lords-of-ash/docs/bookmarks/the end of an empire/events.md

The End of an Empire - Event Ideas

Events drawn from Mistborn: The Final Empire (Book 1). Organized by theme and approximate narrative arc. Each entry notes the book moment and how it could translate to CK3 mechanics.

Kelsier's Crew & The Heist

The Crew Assembly

Kelsier recruits a thieving crew to overthrow the Final Empire. Each member is a specialist Misting.

• CK3: Event chain for assembling a "crew" — recruit courtiers with specific Misting traits. Each recruitment has skill checks and costs. Completing the full crew grants a modifier or unlocks the rebellion decision.

The Skaa Army

Kelsier and Yeden secretly train a skaa army in caves outside Luthadel. The army is eventually discovered and slaughtered by koloss before it's ready.

• CK3: Decision to raise a hidden levy. Building it takes years via events. Risk of discovery increases over time (Lord Ruler attention checks). If discovered early, the army is destroyed and attention spikes. If it survives, unlocks a war option.

Infiltrating the Noble Houses

Vin attends noble balls disguised as "Valette Renoux" to gather intelligence and sow discord between Great Houses.

• CK3: Spy scheme targeting noble courts. Ball events where you choose which house to approach, which rumors to spread, which alliances to undermine. Success shifts house rivalries. Failure risks your agent's cover being blown.

Raids on Noble Houses

The crew stages raids on noble house assets — hitting warehouses, supply lines, and atium caches to destabilize their power.

• CK3: Hostile scheme or decision chain targeting rival houses. Steal gold, reduce their county control, lower their prestige. Escalating consequences if caught.

The Eleventh Metal

Kelsier discovers malatium (the eleventh metal) and tries to use it against the Lord Ruler, seeing his past self as a common man.

• CK3: Rare event chain where a Mistborn/Augur character discovers a new metal. Reveals hidden information about a powerful character (secret traits, true origins). Doesn't grant combat power but gives a major intrigue advantage.

Allomantic Moments

Vin's Snapping

Vin snaps during a brutal beating by Camon's crew, unknowingly using Allomancy (Soothing) to survive. She doesn't understand her powers until Kelsier finds her.

• CK3: Already partially implemented in snapping events. Could add a variant where a skaa character snaps "in the wild" without noble oversight — they become a hidden Allomancer, discovered later.

Allomantic Training

Kelsier trains Vin in each metal one by one — steel/iron pushing and pulling, tin senses, pewter strength, emotional Allomancy.

• CK3: Education-style event chain for characters with allomantic potential. A Mistborn mentor teaches a young character, with choices that influence which metal they're strongest with. Could grant the allomantic_strong trait on completion.

Mistborn Duels in the Mists

Kelsier and Vin fight Steel Inquisitors and each other in the mists, using coins, metal pushing/pulling, pewter-enhanced acrobatics.

• CK3: Personal combat events for Mistborn characters. When two Allomancers duel, special options based on their metal type. Coinshots get ranged attacks, Thugs get endurance, Tineyes detect ambushes.

Vin Kills Shan Elariel

Vin fights and kills Shan Elariel (a Mistborn) at a noble ball when Shan's assassination attempt is revealed. The ballroom fight exposes Vin's true power.

• CK3: Ball event variant — an assassination attempt during a ball. If the target is a Mistborn, they can fight back. Dramatic outcome reveals hidden Mistborn status to all attendees. Major political fallout.

Political Intrigue

House Wars

Kelsier's plan hinges on the Great Houses turning on each other. He orchestrates attacks that look like inter-house warfare, making Venture blame Elariel and vice versa.

• CK3: "False flag" scheme — commit a hostile action against a house but frame a different house. On success, the target and the framed house start a feud. On failure, your involvement is exposed.

The Atium Contract

The Great Houses compete for the Lord Ruler's atium contract — the exclusive right to purchase atium from the Pits of Hathsin. It's the ultimate prize in noble politics.

• CK3: Periodic event where the Lord Ruler (event character) offers the atium contract. Houses bid prestige and gold. Winner gets massive income and the atium_supply modifier. Losers gain rivalry opinions.

Obligator Oversight

Steel Ministry obligators witness every noble contract, monitor inter- house dealings, and report suspicious activity.

• CK3: Random events where an obligator notices something — a suspicious transaction, a secret meeting, a skaa mistress. Player chooses: bribe the obligator, intimidate, or accept the scrutiny. Each choice affects lord_ruler_attention.

Skaa Mistress Scandal

Noble men keep skaa mistresses but are required by law to kill them afterward to prevent half-breed Allomancers. Some nobles secretly keep their children alive.

• CK3: Event chain for noble characters. A skaa lover becomes pregnant. Choice: follow the law (kill her, lose stress but gain Lord Ruler favor) or hide the child (risk of discovery, but the child may carry allomantic_potential). If discovered, massive attention spike and disgrace.

The Lord Ruler

Lord Ruler Attention System (IMPLEMENTED)

A variable-based tracking system (0-100) already exists. Actions that defy the Lord Ruler increase attention; consequences escalate through three tiers. Attention decays naturally over time (-3/year, faster for loyal Steel Ministry followers). Attention increases from: holding 3+ kingdoms (+10), harboring a Mistborn (+5), non-Steel Ministry faith (+20), being a Compounder (+30).

The following tier events are implemented in events/lord_ruler_events.txt:

Tier 1 — Obligator Warning (attention 25-59) mistborn_lord_ruler.0001 — An obligator arrives to investigate your growing influence. Three options:

• Submit: pay 200 gold + 100 prestige, attention -15 (stresses the ambitious and arrogant)
• Deflect (requires diplomacy 12): attention -8, costs 25 prestige
• Defy: gain 50 prestige, attention +20, stress +30 (near-suicidal but brave characters may prefer it) Cooldown: 3 years.

