Players gone wild in Hommlet - RTTOEE

[Carnifex]

I think you handled things right. Consider a geas on the less-offensive players: they need to pay to bring their victims back from the dead, and compensate their victims 3,000 gp apiece, or else be sold into slavery for ten years, proceeds from the sale going to their victims.

Hold on a minute. 3,000 gp's compensation? You do realise that's more than most commoners or watchmen would ever even see in their lives - giving them that much seems a bit ridiculous. Plus the fact that the concept of compensation for things like this was really rather unknown during the medieval period. A man might have to pay some blood money to the family of the victim if he was even let off alive, but it would be nowhere near as vast an amount.

 

[Dieter]

Rufus is a former adventurer who helped clear out the Temple of Elemental Evil the first time around. He risked his life and killed lots of things to protect Homlet.

That beign said I doubt he has any problem with the death penalty.

Given that new info, I'd be inclined to think Rufus is the "lord protector" of Hommlet. Being lawfully bound to protect Hommlet at all costs, the injustice of the barbarian (particularly of sworn officers of the land) should be met with swift punishment. I would recommend that he be summarily hung in the town square as examples of what happens to people who break the law.

I would recommend lesser sentences (fines, imprisonment) to his unfortunate accomplices. The only who could possibly be exhonorated is the cleric.

 

[Pielorinho]

Hold on a minute. 3,000 gp's compensation? You do realise that's more than most commoners or watchmen would ever even see in their lives - giving them that much seems a bit ridiculous. Plus the fact that the concept of compensation for things like this was really rather unknown during the medieval period. A man might have to pay some blood money to the family of the victim if he was even let off alive, but it would be nowhere near as vast an amount.

Two points:
1) The 3K figure isn't meant to be proportionate compensation for the victims -- it's meant to punish the adventurers, and should be an amount that will hurt them. If it seems like too much to give to the commoners, then give 2/3 of it to the victim. That's enough for the victim to open up the shop that he's always dreamed of opening.
2) "Blood Money" isn't necessarily a relevant concept in a world with raise dead. Punitive damages seem more appropriate. Especially with spells like Geas and Quest available to enforce punishments.

Daniel

 

[JacktheRabbit]

As far as I can tell from the initial post the cleric burned 3 watchmen to death with a wand of burning hands. So the cleric should get death as well.

The fighter defended himself and should at most get fined or lesser geased and sent abck to the Temple of Elemental Evil.

The halfing did nothing at all and as such shouldnt get punished at all.

Given that new info, I'd be inclined to think Rufus is the "lord protector" of Hommlet. Being lawfully bound to protect Hommlet at all costs, the injustice of the barbarian (particularly of sworn officers of the land) should be met with swift punishment. I would recommend that he be summarily hung in the town square as examples of what happens to people who break the law.

I would recommend lesser sentences (fines, imprisonment) to his unfortunate accomplices. The only who could possibly be exhonorated is the cleric.

 

[Zenon]

Wow.

You, my DM friend, have the patience of a saint.

What would I do? (possible spoilers!!!)

1) Put down the module, take off my DM hat and say "Time for somebody else to run!"

2) Give them a trial. You have several clerics in town, some fairly powerful like Y'dey and Yether (St. Cuthbert and Pelor). Round up everyone who may have been involved. Have the clerics load up on all the Detect spells, you know, like Detect Chaos, Evil, Good, Law, Thoughts, specials like Discern Lies (4th lvel Clr, Y'dey can handle it). Sort out the guilty from the innocent and play out the trial! Find out why they went on such a rampage and use it to your advantage. If they start spouting things like "We were looking for evil cultists!" several others in town (who will attend the trial, of course), will note this. (Like Jaroo, Sart, Telma[? the old woman baker], Chartrillion, etc. Messages will be sent to other places informing higher ups that interest is starting to be taken. Cultists will clean up clues, and most likely pull out, leaving any characters who avoid prison or execution high and dry.

BTW, it is within your DM rights to adjust alignments due to character actions. Imagine the suprise if Detect Evil on some party members reveals they are! They will probably start ranting about how the casting cleric is "with the cult!" and most likely will be deemed insane.

Take a bad situation and have some DM fun with it. After all, your players just had some fun at your expense....

 

[Henry]

I saw nothing wrong with any of the actions taken against the adventurers. The barbarian should be executed for his murder, especially since he had the prior reputation as a "troublemaker."

The cleric should be either executed or sold into servitude. Perhaps the cleric's church could pay for damages, and then lay a Geas/Quest on the cleric to undertake missions to repay the church. If he is a cleric of Boccob, no atonement is probably warranted - just repayment of damages.

