Talk to him out of game about what kind of actions are appropriate for your game.
Punishing a player in-game without actually talking to them is choosing the wrong medium for the discussion. All his responses will be in-game, which you really don't want if you're not making it clear to him that this is a problem that you want stopped.
Then introduce some kind of macguffin where, if he's really really sorry, they can continue adventuring. I wouldn't undo the entire event, though. Sadistic as I am, I'd have some lingering effect. You can put holes in a fence but you can't take them out.
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From a personal point of view, a re-wind of events hurts verisimilitude in a non-reversible way. I think we cannot deduce the reason why he reduced the city to ash, was it to destroy an ultimate evil once an for all or by accident? I can see a number of options here, considering that in any just world he cannot be allowed to live, if justice prevails in the end:
i) He is arrested by mortal hands, which leads to immediate execution and damnation on his soul.
ii)Divine punishment from the city's main God, which results in him being consumed by holy flames.
iii) If none of the above are allowed/approved, perhaps in the blast was a unique hero/item/oracle that was basically the only chance there ever was to be saved from a tragic incident cause by the BBEG. And by destroying him/it, the future changed so drastically that he will now die because of his own actions. Make this known to him by some sort of vision or dream, when the calamity happens.
Until that happens, you can have him suffer from his own remorse, like perhaps suffering a paralysis effect on him whenever he sees fire or hears someone dying. (Save DC 22 or something high enough).
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I dont get the whole rewind scenario. Actions that take place in the game should stay and let them reap there rewards or punishment for there actions. In a game ive been hosting for 24 years the last party failed a sense motive check and helped the evil wizard with out noticing it. the found out later and did nothing about it after 1 month of in game time the entire dwarven capital collapsed in on it self from high explosives and with it along with the dwarven population. Thanks to them dwarvens are no longer a player race in my game since those that survived ar literally excavating the site for the crown of the dwarven king in order for that one dwarf can lead over all other dwarfs. Another time one of my players killed a little girl that was one of the main story arcs for the game with out any questioning of the girls actions before hand. I had that player go through a trial and was convected of murder and had him beheaded as was the punishment of any murderer. The ironic part of this is when they were level 3 they even witnessed a beheading for the crime of murder that they were looking into for the premus of that story arc. *sigh* I swear, to think this group can call them selves "heroes" is a mockery of the word hero. Point being if they screw up let them get what they deserve. There are a few saying out there that i play by that are suiting to this. Let the dice roll as they may, KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid), and dont touch the lever u moron (button works to if it is not a lever, like wise for candle(dont ask)).
Hahah! Wow.
I once ran a game where a big horrible monster was chasing its evil summoners around. If it ate them, it got more powerful. When the PCs were interrogating the summoners to gain this information, one of them lied and tried to say that they had to be kept alive -- even though killing them before the big horrible monster got to them was a perfectly valid way to keep it from getting stronger. The PCs almost failed that Sense Motive check ... good that they made it too, because when they fought the monster, it got a summoner in its claws at negative HP at one point. The PCs couldn't keep the summoner alive, but they could finish him off.
...why did he blow up a city block?
I presume it wasn't big enough for two city blocks.
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Instead of making a situation, let him decide how to redempt for his sins. If he gets a good idea, roll 1d8 and see if he actually managed to get lucky. 12.5% to get lucky and that idea will work (he doesn't know this) and meanwhile he get's chased by authorities and becomes wanted criminal and terrorist.
His alignment also shifts toward evil.
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I'd use this opportunity to use some Good Guys from my Bestiary to chase down the character, some celestial retribution, a local jihad proclaimed by the resident high priest and Good Guys gone bad in their undying desire to avenge their loved ones, awesomeness.
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Hunted by high level paladin + friends, quick trial with magical verification, public beheading, burn the body, scatter the ashes. No rewind button.
Characters should be held accountable for their actions. A PC guilty of mass slayings should draw the notice of the powers of law and justice.
I dont think you can sick anybody on the party....
