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Need Some Last War Military Campaign Themed Moral Dilemmas

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Fenris13
Nov 06, 2011 15:15:55 Im running a campaign set in the last years of the last war. The party are members of the Cyran army, and the adventures have had a decided military action/political intrigue theme thus far. I plan to dovetail them into an adventure based on the intro in the back of the eberron campaign guide.

After thwarting (mostly) a series of Karrnathi attacks and assassination attempts on (fruitless) peace talks hosted in Metrol, their force is being sent to spearhead the retributive attack on Atur.

A lot of the march, battles, and siege will take place "off-camera" between sessions with player writing short serials about their exploits and assignments and us all playing out the culmination of the siege next session.

What Im looking for are suggestions about some scenarios I can present to different characters where they are required to make hard moral or ethical choices. My campaign has a pretty gritty feel to it, so Im open to anything I can fit in. Basically I want to put the characters to the test when they can make gains (personal or professional) through ethically questionable actions. Profiteering, crimes, major war crimes, lesser of two evils kinds of decisions.
#2
Leekanh
Nov 06, 2011 19:56:46 Well, this one is a classic...

They arrive and, after dealing with the (mostly undead) resistance, find that all the living are just the woman, children and sick, all of them malnourished since this is Karrnath. And since this is Karrnath, the PCs can be sure that they WILL fight to the last man, no matter what are the odds... Or at least be almost impossible to sedate...

The PCs can slaughter them all and finish the job or leave them be (they are mostly civillians after all).
#3
sidrik
Nov 09, 2011 17:36:27 Perhaps you should try the typical sacrifice set.
Someone very important for the cyran nation has suffered a very dangerous curse (perhaps Oargev himself) from one of the necromancers of Atur, and the only way to get rid of that curse is the sacrifice of an innocent, maybe a child/virgin NPC the players know. So they must decide if let this NPC die for the good of their nation, or let the NPC live and let this important NPC face the undeniable dead.
That's one of my favorites.
Check Dragon Age games for moral or ethical dilemas. There are some interesting dilemas in the game.
#4
PatchyMan
Dec 03, 2011 17:22:15 This may be a bit late, but I can think of a couple of neat moral dilemmas that could work in Eberron :

1) The Library at Alexandria : The PCs have been tasked with assisting the evacuation of friendly troops from a city before an overwhelming opposing force arrives. The city boasts a priceless library filled with both mundane and magical manuscripts. Are the PCs willing to burn it down in order to create a diversion for the invading force will their forces retreat ? The fire begins well, but the wind shifts and it is now blowing towards the poor quarters of town. Do the PCs jeopardize their retreat to evacuate the poor quarter ?

2) The Mission of Mercy : The PCs have just discovered critical information concerning an assassination attempt on a high-ranking official of their government. The problem : they are in a remote area without access to either teleportation or long-distance communication magic, and travelling by horse will not permit them to warn the authorities in time. As luck would have it, they come across a merchant ship by a neutral party that was partially damaged in a storm and has pulled into a nearby cove for minor repairs. The merchant ship is stocked to the gills with perishable cargo and is heading in the wrong direction. The captain categorically refuses a detour because of his nation's neutrality and the perishable cargo he is carrying and the PCs do not have enough treasure to change his mind (or to make this a true dilemma, the captain only accepts as payment some magic item a PC would never part with).  Even if they convince the captain to assist them in warning the authorities, they will have to dump the cargo in order to lighten the ship sufficiently to make it back in time. The captain is opposed to the PCs, and perhaps a jerk, but in no way evil. Threatening the captain has no effect. Do the PCs bribe, threaten or convince the crew to mutiny and dump the captain ? Kill the captain ? Hold him hostage ? Are any of these events likely to convince the neutral nation to declare war on the PCs nation ? Does the end justifiy the means ?

