What I did was had all the pc have a magigcal chocker around their neck. So if one died or went to far away they both blew up killing both of the players.
This kept the players being allies to each other. In an evil campaign they eventually turn on each other. If they are forced to save everyone life then they will work together better.
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Is it all happening in the prison or is the prison just the jumping off point?
Guards could be lawful good to the extreme, have them beating inmates and that sort of thing under the guise of "punishing evil". Nothing like a disciplinarian lecuring someone for being a sadistic monster while they themselves are torturing someone "for the greater good". Maybe have one of the guards know something vital to the plot, they may need to torture him, naturally if they let him live, he could report their activities, so they need to kill him because being Good would get them caught/killed. Maybe have there be some sort of infamy within the prison. If they're gentle flowers, other inmates are hostile, but if the PCs are the big fish proven through acts of heinous cruelty, other inmates fear/respect them. Maybe theres a cavalier or two locked up on trumped up charges, chivalrous heroes who try to resolve things through duels, meanwhile they're nearly killed because they're the only ones following the rules.
I imagine the prison would be carefully monitoring magical items to prevent shenannigans, but there's probably a reliance on divination to keep track of people and events. Abjuration items would probably be handy too, something like Immovable Rods used to keep inmates in place.
For a nice twist, have the guards using Helms of Opposite Alignment on inmates. CE becomes LG, so it's the ultimate form of rehabilitation, but at the same time you're brainwashing someone removing their free-will.
As for the decadence, maybe have nobles visit the prison and treat it like a zoo. Maybe the nobles are buying up prisoners like cattle for various purposes (some have bad-boy fantasies, others hunt them for sport), or maybe a lord is exploring necormancy using his wealth and access to the prison to retrieve fresh specimens, or an alchemist looking for spare parts. Make the rich so incredibly out of touch with everyday concerns.
Maybe corrupt bureaucrats are extending inmates prison terms due to bribes or minor slights. "You dare look me in the eyes? You whelp! 5 more years for you!" And thus the man locked up for vagrancy is serving his 60th year because he refuses to cave in.
Best of all, have someone routinely abuse their power to stick it to the PCs. Oh, and of course, nice guys finish last, gang issues arise in prison and scarcity of supplies leads to further conflict. Have the gangs coming up at them, with the gloves off.
Any mercy is punished, kindness is weakness and the weak end up dead or worse.
Ok gonna throw out some ideas at no particular order so beware.
Pits with oozes in them (weither thats where they drop bodies or if some have crept into solitary holes)
Catacombs underneath (could be catacombs full of the bodies of prisoners who died either by execution or by discipline in the past and could be haunted in one section of catacombs while the other is trafficed by underdwellers who come up thru cracks or whatnot to harrass or barter wares with criminals unaware by the guards).
Have the standard party makeup of healer/range/tank/caster while using makeshift items for weapons and armor
Surroundings with combat, near bars could be lethal for both guards and the party as prisoners would grab and hold and attack through bars.
Low magic and low equipment campaign focusing on skills and tactics. That goes for both sides. Have npcs to fill job rolls such as scrying and crafting and bartering after doing favors.
There was the Never Winter Nights RPG video game. You start off having to deal with a prison break. There is a secret way into the prison via some woman's house. You eventually find your way to the head gaoler's room where you find out what happened here. Here in Never Winter the prison has several levels. Each one is worse than the one before it.
I suppose you could have magic in a Prison. The Warden may be the type that likes to torture his "guests" but doesn't want to leave marks, so he has a private wizard on his leash (also a prisoner) that likes his job. The Warden would have magic items in his rooms and the Wizard would have things of his own.
Heck, the prison might have been built on top of an old grave site or guard station. There might be undead (magic items) or things in the underground guard station (magic).
There was the Never Winter Nights RPG video game. You start off having to deal with a prison break. There is a secret way into the prison via some woman's house. You eventually find your way to the head gaoler's room where you find out what happened here. Here in Never Winter the prison has several levels. Each one is worse than the one before it.
I suppose you could have magic in a Prison. The Warden may be the type that likes to torture his "guests" but doesn't want to leave marks, so he has a private wizard on his leash (also a prisoner) that likes his job. The Warden would have magic items in his rooms and the Wizard would have things of his own.
Heck, the prison might have been built on top of an old grave site or guard station. There might be undead (magic items) or things in the underground guard station (magic).
I loved NWN. The head jailer guy was controlled by an Intellect Devourer, which explained why everything was so horrible there. That could be a plot point you put in there just in case, whether or not the PCs ever engage him or care enough to find out. The brutal lawful people might start to see the error of their ways when a chaotic evil brainslug takes over their leader and no one even notices.
Might have to be careful depending on how low level the party is though. IDs get invis, confuse, daze monster with no HD limit, sneak attack, along with anything their host had in life. Pretty nasty.
What I did was had all the pc have a magigcal chocker around their neck. So if one died or went to far away they both blew up killing both of the players.
This kept the players being allies to each other. In an evil campaign they eventually turn on each other. If they are forced to save everyone life then they will work together better.
As long as there weren't sound transmitting crystals in random spots that could also cause them to donate.
"Your collar started beeping" Where is it!? Oh shi- *head explodes*As far as magic items, if the guards/warden get paid per prisoner or just enjoy fun (beatings) that can be repeated each day without risk of permanent injury, consider guards issued with Merciful weapons. All the pain, none of the visible injury.
Maybe hallways could be rigged with a blackout system either for use at night, or as a crowd control measure, where stones insert at intervals in the ceiling create Darkness, or Deeper Darkness. Patrolling guards would be issued a Light source.
I can't imagine any sane warden would be okay with a spontaneous caster roaming unchecked, so any known spontaneous caster would likely be kept gagged, if not in restraints. Alternately, you could develop an item which is magic suppressing manacles or headband that force a high DC concentration check to cast anything. Prepared casters would of course be denied access to a spellbook, although figuring out a way to hide contraband spells could be a fun aspect.
For weapons, I'd say stat up a Shiv as a dagger that only crits on a 20, and other improvised weapons as similarly reduced effectiveness versions of common weapons. Although some weapons could be reasonably made in regular quality (finally, a real reason to use a sling).