Capture those PCs

[S'mon]

I definitely think "You all wake up in jail" at the start of the session a la Slave Lords is far preferable to the GM trying to force a particular result from a played-through event. Giving the illusion but not reality that the PCs can escape is far more frustrating to players than an honest deus ex machina, I think, and has a respected literary tradition (qv Conan, a lot).

If you want to play it through, you must recognise that the players have the freedom to derail your plans. I agree that for lawful & good-guy groups, the respectful approach stands the most chance of success.

"My lords, I have been ordered to arrest you. If we fight, many will die. I humbly request you to set aside your weapons and accompany me."

This allows the PCs to surrender with their pride intact, knowing that they could have slaughtered dozens of guards, but choosing not to. With mature players it can work very well. With immature players, well, they get to kill the captain & lots of guards and probably their PCs too....

 

[Undead Lincoln]

Use a sting to get the PCs trapped. Have them be summoned by the local lord to his castle. When they get to the front gate, they are greeted by his steward. The steward calls for the gates to be opened and the PCs walk in. When the PCs enter the gatehouse, the portculli in front of them and behind them slam down, the portcullus behind them slams down before the doors in front of them are unbarred, or something similar. Then the captain of the gaurd comes up and says "You are under arrest. Please surrender quietly or we will kill you. Note the murder holes in the ceiling above you and the arrow slits in the walls. In there are X pairs of manacles. One of you will manacle the rest, and then manacle himself to the upper bard of the portcullus."

If the PCs resist have him demonstrate that he will make good on the threat.

This still does not explain how the town watch deals with adventurers that go berserk in town, which they would need a plan for.

 

[painandgreed]

I'm for sending the guard to arrest the party and asking them to surrender but be willing to fight. The challenge for the party will be to escape without killing anybody. If they surrender, clerics will probably be called and spells cast and they'll be freed in pretty short order. The best thing would probably be for the party to surrender while one or two characters escape to notify authorities sypathetic to the adventurers to make sure they aren't railroaded through the "legal system". If they surrender, you continue with your plot line, and if they escape, they have to figure out what is going on and clear themselves (perhaps by surrendering to authorities they know are good and will care about if they are guilty or not).

If they kill the guardsmen, then they're in for a world of hurt if people know who they are. From that point, it's just a matter of more and better guards continuously coming after the characters till they are captured. After killing the first couple of bunches, there would be no real way to ever clear yourself and the only choice is to leave the country (with a bad rep following you).

As for how the guard might capture a vastly powerful adventurer party (in relation to the guard), there are several options. First, is just to have the guard approach the party and explain the situation and tell them that there is no way the guard can beat them, and if they refuse, the gaurd will simply leave but they inform their superiors. Once the hire ups are informed, then a larger better trained group will come for them that will fight. Perhaps a posse of the local militia. Thus the party will have the choice of surrendering or facing many of the local townsfolk in combat and killing them all. Another choice is to try and poison the party. Do they go to the tavern? Do they drink? Slip them some slow acting str poison in their drinks. After they've had a few it starts to take effect and the gaurd comes in and hits them with tangle foot bags. Another plan might be to split up the party first. Offer one or two with "business offers" that must be dealt with one on one only to be traps. Perhaps try using a pretty local girl to lure one of the party off by themselves into a trap. Roleplaying-wise, just go through the various things as if they were planned town encounters for each person and once everybody is commited or not, spring the traps. Get evenone or two of the party seperated and the party becomes less of a problem. Capture one or two and the rest will be more likely to surrender.

 

[the Jester]

"Look, we know that if we try to assault you you'll probably kill a bunch of us- and then you'll be in even worse trouble, as the charges will be expanded to include resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, misuse of magic, and quite possibly murder. Nobody wins. The word is already out that we've got a warrant for you- you should just surrender. Otherwise, you'll be living on the run. And think about it- adventurers of your stature, your faces are known all over. Shopkeepers won't serve you, people in the taverns will turn you in in hopes of getting a reward... On the other hand, if you surrender and stand trial, you'll have a chance to clear your name. You know the right thing to do is to give us your weapons and turn yourself in- and I promise you a fair chance to represent yourselves."

 

[Bryon_Soulweaver]

Dont mind me, though it was anohter thread =P

 

[Rel]

I concur with everything that S'mon and the Jester said. I'll add this:

If it does come down to a fight, have the guards make as much of a show of "overwhelming force" as they're capable of. While the first guy (Captain of the Guard?) is negotiating with the PC's keep referring to how "and you see four more guardsman show up and fall into formation over here" every round or so. That way at least the PC's will get the picture that they are going to have to kill a LOT of these guys to make their escape.

Also, have the guardsmen pick out one of the weaker PC's (maybe a Rogue or Wizard type) and rush him en masse. Once they've grappled him to the ground, prevail upon the party's sense of brotherhood by instructing them that they'll kill the downed party member if the others don't lay aside their weapons.

And I would also give them a gentle reminder that Lawful and Good PC's don't wantonly kill guardsmen who are just doing their jobs.

 

[Ian Sturrock]

Some of this is down to the assumptions people make before a campaign starts, and the agreements (if any) they come to in pre-campaign discussion. In D&D, really, the default assumption is that you can't start people out in prison, because *what would happen to their stuff?!?* Players would think you were cheating, in depriving them of their magic gizmos. If your pre-campaign discussion establishes that, for example, "The GM will occasionally start an adventure with all the characters in prison, or shipwrecked, or otherwise at a disadvantage, because it makes for a more fun game; but don't worry, your *stuff* will be safe," no problem. Likewise if there's some variant; "your stuff isn't safe, but if I take it away by railroading, there will soon be a chance for a really superb, valuable treasure that will let you buy it all back again."