The fighter should be either imprisoned for a few years or at best exiled from the area permanently.

The Halfling, should he escape, would probably not be pursued very far. Assuming this were Greyhawk, if he made it as far as Ket or Perrenland, or even headed towards Iuz or the Theocracy of the Pale, they probably would not pursue him - though bounty hunters wouldn't be out of the question.

If you Really want to have some fun, ask the players of the barbarian and the fighter if they would like to roll up new characters, and play the bounty hunters looking for the halfling. Then, switch between the two groups from time to time, and run several sessions based on this idea.

 

[Pielorinho]

Ooh, another idea! The reversible execution by torture.

The PCs forfeit enough of their belongings to raise their victims from the dead, and pay a hefty penalty to the victims. Then the PCs are drawn and quartered (at least, the guilty ones are).

They can make arrangements before their torture-to-death to be raised from the dead, at their own expense, after they're dead. Properly punished, they can then be sent on their way, never again welcome in Hommlet.

How does that sound?

Daniel

 

[Storm Raven]

Sounds like the fighter was merely defending himself to me. The further on it states that the fighter even helps give medical attention to any unconcious guardsmen.

When the police try to arrest you, and you fight them off, do you get away with it because "you were merely defending yourself"? No. You get slapped with a charge of resisting arrest. Helping out the people you injured later does not excuse your crime.

So at no point does it say he ran up and started beating on anyone. Don't make up facts to feed your statements. Go with what was given to us.

Okay, so it doesn't say he specifically ran into the fracas, but he participated on the side of the felons. Fighting with the watchmen is a criminal act in and of itself. You don't get a freebie because you were "just defending yourself". When they say "surrender" the only lawful response is to say "okay".

Also nowhere does it say he aids his companions other then when he aids the cleric in treating the unconcious watchmen. So again you are making things up.

No, you misunderstand. Just participating in the fight on the side of the barbarian and cleric is assisting them. Look at the sequence.

(1) Barbarian and cleric kill inn employee for no apparent reason.
(2) Town watch shows up to arrest the barbarian, cleric, and fighter since they assume he participated (lacking evidence at this point, a prophylactic arrest makes sense for them).
(3) Barbarian, cleric and fighter resist the watchmen, fighting them. In the fight, several of the watchmen are killed. The fighter in question fought against the watchmen, assisting the barbarian and the cleric in their efforts to resist arrest.

This is being an accomplice after the fact. The felony having been committed, the fighter is helping the barbarian and cleric in their efforts to avoid arrest by fighting against the town watch rather than surrendering immediately.

In addition, resisting arrest, and killing watchmen is probably akin to a felony. Under the traditional felony murder rule, which dates back to the middle ages, anyone who participated in a common felonious criminal act in any way is culpable for muder if anyone dies during the course of that common felonious criminal act.

The fighter could very well be guilty of murder under the felony murder rule. He participated in a common felonious criminal act when he resisted arrest along with the barbarian and cleric. When the cleric killed people, he is legally responsible for those deaths.

(Side note, this is all assuming that something as kind and generous as basic criminal law as applied in the modern United States is in force. I would doubt that the criminal justice system in a quasi midaevil fantasy setting would necessarily be as forgiving. And under the US system of law, anyone who behaved like the fighter behaved would spend many years in prison, and possibly face the death penalty in jurisdictions that allow for it, since the felony muder rule makes him guilty of first degree murder).

Just for fun, I will point out the aggravating circumstances that would make the PCs (including the fighter) death penalty eligible in most jurisdictions in the US that use the death penalty:

(1) They killed police officers (watchmen) who were engaged in the conduct of their official duties.
(2) They killed more than one person.
(3) They killed people while engaged in another felonious action (resisting arrest in this case).
(4) They killed people while engaged in a criminal conspiracy (as the barbarian and cleric were engaged in cooperative action to kill the barmaid).

Any DA in the US who was in a jursidiction in which the death penalty was allowed could reasonably expect to secure muder convictions and death sentences against all three if he chose to pursue that lega angle.

 

[Dieter]

Heck, why don't we throw out another scenario. What if the other party members go for a jail-break to free the imprisoned barbarian?

Being wanted outlaws could be quite interesting.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Except that so far the barbarian doesnt seem to be worth the trouble.

Heck, why don't we throw out another scenario. What if the other party members go for a jail-break to free the imprisoned barbarian?

Being wanted outlaws could be quite interesting.