The party is about to get thrown in jail. They have a good amount of magical items on them (weapons, staff, bracers) which they will get back, along with spell books, but I was thinking that they should lose some/all of their gold. The reason they are in jail is that someone recognized who they are in the middle of some political intrigue, and is framing them to gain favor with the BBEG who they are spying on. I want this to be an inconvenience and all of them have more money stashed in the Thieves' Bank than they do on person.
The party is about to get thrown in jail. They have a good amount of magical items on them (weapons, staff, bracers) which they will get back, along with spell books, but I was thinking that they should lose some/all of their gold. The reason they are in jail is that someone recognized who they are in the middle of some political intrigue, and is framing them to gain favor with the BBEG who they are spying on. I want this to be an inconvenience and all of them have more money stashed in the Thieves' Bank than they do on person.
Thoughts?
Well, it's worth considering whether they'd actually be jailed, or whether they'd be permitted to bail themselves out. If it's bail... money is definitely the way to go.
I don't know your table, or your players, so you're the best judge of how well this will be received. Generally, putting a party in jail may not have a positive reception by the players, and might well be viewed as a bit of a choo-choo trip. I have the luxury of seeing that this is a narrative plot device, your players likely don't.
That said, take all of it. Make sure that the person who is doing the framing is "supervising" the searching and subsequent confiscation of all of their kit. Put the NPC's face on this action so that they 1) have a target to now go after, and 2) know where their belongings just went. By the time the PCs make it to wherever the NPC took their stuff, the gold and easily pilfered small items could be gone, leaving the bigger ticket items.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I don't know your table, or your players, so you're the best judge of how well this will be received. Generally, putting a party in jail may not have a positive reception by the players, and might well be viewed as a bit of a choo-choo trip. I have the luxury of seeing that this is a narrative plot device, your players likely don't.
That said, take all of it. Make sure that the person who is doing the framing is "supervising" the searching and subsequent confiscation of all of their kit. Put the NPC's face on this action so that they 1) have a target to now go after, and 2) know where their belongings just went. By the time the PCs make it to wherever the NPC took their stuff, the gold and easily pilfered small items could be gone, leaving the bigger ticket items.
This is what I was thinking (although I didn't put that in the post and should have). They will get all their major magical items back, as they are going to get help escaping from jail. The best part of that is that the help will come from an annoying NPC who most of the party dislikes, but who admires them immensely. Imagine Jaskier on the Witcher and you have the relationship down. The gold and platinum will definitely be gone.
The party is about to get thrown in jail. They have a good amount of magical items on them (weapons, staff, bracers) which they will get back, along with spell books, but I was thinking that they should lose some/all of their gold. The reason they are in jail is that someone recognized who they are in the middle of some political intrigue, and is framing them to gain favor with the BBEG who they are spying on. I want this to be an inconvenience and all of them have more money stashed in the Thieves' Bank than they do on person.
Thoughts?
Well, it's worth considering whether they'd actually be jailed, or whether they'd be permitted to bail themselves out. If it's bail... money is definitely the way to go.
The party is about to get thrown in jail. They have a good amount of magical items on them (weapons, staff, bracers) which they will get back, along with spell books, but I was thinking that they should lose some/all of their gold. The reason they are in jail is that someone recognized who they are in the middle of some political intrigue, and is framing them to gain favor with the BBEG who they are spying on. I want this to be an inconvenience and all of them have more money stashed in the Thieves' Bank than they do on person.
Thoughts?
Well, it's worth considering whether they'd actually be jailed, or whether they'd be permitted to bail themselves out. If it's bail... money is definitely the way to go.
Good thought, but no bail here, as they are imprisoned not for crimes they may have committed, but because they are in a political situation and got framed for plotting against the BBEG.
If they are in jail. Everything gets taken. Also, in the game world, everyone is likely aware of magic and its limitations.
1) Everything gets taken and they are inspected with detect magic and zone of truth to determine if all of their stuff has been removed. If they happened to swallow a magic item then they get cut open to pull it out, being left at 1hp after the surgery since the captors may not want them dead yet.
