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Message: <blockquote data-quote="utopia27" data-source="post: 3860235" data-attributes="member: 26707">crime and punishmentMy 7-year-old did something like this. He and his party were (somewhat inadvertantly) terrorizing a border hamlet. When the border guard (hardened veterans of the goblin marches) returned from patrol to find everyone shuttered in, and a party of vagabonds howling in the center of town, beating down doors, and rummaging through the blacksmith's shop, well... the guard captain demanded surrender, shot, then asked questions (in that order). So my 7-year-old decided to fight back, and went and killed himself a couple of folk before the border guard cudgeled him into unconscousness. His buddy (the 12-year-old, "should know better than that", oldest in the group) did much the same. Now the two 9-year-old young ladies (cleric and druidess) had tried to parlay with the slightly-paranoid folk of the border village. Once the guard captain ordered them to surrender (and they noticed the dozen or so grim-looking archers waving fletched pointy death at them) poked their hands in the air and got captured. Even when the "boys" got the shooting started, they mainly stayed out of the way, and tried to heal the wounded.[[ NOTE: "the boys" and "the girls" are two thirds of my kids' ongoing D&D game. the other two are a boy and girl of intermediate age, who acted intermediately, with intermediate consequences. Along with the "foil of god" NPC. The intermediate actors were actually the elf MU/thief and fighter/scout NPC - they tried to break for the hills, and rapped some folks gently on the head (specifically non-lethally) before being cornered. The other PC - a rough-and-tumble but very honorable fighter (and sometime city guard), played by the _other_ 7-year-old guy in the group, tried to sneak up on the guard captain, but got dropped by a couple arrows and a crit'ed sling stone of impact....]]Consequence: the "rowdy boys" spent the next week in jail on bread and water, in their underpants, with no shower and one pot for them to share as a toilet. They got marched in to meet the justice to be dispatched by the local cleric, the guard captain. Oh - and mysteriously [because the girls chatted...] the prince who has been their patron got pulled into the sentencing as well - using their own "scrying pan" (OK, sometimes I can't resist a pun). Miseries and humiliation _galore_. And rubbed in. The "boys" were sentenced to a geas'd quest, apologies to all involved (including the children of the guards that were killed, the guards themselves (now 'raise'ed), their families, the squad commander, the guard captain, and their prince), compensation for the cost of the 'raise dead' spell, and restitution to the guards.Consequence: the "girls", on the other hand, spent the first night at the guard captain's house. They were obviously in detention, but had all their clothes, decent food, hot tea, and a warm bed. The next morning they had a somewhat stressful, but very straightforward interview with the guard captain and the local cleric. It didn't hurt a bit that the local cleric was an elf worshipper of Corellan Loreithian, and the "girls" are elf cleric and druid themselves - though less specifically devoted to Corellan (generic protection/good and nature - we're builiding up towards pantheons as the _players_ can wrap their head around it...). Why did the "boys" spend a week in jail? Because the town sent "the girls" off (with a "bodyguard") to a nearby gnome village to pawn several of the "boys" magic items (treasured but not "THE FAVORITE" items) for gold and spell components (big diamonds, as I recall). The "girls" went because they had the ebony fly (? figurine of wonderous power - big nasty bug that can transport distances by flying ?) that could transport them in a timely manner. And they were allowed to exercise their own judgement (and skills) to determine how much monetary pain "the boys" should suffer.Result - law and order got a whole 'nother level of respect. My son will _never_ forget that he lost his wand of lightning bolts because he failed to honor the local codes of conduct. Oh - and the smelly dungeon in their skivvies made something of an impression as well.I actually run my kids' game as a little bit of a morality play - with very clear black and white. I use it as a way to let them run amok and cap some five-0 - and suffer significant consequences, even when the setting allows "it got all better'd". I let the kids walk a mile as a town guard, meet the children of the border guard they killed (and yes, get spit on). I let them meet the goblin lieutenant (ranger) whose companion wolf they killed a long, long time ago. And now he's all growed up and scary-like, with a grudge almost as big as his (unnaturally for a goblin) HUGE shoulders.The kids in my game have learned about tipping - tipping waitresses, tipping maid service at an inn. They've learned why tipping the nice customs officer will get you in trouble - though they're still a little hazy on the difference between a tip and a bribe.The kids have seen the GM hand out a 100xp award on the spot, because someone remembered to complete a side plot. And they've been hustled out of town because another character (one of "the boys") willfully evaded the responsibilities of his royal house (well... dragonmarked...). It's all about the nudges and pushes, incentives and disincentives. Set the tone, generate (and actively encourage) the opportunities, and even a semi-literate 7-year-old barbarian will catch on.    <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /></blockquote>

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