|
So yeah, we just started book two and things went astray fast...
Basically nothing in the Sanatorium went as planned. I RP'd Habe kinda like Professor Quarrel (he even looked like him). He was nervous about letting the PCs in but couldn't deny them after they pulled out the letter from the Sheriff and sat down to talk to the patient.
After that things just went outta hand. The zombies burst out from downstairs, the orderlies started to run, and Habe fled upstairs. The fighter/wizard and the bard took care of the zombies and chased the necromancer into the basement while the rest of the party knocked out the orderlies and ran upstairs to handle Have. The two in the basement handled the necromancer and began reading over his notes on the Rune. Unbeknownst to them upstairs the rest of the party were killing everything in their path. Including the two older patients who were released to slow them down (they were less than harmless) and the warerat, whom although dangerous, was mesmerized by the Magus' sword. Habe escaped during the madness.
Now I'm stumped. This was all completely out of left field the magus and the rogue were good characters (not anymore) and acknowledged that what they did was messed up. They end of the session had everyone gathering up the bodies as they headed back to Sandpoint to turn themselves in.
If the PCs are truly sorry for what they did and want to atone, then have some NPC intervene on their behalf. Use this to guilt the PCs into dedicating themselves to protecting Sandpoint and the area even more so. Punishment in the form of obligation is more interesting that them sitting in a cell.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Actually? I think you're putting too much blame on the players. The scenario was built to cause a widescale slaughter. They were attacked by a plagued individual who was not being treated for his disease. They were then put upon by the orderies who released everyone to attack the party, and these two did not know those older individuals were harmless, nor the rat-creature. (To be honest, usually the older patients are left in their cells as per the write-up. I'm surprised they wandered out of their cells and didn't do that in my run-through.)
In short, this was self-defense. And seeing the players (and presumably the characters) are showing remorse, I'd not shift them to being evilly-aligned. Instead, this is a good aspect of the horror of this part of the AP. There's worse to come.
Community service. That's not a joke--they defended themselves against a raving lunatic, and were promptly attacked by the orderlies who failed to control said lunatic. Then they were attacked by zombies bursting out of the basement, and the whole thing went to hell. Once the dust settles, any amount of investigation will reveal the shenanigans going on in that building. Have the sheriff and the mayor sit down with the PCs and explain that they understand things got out of hand and that's not entirely the PC's fault. But play up the fact that it is somewhat their fault, have Hemlock vow to keep a close eye on them, and then maybe come up with some things they can do as a service to the local community. Possibly mundane and/or humiliating--have the magus cleaning gutters.
Re: alignment, I would put them right on the brink of shifting to non-good, with the potential to either slide or atone.
|
|
Well they could have guessed they were harmless, two unarmed, malnourished old men against fully loaded PCs doesn't really seem like anything but slaughter. And the orderlies only attacked after the PCs killed the first patient.
And they didn't really defend themselves they more or less just killed. Sure the first guy would have very ineffectively attacked the party but they didn't even give the orderlies time to restrain him (I told them they were both surrounding him to do just that when the blades went flying). And the two surrounded the guy while he was on the floor scrambling to his feet and just drove swords into him.
The two upstairs hadn't even noticed the rogue and he threw knives into both of them killing them on the spot.
And they saw the warerat and lured him downstairs and both attacked him while he was fascinated by their weapons. He didn't even make a move to attack them. In the end none of what happened was "self-defense" except for the necromancer. Who was being taken care of by the other two party members and when they came upstairs to see all of the patients and orderlies dead they were a little more than pissed.
I'm actually sure they would have killed Habe as well if given the chance, but he was able to flee past them and took for the woods.
It's your game. Do as you will. Though an elderly unarmed man can still be quite dangerous if he's a monk. ;)
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Don't give NPCs special magic GM-tastic powers.
Decide how you think individuals in Sandpoint would respond to certain events and then see what the players do.
Will they confess? Make excuses? Hush things up?
As GM, you don't get to decide where this goes: you present the scenario and the players take it onward.
Even if the crime is discovered I would not cut-scene-to-prison. Have your players play out the arrest: do they resist? flee? go quietly? use diplomacy?
They have created a cool situation for roleplaying. Let it flow...
