What are the rules in Pathfinder Society for paying to get out of jail?


Pathfinder Society

3/5

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I was playing a PFS scenario where one of my party members surrendered to guards and went to jail. Nobody could figure out what the official rules were for him to get out. We figured:

a) Pay 5 prestige for a pathfinder team to get you out
b) Pay some amount of gold as a fine

But We couldn't find anywhere where this information was specified. Is anybody aware of documentation that covers this for PFS?


PFS questions should probably go in the PFS-specific forum, but I'm guessing a mod will slide this over soon.

There aren't rules for this situation, as far as I'm aware, unless it's in a situation specific to the scenario. If it gets to this point your group and GM have gone way off the map, so your GM is going to have to figure out what seems best, or contact your local Venture Officer for guidance.

I would probably agree with 5 prestige, as "thrown in jail forever for being a psycho murderer" is right up there with character death. However, it sort of depends on the circumstances. Why did the guards arrest you? If you butchered a family at a wedding and they walked in on you covered in blood, and then arrested you for that, I'd just mark your character as dead.

Getting arrested for trying to break into a shop would not require 5 PP; I'd agree with a fine in that case, but like I said, you're well off the map of what's provided in the scenario, so your GM has to improvise a bit, and should probably consult your local VO.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

I'm aware of 2 scenarios where you could be thrown in jail.

One requires 5pp to get out (else you're reported as dead).

The other is part of the plot, and you're let out eventually.

Though I haven't played everything, your situation is probably written into the scenario.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32

As a criminal defense attorney, I'd estimate that a fine would be appropriate. You could flavor it as a bribe if your character is less lawful. (Note: Discussing fantasy games here, not real crimes.) I'd wager that around 1/2 the gold payout for the scenario should be right for most major cities in Golarion.


You could try trading for a get out of jail free boon, otherwise, you do not pass go, nor do you collect 200gp.

4/5

I think it's the 5 pa for body retrieval, that's how I'd rule anyway. I don't believe there is a gold cost equivalent, so if you don't have 5 pa you need to run some games and apply the chronicles to a pc.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Developer

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As others have noted, there aren't hard and fast rules for getting out of jail except in the few scenarios where imprisonment is part of the plot. As a result, most other PC imprisonment probably comes down to going off the rails or a creative solution gone dreadfully wrong.

As SteelDraco noted, the punishment probably varies depending on the crime and the location. Unless otherwise noted, I think the 5 Prestige Point cost for body retrieval is a fair price for nearly all mundane forms of imprisonment with no questions asked. Having the PCs pay a fine as an alternative is likely also appropriate. I'd probably issue a fine of 10–50% of the scenario's gold piece reward depending on a) the crime, b) its severity, and c) how much the PCs' imprisonment is based on bad choices rather than clever intentions gone wrong; I'm more lenient regarding the latter because well-intentioned creative solutions should be rewarded (or at least punished less) in my mind.

Use good judgment and don't be unnecessarily punitive.

5/5 5/55/55/5

Dammit. Yet another reason to commit seppuku foiled by reasonableness.


I'd say the 5 prestige spent isn't an actual squad of Pathfinders breaking you out of jail; it would represent the Pathfinder Society pulling strings and calling in favors on your behalf to get you released to their custody.

5/5 5/55/5 *** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

There's actually an Andoran prestige award that does something similar:

Pathfinder Society Field Guide wrote:
Liberation (5PP) In the event that you are captured and forced into slavery, the faction mounts a rescue operation, freeing you from servitude without any material or physical effect. Any cost or penalty normally associated with being enslaved (including magical effects such as dominate person) is negated at no additional cost to you.

So 5 PP might be a good measure, as long as it's just being thrown into prison. Enslavement should of course be more difficult/expensive to get out of, otherwise that Andoran presitge award would be useless.

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