2) The prison will be mage proof. Wizards will have hands bound and their cells may have a permanent silence if the captor can afford to do it, if not, prisoners will be gagged. They may even treat all prisoners this way since they may not be able to tell who is a spell caster and who isn't.
3) Their stuff will be hauled away to different locations. If they might be found not-guilty and the system isn't corrupt then it is likely that their belongings would be stored in one secured area and could be subject to minor pilfering. If the captors are corrupt or guilt has already been decided then the valuable magic items will be collected and either stored or sent off to whoever is in charge that gets to claim any goods from convicted prisoners. Common equipment including standard armor and weapons might be given to the guard to distribute to troops. Adventuring gear might end up in the storage room. Money might be pilfered by corrupt guards but the bulk would likely still be sent to whoever gets the money from such imprisonments though the person doing the framing might receive a monetary reward in this case. Magic is worth much more than money but both are valuable so they might go to the same or different NPCs. Some of the money might end up in general coffers some where.
Keep in mind though that the players tend to get attached to their equipment/wealth/magic and they may react badly to being imprisoned and having even some of their stuff taken. This is especially true when it happens not due to something the players did but due to the actions of an NPC (DM) which happened off screen which resulted in the party being imprisoned and all their stuff taken. Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment.
They are in the lair of the BBEG, spying on him. Someone comes to arrest them or even lead them to some place they recognize as a jail. The first thing both the characters and players are likely to think is that their cover has been blown and they are in deep trouble. In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will - which again comes back to the DM likely railroading the plot to obtain the scenario described, which would be a less than ideal way to go about it.
I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
Have their magic items be taken to an auction where they'll be sold off to raise funds for the prison. Set a date and time for it. If the PCs escape in time, they can find their gear. If they aren't, they can try to find who bought it and either buy/steal it back.
Money is not going to be retrievable, I would say. But you could stick in that the governor has a chest of gold (made from previous auctions) that they could raid that contains a conveniently roughly similar amount to what they lost.
Exactly. DM's who put players in jails/prisons have to understand that the chars are essentially toast, if the jail is run well. The DM has to play the NPC guards as idiots if he wants the chars to escape, for all the reasons you gave.
After the first Sorcerer casts Dimension Door with Subtle Spell inside a Silence spell, the jail will most certainly have an anti-Magic field in play for high risk prisoners.
I have to think about this one. There is a lot of political stuff going on in this one. The party has been sent to get information about the BBEG, so they are in disguise. Unfortunately their disguises are basically as other versions of themselves with the exception of the rogue (So Wizard is a different Wizard, Blood Hunter is a fighter, Rogue is a pirate). They are trying to gain favor with the BBEGs major henchman. The NPC who knows who they are is also trying to gain favor. She will unmask them, but through other NPCs. So their options will be to fight their way out, surrender, or try to con their way out of it. Now, they do have two allies inside the castle. The bard, who is lower level and they mislike. Also an outside druid.
Even if they surrender (or fight and lose) and end up in jail, they will get some help in time that their magical items are not lost to them for good. Probably need to do a little bit of sneaky killing to get them back.
Exactly. DM's who put players in jails/prisons have to understand that the chars are essentially toast, if the jail is run well. The DM has to play the NPC guards as idiots if he wants the chars to escape, for all the reasons you gave.
After the first Sorcerer casts Dimension Door with Subtle Spell inside a Silence spell, the jail will most certainly have an anti-Magic field in play for high risk prisoners.
Even if they surrender (or fight and lose) and end up in jail, they will get some help in time that their magical items are not lost to them for good. Probably need to do a little bit of sneaky killing to get them back.
What happens when they fight and win?
