D&D General Need advice from experienced DMs - Curse of Strahd: Party arrested after PvP & insulting guards in Vallaki

[Aenwyn11]

Is it just me, or do OP's replies read a lot like they are AI generated? I am almost embarrassed to ask.

Hi, not AI generated itself, but translated with it and 'polished', so I can explain my point better. There are many words, that I did not now. English is not my native language.

 

[bsss]

Hi, not AI generated itself, but translated with it and 'polished', so I can explain my point better. There are many words, that I did not now. English is not my native language.

Fair enough. I was worried my bot detector was miscalibrated. You should be aware that doing that, especially without a disclaimer, is generally frowned upon and could be considered a rules violation.

 

[Emerikol]

Realistically they are not Role Playing because people dont shot at thier friends who insult them unless they are seriously deranged. Thats just them not taking the game seriously.

This. Their very lives are on the line. If they were roleplaying well, they wouldn't think of drawing attention to themselves in this way.

 

[haakon1]

I’m a player in Curse of Strahd, a once every month of two campaign, haven’t read it, and haven’t visited Vallaki yet.

Those non-bona-fides established, I’ve been a DM since before 2e was published.

What I’d do is consequences that match the characters’ individual actions, social standing, and the setting. I’d have magistrate or the mayor decide.

Or go with the earlier suggestion of Stradh steps in as judge and gives them fetch quests.

If non-Stradh:
For the paladin with upper class connection who actually didn’t commit a crime: released with the apologies of the court, after a night in jail. Magistrate makes a snide remark about doing a better job keeping their “servants” in line.

For the bard, public nudity, disrespectful to officers, and cast a hostile spell the officers didn’t witness but were told about : Disorderly conduct. 3 nights in jail, cops give water but “forget” to feed her so she has a level or two of exhaustion - if she complains they say they can’t hear her because the words “(whatever she said)” to their friends keep playing in their heads, then released but her stuff is stolen, so she has only her cloak.

After that sinks in, Ireena actually saved her stuff for her and brings it to her.

For the Ranger, who shot the bard with an arrow, which has obvious physical proof of assault with a deadly weapon, but is inconsequential for the bard “victim” who the court doesn’t much like: Misdemeanor Assault. 3 nights in jail, last day in the stocks being jeered at and having garbage thrown at them so they are dirty and stinky. When gear is returned, the jailer says “Don’t try that again in Vallaki. The Magistrate let you off easy because you’re friends with the Paladin, but we don’t take kindly to repeat offenders.”

Out of game, if necessary, explain NPCs are people, it’s not a video game, and just as PCs can do anything within the nature of their character, so can NPCs. PCs aren’t special or above the law/social reactions, so don’t act like criminals if you don’t want to be treated like criminals.

Basically just a slap on the wrist as a warning for first offense, though.

And if I got wrong who did what, so be it. The police and magistrates aren’t always right either.

 

[haakon1]

About PvP, my inclination is to allow it. Their PCs are physically capable of doing it, and I would not say “you can’t do that” as DM and rules enactor.

But if it happens again, I’d OOC ask them to act as a team, not infighting all the time and making the game less fun for you.

“Work with me people”.

First time players with a first time DM, everyone is feeling their way through.

 

[ECMO3]

Realistically they are not Role Playing because people dont shot at thier friends who insult them unless they are seriously deranged. Thats just them not taking the game seriously.

Dissonant Whispers is a damaging spell (even on a successful save), I would say that is the first strike.

 

[MGibster]

1. The Bard cast Dissonant Whispers on the Ranger
2. The Ranger shot the Bard with her bow and hit.

This is a pet peeve of mine because it tells me they're not taking the game seriously. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't take D&D very seriously on account of it being very, very silly (but in a good way). As far as I'm concerned, the Bard tried to murder the Ranger. I've had PCs try to murder one another before (not in D&D), but it was for a good reason, and they understood the ramifications.

Years ago, in 3.0, I was playing in a game where the Wizard would casually hit party members with Ray of Frost or some other low level, low damaging Cantrip when he was annoyed. After the third or forth time I told him he was either going to stop or I wasn't going to play any more. It was no fun. I'd talk to your players about this kind of thing. I don't find it fun when games devolve into PVP for no good reason, but maybe they do.

How would you as experienced DMs resolve this arrest? How would you structure the beginning of the next session?

The PCs didn't attack the guards, they didn't hurt any townsfolk, and they're outsiders nobody cares about. I'd probabl just levy a small fine and let them go in a day or two.

How do you handle it (in-game and out-of-game) when a player refuses to see the in-game consequences of their actions, but is anxious about losing their equipment? How do you handle PvP?

I'm a DM who is big on PCs suffering or benefiting from the consequences of their actions. If they're disappointed because they lost something then they'll just have to learn a harsh lession.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I'm going to push back against the "no pvp, ever" crowd. Under the right circumstances PvP can be fun a flavorful, and not being able to use in game mechanics against each other undermines the universality of those mechanics. Universality of mechanics, with monsters and npcs basically functioning in most ways like PCs, is something which a great deal of 5e D&D's system bloat is there in service of maintaining, so while there is nothing wrong with a tabletop shying away from universal mechanics, personally if I'm going to put up with all these complicated stat blocks to have a random NPC be able to grab any weapon off the ground and swing it around, or whatever, a PC can attack their fellow PC. In D&D if you want to do a stupid thing, you get to try, and you get to experience the consequences. The rules don't stop you from attacking an ally, your restraint does. That's core to it being a try anything you want game. Personally I'd only lay down a firm rule against PvP if I was DMing for particularly unreasonable people (I've really only had to do it with certain groups of children, though I do not doubt there are sufficiently childish adults).

