Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 99typhoons May 15, 2015 15:43:30	A few sessions ago, two of the characters in the party that I DM for returned to port in their home city that was under attack by goblins and burning. They killed about 30 goblins and while this was happening they were even trying to roll to see if they were in fact the people of the city but rolled super low so they never figured it out. Each of them even picked up severed heads of goblins and rolled to see if they were truely goblins. They were then frozen in place with magic as the BBEG showed up.He stole some pretty powerful magic items from them,then lifting a spell on them they realized the golbins were infact the townsfolk. They even were attacked by their Orge NPC friend who was trying to save the townsfolk. Who they thought was trying to save his goblin cousins. they even got pretty fancy with how they killed many of them, which only makes the fact that they were people even worse.    They escaped onto one of the characters boat while being chased by the cities guard and left the continent and are now onto another mission going after the villain.    Once they get back to the city they are going to be arrested and tried for murder of the people.   my question is: how should I go about this?    they probably wont return back to this city until the BBEG is killed, and I can only assume the punishment for this type of crime would be death. It would be a fun way for their characters to die but they also have a lot invested in our games world and both want to do many things after this campaign.    I dont know how to go about having them stand trial to find they are guilty or to clear their names because of the bad guys magic.    thoughts?
#2 durntaur May 15, 2015 16:18:18	Capturing the BBEG and getting it under a Zone of Truth would help. The PCs may have to arrange a means, via messengers, to communicate with the town their intention to return and their understanding of their actions, but request assurance that they be given a chance to prove that they were the unwitting/unwilling pawns of the BBEG.   However, I don't think that would absolve them from all responsibility. Furthermore, depending on their character (not the game abstract but their collection of beliefs, morals, virtues, etc.) how are they dealing with the fact that they butchered 30 people, regardless of the fact that they were enchanted? If I was of any good or lawful-neutral alignment, I'd imagine I'd be devastated, ashamed, depressed, horrified, restless, and any number of emotions that might come from having unwittingly killed a bunch of innocent people. I'd imagine some serious PTSD.
#3 pukunui May 15, 2015 16:28:58	Brainstorming here:   For starters, I'd give them a head's up about their arrest warrant. Perhaps news of it reaches them in the other land, or they come across a wanted poster or something.   Then give them the opportunity to do a bit of investigation. Perhaps the BBEG wrote about his plans in a private diary that the PCs can find on his person or in his lair. They can potentially use that as evidence to clear their names. They can also look for other bits of evidence, if there are any.   Whatever you do, I'd advise against going with a predetermined outcome for the trial. That happens in Neverwinter Nights 2 - regardless of whether or not you prove your innocence, you get challenged to a trial by combat, so in the end it doesn't really matter what you say during the trial. That's no fun, especially when you're playing with other people (as opposed to a single-player video game), so I'd make sure you allow for them to successfully win the case and clear their names.   If they fail and find themselves on death row, I'd still give them the opportunity to escape before the death sentence is carried out. Perhaps someone in town sympathizes with them and arranges to break them out of jail. Or the guards are just negligent enough that an opportunity presents itself to the PCs. Then they can carry on the campaign knowing that they can't go back to that town ... and you can occasionally throw bounty hunters and such at them.
#4 OoftaMeg May 15, 2015 18:06:43	In a world where charm/illusion works I rule that people can be found innocent by means of magic.  The PCs did the right thing and tried to determine if they were under a spell of some sort, they just failed their check   Much like the insanity defense, you have to prove it ... but if the court has access to zone of truth it's easy enough to prove.  In addition, if they can bring in the BBEG that would also help with their case.   I guess I'm just not a fan of "tricking" people into having their PCs commit evil acts and then having to deal with the repercussions.
#5 BRJN May 15, 2015 18:13:16	Given that the PCs were going out of their way, both in-character and out-of-character, to avoid the murder of innocents, you should have let most of those "goblins" BE Goblins.    Part of BBEG's super-magic was to Charm the PCs (and everybody else in the area) into thinking the Goblins were townsfolk after all - maybe one or two really were.  This is part of BBEG's plan to keep the PCs out of his hair by sending the City Police after them.  The killing of a few people while obviously mind-affecting high magic is being used will be more forgivable than if the PCs had deliberately committed The St Valentines Day Massacre. But to sort out this tangled web, the PCs have to talk to a Psion and/or Divination Wizard in order to figure out what REALLY happened, then use the evidence in their defense.
#6 99typhoons May 15, 2015 18:42:16	Heres a lil more info for this.    They were returning from across the ocean after a mission with another NPC who was weakened by the events of the mission, so when the city came into view of the ship and they could hear the screams of people and see fires they jumped off ship as they reached the docks,    They ran full bore into battle in the streets of this city and ran down alleys and across fields after them and killed about 20 before they made the joke that "what if these goblins were actually the towns people" and decided to check.    The BBEG made them aware that they infact killed people as apposed to goblins before vanishing as the Armed Guards of the city made it to their location.    They fled to the Docks where they left the city. Without the other NPC. Who has since given herself up for holding until they return for trial.    The two in question are both human, Cleric & Rogue.    The Cleric is my younger brother, his character is a servant of the God of Death and Life. He is heavily effected by what he did to the townsfolk and feels his god is going to punish him for his wrongdoings.    THe Rogue feels bad about it and as word gets around that he was part of this massacre, he worries it will reach the people that he owes way too much gold to, and then even more people who thought he was dead will come for him.    These two are part of an Adventuring Company have another companion who usually joins them on their journeys, a female fighter, who recently was Knighted and made Baroness of a Small Kingdom on another continent. She now has other duties and is not always available to go with them. In a session since the murders, they made port for supplies and sent a messenger to her city to explain what happend.   in the city that this occured is the HQ of the Adventuring Company that they all work for. This big city has many people that they have encountered before and even helped. They have spent very much time in one of the local bars, Salty Sam's.    In addition to sending a messenger to their other companion, they also sent one to the leader of their adventuring company in the city that this incident happend.    So they have, to an extant tried to lay some groundwork for their eventual trial. But taking down the BBEG is first and foremost to them.