Looking for a way to go to jail!

[Madwand99]

My GM has asked me to come up with reasons my PC starts the campaign out in jail. For some reason, my imagination is failing me, so I turn to the playground for help. My PC is an LG synthesist summoner. She’s intelligent, charismatic, and diplomatic. She is doing her best to stay out of trouble, and avoiding confrontation while she is in this new, unfamiliar city she finds herself in. The city is chaotic, rife with factions and corruption. How does she end up in jail? I can’t think of anything that makes sense to me.

[Inevitability]

Framed for a crime she didn't commit, perhaps? You have a built-in story hook to go with it.

[noob]

Maybe you hid someone who was pursued by the police and then you were accused of complicity with his crime(because you hid him and that he was stealing something and bluffed for making you believe the police was pursuing him for a crime he did not commit).
I am quite sure there is a bunch of ways you can get in prison you might also just have gotten drunk and then gotten imprisoned and do not remember what you did.(too much drunk)

[Madwand99]

Right, but she's new in town. Hardly anyone even knows who she is, let alone has any desire to frame her. It's hard to even have her be mistaken for some other random criminal, because she looks very distinctive with her shell of translucent Eidolon and rune on her forehead. Any ideas how this could happen?

[An Enemy Spy]

My GM has asked me to come up with reasons my PC starts the campaign out in jail. For some reason, my imagination is failing me, so I turn to the playground for help. My PC is an LG synthesist summoner. She’s intelligent, charismatic, and diplomatic. She is doing her best to stay out of trouble, and avoiding confrontation while she is in this new, unfamiliar city she finds herself in. The city is chaotic, rife with factions and corruption. How does she end up in jail? I can’t think of anything that makes sense to me.

She runs afoul of someone with power, and the corrupt guards trump up some charges and throw her in jail.

[noob]

Right, but she's new in town. Hardly anyone even knows who she is, let alone has any desire to frame her. It's hard to even have her be mistaken for some other random criminal, because she looks very distinctive with her shell of translucent Eidolon and rune on her forehead. Any ideas how this could happen?

You do not have to look like a random criminal for being accused when you were involved in a crime.
Furthermore the odd look of that character increase a lot the likeliness of people not liking it.

[Madwand99]

She runs afoul of someone with power, and the corrupt guards trump up some charges and throw her in jail.

Ok, but how does this happen? She's trying to stay out of trouble, and will go out of her way to avoid insulting someone powerful. She doesn't cause disruptions or get drunk. She's lawful, and isn't likely to aid any criminals.

[noob]

Ok, but how does this happen? She's trying to stay out of trouble, and will go out of her way to avoid insulting someone powerful. She doesn't cause disruptions or get drunk. She's lawful, and isn't likely to aid any criminals.

You can help someone if you believe he is not a criminal and that he is unjustly pursued by the police.(it is even the epitome of lawful goodness)
However the whole trying to stay out of trouble is a thing that is fundamentally incompatible with adventuring unless you was a class that do get to win everything without fighting(like a crafter wizard making templated constructs).
Synthesist summoner is a class about getting in the midst of fights which means that basically that character did chose the wrong class for getting out of troubles.
Unless you say that the lawful good aspect or yet some other motivation(justice and other values like that) is stronger than the want to avoid trouble aspect.(else your character simply would not be an adventurer)

[ATHATH]

Maybe unlicensed magic (a.k.a. magic cast by anyone who either isn't the mayor's lackey/minion or doesn't pay the mayor a load of cash) is outlawed, and nobody told you that before you entered the town?

[Madwand99]

Maybe unlicensed magic (a.k.a. magic cast by anyone who either isn't the mayor's lackey/minion or doesn't pay the mayor a load of cash) is outlawed, and nobody told you that before you entered the town?

It's a good idea. Unfortunately, we've already had a session where she approached a guild and got a magic license. This PC is SMART, I really can't emphasize that enough. I am really racking my brain on this one.

[Raxxius]

It's a good idea. Unfortunately, we've already had a session where she approached a guild and got a magic license. This PC is SMART, I really can't emphasize that enough. I am really racking my brain on this one.

Just a simple wrong place wrong time could work, all be it a little boring.

A thief was in the same alley as your character, he'd stolen off a noble and the nobles guards chased him/her/it down, seeing 3-4 people in the alley, not knowing what the thief looked liked they just 'arrested' everyone, didn't find the loot/gold/whatever, so threw everyone to the local plod who, not wanting to annoy said local noble, agreed to do a shakedown until one of you fesses up the goods.

