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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 3671476" data-attributes="member: 8835">Normally, I advise new GMs to never capture the party.&nbsp; It's certainly bad to &quot;plan on capturing the party&quot; because that almost always leads to railroading.The other reason to avoid capturing the party is because it leads to several other problems.Firstly, all PCs hate being captured (they hate dieing, too).&nbsp; So they want to try everything to escape.&nbsp;&nbsp; An unprepared DM can easily turn this into a railroad of non-progress because they get stuck in the mindset of &quot;I must keep the captives&quot;, which defeats the purpose of adventuring (running around and doing stuff).Secondly, it can lead to doing things to PCs that players really don't like.&nbsp; A smart captor will remove all gear from a PC.&nbsp; Even smarter is to leave them naked.&nbsp; For female players, this can be offensive (or it can lead to worse things that offend them even more).&nbsp; Side note: 1 in 5 women in the US is raped.&nbsp; Odds are good, a female player is close to someone this happened to.&nbsp; It is not something they care to experience in a game.&nbsp; Getting stripped down is step one to raping a PC.&nbsp; Therefore, out of respect for your players, you should avoid this topic, unless you REALLY know your players won't be offended.Thirdly, getting captured pretty much ends the action.&nbsp; The players are stuck unless the GM leaves them a means of escape.&nbsp; And for some GM's the thought of letting them escape is furthest from their mind.However, all is not lost.&nbsp; I believe a prepared GM can use capture as an effective tool.&nbsp; It just takes a bit of planning.Here's some rules of thumb that I try to go by:Use a capture if it will avoid killing PCs (or prevent a TPK)Always allow for escape (expect that escape is the NORMAL outcome)Never strip a PC naked (especially with women gamers, it's a socially polite thing)Unless time has passed, the PCs' useful gear is nearby (being used by the leader, or stored/carried in a sack)If the PCs' search, they find a lock pick or weakness in the cellIf the PCs' talk to other inmates, they find a plot to escapeIf the PCs actions warrant execution, it will be scheduled for &quot;later&quot; (allowing time to escape)The PCs are never too exhausted from working in the mine, to prepate for an escapeMake escape &quot;easy&quot; if the capture was just to prevent a TPKMake escape complex if it will expand the adventure</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 3671476, member: 8835"] Normally, I advise new GMs to never capture the party. It's certainly bad to "plan on capturing the party" because that almost always leads to railroading. The other reason to avoid capturing the party is because it leads to several other problems. Firstly, all PCs hate being captured (they hate dieing, too). So they want to try everything to escape. An unprepared DM can easily turn this into a railroad of non-progress because they get stuck in the mindset of "I must keep the captives", which defeats the purpose of adventuring (running around and doing stuff). Secondly, it can lead to doing things to PCs that players really don't like. A smart captor will remove all gear from a PC. Even smarter is to leave them naked. For female players, this can be offensive (or it can lead to worse things that offend them even more). Side note: 1 in 5 women in the US is raped. Odds are good, a female player is close to someone this happened to. It is not something they care to experience in a game. Getting stripped down is step one to raping a PC. Therefore, out of respect for your players, you should avoid this topic, unless you REALLY know your players won't be offended. Thirdly, getting captured pretty much ends the action. The players are stuck unless the GM leaves them a means of escape. And for some GM's the thought of letting them escape is furthest from their mind. However, all is not lost. I believe a prepared GM can use capture as an effective tool. It just takes a bit of planning. Here's some rules of thumb that I try to go by: Use a capture if it will avoid killing PCs (or prevent a TPK) Always allow for escape (expect that escape is the NORMAL outcome) Never strip a PC naked (especially with women gamers, it's a socially polite thing) Unless time has passed, the PCs' useful gear is nearby (being used by the leader, or stored/carried in a sack) If the PCs' search, they find a lock pick or weakness in the cell If the PCs' talk to other inmates, they find a plot to escape If the PCs actions warrant execution, it will be scheduled for "later" (allowing time to escape) The PCs are never too exhausted from working in the mine, to prepate for an escape Make escape "easy" if the capture was just to prevent a TPK Make escape complex if it will expand the adventure [/QUOTE]

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