The king is on his deathbed and has perhaps a week left to live. His oldest son wants the throne, but is very incompetent and unpopular among both the nobility and the peasantry. Worse, he's impotent, or else his four wives were all infertile. If he's not granted the throne legally, he'll probably try to raise an army to claim it, but the king doesn't know how successful he would be.
His middle son has repeatedly and publicly spoken of how much he does not want the throne, but he is considerably more popular among both the nobility and the commoners, and he's reasonably competent. The king knows he would accept the throne if pressed. He has no wife yet and the king suspects he is gay.
His youngest son wants the throne, is incredibly savvy, and politically skilled, but is probably evil and willing to murder his brothers for it if not granted it legally. He's popular among the nobility but unpopular among the peasantry. His only weakness is that he's produced eleven bastards with peasant women--and that's just the ones the king is sure about--and no legitimate sons with his wife.
Who does the king choose to succeed him?
Middle son. Evil vs Incompetent vs Gay, gay wins out. I'm sure he can find someone else to fuck his wives.
>>45874794
To the strongest, of course. Rule is not given, only claimed and held. Chances are that the first takes the throne by birth, then the third by force, then the second by uprising should he prove loved well enough by the common folk.
Rule of the kingdom is granted by heaven. Allow the Gods to decide the next King! First to retrieve the sacred eye of Ulama shall be the next King!
As good a choice as Middle is (him being unmarried and potentially gay is a non-issue; since noble marriages weren't based on love but political necessity, the only difference between Middle and any other king is that his mistresses will all sport a bait and tackle), it's not entirely a practical one as one brother will attack the kingdom to get the throne and the other will have his throat slit in his sleep.
Honestly, the best choice is to respect the order of succession and put Retards McGee on the throne and set up Middle and Youngest to act as formal advisors. If Youngest is as savvy as the king thinks he is, he should realize that being the power behind the throne is the best position; an incompetent king and evil court vizier is a match made in heaven. If not... make sure to warn Middle about Youngest; don't trust any "accidents," if something happens to Oldest, Middle needs to take the throne and lock Youngest up in the tallest, darkest tower and throw away the goddamn key.
>>45874794
>He has no wife yet and the king suspects he is gay.
Too fucking bad. He can go back to getting buttfucked after his new, arranged wife pops out an heir and a spare.
>>45875300
this is the only reasonable choice. have an heir and a spare, then go back to buttfucking and being butfucked
>>45874794
It doesn't matter who we pick.
After one of the sons has an accident involving stairs and the other some horse related death, we have the party psion rewrite the personality and memories of the surviving son to be exactly the kind of king the region needs.
>>45874794
He chooses any man who can defeat him in a duel!
Granted, he's old an sickly, so it's basically first come first serve, but such is the tradition of the kingdom.
>>45874794
Gay is clearly the best choice. Just arrange a sensible marriage that's best for the realm, then let him spend all his free time with his "Courtier" once the queen pops out some royal babbies.
>>45874794
I don't care about any of this shit because this isn't my kingdom
>>45874794
Oldest Son.
King writes in his will a clause that banishes middle son from the kingdom as soon as the eldest dies, but the kind that lets him bring whatever he wants as long as he's prompt about it.
Leak this clause separately to the youngest and middle. Middle so that he can gather friends, servants, retainers, and allies beforehand, Youngest so that he has ample motive to kill the eldest and not kill the middle.
Make better kingdom elsewhere with nobility that aren't stupid enough to like the evil guy.
>>45874794
His well loved and competent general.
But wait! The evil son kills the king before his new decree can be publicized!
>>45874794
Give the throne to the youngest son. Appoint the middle son as his Prime Minister and give him a few fancy titles and estates that ensure the youngest son can't simply dispose of him. The middle son will act like a moral check on the youngest son as well as keep the interests of the commoners in check.
Just give the oldest son a token escort of men at arms and let him claim his own realm somewhere far away where he won't bother us.
>>45874794
First son is incompetent, so nope.
Second son seems ideal, but he'll likely be murdered by the third.
Third son it is, first son will likely not risk creating an army for fear of assassination and second son will hopefully work with third to ensure a prosperous kingdom.
Youngest son. Kill the oldest, help middle get out of Dodge and change his name. It is better to be feared than loved. An evil king is an effective king
, and if it ever gets too bad you can round up one of his bastards and replace the fucker
>>45874935
A minor angel comes down from the heavens and delivers a message: You won the celestial lottery and just to answer a few questions to claim your prize!
>>45878775
>This Frankish son of a bitch is ruling the restored Roman Empire and basically, you are fucking stupid
>How?... Just watch this free video
>>45878575
I don't get why people never understand how succession laws work.
It doesn't matter how much better the second or third son is, the first one gets the throne because this kingdom operates under either gavelkind or primogeniture, if it didn't an unrelated Duke might have a chance at succession because this is Elective yo.
If the eldest son is really that incompetent, how this will go down is the son rules ineffectually for a couple years before dying in a "tragic hunting accident", civil war breaks out as a younger son with the claim pushes it, or a younger son becomes the power behind the throne as the eldest son simply warms it.
"The King chooses who succeeds him" is not a valid form of succession law.
The king assassinates his eldest son, then proclaims his middle son as the heir of the crown loudly and repeatedly. The third son is left alone: if the middle son lives, the third son may be necessary to ensure the royal lineage; if the middle son is killed by his younger brother, there is still a prince to claim the crown.
If all three sons end up dead by the end, fuck it why should he care -- he would be dead by then and he had done what he could for the family legacy.
>>45879081
>I don't get why people never understand how succession laws work.
It's almost as if different cultures and even different dynasties have different rules for succession.
>>45874794
Is this the Cursed Kings?
Because it sounds like the Cursed Kings.
>>45874794
His daughter.