[Madwand99]

A thief was in the same alley as your character, he'd stolen off a noble and the nobles guards chased him/her/it down, seeing 3-4 people in the alley, not knowing what the thief looked liked they just 'arrested' everyone, didn't find the loot/gold/whatever, so threw everyone to the local plod who, not wanting to annoy said local noble, agreed to do a shakedown until one of you fesses up the goods.

This might actually work. Thanks!

[Honest Tiefling]

She's smart, but is she street smart? Perhaps she got duped into holding onto some stolen goods to help out a old man and his wife...Only for them to be career criminals and do that trick a lot when the guards are smart to them and they can't get the goods out of the city. She thought she was helping an older couple, but the guards still arrested her until they can figure out if she's innocent or not.

Through given the character, I like the idea more that she DID do a crime. She thought a wealthy and prestigous man was going to be killed by his wife because she thought that the servant's daughter having magical powers just like a fabled ancestor of his was a sign that he cheated on her. It's a crime of passion, but the woman would have multiple opportunities to kill the man and laws would prevent the guards from interfering. The man just can't believe his wife would be capable of this, she's the apple of his eyes, his stars, his moon, his everything.

Your PC busts in to stop the woman mid-act, so the man can't deny that his precious flower was up to something...But she still committed a major crime in breaking into the house and stopping the potential murder with force, and against a higher class woman no less. The man's mother might pull a few strings (she wouldn't want her grandchildren to live with the woman who killed her son), but the guards are insistent that the PC must go to jail to send a message before more vigilantes or opportunists believe they can break into wealthy homes to 'help'.

So your PC is in jail, and it might be a considerable amount of time, even if the grandmother or another relative made sure she wouldn't be in the worst cells and treated decently.

[ATHATH]

It's a good idea. Unfortunately, we've already had a session where she approached a guild and got a magic license. This PC is SMART, I really can't emphasize that enough. I am really racking my brain on this one.
Maybe it's a counterfeit, or a pickpocket stole it off of her.

[Gildedragon]

Jaywalking
Possession of illegal substances
Jails have quotas the guards have to meet, stranger is a great patsy to plant some evidence on

[Honest Tiefling]

Maybe it's a counterfeit, or a pickpocket stole it off of her.

It was a fake, so now she has to escape from prison with three other highly eccentric characters as they are wanted by the government and becoming soldiers of fortune.

[Karl Aegis]

You have your weapons drawn the entire time? How is that not illegal?

[WarKitty]

Being a stranger in the city, some corrupt guard attempts to extort a hefty bribe from her. When she refuses, she finds herself arrested and framed for a crime she didn't commit (the evidence being some contraband the guard supposedly "found" on her person).

[daremetoidareyo]

Public urination.

[Azoth]

One that worked for a former LG character of mine, was for whooping a bunch of town guards senseless in self defense. A kid stole food and was being chased down the street right at him. He stopped the kid for the guards, and when the situation was explained, offered to pay for the food. Claiming "No harm, no foul, right?". Guards didn't want to hear it, and wanted to hack the starving kid's hand off and throw him into a mining chain gang as punishment. My guy didn't like that, and told the guards to take him to the shopkeeper to sort it out. They refused and attacked him to get to the kid, and got knocked out for their effort.

Granted that character had higher emphasis on Good than Lawful, but still works.

[Vizzerdrix]

Oooh! She was drunk and kissed a horse on a holy day.

[Rebel7284]

Because you wanted to pick up the benefits of the otyugh hole? :P

[John Longarrow]

Easy one, depending on the city...

She was not in the care of a male relative so she is OBVIOUSLY a prostitute.

Alternate, she didn't have the proper documents to go to a specific location.

More fun, she is an un-registered spell caster that the guards have caught!
>Just to be clear, she did buy a license, but not from the right person... just to be clear<

[Starbuck_II]

My GM has asked me to come up with reasons my PC starts the campaign out in jail. For some reason, my imagination is failing me, so I turn to the playground for help. My PC is an LG synthesist summoner. She’s intelligent, charismatic, and diplomatic. She is doing her best to stay out of trouble, and avoiding confrontation while she is in this new, unfamiliar city she finds herself in. The city is chaotic, rife with factions and corruption. How does she end up in jail? I can’t think of anything that makes sense to me.

One day you forgot to put on pants before changing into your Synthegist Suit:
Enemy destroyed your creature in a battle (critical hit), thus it evaporating and leaving you indecent in middle of town.
You saved the town, but you broke the law so into jail you go.