PCs vs. The Law -- my players stay out!!

[The Lost Muse]

Wouldn't a simple Geas be appropriate here? They must make restitution to all parties harmed by their actions (as dictated by the Magistrate or whomever is in charge of their punishment). This would effectively prevent them from messing in the business of the City Lord for a couple of days, and ensure also that justice is done.

At the same time, they are free to move about the city and whatnot; however, they are likely now the "untouchables" of the city, in that no one wants to be seen speaking to them.

 

[Sado]

Have the city lord they attacked speak out on their behalf and ask for them to be shown mercy. He will appear to be magnanimous and forgiving, but in reality he has his own evil plans for them.

Of course they end up foiling his plan in the end.

 

[Andor]

I'd say make them pay for raising their victems, selling off items if they have to. Then geas them to serve the good of the city for a year and a day. Meanwhile they should be having their friends in high places pushing for the Lord to be examined under magic. (Zone of truth, detect evil, etc.)

Oh, and they have to pay to repair the ballroom they fireballed, too.

 

[diaglo]

I'd say make them pay for raising their victems, selling off items if they have to...
Oh, and they have to pay to repair the ballroom they fireballed, too.

ditto.

 

[schporto]

Write up a the law code for the applicable crime.

In the case of unwarranted vigilante actions within city limits:

1. The perputrators must raise or pay to have raised all those killed. If the perputrators cannot pay they will serve a period of time equal to 1 year for each individual in the service of the city. This service is to be directed by the Commander of the Watch.
2. The perputrators will further recompense the slain according to table 18 (make something up along the lines of 1000gp X the level lost by the deceased). Table 18 also stipulates time to serve under the slain if monetary ruminations cannot be given.
3. Upon completion of all above services the vigilantes shall be given a Mark of Justice on the forhead with a 'V'. They shall be banned from entering city limits, with the sole exception being the Winter Solstice When the marks may be petitioned to be removed. Removal of this mark by any means other then said petition will be punishible by 5 years conscription service in the army.

If they gotta give up items to pay for the resurrections, hey that's their problem.
-cpd

 

[DragonLancer]

This is something I see in players all the time. Not all players but enough. They don't think through their actions. Not to mention think themselves above the law like this.

In this instance I think that arrest, stripping othem of their gear (and selling it - the gold going to tax and to the families of the dead), and then trial is fair. In fact, a RP based trial session could be a good evenings play. Depending on the laws of your kingdom, I don't think execution is too far wrong. Its up to the players to escape, find proof that the guy is an evil cultist and to an extent exhonorate themselves. If they don't try, then they get hung/beheaded/whatever.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

And there's a cult plot afoot to make it look like the city lord dies during the night -- so he can continue his plan to bring about the end of the world at the next full moon, two weeks a way -- while the PCs are under heavy guard. If they escape from captivity, they would certainly take the rap for his subsequent "death."

Not knowing the group, I would consider the idea of letting the bad guy win while the PCs are in prison. Is the end of the world a sudden irreversible thing? If not, when the world begins to end, have the people of the city realize what is happening and plead with the PCs to help save them. Or have the people flee the city in panic and someone lets the PCs out since they are all going to die anyway, or the prison walls crack allowing escape or something like that.

If the end of the world is a sudden irreversible thing, you can either let the world (and obviously the campaign) end, or you could have some other group of heroes save the day. In that case, eventually the PCs manage to clear their names, pay restitution to the families of innocents killed and go on their way - with a whole new plot line and the knowledge that they did not succeed in this storyline (I would occasionally remind the party of that by having them run across the other heroes who saved the world from time to time).

 

[diaglo]

go merchant of venice on them...

have the injured evil gov't guy.. go shylock on the PCs.

blinded by revenge...demanding his pound of flesh...

it builds up to seem like the PCs are totally screwed... they squirm, get angry, deny, and then finally accept their fate...
and then you throw the twist in... and the law/sheriff steps in and saves them...telling the evil guy he can have the flesh but not a drop of blood... of course substitute flesh and blood for some other things..

all played out in a court setting.

but still have them pay for the dead innocents.

