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So I'm in planning mode for the next epic. We've played a lot of games lately that center around seedier aspects of the world or scrabbling to survive against the powers that be. I think it's time for a game where they players have a little more power and responsibility, perhaps even some hangers-on to do gruntwork for them.

The theme is tentatively altruism vs heroism. I want a game that illustrates the value of intent of heroic deeds. Without knowing what the players want to play it will be difficult to construct a scaffold for the theme but I'm looking for vignettes that might help paint this contrast. Something to the effect choices the players can make where they can trade the betterment of strangers for personal empowerment while having both choices be heroic.

At this point the Antagonist is likely to be a powerful figure in the church, likely an Archbishop who is orchestrating a scheme that will advance him politically into a higher rank. He will be classically villainous, selfish, sociopathic, and incredibly intelligent. His scheme is to acquire valuable a County for the Orthodox Church by orchestrating the downfall of the Count that runs it. To this end he will sew dissent between the Count's vassals, unleash heresies in the Count's lands and bankrupt the Count by covert assaults on his income. The intent is for the players to play citizens of the County who are able to see that things are going badly very quickly but not be able to discern what the cause is. The more mechanical problem I run into is how does the Church compel the sale of Noble lands? Would it happen over default of debts to the church? Could they seize the land if the Noble who owns the fief is found guilty of severe church crimes? We'd be talking about a respectable piece of a world and land with value, how does the church tell a Duke that one of his vassal fiefs is now theirs?

In our antagonist's scheme he will employ a number of powerful lieutenants (Minibosses) who will be complicit in his scheme. They will serve as the mid-management that keep his hands clean of the dirtywork and in return they will be rewarded handsomely for their role in the land grab. Ideally they will be selected because they are discrete where they are not loyal and they won't make obvious mistakes that will lead suspicious back to the antagonist. These lieutenants will employ spies, thugs, assassins, and even mercs to manipulate events that will destroy the Count and/or frame him for crimes he didn't commit. These Lieutenants will be close to the PCs in rank and power but their skills will be more heavily leveraged towards deception and management than sleuthing and fighting. They will have enough contact with one another that when the PCs uncover one they will inevitably find the others. However conversely if the PCs are careful and discrete the Lieutenants will not likely see them coming. I envision these Lieutenants coming from all three legs of the table, at least one Church member, Noble, and Guildsman, but I don't know which. I like the idea of a vengeful Lesser House noble that is stripping the County away from the Noble house that stole it from her people in the Emperor Wars. But as for the other lieutenants in the cabal I'm not sure what factions make sense. They would have to have a clear gain from helping the Orthodox Church acquire Noble lands, either financial or political, that makes them willing to risk treason.

I envision the shape of the story being a series of rising climaxes where the PC's are first curious about what's causing their region to go the crap so quickly and being drawn into the problems that are being created in the County (Hunting Antimonists that have been set loose in the Count's lands, putting down an armed rebellion, solving a border conflict between two warring baronies) but gradually they will find that the causes of these events are both abnormal and seemingly linked (Different trouble groups using the same Reeve Advocate for legal help, or tracing the activities of radically different lesser antagonists to the same back-alley tavern). Eventually the PCs will discover the Lieutenants and begin to investigate them and take them down which will eventually lead them to a confrontation with the Archbishop. Does anyone have good ideas for what shape these trouble groups of petty antagonists will take? Does anyone have any good ideas for how evidence will lead back to the Lieutenants that command them?

Lastly do you have any suggestions for other elements that will fit well in an epic of this nature?

Firstly, this sounds like a very cool epic, and I wish I could play in it

I would make the antagonist an ambitious Bishop rather than Archbishop, just to give him something to strive for. Of course, an Archbishop could always dream of becoming a Planetary Archbishiop or a Metropoletan or the next Patriarch, but those are probably too lofty goals to be gained by toppling the local count. That said, whatever floats your boat

Reasons why a county would fall into Universal Church hands: I don't think there are many default situations, but if there is a history of Church ownership, then it becomes easier (i.e. land leased/stolen/gifted from the UC at some point). Alternatively, one of the count's relatives (who is next in the line to inherit the county), could work with the antagonist, promising to gift the county to the (Arch)bishop in return for some other favor (penetance for some truelly vile crime?). Another option is that if the Universal Church has to spend enormous amounts of resources to clean up the county, they might be able to argue the land being surrendered to the Church as compensation. A final option that I can see would be framing the count for some unforgivable sin (like, antinomy) and have the county confiscated as part of the excommunication.

