It is time to throw the party in the dungeon

[Ayrk]

So I have a party of 8 9th level characters that need to feel the shackles of being in prison on them.

I'm having a difficult time trying to figure out an easy way to capture them without just waving my magic wand and sending everyone to sleep.

I would kill for a powerful mass sleep or even a Power Word Sleep spell.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[green slime]

Role play it.

Do not hand wave or come over the top.

Instead, you may want to consider them being approached by representatives of the lawful authority in the city in which they reside, who ask that they come peacefully to the local office for "questioning". Preferably, this works better in an environment that doesn't allow PC's the right to walk around town in armour, armed to the teeth.

 

[smootrk]

Or appeal to the players themselves to indulge you with a little realism...

The characters are literally caught with the pants down (as in unarmed, unarmoured, without their material possessions at the ready). Make the whole process of capture part of a narrative that you simply read/explain to them stressing that it is all part of an overall plot-device, and assure them that in the end the characters will all 'get their stuff back' or otherwise be compensated to the appropriate power-level. Different characters might need to have varying types of 'encouraging'...
the barbarian is actually cornered by a high level mage who seizes control of his dim-witted mind. the cleric is commanded by senior priest of his faith to comply (which could be part of a corruption type plot device all by itself). the mage is confronted by a squad of able warriors while within the confines of an anti-magic zone; etc.... basically you may need to tailor the specifics to the party.

 

[GammaPaladin]

Just surround them with numbers they (obviously) can't beat.

1000 soldiers with a few decent level classed NPCs as officers is a pretty good way of making the point.

 

[Darklone]

Well.... putting them into jail without giving them a chance is a BAAAAAAAAAAAAD idea. Players hate that.

That means you have to be sneaky. Put them into a battle after they made some bad decisions (I mean, hey, there oughta be a reason why they are put into jail, what about something with the headpaladins wife?).

Make it look like they have real bad luck. Or try several times to do them. Or put some assassins after them... and have some friends call the city watch. That saves them... when half of the group is dead or dying on the floor and most of their spells are gone. Then the city watch officer says: Hey, do I know you?

Then you lean back, get a beer and tell the players you like this campaign too much to do what happens if they screw up... TPK.

Then grumble and throw them into jail. And have them thank you for it.

 

[blargney the second]

Option 1) Send a group of city guards that they've encountered before on friendly terms. The guards ask them to come quietly, all while looking very uncomfortable and suitably frightened of the higher-level adventurers. Cold sweats, stutters, shaking hands, etc. Sometimes just pacifying their egos works wonders.

Option 2) Time to hook up with some inevitables! Two zelekhuts should do the trick.
-blarg

 

[Quartz]

A better way is to ask them: "Guys, the next adventure requires that you all be in prison; how did it happen?" Then run with it. Maybe add, "I'd like you to involve X, Y, and Z." This way, while you're railroading them, you're railroading them on their terms.

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

I second Quartz's approach.

Overwhelming numbers, hand waving, "failed" saving throws... these things just don't go over well with people. If you're going to jam them up, be up front and honest about it, and let them help you stick their characters in that situation.

Any other approach is lying to them. I know a lot of people like to think they're crafty (or their players are kinda slow), but people aren't as dumb as you think they are. Pull something dishonest, and you're going to lose their trust.

 

[Delta]

This is third-rail issue, discussed many times. Don't do it. Or if you simply must, don't try to be clever about it -- just have them wake up in prison.

Players hate being captured worse than being dead. They will resist with all their might and are generally willing to try carving through an army of thousands to resist capture. If you start bending rules to enforce the capture they'll take great umbrage at that.

If some challenging fight just happens to go bad, enemies deciding to imprison them is legitimate. But pre-planning and enforcing a capture is possibly the single worst commonly-made mistake a DM can make with their campaign and play group.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

A better way is to ask them: "Guys, the next adventure requires that you all be in prison; how did it happen?" Then run with it. Maybe add, "I'd like you to involve X, Y, and Z." This way, while you're railroading them, you're railroading them on their terms.

Another thing that you might consider doing, is to let the characters have known that their arrest was impending, so that they could leave their valuables in the charge of trusted compatriots, or whatever, to be retrieved after their eventual release (or escape, whatever). That way, you don't have the players worrying about what might happen to their favorite stuff.

Later
silver