphina waits with no attempt to flee. The party has a moment to choose its first priority as the palace surges into motion.
How Captain Maera Vale asks
Captain Maera Vale intercepts the party as the palace warning bells sound.
She asks them to protect the royal household and clear a path to the Council chamber, then adds that Seraphina is waiting to answer for the evidence the party uncovered.
Rumours
Scenes
about 6 hours0:00
45 min
CombatThe table is here
1. The Palace Breaks Its Silence
The Imperial Palace's political heart, where the Council chamber, throne room, and corridor to Aveline's private chambers meet.
The party arrives as the warning bells sound. Captain Maera gives a brief account of the intrusion and identifies the exposed royal figures and civilian escape routes. Let the players choose an initial formation and priority; there is no surprise round.
The Palace Under SiegeNextAs the first attackers commit to the gallery, the party's evidence and Seraphina's waiting presence draw the conflict toward the Council chamber.
0:45
90 min
Social
2. A Case for the Necessary Hand
A gallery outside the Council chamber, with doors opening toward Aveline's chambers and fleeing staff moving through the adjoining halls.
The assault begins while Seraphina faces the party. Interleave short exchanges between combat rounds if useful, but never require the party to fight and conduct a full political debate at once. Seraphina does not deny her part; she presents her argument calmly and credibly. If accused of endangering Emeric, she insists she has protected him better than the Council has. The party may assign someone to continue the conversation while others protect people, or leave the reckoning temporarily to meet the immediate threat.
The Palace Under SiegeNextWhen the attackers withdraw, fall, or are driven from the palace, Seraphina's words remain unanswered until the evidence is set before the Council.
2:15
60 min
Skill
3. The Seam in the Record
The Council's antechamber, where clerks, guards, and shaken courtiers gather among scattered records and half-lit wall sconces.
Give the party a chance to identify evidence and establish who can corroborate it. A character might examine ledgers, compare altered dispatches, question a clerk, or connect the proof to a witness already earned in Chapter 5. Use to 18 checks when a roll is warranted, and allow the established evidence and prior relationships to reduce the need for rolls. A successful approach creates a clear chain from Seraphina's actions to the manufactured crises without overstating her intent.
NextWith the proof assembled, the party enters the Council chamber as the dukes take their seats and Aveline's physician is called away.
3:15
90 min
Social
4. The Crown's Empty Chair
The Council chamber, followed by Aveline's private chambers if the party chooses to go to her.
The Council hears the evidence and Seraphina's account. Each duke may press for their own interests; bring forward the institutions and allies the party cultivated, and let those relationships change the discussion. Require the party to propose a workable arrangement: regent, limits on authority, protection and education for Emeric, and a process for reviewing the settlement. During or immediately after this scene, Aveline dies from her established illness. Give the party room to be with her if they choose. Mors Imperiis grows cold and reveals a few inscription fragments; explain only what the characters can perceive.
NextAs the Council reaches its decision, the household gathers around Emeric and the new regent steps forward to begin the work.
4:45
60 min
Social
5. The Regency Takes Its First Step
The Council chamber, with dawn light reaching through its tall windows and the palace staff returning to the work of the court.
Resolve the regency and Seraphina's fate. Ask who governs, which checks bind that office, and how Emeric's voice will be heard as he grows. Seraphina may be removed, sidelined, or allowed a limited watched role. Close on an action that signals the new order, such as the chosen regent opening the palace doors to a waiting delegation or taking Emeric by the hand toward his first council briefing.
NextThe new regent gives the first order of the minority, and the court begins to move around it.
Behind it
What people believe
The Imperial Palace is under threat as the Council prepares to decide who will govern for Prince Emeric.
Evidence brought forward by the party places Duchess Seraphina Vane's judgment and conduct at the center of the crisis. The party must protect the household, bring the truth before the Council, and help establish a regency that can endure the years ahead.
Background
The court has spent months treating each fresh emergency as proof that a stronger hand is needed.
The party's investigation has connected those emergencies to deliberate, carefully deniable choices made by Duchess Seraphina Vane. She has genuinely protected Prince Emeric from direct threats, while also worsening the conditions that make her preferred regency seem necessary. The Council's seven members remain divided over who should govern during the heir's minority, and pressure from Aethelgard has made delay increasingly dangerous.
The stakes
If the party fails, the Council may appoint a regent without legitimate support, leaving Emeric vulnerable to factional pressure and making Arcanterra's response to Aethelgard less coherent.
If the party succeeds, it can create a credible government for the minority, but no decision erases the war crisis, Aveline's death, or the consequences of Seraphina's choices.
Encounters
1The Palace Under Siege
Combat
Use the throne room, Council chamber, or connecting corridor to Aveline's private chambers. Normal light, disrupted by combat. Palace architecture provides half to three-quarters cover. Doors, screens, and furniture create lanes and chokepoints. Noncombatants flee through the area. If using Aethelgard attackers, their presence is a foreign strike exploiting the succession crisis; if using Perrin's loyalists, their stated aim is to seize the situation and compel a controlled resolution, not to assassinate the royal family.
