Into the Lion's Den (Dealing with extreme prejudice in game)

In a few sessions, the players in my group will be heading into the lion’s den in game.

Essentially, they need some vital information that can only be obtained from a reclusive sage in the capitol city of a large kingdom. However, this is a human-dominated nation that really looks down their noses at both non-humans like elves and dwarves, but even other humans not from their kingdom because those impure humans mix with the “lesser races.” (If you know the setting, it is the kingdom of Eldor in Kalamar)

The players are not all Eldoran humans – in fact, none of them are. There are three humans in the group that are from the more tolerant kingdom to Eldor’s South, plus an elf, a dwarf and a Halfling. The make-up of the group is a cleric, a fighter/paladin, a rogue, a fighter, a psion and a sorcerer. The elf is from the Lendelwood, an area that Eldor is at war with, though the pace of the war is more along the lines of skirmishes.

Eldor is pretty extreme in their prejudices – no self-respecting merchant will do business with the party if they have a non-human in it; and if caught outside after dark, the non-humans will likely be jailed. Any non-human will also likely get stares and glares when walking through the city during the daytime, and they might find themselves tailed by the city watch and/or beset by a mob of angry locals. The PCs might be able to find a church/temple to stay in while in the city, or else might get lucky and find a place that will charge them double or triple the normal price for a night at the inn.

(And, if you ask why I sent them there in game: I gave the party four different places to find an equivalent sage, but they chose Eldor because it was the closest despite their knowledge of the kingdom’s lack of tolerance.)

So, my questions/comments are:

1) Has anybody run an adventure where almost the entire population of a city of 100,000 people at best will look down upon the party and glare at them, and at worst be openly hostile towards them? If so, how did you handle it? How did it go in game?
2) Any good suggestions/ideas for an encounter in the city beyond the angry mob, followed by the city watch? (The party will likely be level 8-9 in 3.5E here). The sage they seek is at a local college of sages which is somewhat neutral ground, but the party still has to travel through town to get there, and then back again.
3) I am torn between having them get in and out of the city quickly (overnight), and having them stuck there for a bit longer. Would you suggest to the party via an NPC that the three non-humans stay on the ship while the three humans visit the sage? Or, possibly give them a one-shot potion each to alter their appearances so the party can stay together? (Would the dwarf go for that?)

Honestly, the dangerous angry mob usually doesn't form without a deliberate NPC instigator or a peculiar incident raising a prolonged stink.

Have the NPCs be predominantly hostile or afraid of dealing with the characters. No one's going to cut them a break or any slack. They'll be slandered regularly and blamed for misfortunes and crimes they had nothing to do with. PCs are assumed guilty until proven innocent and are generally extremely vulnerable without any real protection under the law.

Imagine a widely known and reviled criminal that's been released - that's the kind of extreme attitude the non-human PCs are going to get, while the human PCs are going to get the guilt by association.

Beyond that, keep in mind that the game worlds is more mutable than the PCs. Manage expectations and don't be afraid to change things around a bit to accommodate the player's expectations.

- Marty Lund

I'd first caution that a little bit of dramatic antagonism goes a long way. Describe the glares and simmering tension, but don't play out every single NPC cursing them. The characters are supposed to feel uncomfortable-- not the players.

2) Any good suggestions/ideas for an encounter in the city beyond the angry mob, followed by the city watch? (The party will likely be level 8-9 in 3.5E here). The sage they seek is at a local college of sages which is somewhat neutral ground, but the party still has to travel through town to get there, and then back again.

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If I used a mob, I'd make it the large, loud, clumsy kind that actually makes it easier for the party to sneak around. If I wanted something more confrontational, I'd have a few particularly foolhardy louts or bigoted soldiers harrass the PCs, while the rest of the populace is content to watch and laugh from the sidelines. Considering the average power of an 8th level PC, such a scene is more about exercising restraint and avoiding conflict than taking on the masses. I'd want the party to feel that their route was tough, but not impossible.

Other fun encounter: the PCs witness other non-humans (maybe a group they've had bad run-ins with before) getting picked on. Do they take advantage of the distraction, or step in to assist, possibly earning new allies?

3) I am torn between having them get in and out of the city quickly (overnight), and having them stuck there for a bit longer. Would you suggest to the party via an NPC that the three non-humans stay on the ship while the three humans visit the sage? Or, possibly give them a one-shot potion each to alter their appearances so the party can stay together? (Would the dwarf go for that?)

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I've found splitting up the party to be a hassle and a drag. The disguise route is actually much more interesting-- imagine the dwarf in disguise having to listen to some soldier's off-hand (and off-color) dwarf joke and having to hold his tongue.

Above all, don't punish the party for choosing to go to such a difficult place-- challenge and reward them for going to a difficult place. (Wow, that sounded like a platitude. Sorry!)

Alas said:

Other fun encounter: the PCs witness other non-humans (maybe a group they've had bad run-ins with before) getting picked on. Do they take advantage of the distraction, or step in to assist, possibly earning new allies?
I've found splitting up the party to be a hassle and a drag. The disguise route is actually much more interesting-- imagine the dwarf in disguise having to listen to some soldier's off-hand (and off-color) dwarf joke and having to hold his tongue.