If you aren't already in that situation, it's not really fair to try to change things by starting an adventure that way.

Unfortunately, if you're in a "default D&D assumptions" game, it's almost as hard for NPCs to screw over the PCs in-character as it is for the GM to do so out-of-character; even the in-character scam may be taken as railroading, or "unfair." Depends on your players. I had an entire group complain in one game because there was no way they could know that those two welcoming, friendly-seeming nomads who'd camped right next to that site of immense evil (that they *did* know about, and were there to deal with) were themselves utterly corrupt, and that the food and drink on offer was thus poisoned...

If your players don't mind being scammed, though, try what real-world cops do. You don't arrest them; they're dangerous-looking, and anyway they look like they might co-operate. You ask them nicely to come down to the town watch's offices to help them out with a particularly difficult case (don't say "help us with our enquiries" as that's a dead giveaway). Of course, they need to check their weapons at the door; regulations. Once inside, you leave them in a very solidly built room; the bloke who is supposed to be briefing them on the problem nips out to get them some ale and other refreshments. When he's closed the door, he locks it. Add in anti-magic shells or whatever as you choose.

Alternatively, if it's the local lord who wants to arrest them, have him use his retainers and knights to lead the guard. His knights will bring their own retainers, and may take a couple of days to get to the town from the outlying villages they hold, but once there will be powerful (maybe similar level to the PCs), resourceful, and determined.

 

[Endur]

Invite or Assault

I prefer the invitation approach.

Don't even mention the word "surrender". Just send a herald to invite the PCs to come see the local lord. Once they are in the castle, the herald can ask the PCs to wait in an audience room. The door is locked while the PCs wait inside. They have their equipment, but no violence was necessary to lock them up.

Alternatively, you have the ninja/swat team approach. Use spells like Plant Growth, Entangle, Deep Slumber, Mass Hold Person to capture PCs. Have Giants grapple the PCs. Alchemical items, nets, etc. Assassin death attacks that cause paralysis, Monk stunning fist, etc.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Party is good, but the charges are gonna be trumped up. I'm willing to let them get away,b ut I'd like to capture them. If they prove resourceful then yeah they get away. My challenge is making it a believeable challenge.
Think about it. Most cities in DND will have adventurers. Town gaurds must have some kind of way to handle them. Adventurers attract trouble. Most town gaurd is probably a 5 man patrol. That's why I thought up some kind of SWAT team.
So I'm liking the idea of alchemical items. Tanglefoot bags, knockout gas, sleep spells (1st level rogues with UMD can do that and could be on the milita).
Thanks folks.
-cpd

I would say that, if these characters live in the town in question, and assuming that they are good-aligned, they are probably minor local heroes by now, right? So, imagine that you're soms schmuck quardsman asked to capture the guy who avenged your sainted mother or Aunt Petunia that time the orcs attacked. If the town watch seems rather reluctant and embarrassed (might I say, deferential?) when arresting the PCs, they might do so without a fight. Also, if the PCs are about to really get screwed, and the guards know it, they might just choose to let them get away.

"Excuse me Sir, I am very very sorry about this. Truly I am. I mean, you saved my sweet Aunt Petunia that time....I've been sent to arrest you. How they think I'll take you in if you resist, I don't know. I mean, I pride myself on my work, but I've heard some stories about the things you've done, and....well....it'll mean my head if you don't come along, Sir. I have to ask you, please. I've got a family, children who need a father. Please."

Whiny? Sure. But it establishes that the PCs are the heroes of the story that you want them to agree to. Players are leery about anything that seems to stack the deck against them. Rightly so. Letting the players know that most of the NPCs respect them is a pretty good start toward getting them to agree to being captured.

Finally, to be a realistic D&D world, what you need to do if they escape is put a price on thier heads and let other adventurers sort them out. If that's what the town did with the Ogres of the Black Hills, the Scarlet Sorcerer, and Wendy Windwitch, you can be sure that's what they'll do in the case of the PCs. Players have been expecting adventure hooks like this for decades. It's fun to let them know that NPCs sometimes get the same adventure hooks....


RC

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

Why is it, as soon as someone says "Capture the PC's" people start complaining of railroading, but a TPK can happen and it's "Tough Luck, dude."

THe options here are great, and the last thing ANY PC's wants is the label "CopKiller!" added to his fame and legend.

So you've only got X amount of guard, you're forgetting something...

The local lord's men, and deputization.

Sure, the PC's can try to engage them, but a shield wall, behind which men are using blowguns, bola's, nets and man-catchers, is going to be a problem. Add in a few sleep spells, and the tactical advantage of setting up and being prepared, the PC's are in a world of hurt.

Doing the Old West/LA SWAT bit of: "THIS IS THE LAW, WE HAVE A WARRANT! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" may serve to warn them, and stopping the game to have a small talk about the repercussions, everything from copkiller to "An assault upon the King's Men is an assault upon The King Himself." should come up

Beyond that is the old "Divide and Conquer" approach. Use nets, blowguns, saps, chokeholds, etc when they are seperated. Sleep poison in meals/drinks, all of them work.

Whatever you do, DO NOT GLOAT if you win, DO NOT WHINE if you lose. Be fair, be impartial and let them know in the post-game after action discussion that you had plans for either way, and for only a few escaping while the majority was hauled off. Be fair and up front.

Discuss it with them. We had reached a plot point where someone had to die. There wasn't a way out, someone had to die. I talked to the players, and found out that the whole group was willing to be killed via story-plot if that's what it took, providing they could have some bennies when they rerolled thier PC.

Talk it out, you may be surprised.