The synopsis is basically this: Our PCs having recently won a team based tournament of champions in the capital city has been getting more influence and moving in upper circles a little bit. It all was part of a plan to get close to a demon/devil that has infiltrated the inner circle of the town and possibly possess the king or his closest advisors.
Its all gone to shhhtuff. The demon or his pawns became aware of us being onto them(we had narrowed it down to three people) through a miscalculation of ours and framed me for murder of a nobleman (including planting a substantial amount of false evidence). I've gone along with it for now hoping good behaviour would influence the guard captain/judge enough given the burden of evidence and alibi I had(a party we through "celebrating" our tournament win---part of a ploy to infiltrate the inner circle) given that I had gotten the prince in attendance and befriended him.
My allies were free and pursued possible paths to free me, but it all went for naught when the guard captain was magically enthralled by the demon and ordered to attack them and 2 NPCs(a Paladin & cleric that had allied with us after being convinced of the demons presence) by him (revealling his current identity to us---a person we had written off as not being him---it seems it can shift into new bodies---although possibly only when its current body is killed). A combat ensued wherein our druid killed the demon's host (the demon fled-etherally) and freeing the guard captain from his thrall at least momentarily. The problem being the guard captain doesn't believe he was controlled an only saw our druid hacking down a high ranking nobleman and has arrested the rest of them for treason as well.
We are to be executed in 12 hours(game time): approximately highnoon by either hanging or beheading. They do need at least my execution public since it is high profile and everyone saw the crime scene---the other death was at night and was quite likely unnoticed by civilians and might be punished discretely.
Jail layout:
*-********-********-
[Me][NPC Paladin][NPC Cleric]
************************************************************* x
*x *******************************************************************exit
********************x*****************************************x
[Swordmage][Empty][Druid]
x = guard
- = barred window
* = empty space
Other Info:
The swordmage sword bond is broken.
We are level 6.
I am a Warlord.
I do have access to rituals and can currently use them including: silence, knock and magic circle.
The druid can shapeshift into a small bird-he is being closely watched though.
More Info:
-The guards are royal guards---corruption is unlikely.
-No one accused me--my name was written in blood next to the corpse, then the false evidence piled up.
-The druid can leave at his leisure(it'll likely provoke an Opportunity Attack but he can take it), we really don't have any other allies though: hostile territory until we can prove our innocence.
-The guard captain still seems a tad not himself (he's usually more rational and less hasty to judge) I suspect he's still under the influence.
-Should have mentioned:We do know about the 0 HP rule, trying to minimize collateral damage caused by the demon and his pawns (which could be anyone now)
Lots of healing is available, the problem I forsee is that one or two people will have to take on 4 guards with minimal support and no weapons (I don't think the swordmage has any teleports unless he is in melee) as I can knock myself and maybe the paladin out unnoticed (houseruled to 18sec/3 round cast time), but can't reach anyone else.
How do we maximize escape chances, not kill guards who are just doing their jobs and minimize our team's casualties??
If you can engage the guards and keep them from running, you can pummel them down and choose not to kill them at 0 hp, so avoiding unnecessary deaths is pretty much a non-issue.
Avoiding party casualties should be relatively simple with a warlord, pally, and cleric available to heal. If you are able to take an extended rest that should help as well since you can have all your abilities available for the break out.
You might consider launching an attack when they come to open your cells for the execution. But there is the danger there will be more guards when this time arrives.
Otherwise things look grim. You have guards in position to run and sound an alarm, so you'll need some way to stop them right away (stun, slow, immobilize, etc). Perhaps your DM has something planned?
If you got someone who can pick the lock to escape your cell do that. Or if you have someone with high diplomacy or something, you can try the classic, get the guard to open the door for some silly reason.
Your first goal is to get your weapons and gear. If you can get to them, chances are you will be able overcome anyone else who comes along. Of course stealth is better, if possible. Otherwise bash through the guards on the fasting approach to the door. If you got your weapons, it should be doable.
If you can use your influence to get allies to bust you out, that would make it very easy as well. Though it kind of sounds like they might of given up on you as soon as you got arrested.
