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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 4984492" data-attributes="member: 20323">I am about to tread into the murky DM territory of orchestrating, almost rail-roading even, the PCs' (temporary) imprisonment. My own experience, and countless of DMs' nightmare stories, tells how PCs fight capture tooth and nail.So why would I think of doing this? It will provide the PCs with critical information (and they know it), it fits the story, and it should make for an exciting encounter with PCs being taken aside by various visitors in private and all of them working together to get free of the dungeon. The specifics are below.I'm curious about your experiences with the right and wrong ways to go about imprisoning the PCs? What are signs to watch for that what I'm aiming for isn't working for the players? How do I know I'm getting it right?Ok, specifics for our campaign:[sblock] The PCs are about to begin their investigation of who cursed the princess, and in so doing will gather enough evidence to accuse someone. In essence, they gather (through skill challenge & role-playing) facts about the curse and each suspect and must solve a logic puzzle. It's a hard puzzle and they may not accuse the right suspect as there are plenty of red herrings.There are forces at work to implicate the PCs' guilt in the process; how this pans out exactly depends on who they accuse...The deceased Queen Inghean: If the PCs accuse the King's mother, the King flies into a rage and orders them imprisoned to "think over" what they've said.The witches Morae & Celonwy: ???Chancellor Caddock: If the PCs accuse the Chancellor, the evil Chamberlain “reveals” the PCs were agents of Caddock’s all along, and the whole investigation has been staged. He produces 2 false witnesses: The jailer Thibalt's wife & Judge Greyvald himself (the witnesses families have been bribed/threatened). The PCs are imprisoned alongside the Chancellor.Prelate Nemais: If the PCs accuse the Prelate, he haughtily denies and claims one of the PCs is pursuing a personal grudge. He goes on to cite the PCs’ crimes– assaulting officials, intercepting documents, killing nobility, aiding and abetting radicals, violating the armistice zone, negotiating with the enemy, and reckless endangerment. His accusation is confirmed by Sir Tobias, and the PCs are imprisoned alongside the Prelate.Note that the 4th level PCs will have the option of fighting their way through a 9th level encounter rather than being imprisoned.[/sblock]Also I'm a bit stuck on ideas for how accusing witches could end up the PCs themselves being accused and imprisoned. I'll keep thinking on it.</blockquote>

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