Kill All the Hostages! (We'll bring them back...)

[Cloudgatherer]

My gaming group had a strange encounter last session.... (10th level party: Bard, Rogue, Cleric, Fighter)

A "bad man" took two girls hostage (one in early 20's, the other a child of 8 or 9 years). The party had an item he wanted (the party had stolen it in a previous advenure), and he was going to use the hostages as leverage to get the item back.

So the "bad man" rides in on his horse, holding the older hostage by the throat with his sharp claws. The party begins to negotiate with him, but during the discussion, the party reveals the item isn't the "real item" (it actually is the real item, but the party broke it, dispelling its magic, and put it back together using make whole). As the bad man started to ride off, the party's negotiator signaled for the elven rogue to open fire on him.

The elven rogue had a +3 longbow and +3 arrows courtesy of the party's cleric and greater magic weapon. His first arrow hit the girl (I gave the bad man the lowest cover for holding the girl in front of him, although I could have given him more), dealing near fatal damage. The rogue then fired again, yet again hitting the girl, killing her. As the bad man started to ride off, the elven rogue then killed the horse and engaged the bad man in melee combat, eventually killing him with party help.

Now there's a second hostage, a young girl, still missing. The next day, the raise the girl slain by the elven rogue, then go to retreive the younger girl, who they find dead. They then raise her too....

I'm a little mixed about this adventure. On the one hand, they killed one hostage, let another die by not getting to her in time, and then brought them back to life. I definitely didn't award any "objective XP" for the mission, but I'm pondering how the "public" would react. Killing hostages is a "bad thing", but bringing them back is a "good thing", right? The party was repentant for their actions, the bard promising the two girls a favor anytime in the future, the cleric raised them from the dead, and the rogue is taking public responsibility for the debacle.

Needless to say, it was one of the stranger adventures they've had so far....

 

[Agamon]

That's why I don't like Raising to be such a trifle thing as waving your hands and saying "There, all better." IMC, rasing someone from the dead is not automatic; in fact it's complex and doesn't always work.

One could argue that maybe your party was a bit too high level to do that kind of adventure. You have to take into account their abilities. Hostage taking works good for low levels, but at higher levels PCs have too many means at their exposal to turn a potentially dramatic scene into something silly.

 

[rounser]

It stuffs up novel continuity too. Keeping Azoun dead required some justification, but at least the issue was addressed directly.

 

[fake_name]

FFS! Do you intend to make your party take _any_ responsability for their actions? Or do you give them free will to do whatever they want, and damn the consequences?

Next time you want to use death as a threat, teh players are just going to laugh at you.

Dying is _NOT_ a nice thing to do. And to be held hostage, killed by the adventurers trying to raise you and then getting your soul stuffed back into your body... it's not the sort of thing you just get over.

How I would have handled it:

1) The girl could not be raised. The gods decree that as they killed the girl, so they shall pay the price; the one who killed her has to die to bring her back. TANSTAAFL.

2) The other girl could not be found. She remains missing, probably dead.

 

[MythandLore]

What to do is very simple, you don't need the "gods decree" or that sort of thing.
Even missing bodys can be found (or not needed) with the right spells.

The PHB says the subject must be willing to come back.
Lets say the girls were good and went to heaven. (lets just say okay)
So make a table.
50-50 chance sound good?
No, no, no...
50-50 would be a neutral NPC, this girl is in heaven 3-1 Girl don't want to come back.
1-3 if they were evil and in a hell like place.

"The cleric casts the spell poof."
DM Rolls dice behind his new FR-DM-Screen
"It Don't work."
"Why?"
"The girl is in heaven and doesn't want to came back."
"Damn it! Okay... Sorry I killed your daughter Farmer Brown, I thought I could bring her back, At least you can go on knowing she's in heaven"
Needless to say, Farmer Brown is pissed off, and to the towns people they ain't no heros.

The other thing is if you do bring someone back to life there is a very large likely hood they will be suffering from the whole "Holy Chesse Wiz I'm Alive!" Syndrom.
Anyone see how Buffy was for a while?

And Here is the last factor of bringing people back.
"Why don't you bring back everyone who died a tragic death in the town?"
"My Billy was killed by a bull."
"My Wife Emma Died of the plague last summer, your heroes, please, please, bring her back if you have the power..."
And the PCs do have the power with the right spells.
This can cause them even more problems.
Don't let them take death lightly.

 

[Nareau]

Those darn ingrates!

IMC, the PC's have seen a couple of NPC's die due to the party "stirring the hornet's nest." None of the PC's were interested in raising these poor folks, and ended up being guilted into it. Once raised, the NPC's were happy to be alive again, but didn't want to have anything to do with the party (as they tend to stir up trouble).

The PC's finally left town, grumbling about the ingrates whose lives they restored. Sigh. Well, that's what you get from a party who's highest CHA is 8.

 

[LostSoul]

Why don't good Clerics raise everyone? A spell a day takes the pain away. For that matter, why don't evil Clerics? They're getting new converts to the religion, always a good thing.

And if people come back to life and talk about heaven... I hope suicide is a pretty big sin, because people would be offing themselves otherwise, looking forward to hanging out in the outer planes.

I got rid of any spell that brings someone back from the dead in my campaign. Much easier that way.

 

[S'mon]

I got rid of any spell that brings someone back from the dead in my campaign. Much easier that way.

I've decided to apply an XP cost for the resurrection spells. Currently thinking:

raise dead 3000
resurrection 4000
true resurrection 5000

This would keep them available but explain why priests won't raise everyone. Deities could spend Worship Points (see Worship Points System threads) instead of xp.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I got the impression there were no witnessess. Was that the case, Cloudgatherer? Your group could benefit from some positive meta-gaming. "Right, so the DM has the villain walk away from our negotiations... He is probably going to try to steal the item by use of his evil minions. This could lead to some pretty interesting adventures "

 

[Tonguez]

I also killed Raise Dead and Ressurectoon - two of the worst spells in the how game imho

IF you do use it

1. Psychosis - the girls have been dead and have seen things no mortal is meant to see. being young and impressionable (and maidens to boot) they are unable to cope and become overcome with angst - sort of like an episode of Roswell - or better still sociopaths who torture small animals and the neighbouring children too.

2. Pain - getting killed HURTS - what if the pain NEVER goes away, and the girls must suffer for the rest of their lives

3. Passengers - the girls have picked up a demonic passenger who now whispers into their ear inspiring them to do evil (sort of like 1 above). The PCs are responsible and so have to get rid of the demon who has already caused havoc in the town.