All of this hinges on the concept that the party give up (Player's don't historically like that term) or are defeated (Players really dislike this term) and subsequently wind up in jail. Be prepared for them to fend off the arrest. Like have a chase scene ready to go, if you don't already. Your political intrigue campaign might turn into Subterfuge & Sabotage overnight.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
Hmm. I thought my point was that the players will NOT be ready to swallow stuff but I might be misinterpreting your comment.
"Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment."
"In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will"
Characters/players do not tend to swallow ANYTHING unless the scene is set in such a way as to force their decisions. Otherwise, the most likely response I have seen from my groups is fight, followed by a much smaller set that judges the odds and opts for flight. Capture and imprisonment is often NOT a likely outcome without DM railroading the results.
Have the items that are obviously magical or unhidden equipment be taken if the jail isn't too high level. If it's run by important dudes with enough money to pay for spellcasters and mages to Identify certain objects, then magical stuff is far less likely to go under the radar.
Have a couple guards ( they could use the veteran or gladiator stat block) outside the door, and have there be Alarms and Arcane Locks. Glyphs of Warding and Guards and Wards (if the player are high level enough) might also be interesting, though I would recommend designing a guard patrol system.
Prisoner 13 is also a free adventure that you might be able to modify to make it so that the players are in the political prison.
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Maybe instead of jailing them, since the restoration of property is imperative and truth be told aside from the auctions and such, real life jails lose people property all the time, maybe simply put them under house arrest? So they are confined to the whatever premises they were lodging in, with some sort of guard's station to make sure the prisoners comply with the order, with reinforcements within an alarm's call if they don't. You want to party detained, and maybe having to resort to subterfuge less they have to fight the whole town/city? I'd think of house arrest, which puts the PCs in the place of being honor bound or challenge the authority of the locals leaders. Plus the stationed guards would be able to keep tabs on who visits, or rather risks visiting them among all the scandel.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
In reality, even the poorest of prisoners in ye olden times were allowed a small knife for eating,* and were expected to pay for their own food, so they would be allowed some money. They were also expected to pay for their stay as well, so it’s a great way to divest them of some cash. They would likely also be able to scavenge some common spell components like the living flea for infestation, a pinch of dirt for longstrider, a bit of string and wood for unseen servant, etc.
*In my favorite European castle, Predjama Castle in Slovenia, there is a large wooden cabinet that was carved by a prisoner using nothing but his small eating knife. Took forever. Upon presenting to the lord of the castle at the time, the lord was so impressed that he released the prisoner.
I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
Yes.
If the chars were beaten by a more powerful group in the first place, which they had to be to end up in jail, then they chars will most certainly not be powerful enough to break out without any of their gear and abilities. All casters are kept in anti-magic fields, including Druids and any other char that can shapeshift. All kept isolated, and in in perpetual Silence spells, behind doors with Arcane locks. If a char ends up in jail, that char should be considered the equivalent of dead.
Not necessarily. They could be beaten by a more powerful party, but that doesn't equate to how strong the jail cells are. Plus they can (and will) get help from an outside source. I would hate to play in a campaign where ending up in jail was an automatic death,
I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
Hmm. I thought my point was that the players will NOT be ready to swallow stuff but I might be misinterpreting your comment.
"Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment."
"In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will"
Characters/players do not tend to swallow ANYTHING unless the scene is set in such a way as to force their decisions. Otherwise, the most likely response I have seen from my groups is fight, followed by a much smaller set that judges the odds and opts for flight. Capture and imprisonment is often NOT a likely outcome without DM railroading the results.
Fight doesn't always equate to victory, nor does flight always equate to escape.
Maybe instead of jailing them, since the restoration of property is imperative and truth be told aside from the auctions and such, real life jails lose people property all the time, maybe simply put them under house arrest? So they are confined to the whatever premises they were lodging in, with some sort of guard's station to make sure the prisoners comply with the order, with reinforcements within an alarm's call if they don't. You want to party detained, and maybe having to resort to subterfuge less they have to fight the whole town/city? I'd think of house arrest, which puts the PCs in the place of being honor bound or challenge the authority of the locals leaders. Plus the stationed guards would be able to keep tabs on who visits, or rather risks visiting them among all the scandel.
