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<blockquote data-quote="MonkeyDragon" data-source="post: 3450524" data-attributes="member: 23929">Were a citizen of the town cause a public disturbance, I think an appropirate punishment would a fine (which the poor would have to pay in labor) and possibly an unpleasant but not particularly harsh physical punishment, such as a short stint in the stocks.&nbsp; And of course payment for any damages they caused.For PCs, I think there are in game and out of game reasons to go lighter.In game:&nbsp; The PCs are visitors who may not know the full extent of the laws.&nbsp; Recall that the beholder is LN, not LE.&nbsp; It is not unreasonable for him to forgive a first mistake.&nbsp; In any event, he will have an easier time maintaining his perfectly ordered society if he shows himself capable of mercy (issues of Charming aside).&nbsp; Also, his business relationship with the PCs may be too valuable to sacrifice by harshly punishing 2 members of the party.Out of game:&nbsp; If the players didn't know about the laws, it might cause a trifle of unhappiness if they're punished for it.&nbsp; It also may put them in an unhappy position.&nbsp; If they need to work with this guy, and this is where the story is, it puts pressure on them to stay in town under the beholder's rule no matter what he does to them.&nbsp; That can rub the wrong way.&nbsp; This of course only applies if the players don't know about the strict laws.&nbsp; If there are signs on every streetcorner that those who disrupt the peace will be punished, they should lie in the bed they've made themselves.My suggestion is this:&nbsp; The beholder talk very sternly and unhappily to the PCs, tell them exactly what they did wrong, what the usual punishment is, and that because they are new, they will be forgiven just this once.&nbsp; They must NEVER do it again, or he will have no choice but to punish them.This way, you can work some exposition into the scene, make it clear that they've gotten off light, and keep things moving without disrupting the game to go through what happens as a result of the punishment.&nbsp; It also means that if the PCs get disruptive again, they have no excuse.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MonkeyDragon, post: 3450524, member: 23929"] Were a citizen of the town cause a public disturbance, I think an appropirate punishment would a fine (which the poor would have to pay in labor) and possibly an unpleasant but not particularly harsh physical punishment, such as a short stint in the stocks. And of course payment for any damages they caused. For PCs, I think there are in game and out of game reasons to go lighter. In game: The PCs are visitors who may not know the full extent of the laws. Recall that the beholder is LN, not LE. It is not unreasonable for him to forgive a first mistake. In any event, he will have an easier time maintaining his perfectly ordered society if he shows himself capable of mercy (issues of Charming aside). Also, his business relationship with the PCs may be too valuable to sacrifice by harshly punishing 2 members of the party. Out of game: If the players didn't know about the laws, it might cause a trifle of unhappiness if they're punished for it. It also may put them in an unhappy position. If they need to work with this guy, and this is where the story is, it puts pressure on them to stay in town under the beholder's rule no matter what he does to them. That can rub the wrong way. This of course only applies if the players don't know about the strict laws. If there are signs on every streetcorner that those who disrupt the peace will be punished, they should lie in the bed they've made themselves. My suggestion is this: The beholder talk very sternly and unhappily to the PCs, tell them exactly what they did wrong, what the usual punishment is, and that because they are new, they will be forgiven just this once. They must NEVER do it again, or he will have no choice but to punish them. This way, you can work some exposition into the scene, make it clear that they've gotten off light, and keep things moving without disrupting the game to go through what happens as a result of the punishment. It also means that if the PCs get disruptive again, they have no excuse. [/QUOTE]

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