The rest of the group could say something along the lines of" Thang GOODNESS you are here. Can you take care of that Big Bad Boss over there that is causing so much trouble for these poor townsfolk? We dont have much money, but you being such good people would do it for the sake of goodness right?"
(what happens to parties who help poor villages who have lost Timmie down the well)
Use it as a roll playing oppurtunity, then move on.
Atonement
School abjuration; Level cleric 5, druid 5
Casting Time 1 hour
Components V, S, M (burning incense), F (a set of prayer beads or other prayer device worth at least 500 gp), DF
Range touch
Target living creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
This spell removes the burden of misdeeds from the subject. The creature seeking atonement must be truly repentant and desirous of setting right its misdeeds. If the atoning creature committed the evil act unwittingly or under some form of compulsion, atonement operates normally at no cost to you. However, in the case of a creature atoning for deliberate misdeeds, you must intercede with your deity (requiring you to expend 2,500 gp in rare incense and offerings). Atonement may be cast for one of several purposes, depending on the version selected.
You may require additional McGuffin hunting if the party does not include a Cleric or Druid to cast the spell, as well as part of the terms of the intercession.
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Yeah man, I don't think you have any easy way out of this for him. I get the idea of a "Magical Punishment" or some way to trade his soul for a Wish or something, but lets time out real fast.
Consider the FURTHER implications of this now mass murderer, NOW summoning, or otherwise having direct interaction with Outsiders who have interest in his SOUL. So, that leave us with Devils. This now further impacts his Alignment and would nonetheless not remit this PC from NEEDING to be come to accord as it were. If your other PC wants him dead now, I'm sure further dabbling with evil from this point wouldn't be something I assume our conflicting PC will be willing to sit idly by with.
My simple suggestion, is to throw the book at him. Give him whatever mocked up ceremony that works as a Trial, find him guilty, and toss him in the City Dungeon. What happens to that PC from there is up to them. Maybe the party pays his bail money in exchange for ... something Idk.
It is often worse to imprison somebody than simply killing them.
Hunted by high level paladin + friends, quick trial with magical verification, public beheading, burn the body, scatter the ashes. No rewind button.
Characters should be held accountable for their actions. A PC guilty of mass slayings should draw the notice of the powers of law and justice.
Agreed with the above. Best time for these lawmen or bounty hunters to show up would be after the fight with the BBEG, before they have time to rest and recover. Players tend to be more courteous to legal representatives when they're not at full strength.
I'd give a longer opportunity for trial (they're waiting on the magistrate or inquisitor to arrive - no more than 1-3 days tops), depending on the alignment of the area, so his party can decide whether to save him or not.
This also allows the PCs time to try to keep any potential lenchings from happening if they want to see the trail through.
Ultimately, you can take any act of a player, good or not, and turn it into an enjoyable session.
The player in question definitely needs to see that every action has consequences, for good or for ill.
This can not end well for the PC that caused the destruction. He would be hunted by the forces of law and good, or perhaps even Archons for such a digustingly evil act. The only way I can see the character being redeemed is if he dedicates himself to resurrect everyone he killed and restores all the property that was destroyed. A truly expensive feat. Perhaps the Archons who find him will do exactly that with a Quest spell. Performed by a Star Archon it would be virtually impossible until very high level to remove it. He must comply with the quest, or essentially be dead (irrelevant).
Okay, so long story short, a character willingly blew up a city block of tenements, killing hundreds and leaving the rest homeless. Now, he and the rest of the party are on this quest to ultimately slay this big bad with these legendary weapons.
Now, he wants to make things right, because holy s*+*, he was straight up neutral before the sudden Anakin-level nose dive. <snip>
I'm leaning towards the third, but I still want to in some way penalize him. I've considered everything from negative levels to outright removing limbs. I want something that is going to stick, and make him think twice about breaking alignment again both in and out of character. Now, I have been out of the player seat for a long time. Short of outright killing him off, where can I hit him where it hurts the MOST?
