Suggestions needed: Punishing Crime

[Murrdox]

I'm in a situation in the campaign I'm running that has been encountered many times by everyone: having a chaotic evil character in the party.

So awhile ago, the party saved a wealthy merchant and his family as they were moving to a new estate. Their caravan of belongings was attacked by a group of Ogres, Bugbears, and Goblins.

So, the players managed to save the merchant and his wife and child.

Then, after being REWARDED by the merchant, my player who is choatic evil decided to murder the merchant and his wife for no reason. To my utter dismay, neither of the other neutral characters in the party sought to intervene. The player left the child alive, more as a taunt than anything else.

I definitely don't want my player getting away with this.

So how do I punish him? I don't want to simply arrest and execute my player, and I don't want him to have to be incarcerated for a lengthy period of time, since that will disrupt the campaign.

The two main options I've thought about are:

The powerful NPCs that the PCs are working for hears about the crime, and uses his influence to lessen the sentence for the character. He needs to pay a rather large fine (enough to resurrect the merchant and his wife) and spend a few days in the stockade.

The child left alive by the character continues on his way, eventually making it to the new estate where they were going to be living. In the town there, he finds his relatives, and stays with them. His Uncle then uses the money that he inherited from his dead brother to hire a powerful mercenary to avenge his brother's death.

While I like the second alternative, I'm not a big fan of it because if the party KILLS the mercenary that is sent after them, they will get experience and the possessions of the Mercenary, and I just don't see how that amounts to a punishment.

Anyone care to help me out with some ideas on how to deal with characters who commit crimes?

 

[Fenes 2]

What is wrong with arresting and executing him? That is exactly how my party once dealt with the exact same situation (klilling off a merchant we just saved). The PC got a fair trial (well, as fair as it could get with my bard speaking against him in front of the jury) and got hanged.

If you don't want to reward such behaviour, make the PC face the consequences.

Alternates are getting branded a murderer with a always-visible mark on the forehead, which amounts to the PC declared an outlaw, to be killed on sight etc., but imho this would be just disruptive to a campaign.

Let Justice be served I say. (And talk the player into choosing a non-evil PC next time.)

 

[Kyramus]

Possible consequesnces/punishments:
1) how old is the child. he gets obsessed with revenge and later comes back as a powerful NPC, and given he inherited enough amounts of money. Hiring assassins won't be beneath the newly CE NPC.
2) What is the Law's view on Murder? Use it. If the PC plans an escape, he plans an escape, at that point bounty hunters would prboably try to track him down.
3) The other characters that didn't do anything to stop him would be branded accomplices since they didn't try to stop him. Again as part of the law. They might not be sentenced to death but a long incarceration is possible.
4) if all are incarcerated, then there really is no split in the group. there is always the "I'll commute your sentence if you do something dangerous for the kingdom. we just found a new drow base and want you to scout it and destroy it" lol

 

[Drawmack]

Create a ring of rememberance.

The person who bequeths the ring to the individual picks one event in the wearers life and the wearer must relive that event every day. The giver also chooses the perspective and the wearer sees & FEELS the event from that perspective. Once the ring is put on it cannot be removed unless the person atones for what they have done. Make this a 1 of a kind artifact.

Now the merchant has a sister. A very beautiful sister about the rogues age, maybe a tad younger. The sister has managed to procure this ring from the church of the god of retribution. After seducing the rogue she wants to give her love a gift, the ring noted above. The event he must watch is the death of this woman's brother and sister-in-law, the perspective is the childs.

This will either bring about an alignment change or insanity - up to the player.

 

[nsruf]

2) What is the Law's view on Murder? Use it. If the PC plans an escape, he plans an escape, at that point bounty hunters would prboably try to track him down.
3) The other characters that didn't do anything to stop him would be branded accomplices since they didn't try to stop him. Again as part of the law. They might not be sentenced to death but a long incarceration is possible.
4) if all are incarcerated, then there really is no split in the group. there is always the "I'll commute your sentence if you do something dangerous for the kingdom. we just found a new drow base and want you to scout it and destroy it" lol

In that order Also, try to rattle the other PCs a bit by making it clear that neglecting to help will shift their alignment towards evil eventually. And if they don't care for that, stress that their reputation and prospects for employment may likewise be in danger.

