Royal Murder blood bath

saving.ophelia — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:24:09 -0600

Basically, there's a royal in the palace that has become the target somehow of every prodigy assassin that ever belonged to the trade. My story climaxes where all these assassins finaly crash the palace to find they're eachother's competition in killing the same person, what I need now is a premise for why so many guilds would send their people against a king and thus against their own peers in their speciality. In this country, everything has a guild, even the assassins. There are assassins guilds and different assasin factions which conduct business with relatively no animosity, or rather indifferent towards one another. What I need is a basis as to what would now suddenly lead to a situation that was so wild and violent it led to indivduals killing eachother in order to kill one man. It's very unusual for more than one assassin or assassins from different guilds to be sent on the same hit. One guild in a country from the Far West sends their special desert assassins against the royal because they suspect the royal kidnapped their lovely rose of the desert (think Sheherezade-ish) Another guild from ANOTHER country just has a grudge against the royal so they send their own men. My main question would be, what is the basis for this complication where for the first time assassin's have to fight eachother to kill the same man. And if everyone wanted him dead so bad, then why didn't they just NOT pay for it and consider that since OTHER assassins are being sent against him they really don't need to even bother themselves with the job. It's a very competitive professinon, but it's also extremely impersonal, which is a why a showdown like this is extremely improbable in their world, astounding even, but happens anyway. So I need a situation a la Smokin' Aces.

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

Tricket — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:42:25 -0600

What if the whole thing was a set up - the whole thing purposefully crafted to kill as many assassins as possible, or to get the Far West guild and the opposing country's guild caught in a crossfire, which would keep the royal clear of suspicion. Instead, blame for the killing of these assassins would be placed on the young assassins? Or, it could just be a widespread move to obliterate the assassins guilds altogether. Perhaps, the royal is paranoid. Kidnapping the desert rose (and possibly other acts) has made him fearful for his life and/or position. He orchestrates a series of rumors that would lead to the guild masters sending men after him (or perhaps, they are in on it?). Of course, he has escape plans - or so he thinks (depending on whether you want him dead or not). It could also be a move to show the royal's power. He wants other countries to see him as undefeatable. Surely, having a bunch of assassins come at you all at once (and surviving the attempts) would show power. To do this, he's secretly offered a prize to the guild master who's assassin comes closest to killing him. Would help solve the problem over why it's first time assassins being sent and not trained assassins. Or maybe, it's just a bet between the guild masters. Perhaps they are unaware that the desert assassin and the foreign assassin have been sent. It's a game of boasting rights. No one really likes the royal anyway, so why not have him offed? He's difficult prey, and sending the first time assassin would be a way to prove who trains their assassins best? (Or, perhaps, it's not just bragging rights, but the rights to a very worthwhile hit. Whoever kills the royal gets to take on the most profitable hit in history, but first, they have to prove themselves.)

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

saving.ophelia — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:06:52 -0600

I like the thought of showing off the royal's power, and even the bet between guild masters. However, these aren't first time assassins, these are the debonairs, the avant-gardes, the assassins that are formidable and trained. Of course amateurs also get mixed in with the plot to kill the king and thus don't last as far...but, why would guildmaster's try to loose their own assassin's to bragging rights? They could die! And where would that revenue go. It must be understood that the assassin's are loyal to their guild in the way a man is loyal to a business contract in the company he works for, it's a monetary life long arrangement. So there are wierd cult fanatics who're so stupidly loyal they're willing to die just to prove their guild is the best. Every asssassin keeps to themselves, and doesn't give a damn about making his guildmates look good or even teamwork for that matter. The system of guilds was introduced just to control the business aspect of it and make it more organisational and civilised so everyone can benefit. Think of organised prostituion in Amsterdam, sort of. So if even elite assassins know they're going into a huge showdown for no better reason than 'group image' then likely enough they're not even going to bother showing up. But thanks for the input, it's helping me sort things out!

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

larelmian — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:55:50 -0600

I like the idea of a conspiracy targeting the assassins. Who wants to have a lot of paid killers around? Not this royal; someone will probably come after him sooner or later. The royal could be hiring the assassins from all the guilds. Lure all of them into a trap, let them kill each other, and then have the guards or a death trap or fire or some rabid monster finish them all off. Of course, the royal is nowhere near the castle at the time.

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

AnnieDayNow — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:36:35 -0600

Sounds almost like a Xanatos Gambit. Someone (perhaps a new guild or a royal down the line of succession) has engineered it so no matter what happens, they come out ahead. If the assassins kill each other off, then that's good. If they manage to work together, then the royal is killed, and that's also good. The guilds' credibility could be damaged. Any number of things could happen, and any or all of them will benefit whomever set it in motion.

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

cadaughtrey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:21:06 -0600

A simple solution: straight cash, homey. Perhaps the bounty on this particular royal's head to so ridiculously high that its impossible to pass up. That was the premise in the movie Smokin' Aces. A prominent mob boss needed a heart transplant and the only match was his bastard son who's a lounge act in Lake Tahoe. They end up putting out like a $10million bounty for the guy's heart. So, all manner of hitmen and even the FBI descend on this one casino trying to catch him.

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

awesomeo — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:23:44 -0600

No the answer rests with one of the assassins. The guilds know that one of their own is a traitor (somehow). They don't know which, but each has narrowed it down. So they send ALL the suspects on a faux mission (no one really cares about the royal at all; but they won't cry over his death) that is MEANT to be a giant cluster**** that will get all the assassins exposed and killed. Then you get the added bonus of the royal NOT being special at all. He was just a target for the sake of convenience. As if the world revolves around one man...

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

saving.ophelia — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:46:00 -0600

Wow, that's alot to take in, and so many ways I can't even get my head around. I'll work on this!

Re: Royal Murder blood bath

OnyxFlame — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:04:47 -0600

Heh, what'd really be funny is if when the survivor finally gets around to killing the prince, he discovers it's not really the prince after all, but some peasant boy who looks like him that the parents have put there since they know people want their son dead. ;)