Arresting the PCs

[anest1s]

yeah but if they agree to go to prison then it wont have the same feel. if they have no choice or way out then itll start to feel like they really are in prison. maybe they can figure out how to bribe a guard or something. they have to actually figure out what to do and find a way out

Tell them that if they wont finish the prison quest in x days Y guard will sneak them out, since he works for the one who ill give the quest.
Once inside the prison, said guard gets arrested for treason, along with the quest-giver.

This will reeeeally make your PCs blood thirsty though, lol

hey even if they were falsely accused its still illegal to resst arrest and murder the law

I don't know what happened in the game....if the guard were like "We will prison you forevar!" the PCs would be "No you won't" by default...if it isn't legal is an other thing (they are good, not lawful )

But yes, it is illegal (or it may be) and it can be used in a future trial against them.

 

[Sekhmet]

They've killed guards who were just doing their jobs.
Now, this made up charge by some General is not their only concern. The local constabulary will be up-in-arms about the murder of their soldiers, and the local lords will want your party to pay as well.

The local Thieve's Guild (if they've branched out into assassination/murder) will want your party accounted for, because it is bad for business if anyone can kill anyone; plus, since those guards were doing dirty business, they could have been paid off by the Thieve's Guild, and then it's not only treading on the Guild's toes, it's taking money out of their pockets.

Suddenly the tavern's and common places in nearby cities are abuzz with the news of some rogue adventurers killing innocent guardsmen, and other adventuring parties are going to hear about it and come looking for the reward: Adventurers of level 5 or 6.

The nearest Paladin of Tyr, Helm, or St. Cuthbert is going to come looking for justice or retribution, and you can bet that Paladin is going to be level 10+.

The reward on their heads is going to bring in Mercenary companies, with a ton of low level (level 1 or 2) meat shields to try to fight for whatever scrap of gold they can off of your party's hides.

If they are still Good, they might be willing to go to trial for killing Guards.

If they are no longer Good (which sounds like it may be the case), they may start trying to bribe/intimidate their way out of the situation they have holed themselves into. Try that on the wrong nobleman, who happens to have a hedge wizard in his court, and you're in an entirely new world of hurt: Every move you make is scryed, and opposition is everywhere now.

tl:dr so many ways to entrap the PC's. Once you've sprung any of them, knocking them out with poison, non-lethal damage (especially Blackjacks used by Rogues), or Hold Person spells shouldn't be a problem. Then, it's just a Rope/Chain/Manacle away from a free trip to jail.

 

[Rakusia]

okay since noone else has asked

1. why did the group get arrested in the first place

2. did the players know they were supposed to go to jail and mess it up intentionally? or did they not know it was the plot hook

c. were they actually innocent

 

[Mark CMG]

What do you mean "WE are all good characters?"

 

[Rakusia]

well if he is running a character in th campaign then its even easier to get the guys in jail... while getting ur toon xp and some gold. turn them in. be sneaky about it. wait for them to make camp slip in some poison to knock them out for a few hours. while theyre out just go and turn them in for the reward money and xp for advancing the plot/ neutralizing a threat of whatevr lvl the guys are

 

[JamesonCourage]

okay since noone else has asked

Actually, post number 5, written by the OP, addresses some of your questions.

1. why did the group get arrested in the first place

The OP wrote: "They were being arrested by a corrupt general whose feet they (metaphorically) spat on."

2. did the players know they were supposed to go to jail and mess it up intentionally? or did they not know it was the plot hook

Most players are not privy to plot hooks, though many can spot them. In a situation like the one outlined, the players probably assumed that either they were supposed to go to jail, or they were supposed to fight a corrupt general. As Good characters (supposedly), I'd bet they thought it was the latter option.

However, this question was not answered by the OP, so everything I wrote is speculation.

c. were they actually innocent

From the sounds of it, they are guilty of not respecting authority, which is enough for most nations to legally lock you up in a gritty fantasy world. In many campaigns, creatures do not even get trials.

However, the OP did indicate that the general that was having them arrested was corrupt, so the charges could easily be trumped up. Since the players actually killed the guards, I'm guessing that not only will the trumped up charges (if any) look accurate (why else would they kill to defend themselves?), but the new charges of murder, treason, etc. will all be honest charges against the players.

Though, once again, your question wasn't already answered directly. I feel pretty safe speculating on it, personally.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Today my group started playing the adventure I made recently. In it, the PCs are all supposed to be arrested and sent off to jail. However, instead of agreeing to be arrested, they killed the guards (which I was not expecting them to do, seeing as how we are all good characters). Almost the entire adventure takes place at the jail, so I have to get them arrested somehow. How should I go about getting them arrested if they won't go peacefully?

Learn from this. Next time, start the adventure with them already captured and in jail.

DM Advice #1: D&D players would rather have 100 characters die than have 1 character surrender and be captured.
They will always resist arrest with lethal force, and you cannot capture them without using grossly unfair tactics (or DM Fiat). That's the way D&D works.

DM Advice #2: Don't be attached to your adventure script. Players are unpredictable; they will derail your plots.
You can keep your adventure by adapting to what they've done.
They resisted arrest and are being hunted in the city streets? Have the challenges that were in the prison come out after them (prisoners released to hunt the PCs on promises of clemency, etc.). They decide to hide out in a chunk of the prison, because who's going to look there for escapees? Use scrying magic to find them, or have a servant stumble upon them (do they kill the innocent kid to keep their secret?).

Good luck.

 

[Nimloth]

Learn from this. Next time, start the adventure with them already captured and in jail.

DM Advice #1: D&D players would rather have 100 characters die than have 1 character surrender and be captured.
They will always resist arrest with lethal force, and you cannot capture them without using grossly unfair tactics (or DM Fiat). That's the way D&D works.

DM Advice #2: Don't be attached to your adventure script. Players are unpredictable; they will derail your plots.
You can keep your adventure by adapting to what they've done.
They resisted arrest and are being hunted in the city streets? Have the challenges that were in the prison come out after them (prisoners released to hunt the PCs on promises of clemency, etc.). They decide to hide out in a chunk of the prison, because who's going to look there for escapees? Use scrying magic to find them, or have a servant stumble upon them (do they kill the innocent kid to keep their secret?).

Good luck.

That is so so true. Most players would rather have their characters die than
- loose control (enchantment(charm person, etc...), railroad plots or alignment debates("thats not what your character would do"))
- loose their toys (sunder or theft)
- loose freedom (imprisionment)


I had my (all good) group encounter a demon holding an unconcious woman and baby (the group knew) by the neck. The demon was obviously very powerful and far enough away that they could not do anything about it. The villian said, "Don't move or do anything, or they die". Before he could say more, 1/2 the group had moved/drawn weapons/cast spells. The hostages died.

No plot survives contact with the players.

 

[Steveth]

Thanks for the ideas/advice everyone. I think what I'll do is (instead of using nonlethal damage) have an undercover guard meet them in the local tavern late at night and poison their drinks, then have more guards move in after they've drank the poison.

 

[Rakusia]

kinda off topic but i dont let a persons alignment tell them what they can or cant do. if they cant rp their chosen alignment ill just change it to one they can. and let whatever happens as a result happen