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I agree with Tangent on this one. Things got out of hand at the Sanitarium mostly because things are supposed to get out of hand there. Grayst's death shouldn't be on their conscience, and when it all shakes out what he's been doing over the years, they shouldn't feel too bad for going after them.
Given the current situation in town, I'd have Belor lock up the rogue and magus while his men do some investigating at the Sanitarium. They'll uncover the unsavory practices that Habe and Caizarlu were working on there, and clear them of most of the charges. After all, Belor's less concerned about the letter of the law and pursues justice.
"Look, I wasn't there, and neither were my men. You say you acted in self-defense, and for all the good you've done for the town, I'm willing to believe that. I've sorted through everything and it looks like you did us another good turn by killing that necromancer and his creations. Those two men you killed, though? Innocent as the day is long. You have their blood on your hands now. I'm not going to cart you off to Magnimar for trial for it, since it seems that the orderlies you were pursuing released them in order to slow you down. They're as much to blame for their deaths as you. So, instead, I'm giving you a chance to commute your sentence. Find the architect of that house of horrors, and bring him back here for justice. Find Habe, and I'll consider this square."
It gives them a chance to clear their names after they way that they handled everything, ties up that loose end, and also provides the Skinsaw Man with some more opportunities to perform his grisly work...
I aggree with Misroi! This kind of speech is a nice solution..it actually deepends on their relationship with the guards of Sandpoint and the mayor. Imho there are times where you should make the guards intelligent and times where you should make them a little dumb. In this case you should make Belor understand the whole story by ''investigating'' and free them from most of the charges..if they feel really guilty they could give an amount of money to the church to pay a proper doctor or something and then you give them back those money later as treasure!;)
You know, my group never went upstairs. I looked at what was upstairs. I didn't see anything Habe needed. His money and clothes were downstairs so he fled out the back door, went in the front, went in his room while the PCs were fighting zombies, took his stuff, and fled.
Afterward the two tieflings said "we were told to fight you. But the thing is, we're not suicidal, so why don't we say just pretend we did, and we lost?" They were kept on to be orderlies and the cleric has some clergy coming in to run the asylum. ^^;;
It also works as a hook to send them off to Fort Rannick.
|
"Look, I wasn't there, and neither were my men. You say you acted in self-defense, and for all the good you've done for the town, I'm willing to believe that. I've sorted through everything and it looks like you did us another good turn by killing that necromancer and his creations. Those two men you killed, though? Innocent as the day is long. You have their blood on your hands now. I'm not going to cart you off to Magnimar for trial for it, since it seems that the orderlies you were pursuing released them in order to slow you down. They're as much to blame for their deaths as you. So, instead, I'm giving you a chance to commute your sentence. Find the architect of that house of horrors, and bring him back here for justice. Find Habe, and I'll consider this square."
Please read this like Idris Elba as John Luther.
Please read this like Idris Elba as John Luther."Look, I wasn't there, and neither were my men. You say you acted in self-defense, and for all the good you've done for the town, I'm willing to believe that. I've sorted through everything and it looks like you did us another good turn by killing that necromancer and his creations. Those two men you killed, though? Innocent as the day is long. You have their blood on your hands now. I'm not going to cart you off to Magnimar for trial for it, since it seems that the orderlies you were pursuing released them in order to slow you down. They're as much to blame for their deaths as you. So, instead, I'm giving you a chance to commute your sentence. Find the architect of that house of horrors, and bring him back here for justice. Find Habe, and I'll consider this square."
DO WANT! :D
|
|
Please read this like Idris Elba as John Luther."Look, I wasn't there, and neither were my men. You say you acted in self-defense, and for all the good you've done for the town, I'm willing to believe that. I've sorted through everything and it looks like you did us another good turn by killing that necromancer and his creations. Those two men you killed, though? Innocent as the day is long. You have their blood on your hands now. I'm not going to cart you off to Magnimar for trial for it, since it seems that the orderlies you were pursuing released them in order to slow you down. They're as much to blame for their deaths as you. So, instead, I'm giving you a chance to commute your sentence. Find the architect of that house of horrors, and bring him back here for justice. Find Habe, and I'll CANCEL THE APOCALYPSE!!!"
I've never seen Luther, so I did what I could.