gom jabbarwocky
2014-11-12, 10:33 AM
Recently in a game I've been running, things spiraled out of control in a particularly sticky fashion, and I wanted to get some advice on how to play out the consequences without forcing my campaign to grind to a halt. (Note to anyone here who may be a player in my Classic Marvel Superheroes game - seek your entertainment in another thread!)
To give context - the game is about a team of superheroes who work for a metahuman think tank. Anyway, last session one of the PCs was asked to take a hit of a powerful mystery drug, and then was told to kill a bear to receive a boon (I was just making up nonsense). In his drug-fueled rampage, he then went to HR and beat the company's attorney into a coma - because the lawyer is a sentient panda bear. (Later, he was lambasted by his biologist co-workers because the giant panda is obviously of genus Ailuropoda, not Ursidae, but he figured a bear is a bear, so whatever.) Luckily, before he could land the killing blow, one of the other PCs used a holographic projector to create another "bear" for the PC to "kill". However, this is still a sticky situation, since this PC did commit battery on a sentient being equivalent to a human who was also a co-worker while on under the influence of a peyote-like drug. Also, he was given the drug by his boss, the company's CEO, which further complicates matters.
Next session, I have to deal with the fallout of this incident. Since the panda, Ling-Ling, Esq, has been characterized as having a sensitive, if rigid, personality, I figured he might decide not to press charges if the PC settles out of court, but it would be reasonable to expect that he or the company would strongly ask the PC to "retire" afterward. The CEO has been characterized as benevolent, if eccentric to be point of being irresponsible, but he is self-interested enough to want to shield himself, yet does not want to lose the PC as an employee, either, as he is incredibly valuable. I'm looking for suggestions as to how to handle this situation in a way that won't derail the game, but will keep things interesting. And finally, this goes without saying, no legitimate legal advice - this is a setting where talking pandas pass the New York bar exam, so legal subtleties differ significantly, obviously.
To give context - the game is about a team of superheroes who work for a metahuman think tank. Anyway, last session one of the PCs was asked to take a hit of a powerful mystery drug, and then was told to kill a bear to receive a boon (I was just making up nonsense). In his drug-fueled rampage, he then went to HR and beat the company's attorney into a coma - because the lawyer is a sentient panda bear. (Later, he was lambasted by his biologist co-workers because the giant panda is obviously of genus Ailuropoda, not Ursidae, but he figured a bear is a bear, so whatever.) Luckily, before he could land the killing blow, one of the other PCs used a holographic projector to create another "bear" for the PC to "kill". However, this is still a sticky situation, since this PC did commit battery on a sentient being equivalent to a human who was also a co-worker while on under the influence of a peyote-like drug. Also, he was given the drug by his boss, the company's CEO, which further complicates matters.
Next session, I have to deal with the fallout of this incident. Since the panda, Ling-Ling, Esq, has been characterized as having a sensitive, if rigid, personality, I figured he might decide not to press charges if the PC settles out of court, but it would be reasonable to expect that he or the company would strongly ask the PC to "retire" afterward. The CEO has been characterized as benevolent, if eccentric to be point of being irresponsible, but he is self-interested enough to want to shield himself, yet does not want to lose the PC as an employee, either, as he is incredibly valuable. I'm looking for suggestions as to how to handle this situation in a way that won't derail the game, but will keep things interesting. And finally, this goes without saying, no legitimate legal advice - this is a setting where talking pandas pass the New York bar exam, so legal subtleties differ significantly, obviously.