The Crimson King of the Crimson Crosses

The Crimson King is the head of the Crimson Crosses criminal empire. The Crimson King presides over a court of four Crimson Lords. The King decides where individual Crimson Lords are needed and where they operate and handles any disputes that may arise between the Lords. The Lords are the visible faces of the organization where the King is always anonymous even in the underworld. Only the four Crimson Lords know the identity of the King for the King at one time was a Lord themselves. To become the King one must be both ruthless and intelligent in equal amounts. No King ever obtains power through simple succession. All four Lords are always planning to overthrow the King. If one succeeds, they then need the means to hold on to the new power as any other Lord will attempt to take advantage if the new King expends too many resources and is left to weak after obtaining power. Traditionally the new King’s trusted lieutenant is the one who takes the place of the former Lord and controls the foot soldiers and resources of that arm of the organization. There is no formal ceremony. The new Lord simply takes their place at the proverbial table and business as usual occurs. Though the new King would nominally have the support of his former lieutenant, a wise King has other resources that not even the new Lord would know about for no one can be trusted in this organization. Fey and infernal pacts are common to help secure additional avenues of protection and it’s not uncommon for a King’s personal guard to be made up of demons or dark fey and to possess powerful magic items for their personal protection. All Crimson Kings make their mark and ascend to their thrones through guile, violence, manipulation and copious amounts of bloodshed.