A murder dilemma

[Sammael]

Hello. I'd appreciate some feedback on the dilemma I have as a DM after tonight's session. I'll cross-post this on other forums so as to get as much feedback as possible.

Tonight's session went unexpectedly for me. I had planned to have the party (level 11-12, NG sun elf wizard, NG human cleric of Selune, LN human fighter, N moon elf monk - yes, I allow nonlawful monks, N human enchanter, CN halfling rogue) be ambushed by a group of bounty hunters who are after the halfling's head (reward 20,000 gp). Unfortunately, halfling's player was away tonight, so I had to play him as an NPC.

There is a lot more to the story, but the point is this: the first bounty hunters (four level 5 fighter-types) was an unwitting decoy for the second group (four level 9-10 characters). After the first group attacked (and got slaughtered/disabled in two rounds), the second group teleported in (having scried on the first group via magical tokens disguised as coins) and started its attack. The PCs made short work of them as well, but managed to take one (a CE half-elf bard) alive. Party monk disarmed him and was standing above with a sword to his heart, and then the enchanter cast dominate person and proceeded to interrogate him. After the enchanter ordered him to remove all his magic items, I decreed that another save was allowed, and he passed.

Now, since he was pretty intelligent, and had good diplomatic skills, I decided that he would plead for his life and try to get them to let him go. When that failed, I had him plead to the LN fighter to take him to prison (since he saw that other party members weren't so keen on letting him stay alive). Now, the LN fighter is a fairly high-ranking member of the Berdusk guard, and he would have certainly taken him to jail... but then the monk coup-the-graced him. The monk had a few reasons to do this, although he acted mostly on impulse (the bard demanded that he should be taken to prison, which is what pissed the monk off, I believe).

Whoops. Murder. Within the Berdusk zone of control. The fighter requested that the party returned to Berdusk, and the monk went willingly and even offered fighter his weapon as a sign of goodwill. They went to the city guard, and the monk was allowed to stay free until the trial (based on previous behavior and the fact that three party members are Harpers).

And here I was, stuck with an unpredicted situation, and trying desperately to think of something to get him free. Since the murdered bard admitted to being in Darkhold a few weeks previously while being interrogated, and one of the party Harpers informed the Twilight Hall of this, I had one of the Harper-high-ups offer to be the monk's lawyer, in exchange for two things.

First, the Harper would do her best to push for a verdict where the monk had to pay for the murdered bard to be raised (so, 5,000 gp and 900 xp for a 9th level character as per my campaign house rules), so that the Harpers don't have to pay those costs - and then get to interrogate him to their heart's content.

Second, that he should become an agent for the Harpers. Due to his vast knowledge and other campaign circumstances, the Harpers would really want him in their ranks, murder or no.

The player asked for some time to think, which I gave him. And then, he declined. He said that it was OOC for him to pay for the bard's raising since he didn't feel any remorse for the act, and that he did not want to become a pawn of the Harpers. Fair enough. I warned him that he is looking at a sentence in prison and that he'll have to effectively retire the character, and he said that he'd rather do that than play OOC. The session thus ended.

But, he really likes playing this character. As a DM, I would absolutely HATE for him to have to retire him. Furthermore, I had some nifty plans for his character's future (although that is secondary). And, after all this introductory text, here is my question: how should I fix the trial so that he doesn't have to retire the character?

 

[DragonLancer]

I'm a firm believer that characters have to pay for their actions. Repercussions and all that. He got himself into this mess.

However, there is always the possiblity that the courts could be leniant. The bard was an assassin sent to kill them, and the party reacted in self-defence (though the prosecution will say that the murder took place after the fact), and since the party are associated with the Harpers and have done no other dispecable acts, the monk could be placed under the "care" of the Fighter who if willing, would be responsible for him until he has paid his debt.
You could use that as a means of dragging the party into other adventures.

 

[green slime]

There are heaps of ways to avoid this:

One way is to avoid the trial coming to pass: War, revolution, pestilence, invasion of X...

Another is to interrupt the trial:
The murder of the jury members during the trial. Murder the judge during the trial.

The character is kidnapped by aliens to do some odd job, the law thinks he is on the run... and places a bounty on his head too...