Tier 2 — Inquisition Visit (attention 60-89) mistborn_lord_ruler.0010 — Steel Inquisitors come to your keep. A random courtier is selected as a potential victim (weighted toward Mistborn, those with allomantic potential, and close family). Options:

• Full submission: victim executed, lose 500 gold + 300 prestige + a county title, attention reset to 20
• Plead innocence (requires diplomacy 16): duel check — success drops attention by 20, failure kills the victim and costs 300 gold + 200 prestige and attention +10
• Resist: gain 200 prestige, attention +30, then a random outcome — 20% miraculous survival (wounded_3), 50% heavy casualties (wounded_3
  • courtiers killed), 30% death Cooldown: 5 years.

Tier 3 — The Lord Ruler's Wrath (attention 90+) mistborn_lord_ruler.0020 — The Lord Ruler himself acts. Devastating and nearly unavoidable. Single option (survive... barely):

• 60% chance each close family member dies
• 40% chance each courtier dies
• All titles except capital stripped
• Capital gets koloss_rampage modifier (10 years)
• Lose 1000 gold + 500 prestige, wounded_3, +100 stress
• 15% chance of outright death
• Attention reset to 0 Cooldown: 20 years.

Attention Decay (hidden, yearly) mistborn_lord_ruler.0030 — Base -3/year decay. Extra -2 for loyal Steel Ministry followers who aren't ambitious. Cannot drop below 0.

Attention Gain Tracking (hidden, yearly) mistborn_lord_ruler.0040 — Scans for attention-increasing behaviors and applies them. Initializes the variable if not set. Capped at 100.

Steel Inquisitor Investigation

Inquisitors arrive to investigate a character suspected of harboring skaa Allomancers or plotting against the empire.

• CK3: The Tier 2 event covers the core of this. Could expand with a specific Inquisitor event chain: they arrive, interrogate your courtiers, search your keep. If you have hidden skaa Allomancers or rebellion flags, you must pass checks or lose them.

Audience with the Lord Ruler

Being summoned before the Lord Ruler. He can grant favor, strip titles, or simply execute you on a whim.

• CK3: The Tier 3 event is the punitive version. Could add a separate "summoned for favor" event at low attention — rewarding loyalty with gold, titles, or the atium contract.

The Lord Ruler's Immortality

The Lord Ruler uses Compounding (Allomancy + Feruchemy on the same metal) to be effectively immortal. He's ruled for a thousand years.

• CK3: The Lord Ruler should be an immortal character with compounder_modifier and massive stats. If anyone discovers the secret of Compounding, it's a game-changing event.

The Rebellion

Skaa Uprising

Mass skaa revolt in Luthadel's streets. Normally crushed easily, but Kelsier's preparation makes this one different.

• CK3: Faction-style mechanic. Skaa rebellion builds over time based on tyranny, crackdowns, and hidden rebel cells. When it fires, it's a civil war event — but unlike normal factions, it can be amplified by hidden Allomancer support.

Kelsier's Death

Kelsier fights the Lord Ruler publicly and is killed. His death becomes a martyrdom that ignites the revolution — "I am hope." The skaa revolt not despite his death but because of it.

• CK3: If a rebel leader with high prestige dies in a duel/execution against the Lord Ruler or Inquisitors, instead of ending the rebellion it strengthens it. The dead leader becomes a religious figure (Survivorism). Massive opinion and faction power boost.

The Fall of Kredik Shaw

Vin confronts the Lord Ruler, discovers he's a Feruchemist using Compounding, and kills him by tearing out his atium bracers (removing his ability to Compound). The Final Empire collapses.

• CK3: End-game event chain. If an attacker can identify and remove the Lord Ruler's Compounding (requires a character who understands both Allomancy and Feruchemy), they can strip his immortality. This could trigger a unique war where the Lord Ruler becomes mortal and killable. Victory collapses the empire title.

Atmosphere & Flavor

Ash Falls

Constant ashfall from the ashmounts, covering everything in grey. Workers must clear the streets daily.

• CK3: Periodic province event. Ash blight modifier applied randomly. Can be mitigated by spending gold (skaa labor to clear it). Neglecting it tanks development.

The Mists

Every night, thick mists roll in. Most people fear the mists. Mistborn thrive in them. Occasionally the mists "snap" someone.

• CK3: Yearly pulse event. Characters traveling at night may encounter the mists. Allomancers get a positive modifier (mist-born confidence). Non-Allomancers may gain stress. Rarely, the mists trigger a snapping event for someone with potential.

The Pits of Hathsin

A horrific prison camp where skaa mine atium crystals from geodes in underground caverns. Considered inescapable — until Kelsier broke out.

• CK3: Province modifier for Pits of Hathsin. Generates atium income but at massive tyranny/opinion cost. Characters sent there can rarely escape (event chain with very low odds). If they do, they snap and become an Allomancer (like Kelsier).

The Flower

Kelsier discovers a single flower growing in the ash — proof that beauty can survive even in the Lord Ruler's world.

• CK3: Rare positive flavor event. Finding something beautiful in the ash. Reduces stress, gives a small morale modifier. A quiet moment of hope in a dark world.

Sazed's Knowledge

Sazed the Terris Keeper carries hundreds of religions in his copperminds, preserving them against the Lord Ruler's suppression.

• CK3: Feruchemist characters with coppermind access can trigger learning events — discovering lost religions, forgotten history, ancient techniques. Each discovery is a small reward (learning boost, piety, or unlocking a decision).