[DM Advice]

[dabirds]

My players have just returned as heroes of the world, and are currently doing a victory tour of major cities.

They were investigating rumors of spies which led them to a tent with a blue flag in the midst of a refugee camp, where people received money for information.

With the normal amount of reckless abandon, they created a huge uproar in the camp. This caused a little old lady to exit a tent with a blue pennant and begin to join the crowd in running away.

The Lawful Neutral (should be Lawful Stupid) Cleric/Wizard of the group announced that he waould slow the woman down so they could question her (as she was clearly a spy??). He basically machine gunned her to death with a half dozen magic missiles in front of 50+ witnesses.

As the mob got angry, he wisely went invisible, tried to heal the dead woman, and skulked off when he realized she was dead.

I have plenty of good ideas for the legal aspects of this scenario. I could use a few good ideas surrounding the alginment/atonement issues.

Any good ideas?

 

[the Jester]

Sounds pretty chaotic to me. God won't be happy. No spells for you! Isn't there a section in the PH about ex-clerics?

 

[Thanee]

Sounds more like Lawful Evil (and yes, definitely stupid) than Chaotic to me, I mean he actually thought of her being a spy and used all means possible to... uhm... slow her down.

He definitely should realize, that his harsh action was completely inappropriate in this situation and ultimately caused by his misjudgement and he should atone for it. Refusing the access to divine spells (maybe other than healing spells, this is a nice way to carry a message to him at the same time) until then could be a good idea.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Airwolf]

Talk about overkill, no pun intended.

Some kind of atonement if voluntary or imprisonment (if he can't see the error of his ways) is called for. I would think a few weeks in the refuge camp caring for the sick and healing the injured would be a good start.

 

[Whodat]

Suppose she is a grandmother… And spycraft runs in the family!

Now you could have a family of spies bent on exposing the PC’s for the charlatans they are – even if they have to bend the truth a little.

Once the PC’s discover what’s going on, the spies could be (and should be) lurking around every corner in every town.

 

[Thanee]

What's the alignment of that PC's deity?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Kibo]

Players are from Mars, DM's are from Jupiter

Normally, when there is a huge communication break down like that, I try to make sure the player and I are both perfectly clear about what's going on. If they decide to go off in to space with some kooky assumption after that, well they're the players. That said....

It seems like you've got a nice built in hook for the next series of adventures. All you need is a villian, who need not even be a warmongering type, to learn of and decide to exploit the situation by defaming the PC's. Tragic mistakes are often the domain of heroes (Hercules, and Odysseus come to mind).

What ever the clerics alignment was, it shouldn't be lawful anything anymore, hell it would almost have to be chaotic. "Watch out Ned! She's comming right for us!! BLAM BLAM BLAM!" So in addition to this new threat, the spies (which may or may not be one and the same), the character must atone and find a new patron God. Seem like the making of a kinda cool story.

Depending on how you want to do it, you could even retroactivly story in, as part of a future revalation, that the character was under some sort of powerful evil control (but you and the players will always know the truth with a wink and a nod).

 

[Buttercup]

Has this player pulled this sort of stunt before, either as this character or another? If the answer is yes, you might consider booting him from the game. If this is a first offense, then you have a choice. You can change the character's alignment, have their god desert them, or possibly even punish them. You can have the character executed by the local authorities for killing a little old lady. Or, if you had previously made your expectations clear with regard to appropriate PC behavior, boot the player from the game. If you hadn't made them clear, then the last option isn't fair, IMO.

 

[Kilmore]

Okay, you said that this cleric and his companions had just become very public champions? And he did what he did in the process of hunting spies? Well, I would think that he may deserve some sort of intervention by the Royal (or whatever) authorities, and if he's a well respected hero, the story is likely going to go out that the woman he dusted really was an enemy, at least in any town but this one. But the locals of that one town will know the truth, especially if it was a hotbed of insurrection to begin with. The character will carry this knowledge with himself too. Will he choose to bury it and gloss it over, or will he admit the truth to society as a whole.

His faith may not be so easily fooled, though. He may be called to account by his own temple or by celestial servants of his god. Depending on how the cleric conducts himself and what he plans on doing about it, the penalties for the cleric's rash action may vary.

TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY: The cleric takes full responsibility for his actions and publicly admits his guilt. The word of the cleric's actions spread throughout the land like wildfire, but it is conceded that he's taking responsibility. There is no loss in abilities, but the cleric is required to undergo a quest, or perform service to his nation. Preferably, his service involves serving law. His temple's reputation is damaged.

ADMITTING GUILT TO HIS FAITH: The cleric decides to make clean with his god and his faith, but doesn't publicise the event to prevent damage to his own and his faith's reputation. No spells for you! A great quest, a difficult condition or a year of time are required before spells are returned. His temple's reputation is intact.

CRISIS OF FAITH: The cleric admits the truth to his faith, but he does not feel like he's violated his principles. If the differences with his faith cannot be reconciled, he is stripped of his priesthood. He may join another faith and retain his cleric level, however, choosing his new domains from his new god. The cleric may no longer expect service from his old temple, and he may have made an enemy of them. His new temple will be wary of him as well. His temple's reputation is damaged by his leaving, but the truth does not come out.

SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: The cleric attempts to keep the public, his faith, and possibly even his god from finding out the truth. His god feeds him more and more rope to hang himself with, keeping his spells and abilities intact, and testing his faith in similar situations. Subtle omens suggest the cleric is on the wrong path. Once it is clear that the cleric will continue his wayward ways, a very public display of the god's displeasure is forthcoming. For example: a celestial arriving at the temple or the royal palace with a list of complaints, the cleric's vestments and holy items disentegrating in the city streets (while he's wearing them), attempts to create food and water or holy water spoil, etc. The cleric immediately loses ALL cleric levels and abilities, dropping down to a 1st level commoner unless he swears allegiance to a deity actively opposed to his former god. The only way back is through the XP chain... again. His temple's reputation doesn't suffer so much because they will try to set things straight, but the cleric's reputation goes right out the window.

 

[Piratecat]

I don't usually do this, but - what Kilmore said. Good analysis!