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Message: <blockquote data-quote="VikingLegion" data-source="post: 6687693" data-attributes="member: 6794627">It was mentioned once on page 2 but didn't gain a lot of traction - but how do you maintain a sense of drama in a world where Detect Truth and Detect Evil are in the equation.  Is such "witchcraft" not allowed in your courtroom?  I guess with your description of a very backwards, superstitious small town feel, any kind of spellcasting would be seen as taboo in a court setting, because the layman wouldn't be able to tell if the priest/mage is actually casting the correct spell or if they are bewitching a witness into giving whatever testimony they thought was best.I once ran a courtroom scene involving the group's fighter being accused of using a banned alchemical substance - Bloodrush - in the local arena circuit to gain unfair advantage.  This was an FR campaign and the cleric in the party was a priest of Tyr - god of law and justice, so being familiar with the court systems it worked out wonderfully for him to act as legal counsel for his friend.  I tried to involve every member of the party and give them a chance to utilize their own specific skills to add to the proceedings.  For example, when the prosecution called a "neutral" alchemist to testify (who was secretly paid off in advance), he attempted to give a demonstration in front of the court, testing the blood of both the accuser and the accused to see which one was "juicing" via a simple color-changing mixture.  I had the party's thief make a Spot check vs. the alchemist's Sleight of Hand to detect him trying to deftly add a pinch of some unknown powdery substance to one of the flasks.  Once this was exposed the witness was thoroughly discredited, thrown in jail for obstruction, and the prosecution suffered a devastating hit to their credibility.I don't know what the composition of your adventuring party is, but it might be fun to think up scenarios where each one of them can shine through class skill use (not always easy to translate to a courtroom setting) rather than rely solely on character testimony - not all players are natural hams when it comes to being thrust into that spotlight.</blockquote>

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