OK, so he wants redemption. Involve the player and hash out how he can achieve redemption. Does he set aside his share of any treasure to compensate the victims and rebuild the block? Does he personally toil to rebuild the block? Does he tread the strait and narrow path because he has learned the consequences of his thoughtless actions? All of those could certainly work in favor of redemption.
Don't set out to hurt the PC (or player) with penalties. If the law has not been involved or he has no immunity, being a marked man may be penalty enough because he has to be on the lam. Seek to find ways for the PC to earn redemption and hold him to them.
Don't set out to hurt the PC (or player) with penalties.
I agree with most of what you said, except this line.
In my OPINION, if the PC committing this act is known, he should suffer social penalties with the people of the city and surrounding areas, law enforcement, etc. In addition, by associating with said PC, the rest of the party would be subject to social penalties as well in these areas.
A lot of folks won't want to deal with a "wild card" like this. It reduces their chances of dying of natural causes. Merchants, innkeepers, etc might not even want to deal with him or charge twice as much for their services (and the same goes for the party - guilt by association).
Peer pressure, when applied with a precise and subtle hand, can go a long way in reigning in a disruptive or impulsive player without seeming over-the-top or heavy handed. By virtue of suffering the same or slightly lesser penalties in social situations as the offending character, the other characters will begin "helping him" reign in this behavior.
I'm leaning towards the third, but I still want to in some way penalize him. I've considered everything from negative levels to outright removing limbs. I want something that is going to stick, and make him think twice about breaking alignment again both in and out of character. Now, I have been out of the player seat for a long time. Short of outright killing him off, where can I hit him where it hurts the MOST?
Don't change anything, don't rewind. And no crippling penalties. No GM fiat and slapping the player's pee pee, telling him he's playing badly. That's just bad gaming.
Why are you worried about him breaking alignment? Alignment is just a shorthand for a PCs general attitudes, not a straight jacket. Let him play however he wants and YOU determine his alignment behind the scenes, and let him know your opinion when it matters. We don't have the full details, but that event makes me think chaotic evil.
If the other players kill him, let it happen. If law enforcement find him, create a really cool encounter for him to make his final hurrah, arrest him, execute him. Just make it a realistic outcome of doing something like that. At least you're not using GM fiat to punish him.
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Might be intersting to have an avatar of a good god or a power celestial give him the Sword of Damocles treatment. Have basically a death sentence hanging over him and he is on like a "probation" to keep his life and soul. Maybe have a celestial mark or something else appear on him to certain aligned npc's to add another r/p challenge.
I would never rewind something that huge all actions have consequences and pc's need to live with what they do.
As far as directly punishing the evil character yourself, I sympathize with the impulse, but ask yourself how often the NPC villains of your campaign suffer sudden, divine retribution: probably not terribly often. Feel free to complicate his life and add excitement for the whole group through the more-usual problems that villains suffer: bounty hunters, good outsiders put on his trail via planar ally, justice-bent paladins and inquisitors on his trail, the refusal of services at good-aligned temples, etc. If he's really trying to repent he'll face the difficult task of overcoming these challenges without committing further evil acts.
Precisely. Divine retribution is a heavy-handed approach and, in my opinion, damages the trust between the players and GM.
First, let the players make their choices: They have consequences, but if you make the consequences too crippling, your effectively dictating how the characters should act. That really regrades the players' participation in the game. Some guys can be champions of good: Some aren't.
I would include a scene in the underworld, where the character encounters the shades of his victims and is offered great honor by the most vile and disgusting of the underworld's demonic inhabitants.
He will also be targeted for retribution from the land's defenders: Make them distinctly weaker than he is, so he gets the joy of defending himself by slaughtering angry paladins and lawful-good clerics.
Finally, many of the victims will rise as undead, some of whom will haunt their killer. Don't have them directly attack him: They're drawn to him, yet terrified by his presence. Wherever he goes, their unseen presence follows. A good way to amp up the horror would be for these creatures to periodically kill someone else in the area. The character rest at an inn, and in the morning, the stable boy is dead, apparently blown apart. His burned remains seem to whisper to the murderer.