 

[BlackMoria]

The BBEG is aware of the possible tarnish of his image and the suspicion that causes. Certain elements in the church want a full investigation. Questions will be asked everyone associated and all friends and acquaintances of those involved. The BBEG can't control the flow of information or who will say what without further casting suspicion on him. He needs to derail the investigation, so ....

He has a plan to repair his image and get rid of the would be heroes - so he orders the PCs released if they would undertake a particular mission for the city. He plays up the 'this was all a mistake' angle and the heroes are 'good stout men of worth'. This makes him appear magnanimous....if he is such a villain, why would he order his accusers set free? Good spin doctoring.

The details of the mission is up to you but it should be apparent to the PCs that the mission is a 'setup' to eliminate them....and in such a fashion that the deed can't be traced back to the BBEG. And they are right. It is a setup to eliminate them.

They must play along - evading death while at the same time, trying to get the concrete 'goods' on the BBEG. They can't go after him directly because their 'guilt' will be almost automatic and their execution certain (you may want to make this clear to them since most players are likely going to try to go directly after the BBEG on release).

One interesting way of allowing them to 'get the goods' on the BBEG is encourage them to walk into the obvious trap, defeat the forces arrayed against them and capture a senior toady who can provide information on the BBEG and the cultists. They need to capture a few other cultists to complete the array of evidence that will bring down the BBEG.

Of course, the BBEG, realizing that the trap failed, sends cultists to take down the PCs. And he plans his 'get outta dodge' plan.

The end result should be high drama in the vein of the 'Three Muskateers' - the BBEG unveiled finally, his escape, and finally, vindication for the heroes when they finally get him in the end and take him and the cult down.

 

[John Morrow]

Well, given that they massacred loads of people, I would tend to think a death sentence might be appropriate... following torture, of course. if you don't want to end the campaign, run an "escape from jail" scenario. Anyway, the PCs are now dead or outlaws, or both. Sorry but I really don't think "saddled with some healthy fines and be watched closely for a long time" is going to cut it here...

The legal system in a lot of fantasy worlds is too lenient. Depending on the period you choose as a model, a realistic set of punishments might include the death penalty even for theft (e.g., http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/history/crime/crimes.html). I originally passed on buying one of the books on running city adventures because the punishment listed for theft was something like being fined twice the value of the stolen item. Yeah, that would explain why a fantasy city has a powerful thieves guild and thieves working every market and street. Good thieves would quickly realize that if they can get caught for fewer than half the thefts they commit, crime really will pay for them under such a system.

Setting designers need to realize that before we developed our modern notion of reforming criminals and warehousing them in prisons, punishment was usually immediate (it costs money to run prisons--swift justice is cheaper and more entertaining) and had three basic motives:

1) Simple retribution. Lex talionis. An eye for an eye. That means that the punishment should be at least as inconveniencing to the criminal as it was to the victim. That's the minimum and they may only go that easy when the crime was unintentional or in civil matters involving damages or loss. See (2) and (3) below for why the punishment is usually worse than an eye for an eye.

3) Deterrening people from doing the crime in the first place. The guiding principle here is to make the punishment severe enough that even if the risk of being caught is low, people will be discouraged from doing the crime. Because the punishment has to compensate for possibility of not getting caught, they are often out of proportion to the crime. As pointed out above, if a thief is only fined twice the value of what they steal, they know if they can get away with two successful thefts for every theft where they are caught, they'll still come out ahead. If they know they will lose their hand or be executed on the other hand, even if the odds of getting caught are 1 in 100, they might think twice about doing it.

3) Removing the person from society. Basically, the world is a better place without bad people so let's help them move on to the next world. Crimes that mark people as a bad person will often have the death penalty as a punishment. Because they lacked the money, technology, and facilities to run prisons and were not squeamish about executions, the death penalty became quite popular. In D&D terms, an Evil alignment in combination with serious crimes would probably make it difficult to escape the death penalty unless there is a strong religious or social imperative to give people the opportunity to repent or reform.