In any case, there will be other factors to contend with, like the count's relatives and higher-up patrons, who will likely intervene (possibly martially). How will the antagonist handle things when the count cashes in his favors and ask the duke for help? The (Arch)bishop will have to have a plan for that.

Mid-management bosses: Which factions these belong to isn't too important, (unless you're playing a game where stereotypes are vital), but I would try to set up some bosses that aren't immediately thought of as good candidates for an (Arch)bishop's henchmen, for instance:
-Guilder: Half-Vuldrok Scraver gangster and Secret pirate captain.
-Clergy: An Ur-Obun priest of the Voavenlhjun sect, who for whatever reason cooperates with the antagonist.
-Noble: Questing Knight who uses his imperial knighthood for selfish ends; possibly the count's sibling/child.
-Antinomist: You need a sorcerer to pull off an antinomy plot/diversion, perhaps a corrupt Eksatonic priest whom the (Arch)bishop has pardoned in return for his loyalty? Or it could be some exotic person who the priest "collected" as a peace missionary during the Emperor Wars. The coolest antinomy plot would be something tied to a dark secret or other sore part of the county's backstory.

All of this depends on where in the Known Worlds you put the story.

Evidence: Looking into the background of each boss could reveal connections between them. Perhaps everyone have visited/comes from some exotic parish, that the (Arch)bishop oversaw when he was a mere Priest.

Ways the land could be granted is if say, the (arch)bishop was a family member of the Count from a lesser branch or a sibling. He or she hopes by ruining or discrediting the main branch, (s)he would inherit and thus grant the land to the Church in return for higher rank. For the lesser branch idea, make it something the group would have to research to learn about it. If you go for the sibling, make it so the count and sibling appear to get along well, even perhaps the Count thinks the (arch)bishop is looking out for his best interests and is oblivious at the attempts to ruin him. Or combine the two!

As for the lieutenants, here are some suggestions for more or less each major faction:

Scravers: A repentant scraver, in conflict with his past deeds but is compelled by the antagonist to do bad things one last time "for the good of the Church". "Just when I thought I was out, I'm pulled back in..."

Charioteers: A reluctant pilot whose been blackmailed to work with the Church for threat of inquisitorial investigation. "Hey, it's my ass on the line here. Nothing personal."

Engineers: If the fief has any advanced technology, the Church could promise to grant them contracts or outright control of the source in return for their cooperation. He supplies gadgets and tech to the various other lieutenants to help them (although he gets paid for these services). "The Count's operations are inefficient. Under Engineer control, the output would be increased by 54.23% annually."

Reeves: The Bishop's lawyer who knows of his claim and working towards that goal in part for the payday. The way a Reeves could be used as an antagonist is for him to be the face of any financial troubles. When the county's sources of revenue begin drying up, have him come to court and press for the Count to respond on how he intends to remedy the situation as the guild is concerned with his ability (or inability) to pay his outstanding loans. Make the Reeve seem overly predatory as a shark smelling blood in the water. If crops begin to fail, he sends goons to confiscate some of the grain stores to repay the interest on some loans (while adding fees for having to do so). If a power plant is running out of fuel, he's providing the capital to buy up all the fuel from neighbouring areas to resell to the count at an inflated price. If the county relies on resources from outside the county itself, have him become another buyer which drives the prices up compounding the Count's problems. "Your excellency, while we have little doubt on your honor and word to repay us we are concerned with the rents being charged on the peasantry. Your neighbours charge a whole 2% more than those on your fief. We'd urge for an increase."