But this is premised on playing with people who have played enough to understand, at least intuitively, that PvP generally should be limited to a symbolic tip of the hat to "what my character would do" and not escalated into something that upsets or bores the other players or that makes the DM have to do a lot of extra work. It seems like your group had an incident before they gained that insight and should probably have an above table discussion about it.

 

[Scott Christian]

Keeping this simple:

Tell them no PvP. It is clear they aren't role playing, as no one in their right mind would torture their friend with dissonant whispers, actively damaging them psyche. 3d6 too. I mean that is probably over 1/4 of the ranger's hp.

 

[Brett Bussart]

Hi everyone,

I'm a fairly new DM running Curse of Strahd for three players (Level 4: Paladin, Ranger, Bard). This is the very first D&D campaign for all of us. Important context: The players get along great out-of-game, the table dynamic is fantastic, and they are extremely roleplay-focused (our last session lasted 6 hours, mostly RP).

The Setup:The party just arrived in Vallaki, bringing Ireena with them (under a fake name). They've already experienced the tense atmosphere of the town (guard checks for "happiness", a man in the stocks). After Izek stared creepily at Ireena in the street, they hid her in a house of a NPC.

The Incident & Problem:I added a small pond inside Vallaki (using a custom map). There, an in-character conflict erupted between two party members:

1. The Bard was swimming naked and made a hurtful comment to the Ranger ("you have no friends anyway").
2. The Ranger reacted emotionally (her backstory involves a deep betrayal by her former mentor, making her very sensitive to rejection) and threw the Bard's clothes into the water.
3. The Bard cast Dissonant Whispers on the Ranger
4. The Ranger shot the Bard with her bow and hit.

Guards arrived at the scene. The Bard managed to de-escalate the situation at first with a very high Charisma check. However, as the guards were leaving, the Bard openly insulted them again. At that point, the guards had enough and arrested all three of them.

Current Situation at the End of the Session: The session ended with the guards taking all three characters away towards the Burgomaster's mansion, exactly as they were at that moment. The Ranger and Paladin still have all their equipment, while the Bard is practically naked (only covered in a cloak). The characters currently have no idea what happened to the Bard's gear and backpack, because it stil lays at the pond.

My Concerns & Questions:

• PvP Handling: To clarify, there was some out-of-game communication right before the attack. I asked the Bard if she really wanted to do this, and the Ranger player explicitly said the Bard could cast her spell, but had to live with the consequences. The Paladin player also tried to mediate in-character. So while there was player consent for the conflict, I still want to ensure we navigate the aftermath cleanly.
• Player Perception vs. In-Game Logic: The Bard's player is super worried about her lost backpack. At the same time, she doesn't feel responsible for the arrest at all, despite provoking the guards after already resolving the situation. Since there is no out-of-game drama between the players, I want to handle this constructively at the table.
• How to proceed? I don't want to just banish the party from Vallaki (as suggested in the book), because too much plot would be lost.

Initial Idea:I’m considering separating the party at the start of the next session. Since the Paladin has a Noble background, the Baron might have him brought out first for an audience.

What are your thoughts?

1. How would you as experienced DMs resolve this arrest? How would you structure the beginning of the next session?
2. How do you handle it (in-game and out-of-game) when a player refuses to see the in-game consequences of their actions, but is anxious about losing their equipment? How do you handle PvP?
3. Any tips on how to establish Vallaki as a viable long-term homebase despite its grim laws?

Overall, I'm super happy that my players are so heavily invested in roleplay and willing to dive into character dynamics. However, I also feel that the party ultimately needs a certain level of cohesion to function properly as a group

Thanks a lot for your help!

Start the next session by having the Bard and Ranger roll a Wisdom or Charisma savings throw against a DC 12 - 15. If they succeed, then let them know that they succumbed to Mist Madness. Mist Madness is a type of curse that takes hold of some people immediately upon entering a Domain of Dread. This is a way to give the players an in-game dodge that let's them figure out that they shouldn't engage one another in PvP, but that in Ravenloft, a moment of intense but short lived crazy can be appropriate.

Mist Madness is usually brought on by a brief embrace with the mind of the Dread Domain Lord, in this case Lord Zarovich, and that the brief moment of shared consciousness caused these two to go after one another in line with Lord Zarovich's wishes. This brief spat was one of many potential future conflicts that the mind of Lord Zarovich will attempt to initiate between party members as he "evaluates" them for their suitability to take over his Domain of Dread.

In the original Domains of Dread book, written by William W. Connors and Steve Miller in 1997, rules were created for Horror, Fear, and Madness checks. All three checks were elements of the game back then, and can still be used today. If you choose to give your characters their in-game dodge, then you can spend a quick 5 - 10 minutes explaining to them that they should not engage in PvP, and that they need to work together if they want to make it out of Barovia alive. Otherwise, they can keep in-fighting and watch Lord Zarovich tear the party apart day by day and turn them into undead servants. In this way, all they accomplish was becoming the next in a long line of cautionary tales of foolish adventurers in Barovia.