In the Three Faces of Evil, the adventurers ultimately defeat the Ebon Triad cultist cell in the Dourstone mine below Diamond Lake. Emerging battered and victorious, the players are quickly tackled by an onslaught of political power struggles on a playing field of intrigue and deceit? What next?
Would Smenk be prosecuted for his crimes of providing services to the evil cult? Smenk, being awfully persuasive, seems to have little trouble bending laws, especially when the local law enforcement is less than vigilant about enforcing them.
What of Dourstone? Does he face the same fate as Smenk, or do his ties with Ebon Triad make him fearless to the petty threats from the bunch of small local politicians.
If both mine managers are taken from Diamond Lake's power struggle, how does the power shift change? How does it affect the players? How do the other mine managers and governor-mayor divide the extreme profits left by the estates of Smenk and Dourstone?
What of the struggle between Dourstone and Smenk? The Ebon Triad probably wont be pleased to learn that Smenk was less than faithful to their agreement, and would certainly want him removed for his knowledge of their activities.
Some of you have already passed this conflict resolution in your own campaigns, and others will have to deal with it soon. Tell us how you will or have dealt with situation, and if you thought it was succesful.
IMC most of it is taking place off-screen, mostly by player preference. As soon as they had proof of Smenk's involvement with the Ebon Triad, they went straight to the garrison (deeming them a higher authority than the sheriff) and told them. The Heironeans simply told the sheriff to arrest Smenk and Dourstone, which he did with lackluster enthusiasm. I had them impose martial law and occupy the mine.
My PCs found out a few weeks that Smenk had apparently broken free from his prison in the Free City. Not that it was going to help much. It looked like he was going to be exonerated anyway. Dourstone still awaits a trial and his fate is less set in stone. However, the Greysmere Covenant has their eyes on taking control of his mine once the garrison deems it safe once again. My PCs never demonstrated any inclination to take care of these so-called injustices themselves; they are content to dungeon delve. So this has worked well enough.
At the end of the day, I don't know that Smenk really broke any laws. The cult hadn't done anything up to the point at which the party (hopefully) defeats them. While the garrison commander could make Smenk's life difficult for not coming forward with information about the possible threat, Smenk strikes me as too well connected for anything like that to hurt him too badly. Dourstone is in largely the same boat.
Both, of course, could claim they had no choice in the matter and with public perception of evil secret cults being what it typically is, this could more than spring them from any legal trappings.
I do like the idea of Greysmere seizing Dourstone's mine, though. I may use that since he has nowhere near as many (or as powerful) connections as Smenk.
The only thing Smenk could really be charged with is an aiding & abetting charge. Though evil cults are verbotten in Greyhawk, charges against Smenk would probably be dropped, especially if he agreed to testify against Dourstone, would would be in some real trouble.
IMC, my players turned Filge over to the garrison, which charged him with 5 counts of graverobbing & something like 13 counts of possession of an unlicensed monster, plus several other minor crimes. Smenk is requesting the PCs be charged with tresspassing, since he owns the deed to the observatory.
I'm considering having the tomb motes (the PCs never examined the shed, & the text says the other one was out delivering a message to Smenk) break Filge out of jail & having the PCs track him down--some need a few more xp to be pushed to 3rd level, before tackling Dourstone Mine.
What is all this talk about trials, whatever happened to lynch mobs?
IMC the evidence against Dourstone (Thedrick's journal) was brought to light before the PC's left the mine. An NPC, Gar Blitzhame from Dragon's Wormfood, was with them during the Hextor section. After clearing out that area he was sent above when the fourth player showed up (a goblin rogue) and with him went the evidence.
When the Faceless one was destroyed (atleast his clone hehehe :) ) I gave the paladin the knowledge that alot of the evil in the temple was flowing towards the black pool. So, they decided to rest. This caused the Ebon Aspect to split into two entities and destroy all of the lift and all of the pillars. After defeating the two, the timily arrival of the garrison's chief scout descended down the mine shaft.
What had happened above while they were adventuring was the mobilization of the garrison to ensure the destruction of the temples. The Pcs had to forfeit all of the mundane weapons and armor they were planning on taking with them to sell (a pet peive of mine) to the new owners, the Greysmere Covenant. As they left the mines, they witnessed the arresting of Dourstone by dwarves of Greysmere.
You see, Dourstone was not guilty of any crimes in regards to the three faiths dwelling on his property. Unfortunilty for him though, Thedrick had gathered and recorded evidence of his previous crimes within his Greysmere mines. In order to blackmail Dourstone, Thedrick had to have known about the intential collapsing of the previous dourstone mines. Do to this evidence, possesion of the mines was transferred to the Greysmere Dwarves. When the party returns from the Mistmarsh, rumour will be that Gar will be handed control of the mine.
As for Smenk and his gang, well Smenk skipped town at the first wind that the temples were discovered fearing a lynch mob. Sheriff Cubbin was not interested in following him do to his preoccupation with discovering the killers of his deputy (the PC's mage and druid are the culprits, but the rival adventuring group is the current main suspition). Kullen, who was in jail prior to the 3FoE adventure, was to be hanged. It was to be a grand afair with an awards ceramony for Sir Gabriel the Paladin afterwards, but the festive atmosphere was squalished when the mage used mage hand to pull the lever at the first count of the final count down. Instead of grand speeches, Sir Gabriel was just tossed the cheap, silver metel (which was so cheap that the last letter was not even engraved on it) and Mayor Neff went off to find ale.
Smenk's mine is currently in propate and will be auctioned latter in the month.
And, just as a side note after this extra long post, I hit the PCs with a treasure tax when they returned. They're fearless, calm, and collected against any monster, but the tax really threw them for a loop and got under their skin... he he he I love being the DM
IMC, the Free City Adventurers started working for Smenk after the PCs refused to. They were both exploring the cultists lairs until the PCs returned to the surface and apprehended Dourstone. Dourstone made pathetic attempts at bribery, then escape, then pleaded for his life. They turned him in to the Sheriff.
Then the Free City Adventurers bribed the Sheriff to "forget" that it was the PCs who dropped Dourstone off. That it was Smenk and his agents who discovered the treachery, and to "consider" this good deed when deciding future ownership of the mine. The PCs don't seem to have realized this has happened--and the evidence against Smenk in the Temple of Vecna has yet to be recovered--so as it stands Smenk will move in and take over the copper mine.
However, if the PCs find the evidence against Smenk and bring it forward, he will stand to face a trial and the mine will fall under state ownership after that. If they ignore or miss the evidence, Smenk will grow even more powerful...