I like this idea. Not jailed but not free to leave either... Gotta think about how that plays out... thanks!
Absolutely lose all loose coin, any spell components, any focus (except holy symbols), any food or water, any weapons, any obviously magical thing (wands, staves, rods), and any jewelry.
they will take packs, but those “will be returned if you ever get released, har har har”.
any spell components of real value , jewels, coin, and jewelry will be gone and not returned. Guards aren’t paid enough to be honest. If it can be sold fast for cheap, it is gone. Gemstones might take longer, can be tracked down easier. Jewelry will often be melted down within three days, coin spent.
unless the guards can use the magic items, they won’t take them and won’t care. If they can, then you have a problem. But they won’t recognize a scarab of whatever as a magical item, they will see it as a quick sale jewelry piece they can pawn or trade to the same thieves guild, lol.
don’t forget having to get their stuff back can be a whole adventure of it’s own.
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I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
Hmm. I thought my point was that the players will NOT be ready to swallow stuff but I might be misinterpreting your comment.
"Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment."
"In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will"
Characters/players do not tend to swallow ANYTHING unless the scene is set in such a way as to force their decisions. Otherwise, the most likely response I have seen from my groups is fight, followed by a much smaller set that judges the odds and opts for flight. Capture and imprisonment is often NOT a likely outcome without DM railroading the results.
Fight doesn't always equate to victory, nor does flight always equate to escape.
Absolutely. However, since the DM controls the forces facing the PC and controls the circumstances and possibility of escape, unless the DM creates a balanced situation that could go either way based on the dice rolls - defeat or capture is up to the DM since they can always use overwhelming forces if they choose to do so. Thus turning the encounter into a railroad if the characters had no way to avoid or mitigate the situation.
If the players decide to engage an overwhelming force then the consequences of defeat are on them. If the PCs are faced with an overwhelming force that they can neither fight nor successfully escape then the DM might as well narrate the outcome since the DM has effectively already decided how the situation will be resolved.
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The party is about to get thrown in jail. They have a good amount of magical items on them (weapons, staff, bracers) which they will get back, along with spell books, but I was thinking that they should lose some/all of their gold. The reason they are in jail is that someone recognized who they are in the middle of some political intrigue, and is framing them to gain favor with the BBEG who they are spying on. I want this to be an inconvenience and all of them have more money stashed in the Thieves' Bank than they do on person.
Thoughts?
Take all their stuff, leave it somewhere else in the prison.
Well, it's worth considering whether they'd actually be jailed, or whether they'd be permitted to bail themselves out. If it's bail... money is definitely the way to go.
I don't know your table, or your players, so you're the best judge of how well this will be received. Generally, putting a party in jail may not have a positive reception by the players, and might well be viewed as a bit of a choo-choo trip. I have the luxury of seeing that this is a narrative plot device, your players likely don't.
That said, take all of it. Make sure that the person who is doing the framing is "supervising" the searching and subsequent confiscation of all of their kit. Put the NPC's face on this action so that they 1) have a target to now go after, and 2) know where their belongings just went. By the time the PCs make it to wherever the NPC took their stuff, the gold and easily pilfered small items could be gone, leaving the bigger ticket items.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
This is what I was thinking (although I didn't put that in the post and should have). They will get all their major magical items back, as they are going to get help escaping from jail. The best part of that is that the help will come from an annoying NPC who most of the party dislikes, but who admires them immensely. Imagine Jaskier on the Witcher and you have the relationship down. The gold and platinum will definitely be gone.
Good thought, but no bail here, as they are imprisoned not for crimes they may have committed, but because they are in a political situation and got framed for plotting against the BBEG.
If they are in jail. Everything gets taken. Also, in the game world, everyone is likely aware of magic and its limitations.
1) Everything gets taken and they are inspected with detect magic and zone of truth to determine if all of their stuff has been removed. If they happened to swallow a magic item then they get cut open to pull it out, being left at 1hp after the surgery since the captors may not want them dead yet.
