Prisoners

[pemerton]

It doesn't take too many instances of "You know that evil Cultist/Necromancer/Whatever you let go last month with a promise he'd quit his evil ways? Well, he didn't and he's BACK!" before prisoners simply get the sword.

how the GM chooses to “reward” this decision also goes a long way. As mentioned earlier in the thread, if every prisoner released comes back to cause trouble for the PCs, they’re going to learn a specific lesson. So the GM needs to decide what he’s looking for in the game, and then make sure to proceed accordingly.

This is where action resolution mechanics seem apposite.

If the PCs release a prisoner on his/he parole, and then that prisoner breaks his/her word, that is clearly a failure. So should be the consequence of a failed action declaration. Whereas if the players succeed in their action declaration then the GM should honour that, and have the NPC keep his/her word.

Different RPG systems have different ways for adjudicating this, and depending on broader feature of tone and style it might be more or less cynical or light-hearted. Even within a given system there might be different ways of doing it - eg in Classic Traveller repent or else seems like it might be resolved via a morale check, whereas why don't you come over to our side seems like it might be resolved via a reaction roll.

But if a GM repeatedly, unilaterally turns player successes - we beat the bad guys -into player failures - the bad guys we released on a promise of good behaviour have gone back to their old ways - then (i) that sounds to me like a bad play experience, and (iii) the players will start taking steps to impose finality on the fiction, as the only way to try and control the GM. Killing prisoners will be one form such finality takes.

 

[JohnSnow]

This is where action resolution mechanics seem apposite.

If the PCs release a prisoner on his/he parole, and then that prisoner breaks his/her word, that is clearly a failure. So should be the consequence of a failed action declaration. Whereas if the players succeed in their action declaration then the GM should honour that, and have the NPC keep his/her word.

I think that's an excellent solution. If the PCs later do villainous things, or FAIL in some way, it could be dramatically appropriate to have some of those formerly paroled villains come back to menace the heroes once again.

Success and failure. Decisions and consequences.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

So I was reading the thread about the intimidation skill, and it got my pondering, how does your group handle prisoners?

Obviously depends on a lot of different factors, but in general anyone taken prisoner is questioned (not tortured, just questioned) and then if the prisoners seem evil, they're executed, and others are let go as long as they have appropriate attitudes and statements about going away and never being seen again. And in general, prisoners who are let go are never seen again and PC's get no backlash for executing the bad guys.

PC's are not the police in a modern society. NOTHING like the police or associated legal systems of a modern society really exists in my magical medieval-ish game worlds. One of the most unbelievable things about my game worlds are that there ARE so many people and nations who genuinely do the right thing.

If there is a problem to be dealt with it is actually when PC's want to KEEP prisoners; take them back somewhere else "for justice" or the like. If PC's want to KEEP prisoners then it's THEIR burden to decide HOW they handle that and WHY. The rest of the world typically won't care much and would expect powerful individuals (such as the PC's always are) to enforce their own personal brand of star chamber justice upon anything in reach of their swords.

 

[Catulle]

Obviously depends on a lot of different factors, but in general anyone taken prisoner is questioned (not tortured, just questioned) and then if the prisoners seem evil, they're executed, and others are let go as long as they have appropriate attitudes and statements about going away and never being seen again. And in general, prisoners who are let go are never seen again and PC's get no backlash for executing the bad guys.

PC's are not the police in a modern society. NOTHING like the police or associated legal systems of a modern society really exists in my magical medieval-ish game worlds. One of the most unbelievable things about my game worlds are that there ARE so many people and nations who genuinely do the right thing.

If there is a problem to be dealt with it is actually when PC's want to KEEP prisoners; take them back somewhere else "for justice" or the like. If PC's want to KEEP prisoners then it's THEIR burden to decide HOW they handle that and WHY. The rest of the world typically won't care much and would expect powerful individuals (such as the PC's always are) to enforce their own personal brand of star chamber justice upon anything in reach of their swords.

HARD MEN HARD DECISIONS

Super interesting... enjoy!

 

[Catulle]

It's kind of pathetic. like somebody's unable to figure out another way... hang on, wasn't there a racist right back there telling Danny how he was wrong about slavery? Oh? there was? Well, that'd just be terrible, wouldn't it?

 

[Imaculata]

At the start of my pirate campaign, the players prevented a cultist from assasinating a pirate captain. The pirates, being democratically minded, all voted on how the cultist should be executed, with the vote of a captain counting as double. There was a wide selection of executions from that time period. I think in the end he was hung from a mast and shot. The players even were given the opportunity to cheat, but I don't think they did.

 

[aramis erak]

So, to take that to a logical conclusion, I guess the paladins hunt down children of these species, instigate anti-fertility measures amongst the females of the species, starve them out, etc.

Paladins in your world don't sound good at all...but as long as your groups are having fun.

In some game worlds, Orcs are incapable of deciding to be good; without magic altering their mind, they just can't.

In such worlds, the lack of true freedom of will makes killing them off a bit more justified.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

In some game worlds, Orcs are incapable of deciding to be good; without magic altering their mind, they just can't.

In such worlds, the lack of true freedom of will makes killing them off a bit more justified.

Weird people keep mentioning these campaigns but I've never seen them. Outside of homebrew, where is the published settings that have orcs incapable of being anything other than evil?

 

[Wasteland Knight]

It's kind of pathetic. like somebody's unable to figure out another way... hang on, wasn't there a racist right back there telling Danny how he was wrong about slavery? Oh? there was? Well, that'd just be terrible, wouldn't it?

I don’t understand what this post is trying to say?

 

[Wasteland Knight]

Weird people keep mentioning these campaigns but I've never seen them. Outside of homebrew, where is the published settings that have orcs incapable of being anything other than evil?

As far as I can remember, every published adventure I played back in D&D boxed set and AD&D times was in the mode of “Orcs are EVIL”.