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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jürgen Hubert" data-source="post: 5400654" data-attributes="member: 7177">This thread is relevant to my own setting. I'll just add my thoughts in here:This has several assumptions which may not necessarily be true:- The authorities care about what is happening. If a noble or council member is slaughtered in broad daylight - or even in a back alley - then sure, the authorities will send in the guards. But if it's just someone poor and destitute getting killed in one of the worse parts of town, then all they might do is remove the corpse - and even that assumes that nobody has flogged the corpse to the friendly neighborhood necromancer by the time the guards arrive.- The authorities are actually able to investigate what's going on. Frankly, the kind of investigative stuff that's common in today's law enforcement is a very recent invention - it only really got its start in late 19th century London. Throughout most of history, the job of the guards has been to maintain the status quo, not provide justice for all. If a case gets really complex and can't be solved by blaming it all on someone who appears to be the likely perpetrator (whether or not he is actually guilty), they might ask some outside expert who is actually good at this investigative stuff - in other words, PC types.- The guards are able to do something about it without getting horribly slaughtered. Frankly, once PCs leave (maybe) the third level behind, they are going to be so much more powerful than the average city guard that there is simply no comparison. So even if they get believed, the first wave of guards will simply die, and on future occasions the surviving guard members will be resentful of this, blame the PCs, and be deaf to future requests for aid.So, how does a typical fantasy city deal with powerful threats the guard isn't equipped to handle by itself? By keeping certain powerful individuals on retainer for emergencies - in other words, folks just like the player characters. And if the PCs frequently help out the city with all sorts of strange problems, they themselves could be added to such a retainer. Give them medals, free housing, and all sorts of perks which play on their pride (but hopefully don't cost too much), and the city soon has a new group of powerful patriots willing to give all for their home town...Note: <a href="http://urbis.wikidot.com/adventurer" target="_blank">This article</a> on the social status of adventurers in my setting may provide some further inspiration...Wikis are your friend - not only are they good for taking notes, but it is also very easy to cross-reference the individual entires. Ideally, you have a laptop with you at the gaming table where you can look this stuff up, but even adding new material after sessions and looking it up before the next session can do wonders.It also helps me with building cities - I simply add new locations, NPCs, and organizations to the wiki whenever I think of them, and then have them for future reference. For an example, take a look at <a href="http://urbis.wikidot.com/dartmouth" target="_blank">this city</a>.Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the morality of it all. Instead, ask yourself the following question: How much will the authorities care whether those enemies die, considering the circumstances of the encounter? Make sure to explain the general thrust of this to PCs with appropriate skills.For example, the authorities might not care about the death of city-dwelling goblins, or wererats, or slum-dwellers. But they will care if they are members of official guilds, or wealthy, or if it's done anywhere where respectable people see it. And then there are questions like: Was it done in self-defense? And if so, are there reliable witnesses that could testify to it?</blockquote>

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