should i be executed

[awesomemunkey]

i'm in this dungeons and dragons game with my friends and i am a lawful good cleric who always follows the rules. i made this character in the understanding that i would have to follow laws and such unlike my normal playstyle. no we had taken prisoner two people of which were on a pirate ship that had just attacked us. i and the rest of my party wanted answers. so i asked the captain of our ship if i could talk to them alone. the captain eventually agreed if and only if i agreed that it was my head if something happened to them. so i started questioning them and they of course wanted something, they wanted me to untie their bonds. we talked for a while and me being the trusting little cleric that i am untied them in a promise that they would help me out. instead they pushed me over and escaped. so now we dont have any prisoners and its my fault. the captain had said he would cut off my head. so do i follow that and accept my fate?

[hymer]

Your character could have character development right here, his previous piety and lawfulness becoming empty and useless to him, seeing how the prisoners prosper from their treachery, and your character suffers for his generosity of spirit.
Or your character could stay in character (though perhaps becoming a little wiser from the betrayal; forgiving and forgetting are different things, and all that) and be sufficiently apologetic and humble that the capatain can't bring himself to kill you. At which point you can swear you will make it up to him or due trying. Does the captain have the legal auhority to execute you, by the way?

But there's also the matter of what happens to the rest of the party if you defy the captain. Are they prepared to be on side with someone evading justice/a powerful NPC? Would this rattle the game more than the table is willing to accept?

[Vinyadan]

Where did those people go? Are they still on the ship?

[dps]

Yes, you should be executed for not using paragraphs in your post.

[Honest Tiefling]

So do i follow that and accept my fate?

Well...Do you want to? Some people would have a gullible character be punished for their flaws and would prefer to kill the PC and submit to their word. Others don't want to, especially if character creation is a drag or if it's hard to introduce a new character.

But wouldn't the character reconsider blindly following the laws and trusting others who have shown themselves to be untrustworthy? What if this is prime character development for the character to decide to follow a code of their own (or the ideals of their god) as opposed to following every single law and trusting everyone? It's Lawful Good, not Lawful Idiot. There are many ways to play lawful good, so I urge you to have the character have a crisis of faith, so that they can still be lawful good, just not so easy to trick.

The answer doesn't lie within the story only...But what the party and you would find fun. Ask yourself if you want to keep the character, or if you want to kill them off to give the proper conclusion to their story. Ask your teammates how they feel about the situation.

[lunaticfringe]

The only person that kills my friends is me! Some Uppity NPC has no right. Expect your party members to get involved. Mutiny Time!

[dojango]

Is it a military ship or a civilian ship? Are you in the military? If it's military, and you're subject to military law, in theory, the captain would have the authority to do so, at least under classic British Military law, but if it were a civilian ship obviously he wouldn't have the legal authority to do so. Also the captain's power only really applies to common sailors, not to passengers or officers. Officers would be tried by a courts-martial and passengers would have to be turned over to the civilian authorities for trial. So I guess it depends on what the 'laws' are, and whether or not your character agrees with those laws. Keep in mind also that pirates are res gestae humani, enemies of all mankind, and can be tried & executed by any competent authority. So next time, string them up from the yardams first and use 'talk to dead' afterwards.

If your character is a cleric, try and use summon monster to summon a lawyer.

[Nifft]

If your character is a cleric, try and use summon monster to summon a lawyer.

Note that Good Clerics and Chaotic Clerics can't summon Lawyers.

[oxybe]

Note that Good Clerics and Chaotic Clerics can't summon Lawyers.

Nah, they can summon them, but they're a small and ludicrously understaffed firm that generally can't have the time and effort to put into your case and would rather just settle out of court as they have like... 5 hearings in the next 4 minutes to attend.

[Honest Tiefling]

Note that Good Clerics and Chaotic Clerics can't summon Lawyers.

Only if they never invest in UMD or Bluff. Trickery means never having to say the truth!

[Mr Beer]

Your alignment does not compel you to submit to execution in these circumstances. So decide what you want to do.

[Mordaedil]

If you are a lawful character, you basically will admit you messed up, pay dividens and do everything in your power to recapture the criminals.

I'm just wondering why you were dumb enough to untie them in the first place.

[CharonsHelper]

I'm just wondering why you were dumb enough to untie them in the first place.

+1

Are you (the player) one of those people who think that those who play by the rules are inherently stupid/gullible?

I'm not sure why being lawful made the character do something so moronic.

[JamesDodds]

If undecided, roll for it