Playing the Devil's Advocate...
Laurel said:
We really need to think about the moral issues of imprisonment. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of imprisoning completely innocent people. They are following orders, and they think they are helping innocents, helping to save the kingdom. And we are going to throw them into a small cramped space for possibly hours, just to get them out of the way.
Although imprisoning innocents for hours at a time can hardly be seen as the most desirable of all possible ends, what you really need to do is look at the alternatives.
The longer they're free, the longer they have to figure out the ruse you're going to be participating in. Once they do, they will undoubtedly try to kill or capture you. Once
that happens, you all will (of course) retaliate in order to defend yourselves, likely ending in the deaths of some of the red mages in question. Even when you're trying to get someone alive, an unforeseen accident can result in their deaths. Selura is a good example of this.
Although pushing them into a cramped space for several hours is probably not going to be fun for them, it beats the hell out of dying. It's as merciful as the situation will allow, fast, and it effectively neutralizes *all* of the redmages at once, rather than dealing with them one or two at a time, constantly exposing your lies to ever more scrutiny.
Laurel said:
Someone had also discussed converting them to our side- if a group of known criminals tricked me into a cramped dark space taking away all my weapons, and then asked if I believed they were good people... um... I think it would take a whole freekin' lot just to undo the first impression they were giving me.
Although you're going to have little or no chance of converting the redmages from the cell in which you put them, keeping the vast majority of them alive and then *letting them go* when you've completed your task seems likely to at least get them talking about you.
Although you all know you're good people, the kingdom at large has very little evidence that you are anything more than indiscriminate murderers. You've killed lawful bounty hunters, Talons, King's soldiers, along with the thousands of undead and draconids you've dispatched. You're probably not going to get them to join you, regardless. By leaving them alive and conscious, at least they'll have a story to take with them that could counter tales of rebel brutality.
Laurel said:
And what does it show to other people? We are okay with wrongfully imprisoning someone just to get them conviently out of the way. There not even POW.
Once more, it's all a matter of context. Sure, 3-4 hours in a crowded cell sucks, but it can't be worse than dying.
Laurel said:
And there has to be a door, we can't throw them in a room with no air, no light, no water, no way to get food or relieve themselves. even if it does give them a slight chance of escaping without these we pass into the realm of evil captors.
Although there will undoubtedly just have to be chamber pots in the cell, there does need to be a door, unless you're going to bust down a wall every time you hope to let one or two out.
As I stated above, I don't see a problem with imprisoning them longer, as long as they have more space.
Laurel said:
We are talking about tricking these people into a cramped small space for who knows how many hours while we get the sword, when there are other ways to get rid of them.
I'm happy to entertain another idea, I'm just not sure that there is another idea that neutralizes the redmages without risking their deaths, and the success of the mission. Ideally, you all would be fighting over who's plan you should follow...but as far as I can tell, this is the only semi-complete plan on the market?
Laurel said:
Beyond these there really is no back-up plan, no plan B. Plan B is just to attack?
If there is a plan B, I have not heard it, nor have I heard of. I just rolled a survival check, and since I have the
track feat, I can say with some certainty that a Plan B has not passed this way within the last week.
Laurel said:
If we do go through with this plan we can NOT keep them in this prison past us getting the sword out of Caer Albion. To keep them imprisoned past that point is just wrong. If we go with this plan those that we manage to convert to our cause can stay the rest will get the option to go/leave unharmed.
Good idea. Although as stated above, you can keep them longer with better accomodations. You
are in a war. Besides, I wouldn't advise that you immediately trust anyone who converts, anyway. You've already opened the floodgates once...you may not want to do it again so soon.
Laurel said:
For a time when someone has a book: how much is this whole project going to cost? Where do our current finances stand?
Can't answer this one. Gertie? Liz?
