An idea I got from another board...

[Cheka Man]

what if ---the King's successor must assassinate him by stealth, and prove it, in order to legally ascend the throne? Should he or she fail then execution or at the very least a long prison term is the penalty. The assassination cannot be openly done, must be done by only one person, and then proven in court. In addition no guards or others can be killed or seriously injured. (minor injuries with no long lasting damage is ok though.)

The reason-someone clever enough to penertrate the many layers of royal security is clever enough to be a good king or queen.

Ideas?

[Grey]

I like that idea! it sounds like something that a dark elf culture would do.

[Hrofgar]

A very interesting idea with only one noticeable flaw: what happens when the king/queen dies? They could write down an heir in a secret piece of paper that no one else is allowed to see.

[Kinslayer]

If you don't get away with it, you are caught (and executed).  If you get away with it--and by the above you must be completely stealthy--then how do you prove it was you?  Succession then devolves back into political intrigue as a whole bunch of people claim it was them.  The new ruler then is not the clever person who committed the regicide, but whomever can convince the court (or who already controls the court...) that they were the one responsible.  And what happens if you kill a king that people actually liked?

[Kassy]

What grey said, an entertaining idea as well.

[Drackler]

 To solve that problem, Kinslayer, you could simply have a 'statute of limitations'. Once the king was dead a week (or fortnight) could be set aside as a time of mourning for their lost ruler. If the culprit is not discovered by the end of that time, then they are able to come forward, and, allowing that they can prove they did it, are elevated to ruler ship. Of course, if this was the case then anyone that killed the king would leave very specific circumstances (a broken rose found between the deceased's teeth, a shard of glass wedged up his nose, etc.) so as to be able to prove that they were the perpetrator.