Spelljammer Could this mutiny have been handled better?

[Stalker0]

Ultimately this is a question of, is this a character problem or is this a IRL problem? Aka are you just getting caught up in teh emotions of your character, or do you have a problem with killing in your RPG?

If its the later than yes best thing to do is talk with your group and see if that is something that can be adjusted, or you can decide that style is just not for you.

If its the former, the best thing is to continue to roleplay it out. If your character is uncomfortable, let them be uncomfortable. Have it come out, maybe as snarky humor....or a new lack of trust. Maybe they now make extra effort to council the others into a more righteous path. That kind of conflict actually generates a lot of fun roleplay.

 

[Distracted DM]

If you decide to continue in this game, would establishing "standard operating proceedures" with the other players be possible? (Much like watches and marching order?)

I can't speak to 5e game mechanics, but in 2e "walking the plank" into the phlogiston was not necessarily a kill condition. I mention this as a potential "way out" for your gaming group...

Interesting, I wonder if this was carried forward to 5e. They did just copy+paste some stuff straight out of the 2e books, but they left a lot out as well.

But I also remember there being Spelljammer ?magic?item? that preserve you in a wood-like substance in space, to keep you alive. I guess you'd only need that in a sphere, not the phlogiston?

 

[Brendan Byrd]

Interesting, I wonder if this was carried forward to 5e. They did just copy+paste some stuff straight out of the 2e books, but they left a lot out as well.

But I also remember there being Spelljammer ?magic?item? that preserve you in a wood-like substance in space, to keep you alive. I guess you'd only need that in a sphere, not the phlogiston?

Softwood (Clr 4)
Would need to look up the details, but I basicly remember it as "Aaack! We're crashing!!!"/planetary re-entry "pod".

 

[Stormonu]

If I recall correctly, mutineers were sometimes dealt with marooning them on a deserted isle or setting them adrift in a rowboat at sea. Commonly with minimal food or water (or possibly none) and a single musket for an "honorable way out" instead of wasting away. Being hung by the neck from the yardarm for the ringleaders also being common, I believe - with the others, lesser members suffering imprisonment or hard labor back on land.

What was the story behind the mutiny? Was it justified in some way? Sounds like it must have been a possibly hard-fought battle as part of the mutiny and thus why the PCs wanted the mutineers dead. I could certainly see a disconnect walking into the middle of such an outcome of a such an event and not understanding/agreeing with the majority of the party's opinion.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Softwood (Clr 4)
Would need to look up the details, but I basicly remember it as "Aaack! We're crashing!!!"/planetary re-entry "pod".

That's one possible use. Surrounds 1 human-sized target (who get a save if they're resisting) plus 1 per 3 caster levels in spongy magical wood, which puts them in suspended animation till the spell ends, makes them immune from harm (with protection good enough to survive atmospheric entry) and lasts indefinitely until the cocoon enters a new atmosphere envelope of fresh air and stays there for at least 30 minutes, after which it dissolves and the occupant is good to go. The spell description specifically mentions its utility for imprisoning foes that you don't want to kill, as well as for getting rid of unwanted passengers without technically harming them.

You can cast the spell inside a volume of fresh air, but if you don't chuck it overboard (tricky on a planet, obviously) after 30 minutes it dissolves as normal. Still plenty of time to win a fight or run away, and if you happen to have a handy room (or mineshaft) full of poisoned air you could store your cocoons there indefinitely - so of some use planetside as well as for abandoning ship. Similarly, a ship that's succumbing to poisoned air might be home to many softwood cocoons if the crew decided to stay aboard and together awaiting rescue rather than taking their chances going overboard. Seeing a cocoon aboard a ship is a sure sign there's something wrong with the air, anyway.

One major complication with using softwood cocoons as drop pods is that there's no guarantee they'll come down anywhere near one another, or even someplace habitable. Many worlds are mostly covered in seas, not temperate land. Others are covered in much worse things. Unless you've got access to some serious magic this a great way to split the party (possibly for years) and kill some of them at the same time. Maybe you can find a way to tether a cluster of cocoons (sovereign glue springs to mind) but whatever you use needs to be able to survive the re-entry heat. Even as a cluster, unless someone's really good at calculating what passes for orbital mechanics in D&D your landing point is still up to random chance.

Also note that having a random softwood cocoon (or several of them, perhaps tethered) fall onto your ship is a random encounter that narrative tropes almost demand to have happen now and then. Assuming you notice them right away you've got half an hour to think about whether to let it/them hatch, throw it/them back overboard, or rig a towline and drag it/them along with you just beyond your atmosphere envelope.

The spell description doesn't mention if you can "trade up" several potential human-sized cocoons to fit larger creatures, so depending on your GM maybe playing that giff wasn't such a good idea after all. Of course, being strict would also eliminate the amusing possibility of finding a really massive softwood cocoon and playing guessing games on what's inside it.

On-topic, I'd need a lot more info about the in-game events of this mutiny as well as the table's lines and veils and expectations to have an opinion on things here. It's easy to point out that historically mutiny (successful or not) led to some serious brutality toward the losing side, but this is a fantasy game, not the grim reality from which none of us may find surcease.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

When I left the game that evening, I felt sad. Nobody should feel sad at the end of a game. I personally felt very uncomfortable about this.

Were you sad and uncomfortable because you as a real-life player weren't ok with torture / execution being included in the game? Or was it more your character was forced to be involved in something he was not ok with? Both are completely valid reasons to be uncomfortable, but the path forward is completely different

If you as a player were not ok with the content, that's a discussion you would need to have with the DM on what types of content are allowed in the game - ideally about 6 months ago when you first started, but better late than never! Just be prepared that the choice could come down to you either leaving the group or accepting some discomfort to continue playing. It's worth a discussion though because you never know, sometimes things just escalate faster than the DM intended

If the problem is that your character was not ok with the decisions of the group, that's a discussion to have with your fellow players, but be prepared that often times you just aren't going to get your way in DnD, and that often times you have to stretch realism for in-game explanations of why your character keeps following these other idiots around. I was constantly in similar situations during my latest 3-year campaign that I played in, where I was a Lawful Good paladin in a party of mostly Chaotic Stupid characters. In my mind, as long as my character tried (and failed) to convince the others to do the right thing and didn't personally participate in commiting evil acts then his hands were clean. Many times I was actually able to steer the party towards stealing over murder, towards murdering evildoers (who have better loot!) over innocents, or even doing the right thing but only because the rewards might be better. For me it has always worked for my character to just look the other way when necessary and try to steer others towards the actions he would like to see them take, because if I'm waiting for a DnD group of 100% like-minded players then that's likely a REALLY long wait.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Were you sad and uncomfortable because you as a real-life player weren't ok with torture / execution being included in the game? Or was it more your character was forced to be involved in something he was not ok with? Both are completely valid reasons to be uncomfortable, but the path forward is completely different

It's a bit of both.

I personally don't like torture or execution and I hate when that gets in the games I play in.

My character is a halfling aberrant mind sorcerer/ GOO warlock. He grew up on the streets and had a rough childhood. One of the things that kept him going was stories. So I figure he's projecting stories about heroes onto folks who aren't all heroic. It's a realization he's had recently. Still, he never thought his friends would result to torture and execution.

I've been getting some ideas on talking about what we're fighting for and maybe becoming morale officer of the ship. I'm actually looking forward to the next game.