Mistaken Identity: Another criminal is murdered, and appears just like him, so the case is dismissed, OR is sentenced instead of the character, despite his protestations, OR ...

These things just go on.

 

[Pielorinho]

I dunno--I think it'd be appropriate to raise the assassin and throw the monk in prison until and unless he pays the fine. The assassin goes in prison, too.

He may not want to play out of character, but I imagine he also doesn't want you to play the world out of character. Part of the challenge of good roleplaying is finding in-character ways to advance the story; this might give him a chance to learn that lesson .

Daniel

 

[reveal]

Is Bounty Hunting illegal in the kingdom? I've seen the term "assassin" thrown around but it's my understanding the folks were simply collecting on a bounty.

Anyway, I would let monk rot. The player took the law into his own hands, against the wishes of a representative of the high guard. It was a murderous act as it seems to go against the law of the land. The monk should stand trial and be punished, which the player is willing to do.

However, the question is this: Did the PLAYER make a rash decision or did the CHARACTER? If the player did so simply to "shut the bard up" then some retraction may be in order. Don't punish the player because they made a rash decision.

But if the character made the decision, then the character must pay for it.

 

[Kareyev]

Two thoughts for you to ponder.

1) First, is there a rule of law in the land? Or a rule of men? If the rulers do not follow a rule of law and use their own judgment instead then it opens up all sorts of possibilities. A noble could say that the good the character has done for the people of the city outweighs this one crime. They could admonish the character publicly and privately say "just don't do it again".

2) Prison? Wow. Is the city large enough to afford a prison? If the city isn't going to give him the death penalty perhaps exile from the city is a more economical option the gov't would prefer.

 

[Pielorinho]

Ooh, exile might be good--especially if the fighter pulls some strings to get it to happen.

Another option: if the monk refuses to pay, the fighter, as the city's representative in the group, is forced to pay. Although this might sound mean, it might be the best way to save face. The fighter's going to be very mad at the monk, and the monk might be willing to forgo his share of the treasure for long enough to "repay" the fighter. Even if he's not willing, the rest of the group might outvote him .

In any case, if the monk gets by without prison time, I think his would-be assassin ought to get the same treatment. Set the assassin free and have him be looking for revenge--or else looking to make amends.

Daniel

 

[LostSoul]

Set up the pins, let the PCs knock them down. He did the crime, let him do the time. If he wants to get out of prison, let him try. He's a monk, his fists are registered weapons, he don't need no stinkin' gear. He should be able to get out.

(Ahh, all cliched out. )

The big problem would be if the other PCs get upset with him for breaking the law, and all that sort of thing. But that's something for them to work out.

 

[billd91]

I think making the monk just pay for the bounty hunter's raising IS being quite lenient. Many more places would probably be much harsher for such a crime. If the monk won't pony up the cash, and the town has a prison, then he should do the time. Or brand him, maybe. He remains free, but he stays marked for the reset of his life for his deed. That should convince him to put up the money for making foolish, rash decisions.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Monk goes to prison.

Bard is raised. Bard sets in motion plot to have the Monk killed in prison, even while the bard stands trial (he does afterall, possess some influence in such places).

Monk's fellow party members stumble upon said plot. Monk enters minor difficulties in prison, most of them involving typical prison (not dungeon I imagine?) hiearchy showdowns, should involve some neat fights, roleplay. Have convicts ask what monk is in the for, perhaps monk even starts a following.

Party members trying to devise way to get monk out or somehow stop the plot. Discover prison guards involved in corruption. Everything set in motion, may be too late. What could killl the monk? In his sleep? What is it?? Maybe party manages to get message to monk, etc.

Just set it up and let the PCs figure it out. Perhaps the monk may start a riot in the prison to confuse the corrupt guards, stall the plot, all the while his party tries to uncover enough evidence to prove theplot and the corruption.

Sounds like fun! Anyone see Last Castle? Maybe even the party members manage to get on the inside themselves?

edit - btw, the monk may even be treated as a highly dangerous fugitive once he gets to the corrupt prison. Imagine an evil Jet-Li put in heavy chains with a giant ball of metal in either side, and a chair he is locked into! Even funnier is watching the monk getting out of it and making it look easy.