2) The prison will be mage proof. Wizards will have hands bound and their cells may have a permanent silence if the captor can afford to do it, if not, prisoners will be gagged. They may even treat all prisoners this way since they may not be able to tell who is a spell caster and who isn't.
3) Their stuff will be hauled away to different locations. If they might be found not-guilty and the system isn't corrupt then it is likely that their belongings would be stored in one secured area and could be subject to minor pilfering. If the captors are corrupt or guilt has already been decided then the valuable magic items will be collected and either stored or sent off to whoever is in charge that gets to claim any goods from convicted prisoners. Common equipment including standard armor and weapons might be given to the guard to distribute to troops. Adventuring gear might end up in the storage room. Money might be pilfered by corrupt guards but the bulk would likely still be sent to whoever gets the money from such imprisonments though the person doing the framing might receive a monetary reward in this case. Magic is worth much more than money but both are valuable so they might go to the same or different NPCs. Some of the money might end up in general coffers some where.
Keep in mind though that the players tend to get attached to their equipment/wealth/magic and they may react badly to being imprisoned and having even some of their stuff taken. This is especially true when it happens not due to something the players did but due to the actions of an NPC (DM) which happened off screen which resulted in the party being imprisoned and all their stuff taken. Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment.
They are in the lair of the BBEG, spying on him. Someone comes to arrest them or even lead them to some place they recognize as a jail. The first thing both the characters and players are likely to think is that their cover has been blown and they are in deep trouble. In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will - which again comes back to the DM likely railroading the plot to obtain the scenario described, which would be a less than ideal way to go about it.
I flippin love that David42 is ready for players to swallow stuff.
I think the answer simply depends on how long it takes them to escape, even with the prospect of political intrigue. If it takes days, their stuff has probably been dispersed or locked away as the authorities deem fit on each item. If they escape right away, they shouldn't have any trouble finding all of their things gathered, including all of their money.
Now, given that the party is being targeted by someone assumedly rich and powerful, they'll be vulnerable while locked up. That person may even go as far as sticking them with an assassin for the night, or paying off guards to retrieve specific items they desire.
NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY
Have their magic items be taken to an auction where they'll be sold off to raise funds for the prison. Set a date and time for it. If the PCs escape in time, they can find their gear. If they aren't, they can try to find who bought it and either buy/steal it back.
Money is not going to be retrievable, I would say. But you could stick in that the governor has a chest of gold (made from previous auctions) that they could raid that contains a conveniently roughly similar amount to what they lost.
I have to think about this one. There is a lot of political stuff going on in this one. The party has been sent to get information about the BBEG, so they are in disguise. Unfortunately their disguises are basically as other versions of themselves with the exception of the rogue (So Wizard is a different Wizard, Blood Hunter is a fighter, Rogue is a pirate). They are trying to gain favor with the BBEGs major henchman. The NPC who knows who they are is also trying to gain favor. She will unmask them, but through other NPCs. So their options will be to fight their way out, surrender, or try to con their way out of it. Now, they do have two allies inside the castle. The bard, who is lower level and they mislike. Also an outside druid.
Even if they surrender (or fight and lose) and end up in jail, they will get some help in time that their magical items are not lost to them for good. Probably need to do a little bit of sneaky killing to get them back.
What happens when they fight and win?
All of this hinges on the concept that the party give up (Player's don't historically like that term) or are defeated (Players really dislike this term) and subsequently wind up in jail. Be prepared for them to fend off the arrest. Like have a chase scene ready to go, if you don't already. Your political intrigue campaign might turn into Subterfuge & Sabotage overnight.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Hmm. I thought my point was that the players will NOT be ready to swallow stuff but I might be misinterpreting your comment.
"Most players I know would expect that their characters would have had a sense that the party was being arrested and put in jail and would have reacted violently before any of the stuff could be taken. They'd never get as far as the jail and losing all of their equipment."