Muster: Standard head of the "muscle." Perhaps he's a slaver and in return for donations of labour to the Church, the Bishop protects him from the Inquisition. Noting how "generously he donates to the Church to bring its message to the huddled masses". He's in it for the money and the protection from the antagonist that allows him to continue his ways. He might push for the Count to give him prisoners to sell offworld or outright buy them from the Count who is in dire straits financially.

Nobles: As already suggested either a lesser noble who is promised a part of the fief, or a rival who has a vendetta. He could be the lieutenant the PCs believe to be behind the whole thing. Have some of the others almost report to him in this. As if he were the Captain from the start.

One option is for the Count to only have a single child and heir to be a woman. When things begin to go sour for the Count, he is eventually forced to marry her in exchange for assistance to the noble under the employ of the Bishop. To add to this, perhaps the Bishop is against the marriage and voices his concerns to the Count because said betrothed noble is of dubious character. The count asks the PCs to act as her chaperone and to investigate these unsavoury connections. They find that he's a horrible guy (for real) although his ties to the Bishop remain hidden. They would then have to deal with the heroic act of discrediting him but thus potentially dooming the county or going ahead with it regardless. They might think ruining the noble might stop the attacks. It could even for a time, but things eventually turn for the worst. The PCs might think the damage was already done and it will take years to recover but eventually figure out there are still people involved when things continue to go wrong.

Another option is for the Bishop to have subverted the LTs away from the noble and they are secretly in his employ while working for the noble. Or the Bishop is playing both sides of the conflict while his true intent is to acquire the county. If he can ruin the other noble too, that's just icing on the cake.

Clergy:
Avestites: Standard fare, but I'd add the twist of the Avestites are difficult to control, even for the Bishop, hence why he has to use other factions. The Bishop uses the threat of the Avestites/inquisition when he thinks he can get away with. In Game of Thrones, the perfect quote for the leader could match one for Stannis Baratheon (as stated by Varys): "There is nothing more terrifying than a truly righteous man."

Eskatonic or Hesychast: A mystic holy man who's been convinced that the county' bad mojo is a result of the tampering with or failing of the terraforming engines. He is a rabble rouser in the hopes of returning the county to a previous state. He could be involved with the Bishop, or just a red herring. The Bishop could just use him as a distraction. "The village needs to be displaced as it prevents the energy from flowing to the river. The precepts of Feng Shui..."

Brother Battle: Another option for the muscle. The brother/sister could be promised land or potential recruits from the new county to help in their holy mission of bringing the Faith to the infidels. "You dare oppose the will of the Pancreator?"

Amalthean: A healer who is brought in later to the conspiracy under the guise the people are suffering because of the Count's poor leadership and he/she tries to help but is compelled to eventually act against him. Some ways this character could cause problems for the County is if the people begin to refuse to pay taxes to the lord or do not heed his decrees and instead choose to follow the Amalthean. "The count has betrayed his people's trust. They are better to fend for themselves."

Orthodox: As a bishop or archbishop, he would have a certain level of loyalty from his underlings within the hierarchy. However, a truly effective lieutenant could be a direct aide who would advance directly if he were to as well. You could go so far as to even have him the "fall guy" if ever the PCs begin to suspect the main antagonist to be responsible. "Yes, I was the mastermind behind it all... please the bishop is innocent!"

Anatomist: Playing on Angelman's idea. Another option is the antinomist was a prisoner of the Avestites and managed to escape (with the help of the Bishop's men). He's on the run and the scapegoat for all the troubles. While not a nice person, he or she isn't responsible for the major source of the problems, just small stuff. As the PCs and Avestites get closer and closer to stopping him once and for all, he gets more desperate and he escalates his activities in order to protect himself but also causes greater danger. "I had to kill them. You left me no choice. You could have let me leave..."

As for the antagonist himself, do you want him to be involved with the PCs from the get go or some distant power who they only meet much later on?