Foes
Option A: 4 Scale-Twisted Courtiers (CR 6 each, as presented in the Aethelgard Sourcebook)
Option A: 1 Archmage (SRD 5.2.1), reskinned as an Aethelgard war-caster commander
Option B: 8 Veterans, 2 Mages, and 2 Gladiators (SRD 5.2.1), loyal to Perrin Sunreach
ComplicationThe palace is full of fleeing nobles and staff. Careless area effects can endanger them. Reward characters who evacuate civilians with rescued witnesses, improved Council confidence, or a safer route through the palace. The attackers aim for a royal figure, then an escape route or hostage; once below half strength, most try to withdraw. A commander may hold longer.
ScalingChoose one option, not both. Option A totals 17,600 XP before encounter adjustments and is slightly above Moderate for four level 13 characters. Option B totals 13,800 XP before encounter adjustments and is Low to Moderate for four level 13 characters. For a smaller or depleted party, reduce the number of rank-and-file foes; for a larger or well-rested party, add reinforcements only if the encounter remains focused on protecting civilians and objectives. No surprise round: this is a timed, declared strike, and the party has at least a moment to prepare.
Cast
4Duchess Seraphina Vane
Antagonist and possible limited regency adviser
WantsSeraphina believes she is the most capable choice to govern for Emeric. She has manipulated events to make that choice appear unavoidable, and is relieved to face the truth at last, but does not repent of her judgment.
“I did not invent the danger. I saw it clearly before the rest of them did, and acted while they argued.”
Perrin Sunreach
Wildcard, potential instigator or uneasy political ally
WantsPerrin wants to preserve his influence and prevent a sudden change in the balance of power. If the GM selects his loyalists as the attackers, he tries to seize control of the crisis without intending a massacre.
“I know the seals and faces of this court. Tell me where to stand, and I will keep the next blow away from the prince.”
Prince Emeric Varkos
Witness and heir
WantsEmeric wants safety and an honest account of what is happening. He is seven, not a miniature ruler, and should be treated as a child whose wishes matter without making him responsible for resolving the crisis.
“My mother trusted you. I need to know whether that trust was deserved, and I need the Council to stop deciding my life without me.”
Captain Maera Vale
QuestgiverAlly and palace security commander
WantsCaptain Maera Vale wants the royal household and its staff protected, even if doing so means leaving political evidence or prominent nobles temporarily unattended.
“The Council can debate authority after the doors are secured. Right now, tell me who is exposed and where the civilians are moving.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Mors Imperiis becomes Legendary at Aveline's death, retaining its existing properties and gaining the campaign-specified once-per-long-rest effect: when its bearer would be reduced to 0 hit points, the bearer drops to 1 hit point instead. A few inscription fragments become legible; the full name and nature remain unknown.
On a win
The strike is stopped or forced to withdraw, the party's evidence is heard, and the Council establishes a regency arrangement for Emeric.
The party's prior alliances give it meaningful influence over who governs and what safeguards are adopted. Aveline dies from her established illness during this Act, regardless of the party's choices. At that moment Mors Imperiis grows cold, reveals a few inscription fragments, and becomes Legendary with its new limited avoid-death property. The regency can be stable, fragile, or openly contested according to the party's decisions; the war crisis does not vanish.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The Council does not accept the party's case against Seraphina
- The party fails to present enough evidence or secure enough support to establish a legitimate regency. The Council appoints a temporary committee or a politically convenient candidate, with safeguards and authority contested from the outset.
- The party allows the strike team to withdraw without securing its objective or protecting all endangered people
- The attackers escape with a hostage, stolen correspondence, or proof of palace vulnerabilities. The immediate danger ends, but the political crisis gains a new pressure point.
- The party repeatedly ignores the danger to civilians during the palace assault
- A bystander is seriously harmed, undermining public confidence and giving rival factions grounds to challenge the party's judgment. Do not make this an automatic result of ordinary combat; use it when players knowingly accept a clear risk or a specific complication goes unresolved.
- The party treats Seraphina's exposure as a complete solution to the succession crisis
- Seraphina is removed from immediate influence but becomes a symbol for those who believe the Council cannot act decisively. Her supporters keep pressing for a stronger regent, and the war crisis persists.
Complications (d6)
- 1A panicked household attendant bolts across the attackers' line of fire carrying a tray of medicine for Aveline. A character who spends an action guiding them to cover prevents the attack from endangering them.
- 2A side door to the Council chamber jams under a fallen ceremonial standard. Clearing it takes a successful DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check or an equivalent creative method, and opens a safer route for fleeing staff.
- 3A councilor mistakes the party's movement for an attack on the throne and orders the guard to hold position. A clear command or successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check gets the guards moving again.
- 4An attacker seizes a fleeing clerk as a moving shield. The attacker threatens the clerk but offers a clear chance to withdraw if the party lets them reach the west gallery.
- 5A strike team's retreat route crosses Aveline's private-chamber corridor. The party must choose between pursuing the attackers and keeping the corridor clear for the royal household.
- 6A burst of spellwork shatters a gallery lamp. Smoke and hot oil obscure one lane; it becomes lightly obscured until someone spends an action clearing, smothering, or navigating around it.
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