The Emperor

Masculinity, He/Him, Fatherhood, Violence, Authority, Pragmatism, Reliability, Stoicism, A Tough Exterior, The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, Side-Eye, Uncomfortable Chairs, Building a Deck

The opposite side of the coin from our last card¹, The Emperor is archetypally masculine. Underneath that cloak is a sports jersey and cargo shorts. The shared themes of “masculinity” and “authority” also carry us to a place of intersection between those two things: fatherhood.

The mountain range, hard stone throne, glower, and armor indicate that this is a hard-edged, strong, well-defended fellow who is not under any circumstances going to reveal his vulnerabilities, or thoughts, or feelings. The Emperor works hard to present the false appearance of invulnerability — at the expense of his relationships and his own mental health, which suffer.

Thematically, narratively, the role of The Emperor is to be the first “boss” that you defeat. He’s a Big Bad, an antagonistic instigator, and he seems, at first, much more powerful than your players — completely unassailable. It’s only over time that cracks in their armor begin to appear.

The Emperor is also very redeemable as a character. If they are the first of the major antagonists in your story, once they’re defeated — should they survive — it’s great to reintroduce them later as an ally. Think Darth Vader, or Asgore Dreemurr².

Friends & Foes

• a Lord British will invite players to his palatial home, then asks them to perform quests on his behalf. He doesn’t offer any kind of reward.

• a Goofy Dad is supportive, friendly, dressed very comfortably, and has a level on his person at all times. He’s fond of terrible puns.

• an Autocratic Leader believes firmly that their domain can only thrive under their complete and unambiguous control. This is often not actually the case: repressive regimes breed corruption and inefficiency³ — but the punishment for pointing out quibbles like that is often very severe.

• an Inadvertent Puppet is powerful and influential, but someone else has been pulling the strings all along.

• nothing happens in this town without the Criminal Kingpin knowing about it, and if there’s money to be made, they want a piece of the action.

• a Big Fish in a Small Pond might be low-ranking or harmless in other contexts, but here they are a serious and threatening antagonist who holds all the cards⁴.

• a Dr. Claw is a distant, un-approachable antagonist who always seems to do their bidding through flunkies, henchmen, or goons.

Hooks

• Everybody your players encounter is obsessed with The Game, although they are very short on details as to what, exactly, The Game entails⁵.

• Word on the streets is that there’s a Secret Underground Fighting Ring, and anybody who can stand after three rounds with their champion stands to win good money.

Locations

• The Seemingly Impregnable Fortress stands imposingly tall and as far as one can tell is utterly impossible to breach.

• The Long-Abandoned Throne Room is a place where a vast and powerful empire once held court. Only dust remains.

• The Colosseum is a vast, oval stadium, hosting violent spectacles for enormous crowds.

• The Winding Mountain Pass is a hard, unforgiving road. The air is thin, and cold, and resources are light.

• The Hall With Many Suits of Armor on Display can provide moments of suspense. Nobody trusts a suit of armor on display: maybe it’ll move on its own! If you leave spaces where there are no suits of armor and then later, chase the players through this hallway, prepare for them to hold very still in the unclaimed spaces⁶.

• The Military Camp is filled with rows and rows of tents — barracks, latrines, and mess tents, hosting a full legion of troops.

Treasures

• The Gabriel’s Sledgehammer⁷ is an unstoppable force in the hands of someone capable of wielding it, but it weighs a ton.

• The Unassailable Armor is actually, one realizes when actually wearing it, just regular armor — not even particularly good armor. Its invulnerability is a complete myth.

Names

Atticus, Clark, Hank, Gomez, Trent, Chad, Brad, Brock, Thad, Brent, Lance, Tucker, Dirk, Biff, Chip, Skip, Rip, Zeke, Mitch