BTW, care to tell us more about your campaign? You seem to have no problem with evil PCs as such, so the player may actually expect to get away with it.

 

[Voadam]

Have him be arrested in game. Do it fairly so that it is a natural reaction of the campaign world and not a railroad (or railroad him if you want) All his stuff is confiscated and given to the victim's surviving family.

He is sentenced to death by beheading followed by cremation, he gets a chance to commute his sentence to a dangerous mission if he will reveal his accomplices. Being CE, he probably will.

The rest of the party who were OK with it are then arrested as well. They have stuff confiscated, and are sentenced to join him on the suicide mission or face a life of hard work as a galley slave. They will probably resent the CE bugger for this and make sure it never happens again. They will probably be saying things like "If we ever get out of Rappan Athuk alive with the [insert reason for sending them in] I'm going to cut off both your hands for this!" They are then sent in with cruddy equipment and no magic.

Once they make it back with the gizmo, they are branded on the face and exiled from the kingdom, free but their lives are forfeit if they ever return. They are marked men from that moment on and must lead the lives of outlaws and pariahs.

A good setup for a dangerous mission. Tough to work out if the party has serious escape magic like teleport though.

Remember they won't have the normal character wealth in stuff or magic items (although magic weapon or greater magic weapon will help out) when designing the challenges. Probably lower CR encounters that are now much more challenging for them.

 

[AuraSeer]

The first penalty I'd levy is monetary. Make the PC pay for the raise (or for a true resurrection if you're feeling mean), multiplied by 5 for punitive damages and "pain and suffering." If he can't cover the debt, even if they confiscate and auction his magic items, geas him to pay it off by legal methods as soon as possible.

After that, apply magical penalties to make sure he doesn't offend again. Zap him with a mark of justice from the highest-level NPC cleric you can find, and have it trigger if he kills anyone except in self-defense.

The really tricky thing about PC criminals is arresting them in the first place. Be careful about trying to send soldiers, because the party may just kill them and get in deeper trouble. I prefer having a wizard scry on the party until they're mostly asleep or vulnerable, or until the perp is alone somewhere. As soon as he has a good opportunity the wizard teleports in, casts a geas to make the criminal turn himself in, and teleports out again. (Stoneskin and other protective spells may be a good idea. Bonus points for style if he's improved invisible, so the commands seem to issue from a disembodied voice. ) It costs money to hire a spellcaster for this stuff, but the PC will end up paying for it anyway, under the heading of "court costs."

 

[Hand of Evil]

Child has uncle Paladin and just guess who became his squire!

First there would be a bounty, either from the family or the merchant guild, then there would be the hunters, sooner or later BAM, one is going to kill the party (normally this would be when they least expect it).

Then there are the gods, no more healing, no more protection from the 'good' gods. This means the party would have to turn to other gods and some of those, not so understanding.

Cold-blooded murder is considered an evil act in my games and I would have the character hung or impaled and the rest of the party, the same, under the rule the hand of one is the hand of all! Trial? Trial by combat, I say.

This is why I have my soap box: Define evil in your game! Let your players know what happens for performing an evil act!

 

[MarauderX]

I make it a detriment to the other PCs to hang around with the evil PC by having his reputation proceed them. No one will house or feed the party so long as the evil character is with them, and prices at shops double.

Having a vigilante show up is a great idea, as there are plenty of paladins that will want to avenge such a thing as well as the local thieves guide will want to take a piece of the pie for their own. I suggest sending a paladin after the party, as it will really waken them up that they are no longer looked at as doing good things for people, but as a danger to those around them. If they defeat the paladin, so be it, but don't give too much XP for it, and no cool weapons. To avoid them taking a bunch of weapons and such you can send a monk with specific direction to decapitate the offending PC.

 

[jasper]

please your comment about ruining the campaign gives him a free evil and no consquiences pass.
Kill him.
Haunt him.
Child taunt him.
Hang him, take the party's gold, flogg the neutral evils.
Always have reactions to what the party does.
The group saves the day hurrah!
The group MURDERS IN COLDBLOOD then bounties are posted.
Everyone is trying to collect.
If you don't want to do this keep your players in dungeons and shopping is done off board.