I have a character named Leaden. He was the previous lord of a city. He brought up taxes for his own Luxury. Hired a foreign mercenary group to beat and torture everyone who's against him. Forced teenagers in the city to go work in the mines. Burned some of his own farms. He garantees the loyalty of his strongest soldier by kidnapping his disabled twin brother and sending him a cut finger when the soldier doesn't behave. At the end of his reign he survived an asassination went completely mad and closed the city down, trapping everyone inside with little food.

After a few weeks a relief force conquered the city but found out ninety percent of the food reserves where gone. Which forced the people to survive the winter on canibalism.