If the former, he has to appear helpful to the count and the group but not overly so otherwise it would tip the players off. Make it seem he has ulterior motives but perhaps a smaller scale. If you decide to use seemingly opposing factions within the Church, have him try to influence the Count to take actions against these groups in return for assistance from the Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, he does appear to want to help and gives decent counsel if only for it to later turn out to work against them or seemingly to the advantage of a lieutenant later on.

For example, say he suggests to the Count and PCs to lower the peasants' taxes to stave off the burden on the people who might be growing seditious at some point. The people with this new income might begin spending more which gives more money (and thus influence) to league villains. If the want to press to defeat antinomists and need some extra help, have him call the inquisition in but they begin to cause other problems now that they are given free reign in the territory as they go on a veritable witch hunt and might harass the PCs too. One way the witch hunt could hurt them is if some of their own men/women are charged with heresy and the like or other minor members in the county are also charged and found guilty. When the PCs or the Count go to ask the (arch)bishop to call the avestites off, make it appear he has lost control of them now that he's unleashed them. Perhaps a priest asks for the inquisitors to call off a particular investigation only to be found charged with supporting a heretic. Thus, the players will have to face off against the inquisition. This would work particularly well if they have been constant thorns in his plans.

I'm not going to lie, I'm fond of the idea of the Primary Antagonist offering his patronage to the PCs and keeping them under his wing, steering them where he wants, but that might be too much for the players to deal with.

I haven't decided for sure on the power level of the Antagonist and I might hold off on nailing that down until I can see the characters my players make but I like the idea of someone who is poised to rise to planetary power and I think claiming a county could propel that move. I'm fond of the idea of the "Archbishop" having some measure of control over the next in line of inheiritance, that and perhaps some dirt against the local Duke to ensure that once the Count is knocked down from power that the lands with transition smoothly to the church. Perhaps the blackmail against the Duke will be exposed as the players unravel what's going on.

I think your epic is in good hands, Leviathan of Maddoc
There are some REALLY big counties in Fading Suns, like continent-spaning fiefs, so you might want to go for one of those But yeah, it is a good idea to adjust the power level based upon what the players wish to do.

How about setting things on Ravenna (a very orthodox and stereotypically Pancreator-fearing world where the Church holds great sway) and have the "Archbishop" weigh in on the Austrum conflict?

Who else to bring peace to the divided and warring Counties but the Church? The Archbishop manipulates things to be the "caretaker-ruler" of one or both of the counties to help bring peace to the region. Gaining one/two trained and ready armed forces, lots of agricultural lands, sea (and I think Space) ports, revenue etc etc.. Of course once things have stabilised and the appropriate lineage of succession resolved he'll obviously hand it back...but until that time....

And these legal issues take so long to resolve properly, and then there's the spiritual cleansing and absolution and penance for the parties involved....the caretaker may need to be in place for some time to come....

I've only been reading, and you've a great campaign idea Leviathan! Wish I could play it.

If I may suggest, make boxes with the main story events and write all that should happen in the boxes. If you have a hard time from the beginning, try starting from the end, and you might have the right inspiration.

Find the motive. Revenge, greed, lost love. Those things help!

Hope you come with a good idea.

I'm starting to lean towards a combination of Debt and Church crimes as the method to steal a County. The Archbisop arranges a great amount of loans to the Count under the guise of post-war reconciliation then creates prosecution of the Count for crimes that could render him unable to pass on his title. The Archbishop plans to sick the inquisition on the Count then after he's deposed come to the Duke to address the massive debts owed the Church.

In addition to a wedding and a funeral I expect I'll also have the opening Mass for a newly built Cathedral as pivotal scenes.

I've also come up with a devious shove for the Noble(s). One of many of the nobles in the campaign will be brought into the plot by the death of a relation, a powerful young Marquessa. At least one of the other characters will have a link to a Batman-like vigilante that has become a local hero as the County descends into troubled times. The Noble(s) are called on by the young heir of the Marquessa to help deal with a scandalous rumor that the Marquessa was really the vigilante. While explaining their role the young heir leads them down into the Marquessa's secret lair where her armor and gadgets are laid out and explains that one of them will need to masquerade as the vigilante long enough for suspicion to stop ruining their family name.