"In such a case, they would never meekly give up their stuff and walk into a jail cell in the first place unless they are all knocked unconscious by overwhelming force and locked up against their will"
Characters/players do not tend to swallow ANYTHING unless the scene is set in such a way as to force their decisions. Otherwise, the most likely response I have seen from my groups is fight, followed by a much smaller set that judges the odds and opts for flight. Capture and imprisonment is often NOT a likely outcome without DM railroading the results.
Have the items that are obviously magical or unhidden equipment be taken if the jail isn't too high level. If it's run by important dudes with enough money to pay for spellcasters and mages to Identify certain objects, then magical stuff is far less likely to go under the radar.
Have a couple guards ( they could use the veteran or gladiator stat block) outside the door, and have there be Alarms and Arcane Locks. Glyphs of Warding and Guards and Wards (if the player are high level enough) might also be interesting, though I would recommend designing a guard patrol system.
Prisoner 13 is also a free adventure that you might be able to modify to make it so that the players are in the political prison.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Maybe instead of jailing them, since the restoration of property is imperative and truth be told aside from the auctions and such, real life jails lose people property all the time, maybe simply put them under house arrest? So they are confined to the whatever premises they were lodging in, with some sort of guard's station to make sure the prisoners comply with the order, with reinforcements within an alarm's call if they don't. You want to party detained, and maybe having to resort to subterfuge less they have to fight the whole town/city? I'd think of house arrest, which puts the PCs in the place of being honor bound or challenge the authority of the locals leaders. Plus the stationed guards would be able to keep tabs on who visits, or rather risks visiting them among all the scandel.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
In reality, even the poorest of prisoners in ye olden times were allowed a small knife for eating,* and were expected to pay for their own food, so they would be allowed some money. They were also expected to pay for their stay as well, so it’s a great way to divest them of some cash. They would likely also be able to scavenge some common spell components like the living flea for infestation, a pinch of dirt for longstrider, a bit of string and wood for unseen servant, etc.
*In my favorite European castle, Predjama Castle in Slovenia, there is a large wooden cabinet that was carved by a prisoner using nothing but his small eating knife. Took forever. Upon presenting to the lord of the castle at the time, the lord was so impressed that he released the prisoner.
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Not necessarily. They could be beaten by a more powerful party, but that doesn't equate to how strong the jail cells are. Plus they can (and will) get help from an outside source. I would hate to play in a campaign where ending up in jail was an automatic death,
Fight doesn't always equate to victory, nor does flight always equate to escape.
I like this idea. Not jailed but not free to leave either... Gotta think about how that plays out... thanks!
Absolutely lose all loose coin, any spell components, any focus (except holy symbols), any food or water, any weapons, any obviously magical thing (wands, staves, rods), and any jewelry.
they will take packs, but those “will be returned if you ever get released, har har har”.
any spell components of real value , jewels, coin, and jewelry will be gone and not returned. Guards aren’t paid enough to be honest. If it can be sold fast for cheap, it is gone. Gemstones might take longer, can be tracked down easier. Jewelry will often be melted down within three days, coin spent.
unless the guards can use the magic items, they won’t take them and won’t care. If they can, then you have a problem. But they won’t recognize a scarab of whatever as a magical item, they will see it as a quick sale jewelry piece they can pawn or trade to the same thieves guild, lol.
don’t forget having to get their stuff back can be a whole adventure of it’s own.
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Absolutely. However, since the DM controls the forces facing the PC and controls the circumstances and possibility of escape, unless the DM creates a balanced situation that could go either way based on the dice rolls - defeat or capture is up to the DM since they can always use overwhelming forces if they choose to do so. Thus turning the encounter into a railroad if the characters had no way to avoid or mitigate the situation.
If the players decide to engage an overwhelming force then the consequences of defeat are on them. If the PCs are faced with an overwhelming force that they can neither fight nor successfully escape then the DM might as well narrate the outcome since the DM has effectively already decided how the situation will be resolved.