1. See if the guards are susceptible to bribery through conversation. Does one of them have a sick wife/husband/daughter/son, a nagging personal issue etc etc? If so, offer to resolve it after proving your innocence in exchange for them looking the other way (explain that you'll rough them up a bit and tie them up, so it looks like they put up a fight).
2. You might ask to make a formal apology to the demon-possessed individual who accused you. Then when you've got him alone (or when you're whispering to him) offer to sell your soul in exchange for freedom. Wait for him to go and get the requisite Faustian paraphernalia (contract etc) and in the mean time notify a guard that something fishy is going on with the individual. Boom! you just punked the demon.
3. Fake being sick with something really serious, so as to cause a distraction and then have the druid fly out of the window in bird form to get help from an ally.
4. Wait until your hanging and then at the last minute have the druid shift into bird form to fly from the noose, then into another form to slash your ropes. Use non-lethal attacks to carve your way through the guards.
5. Have the swordmage make an arcana check to determine if there are any straightforward was to indicate former or current demonic possession and use them to show the guard captain that he was possessed. Indicate that unless the Guard captain was very drunk at the time, it's unusual to feel such a disconnect between your desires and your actions.
-The guards are royal guards---corruption is unlikely.
-No one accused me--my name was written in blood next to the corpse, then the false evidence piled up.
-The druid can leave at his leisure(it'll likely provoke an Opportunity Attack but he can take it), we really don't have any other allies though-hostile territory until we can prove our innocence.
-The guard captain still seems a tad not himself(he's usually more rational and less hasty to judge) I suspect he's still under the influence.
-Should have mentioned:We do know about the 0 HP rule, trying to minimize collateral damage caused by the demon and his pawns (which could be anyone now)
Lots of healing is available, the problem I forsee is that one or two people will have to take on 4 guards with minimal support and no weapons (I don't think the swordmage has any teleports unless he is in melee) as I can knock myself and maybe the paladin out unnoticed (houseruled to 18sec/3 round cast time), but can't reach anyone else.
The escape of the druid should cause enough havoc for some of the guards to chase him. During the commotion, the rest of the party can try to escape.
Use your knock after the guards chase the druid. Use your silence if you can so any remaining guard cant alert that you have escaped. If there is only one guard, try to subdue him. Otherwise run. If you do subdue him, check for keys and free your friends. If youre alone and know where your gear is and can get it without being seen, do so. Otherwise run. If you have freed your friends, as a group, subdue any remaining guards on your way to get your gear. If things go bad during this part, run.
Thats the safest way as I see it. If you feel like you can subdue more than one guard by yourself, you can try it. I just like to be on the safe side.
The druid diversion is a good idea, hadn't thought of that bit.
I do suspect our gear is the floor above us, so hopefully that won't be too hard to obtain, we're below the guard barracks I think unfortunately, but it will be interesting
Running isn't much of an option, we're determined to take the fight to the guy and take him down for good.
Death is permanent in this game however so if we're dying we aren't going to die cheap.
I do suspect our gear is the floor above us, so hopefully that won't be too hard to obtain, we're below the guard barracks I think unfortunately, but it will be interesting
Running isn't much of an option, we're determined to take the fight to the guy and take him down for good.
Death is permanent in this game however so if we're dying we aren't going to die cheap.
In that case, after the druid escapes, you should wait until he comes back to break out. He can lose the guards following him, then fly back in your window. Then do your escape plan with him in your cell. It should be easier to subdue any remaining guard(s) with him with you. And since you're not backing down and death is permanent, as much healing as possible will be needed.
Good luck. Sounds like a fun session however it goes.
In that case, after the druid escapes, you should wait until he comes back to break out. He can lose the guards following him, then fly back in your window. Then do your escape plan with him in your cell. It should be easier to subdue any remaining guard(s) with him with you. And since you're not backing down and death is permanent, as much healing as possible will be needed.
Good luck. Sounds like a fun session however it goes.
This little unscripted arc was entirely player driven(we pretty much sprung the demon on the DM too) and has been a blast to play. I'll post here tomorrow and recap the session, it should be pretty epic one way or another.
It may be a good idea to fake your deaths, long range.
Bump. I would like to know how you guys did
We did pull it all off. I'll post details in a few hours when I've got more time.