3) The Gift Horse : The PCs are dispatched to investigate a massacre caused by opposing troops. It is supposed to be an open and shut case and the massacre is already being used as (highly effective) propaganda back home. However, the PCs discover that the massacre was not caused by opposing troops, but some of their own people to discredit the enemy, with at least tacit support from the military establishment. Do the PCs commit extra-judicial justice by killing the people involved ? Do they report honestly to their superior officer with the knowledge that the criminals involved will receive at best a slap on the wrists and possibly be commended for their actions ? Do they set the record straight even if it means admitting to atrocities by their own troops and clearing the name of their enemies ?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Fenris13 Nov 06, 2011 15:15:55	Im running a campaign set in the last years of the last war. The party are members of the Cyran army, and the adventures have had a decided military action/political intrigue theme thus far. I plan to dovetail them into an adventure based on the intro in the back of the eberron campaign guide. After thwarting (mostly) a series of Karrnathi attacks and assassination attempts on (fruitless) peace talks hosted in Metrol, their force is being sent to spearhead the retributive attack on Atur. A lot of the march, battles, and siege will take place "off-camera" between sessions with player writing short serials about their exploits and assignments and us all playing out the culmination of the siege next session. What Im looking for are suggestions about some scenarios I can present to different characters where they are required to make hard moral or ethical choices. My campaign has a pretty gritty feel to it, so Im open to anything I can fit in. Basically I want to put the characters to the test when they can make gains (personal or professional) through ethically questionable actions. Profiteering, crimes, major war crimes, lesser of two evils kinds of decisions.
#2 Leekanh Nov 06, 2011 19:56:46	Well, this one is a classic... They arrive and, after dealing with the (mostly undead) resistance, find that all the living are just the woman, children and sick, all of them malnourished since this is Karrnath. And since this is Karrnath, the PCs can be sure that they WILL fight to the last man, no matter what are the odds... Or at least be almost impossible to sedate... The PCs can slaughter them all and finish the job or leave them be (they are mostly civillians after all).
#3 sidrik Nov 09, 2011 17:36:27	Perhaps you should try the typical sacrifice set. Someone very important for the cyran nation has suffered a very dangerous curse (perhaps Oargev himself) from one of the necromancers of Atur, and the only way to get rid of that curse is the sacrifice of an innocent, maybe a child/virgin NPC the players know. So they must decide if let this NPC die for the good of their nation, or let the NPC live and let this important NPC face the undeniable dead. That's one of my favorites. Check Dragon Age games for moral or ethical dilemas. There are some interesting dilemas in the game.
#4 PatchyMan Dec 03, 2011 17:22:15	This may be a bit late, but I can think of a couple of neat moral dilemmas that could work in Eberron : 1) The Library at Alexandria : The PCs have been tasked with assisting the evacuation of friendly troops from a city before an overwhelming opposing force arrives. The city boasts a priceless library filled with both mundane and magical manuscripts. Are the PCs willing to burn it down in order to create a diversion for the invading force will their forces retreat ? The fire begins well, but the wind shifts and it is now blowing towards the poor quarters of town. Do the PCs jeopardize their retreat to evacuate the poor quarter ? 2) The Mission of Mercy : The PCs have just discovered critical information concerning an assassination attempt on a high-ranking official of their government. The problem : they are in a remote area without access to either teleportation or long-distance communication magic, and travelling by horse will not permit them to warn the authorities in time. As luck would have it, they come across a merchant ship by a neutral party that was partially damaged in a storm and has pulled into a nearby cove for minor repairs. The merchant ship is stocked to the gills with perishable cargo and is heading in the wrong direction. The captain categorically refuses a detour because of his nation's neutrality and the perishable cargo he is carrying and the PCs do not have enough treasure to change his mind (or to make this a true dilemma, the captain only accepts as payment some magic item a PC would never part with). Even if they convince the captain to assist them in warning the authorities, they will have to dump the cargo in order to lighten the ship sufficiently to make it back in time. The captain is opposed to the PCs, and perhaps a jerk, but in no way evil. Threatening the captain has no effect. Do the PCs bribe, threaten or convince the crew to mutiny and dump the captain ? Kill the captain ? Hold him hostage ? Are any of these events likely to convince the neutral nation to declare war on the PCs nation ? Does the end justifiy the means ? 3) The Gift Horse : The PCs are dispatched to investigate a massacre caused by opposing troops. It is supposed to be an open and shut case and the massacre is already being used as (highly effective) propaganda back home. However, the PCs discover that the massacre was not caused by opposing troops, but some of their own people to discredit the enemy, with at least tacit support from the military establishment. Do the PCs commit extra-judicial justice by killing the people involved ? Do they report honestly to their superior officer with the knowledge that the criminals involved will receive at best a slap on the wrists and possibly be commended for their actions ? Do they set the record straight even if it means admitting to atrocities by their own troops and clearing the name of their enemies ?