Above all, don't punish the party for choosing to go to such a difficult place-- challenge and reward them for going to a difficult place. (Wow, that sounded like a platitude. Sorry!)

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The quote is great advice. If the party does choose to split up, make sure the city encounters go quickly -- alternatively, the sage could offer to meet them outside the city, presuming he is not prejudiced himself, if the encounter with him will be more than simply sharing information.

Years ago (back in 2nd edition days) we were playing a campaign in a homebrew world. My character was a fighter from a viking-style culture. (Helfdan Halftroll, the inspiration for my online name). At one point we reached the capital city of a country frequently targeted by these vikings. Of course, Helf's people were hated there.

Now, although they had a reason for disliking vikings, other than simple prejudice, the effect was similar. In this case, they would not hassle the other guys too much, but my character was mistreated by most NPCs... higher prices, etc. And when a group of assassins murdered all the priests of a local temple, despite the fact that the party defeated the culprits, my character was blamed. He was sentenced to die at the local arena, but he made a deal with another convicted gladiator (a new pc), and together, with their friends, and the help of the local thief's guild (the city lord was an evil, oppressive type, the TG was robin-hood-like) we fought our way out of the arena, and out of the city.

The next adventure or too had us evading both city guardsmen and mercenaries hired by the duke to capture us!

I have to say, the prejudice in this case was the trigger and motivation for a lot of excellent adventures. Note this was a very gritty, almost Howardesque setting, and we were not surprised by unjust authorities. I would advise that, if you want something this grim and gritty, make sure your players are aware of the tone you mean to set. I know we had fun, and still talk about this campaign.

Alas said:

Above all, don't punish the party for choosing to go to such a difficult place-- challenge and reward them for going to a difficult place. (Wow, that sounded like a platitude. Sorry!)

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Actually, that is very good advice. They could have chosen to go to any of the other three places and not have had to deal with prejudice, though I had encounters and adventures planned for all four locations (rough sketches, most likely, as I did not want to invest a lot of time prepping for a place they would never go in game…)

Other fun encounter: the PCs witness other non-humans (maybe a group they've had bad run-ins with before) getting picked on. Do they take advantage of the distraction, or step in to assist, possibly earning new allies?

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I can see this going the exactly opposite direction, too: A group of non-humans who are intentionally doing something criminal to some Eldorians. Do the PCs join in, frustrated with the damn city, or do they (likely) walk off?

It should be something "minor"; grafitti, property destruction, or some form of burglary. If it's violent, I'm betting hands down the PCs intervene, being heroes that they are.

A simple "Hey, we're in the same spot, we'll cut you in on the job" type operation would be an enjoyable breath of fresh air/revenge for the players. But if you want to drive the knife in, have the non-humans dupe the PCs, or worse yet, the two groups are "caught" and the non-human criminals blame the PCs.

Depending on what you want to do with your campaign, this sounds like a serious side quest in the making.

The elf alone has a lot of storyline implications depending on his class and attachment to his kingdom. Was he in the military? Have family members died fighting the humans of this kingdom?

The war could heat up suddenly and the elf would need to deal with the social consequences of this.

It might be a good time to some humanization of the foreign enemy that the people are fighting. Maybe he saves some kind of child from getting charged after stealing to feed his hungry sister.

How much do you want to sidetrack? Do you have the time or energy to build up plothooks based off this?

Rechan said:

I can see this going the exactly opposite direction, too: A group of non-humans who are intentionally doing something criminal to some Eldorians. Do the PCs join in, frustrated with the damn city, or do they (likely) walk off?

It should be something "minor"; grafitti, property destruction, or some form of burglary. If it's violent, I'm betting hands down the PCs intervene, being heroes that they are.

A simple "Hey, we're in the same spot, we'll cut you in on the job" type operation would be an enjoyable breath of fresh air/revenge for the players. But if you want to drive the knife in, have the non-humans dupe the PCs, or worse yet, the two groups are "caught" and the non-human criminals blame the PCs.

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Interesting take on things. Thanks for the idea.

icedrake said:

Depending on what you want to do with your campaign, this sounds like a serious side quest in the making.

The elf alone has a lot of storyline implications depending on his class and attachment to his kingdom. Was he in the military? Have family members died fighting the humans of this kingdom?

The war could heat up suddenly and the elf would need to deal with the social consequences of this.

It might be a good time to some humanization of the foreign enemy that the people are fighting. Maybe he saves some kind of child from getting charged after stealing to feed his hungry sister.

How much do you want to sidetrack? Do you have the time or energy to build up plothooks based off this?

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I like the idea of humanizing the enemy, and there are still several sideplots that the PCs have not yet explored and delved into, including apparently, some sort of bounty hunter type was asking about one PC (who escaped from slavery before becoming an adventurer...) This bounty hunter was a cloaked/hooded mysterious figure who was a bit more sophisticated than the typical "rough around the edges" bounty hunter who drags in escaped slaves by their ear. I need to work in an encounter with this figure as well.