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<blockquote data-quote="haakon1" data-source="post: 5843726" data-attributes="member: 25619"><p>For what it's worth, I did a little something like this once, also in the 3rd episode of a campaign.</p><p></p><p>The PC's had done the "Three Days to Kill" adventure, and had horses they had taken from the bandits they killed.</p><p></p><p>I decided the horses should have the brands of the people the bandits killed, so the PC's had stolen horses.</p><p></p><p>So, in a pub, I had a large number of town guards come in and say the people at the castle want to talk to them. I didn't say "arrested" per se, but they got the idea -- and I showed them the scene in "Conan: The Barbarian" where the guards arrest the party, to set the mood.</p><p></p><p>They went quietly, as a group. The boss in the castle said, when they arrived under guard and disarmed, that they were wanted for horse theft, which is a hanging offense, but he would wave the charges for them if they took on an adventure -- to get the magic apple from the Sunless Citadel. They agreed, but they've always disliked that NPC, feeling he screwed them.</p><p></p><p>I, however, thought they deserved it for not realizing bandits' horses were a bad treasure item to take! And I liked the overall affect of teaching: (1) actions have consequences, sometimes unintended ones, just like the real world. The setting pushes back on the actions of the PC's. (2) NPC's have their own agenda. Whoever had their horses stolen wanted them back. Bandit colleagues of those killed would narc on the PC's to get them in trouble. And the government in the castle needs stuff done by adventurers. Worked out for all of them, just not the PC's.</p><p></p><p>What's different between this scenario and the OP?</p><p></p><p>-- I did it to the whole party at once.</p><p></p><p>-- I showed them it was good enough for Conan, implying that the guards were not just going to kill them all and end the story for everyone. A bit of metagaming/DM hinting at what they should do, but it seemed fun at the time.</p><p></p><p>-- They didn't try to split the party, or fight the law. If they had wanted to "fight the law", I'd have warned them it's not easy to be an outlaw, but let them do it if they wanted to. Probably would have needed to end the session early after the initial fighting their way out of the pub scene (I had stats for the guards in case it went that way) and some winging of what they do next.</p><p></p><p>Another related comment: I like the setting to have internal consistency, not be player-centric. So the guards were Warrior 1, which happened to be a "balanced" threat for the party. But if the party were 7th level or something, the guards would still be Warrior 1. It's not their hit points, studded leather armor, and polearms that give the town guard authority -- it's the authority vested in them by the state, and the implication that harming them would make you an outlaw.</p><p></p><p>So what did the OP do wrong? Nothing. But he got himself into a pickle, and I'd try to avoid some elements of it: I typically avoid actions that might split the party, I wouldn't touch rape issues with a 10 foot pole, and if someone wants to do a "dumb" action, I'd tell them it's dumb but let them try anyhow, without pulling any punches on the consequences. And having a roll the hay with a random horny local NPC you know nothing about it would probably constitute a "dumb" action -- I'd roll some dice on the biological implications, and a "1" on a roll for that might have this kind of angry father consequence.</p><p></p><p>Running from the law isn't quite as dumb as jumping in a lava flow, but boneheaded actions lead to unpleasant outcomes in general. The universe (in my campaign) isn't going to give you a free pass just because you're a PC.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="haakon1, post: 5843726, member: 25619"] For what it's worth, I did a little something like this once, also in the 3rd episode of a campaign. The PC's had done the "Three Days to Kill" adventure, and had horses they had taken from the bandits they killed. I decided the horses should have the brands of the people the bandits killed, so the PC's had stolen horses. So, in a pub, I had a large number of town guards come in and say the people at the castle want to talk to them. I didn't say "arrested" per se, but they got the idea -- and I showed them the scene in "Conan: The Barbarian" where the guards arrest the party, to set the mood. They went quietly, as a group. The boss in the castle said, when they arrived under guard and disarmed, that they were wanted for horse theft, which is a hanging offense, but he would wave the charges for them if they took on an adventure -- to get the magic apple from the Sunless Citadel. They agreed, but they've always disliked that NPC, feeling he screwed them. I, however, thought they deserved it for not realizing bandits' horses were a bad treasure item to take! And I liked the overall affect of teaching: (1) actions have consequences, sometimes unintended ones, just like the real world. The setting pushes back on the actions of the PC's. (2) NPC's have their own agenda. Whoever had their horses stolen wanted them back. Bandit colleagues of those killed would narc on the PC's to get them in trouble. And the government in the castle needs stuff done by adventurers. Worked out for all of them, just not the PC's. What's different between this scenario and the OP? -- I did it to the whole party at once. -- I showed them it was good enough for Conan, implying that the guards were not just going to kill them all and end the story for everyone. A bit of metagaming/DM hinting at what they should do, but it seemed fun at the time. -- They didn't try to split the party, or fight the law. If they had wanted to "fight the law", I'd have warned them it's not easy to be an outlaw, but let them do it if they wanted to. Probably would have needed to end the session early after the initial fighting their way out of the pub scene (I had stats for the guards in case it went that way) and some winging of what they do next. Another related comment: I like the setting to have internal consistency, not be player-centric. So the guards were Warrior 1, which happened to be a "balanced" threat for the party. But if the party were 7th level or something, the guards would still be Warrior 1. It's not their hit points, studded leather armor, and polearms that give the town guard authority -- it's the authority vested in them by the state, and the implication that harming them would make you an outlaw. So what did the OP do wrong? Nothing. But he got himself into a pickle, and I'd try to avoid some elements of it: I typically avoid actions that might split the party, I wouldn't touch rape issues with a 10 foot pole, and if someone wants to do a "dumb" action, I'd tell them it's dumb but let them try anyhow, without pulling any punches on the consequences. And having a roll the hay with a random horny local NPC you know nothing about it would probably constitute a "dumb" action -- I'd roll some dice on the biological implications, and a "1" on a roll for that might have this kind of angry father consequence. Running from the law isn't quite as dumb as jumping in a lava flow, but boneheaded actions lead to unpleasant outcomes in general. The universe (in my campaign) isn't going to give you a free pass just because you're a PC. [/QUOTE]
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