Verbannon
2018-01-09, 06:48 PM
[skill challenge] What would be the stages of a law and order type proceeding with a guilty party?
Okay so I have run into, for the first time ever, something I have no idea how to do.
Note, The following is a simplified version of the actual events, since its taking place in a floating Marid ruled city within the elemental chaos. But as thats not important I'm going to describe the events using common terms.
So I am running a newish party and I haven't managed to break all of them out of their hack and slash mindset yet. And well the party's ship got sabotaged, they attacked the saboteurs who had managed to hire an iron dragon. The saboteurs were poor farmers and the party didn't really ask why they were attacked. They just killed the dragon and farmers. The local law passed them by declaring this to be self defense. Joy. The party decided to split up, the diplomatic half going to do some discussing with a local noble and the other half to look for the dragon's lair, found it still being dug out by the farmers. The party decided to kill the farmers digging out the lair by setting fire to the lair entrance and to trap the farmers inside then kill them with ranged attacks.
The one who did most of this had a character he described as "a sensitive intellectual who cares about right and wrong and helping others"
Anyway the local law decided this was not self defense and the party turned themselves in not wanting to be fugitives though they did not admit to it. Anyway I asked wtf they were thinking ooc. And was told they assumed all the farmers were evil since they had been attacked by some of the farmers. I explained the farmers were subsistence, poor ect and had tried to form their own guild so as to increase their wages. And had just enough support in the government to get their guild license when the party ruined it by completing a quest paid for by the opposing government forces. Which is why the farmers tried destroying the party ship, to reawaken the opposing group's hand. And the farmers considered the party the evil stooges of the warmongering bureaucrats keeping the farmers down.
And all of the ones involved in the murder seemed to be pretty shocked that the farmers had actual motivations. So now I have half the party about to be arrayed on mass murder charges and executed and the other half outside. Now my solution to get them out of this is debt. I plan to have one of the friendlier nobles, a noble the party is already in debt to, pay to have all the farmers rezzed and just put the party into deeper debt with the noble. But thats the get out of jail free card. Before that happens I want to have the party run a skill challenge where they try to make amends and defend themselves first.
But I'm not really sure how to do this, the main thing I'm lacking is the correct stages.
As a note the city legal system itself is lawful good.
So far I have as a rough format.
stage 1. Pretrial: The party members outside try to play politics and gain favor. The party members inside maybe do the same thing somehow?
Stage 2. Trial: Lots of diplomacy checks to plead their case?
Yeah I got nothing. I would think all the legal dramas I have read would help me. But here the party actually is guilty so there is no evidence collecting to do. Just deal making or lying. And some members of my party, all of whom are good aligned want to frame a noble they dislike for it. Since they decided hey, there are no witnesses to say otherwise.
So I could use some advice on additional stages and what would be done in each stage. Once I get the basic structure down I want to add some more politics to it. With the party being forced associated with the anti-farmers faction and the anti-farmers faction trying to distance themselves from the party.
Okay so I have run into, for the first time ever, something I have no idea how to do.
Note, The following is a simplified version of the actual events, since its taking place in a floating Marid ruled city within the elemental chaos. But as thats not important I'm going to describe the events using common terms.
So I am running a newish party and I haven't managed to break all of them out of their hack and slash mindset yet. And well the party's ship got sabotaged, they attacked the saboteurs who had managed to hire an iron dragon. The saboteurs were poor farmers and the party didn't really ask why they were attacked. They just killed the dragon and farmers. The local law passed them by declaring this to be self defense. Joy. The party decided to split up, the diplomatic half going to do some discussing with a local noble and the other half to look for the dragon's lair, found it still being dug out by the farmers. The party decided to kill the farmers digging out the lair by setting fire to the lair entrance and to trap the farmers inside then kill them with ranged attacks.
The one who did most of this had a character he described as "a sensitive intellectual who cares about right and wrong and helping others"
Anyway the local law decided this was not self defense and the party turned themselves in not wanting to be fugitives though they did not admit to it. Anyway I asked wtf they were thinking ooc. And was told they assumed all the farmers were evil since they had been attacked by some of the farmers. I explained the farmers were subsistence, poor ect and had tried to form their own guild so as to increase their wages. And had just enough support in the government to get their guild license when the party ruined it by completing a quest paid for by the opposing government forces. Which is why the farmers tried destroying the party ship, to reawaken the opposing group's hand. And the farmers considered the party the evil stooges of the warmongering bureaucrats keeping the farmers down.
And all of the ones involved in the murder seemed to be pretty shocked that the farmers had actual motivations. So now I have half the party about to be arrayed on mass murder charges and executed and the other half outside. Now my solution to get them out of this is debt. I plan to have one of the friendlier nobles, a noble the party is already in debt to, pay to have all the farmers rezzed and just put the party into deeper debt with the noble. But thats the get out of jail free card. Before that happens I want to have the party run a skill challenge where they try to make amends and defend themselves first.
But I'm not really sure how to do this, the main thing I'm lacking is the correct stages.
As a note the city legal system itself is lawful good.
So far I have as a rough format.
stage 1. Pretrial: The party members outside try to play politics and gain favor. The party members inside maybe do the same thing somehow?
Stage 2. Trial: Lots of diplomacy checks to plead their case?
Yeah I got nothing. I would think all the legal dramas I have read would help me. But here the party actually is guilty so there is no evidence collecting to do. Just deal making or lying. And some members of my party, all of whom are good aligned want to frame a noble they dislike for it. Since they decided hey, there are no witnesses to say otherwise.
So I could use some advice on additional stages and what would be done in each stage. Once I get the basic structure down I want to add some more politics to it. With the party being forced associated with the anti-farmers faction and the anti-farmers faction trying to distance themselves from the party.