Following on that good advice - (ask them) - definitely separate them if they want to compete and your schedule can allow it.
Then give them competitive goals where every few sessions they can get together and combat over a trophy/goal or just to kill the other team. If they are cool with the player vs. player combat it'll add to their fun. Just try not to let it be every single session or it'll end quick for one of them!
Sounds like there was some definite miscommunication about party mechanics in setting this up... happens to lots of us. Personally, I wouldn't be willing to build two separate campaigns because the group competed against each other. To be honest, I'm not sure how a LE Drow and a NG High Elf ended up in the same party expecting long term compatibility. I would be ok with a final showdown and wrap up the campaign at that point, and to the victor goes the meager spoils of the other party members. Or bring in a dragon and kill them all... whatever... mostly I just don't have time for players that don't want to figure out a way to cooperate with each other. There are enough other things going on in the world around them, they shouldn't be preying on each other. So, yeah, I can see that short term I would let them do a last set of preparations and have it out... but just because you can do something doesn't mean there won't be consequences. And for wasting all of my time so you can prank someone at your own table? Yep. Long term consequences, which may lead you to never playing at my table again. Not may... most likely will lead you to never playing with me again.
To prevent this in the future... always talk about the campaign before it begins. Set parameters you are comfortable with and that they players will enjoy. Work that out before anyone creates a character or you design any parts of your world or choose the module. Even if you prepare the best you can, things can still go off the rails. If the LE Drow was using the party as a scouting mechanism and sending in slavers in their wakes... at some point the other members are going to pick up on this and they can have dialogue about it. They could continue as a party if they can all resolve their world views enough to work through it. Sadly, most players don't develop enough of a story about their characters that they could get into a reasoned argument with another player and carry it all out in-game. It becomes personal to the players instead of the characters... and attacking a player is always going to be personal. Someone is always going to be hurt by it.
I'm assuming that this is something the group wants to play out, and we have more than just one PC on each side here (if its just one player, I'd take that to an email or chat to detail out). Which, unless I miss my guess, is going to be a battle to the capture/death of the others.
Right now, it sounds like the two are gathering armies, rather than in person. So, to me, the logical conclusion of this story is to start working on both groups doing the hireling bits. I'd give out a few rolls to see how well they can attract people to their banner, and then set them against each other. I probably would hand wave the actual battle down to just a single mass battle, hirelings based on how the roll results came in, and then give the Players the sheets of the hirelings, and go at it. Winner takes all. Even if the loser runs away, their sheet gets taken away and becomes an NPC nemesis that will show up again in the future.
I would be really interested to hear how the Drow has justified being lawful. Did he have ownership of the high elf at some point? Was the high elf ever previously a slave? If no and no, this sounds like backdoor NE at best.
I would recommend that you ask the other 3 players if they are having fun, before asking the elves. Assuming you want an unbiased response.
I don't think any justification is required. Slavery is almost always maintained by the legal system, and a LE or even LN character would gladly benefit from it. A LG character may have qualms, but would probably be one of those people who just treats their slaves very kindly. It is the characters in the chaotic spectrum who would be more likely to have an issue with slavery. CG probably can't stand it at all, CE mostly don't want it happening to them or whoever they care about. Sure, actually selling someone into slavery is a dick move, but it seems like the kind of thing that would be a traditional activity in Drow society - thus perfectly fitting for a LE Drow. Lawfulness doesn't make someone not a dick, just makes them a traditionalist dick.
If this is a national level conflict, it certainly sounds like you are set up to run two campaigns.
If you find the non-active players falling out of interest in the other side, you can always give them a role to play. Might be as simple a random NPC. Or you could do alternate PCs, if you are high enough level to start looking at henchmen.
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I'd ask them, as a group, if they want to get back together, just in case. If not, start figuring out the new schedule.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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Following on that good advice - (ask them) - definitely separate them if they want to compete and your schedule can allow it.
Then give them competitive goals where every few sessions they can get together and combat over a trophy/goal or just to kill the other team. If they are cool with the player vs. player combat it'll add to their fun. Just try not to let it be every single session or it'll end quick for one of them!
Sounds like there was some definite miscommunication about party mechanics in setting this up... happens to lots of us. Personally, I wouldn't be willing to build two separate campaigns because the group competed against each other. To be honest, I'm not sure how a LE Drow and a NG High Elf ended up in the same party expecting long term compatibility. I would be ok with a final showdown and wrap up the campaign at that point, and to the victor goes the meager spoils of the other party members. Or bring in a dragon and kill them all... whatever... mostly I just don't have time for players that don't want to figure out a way to cooperate with each other. There are enough other things going on in the world around them, they shouldn't be preying on each other. So, yeah, I can see that short term I would let them do a last set of preparations and have it out... but just because you can do something doesn't mean there won't be consequences. And for wasting all of my time so you can prank someone at your own table? Yep. Long term consequences, which may lead you to never playing at my table again. Not may... most likely will lead you to never playing with me again.
To prevent this in the future... always talk about the campaign before it begins. Set parameters you are comfortable with and that they players will enjoy. Work that out before anyone creates a character or you design any parts of your world or choose the module. Even if you prepare the best you can, things can still go off the rails. If the LE Drow was using the party as a scouting mechanism and sending in slavers in their wakes... at some point the other members are going to pick up on this and they can have dialogue about it. They could continue as a party if they can all resolve their world views enough to work through it. Sadly, most players don't develop enough of a story about their characters that they could get into a reasoned argument with another player and carry it all out in-game. It becomes personal to the players instead of the characters... and attacking a player is always going to be personal. Someone is always going to be hurt by it.
I'm assuming that this is something the group wants to play out, and we have more than just one PC on each side here (if its just one player, I'd take that to an email or chat to detail out). Which, unless I miss my guess, is going to be a battle to the capture/death of the others.
Right now, it sounds like the two are gathering armies, rather than in person. So, to me, the logical conclusion of this story is to start working on both groups doing the hireling bits. I'd give out a few rolls to see how well they can attract people to their banner, and then set them against each other. I probably would hand wave the actual battle down to just a single mass battle, hirelings based on how the roll results came in, and then give the Players the sheets of the hirelings, and go at it. Winner takes all. Even if the loser runs away, their sheet gets taken away and becomes an NPC nemesis that will show up again in the future.
I would be really interested to hear how the Drow has justified being lawful. Did he have ownership of the high elf at some point? Was the high elf ever previously a slave? If no and no, this sounds like backdoor NE at best.
I would recommend that you ask the other 3 players if they are having fun, before asking the elves. Assuming you want an unbiased response.
I don't think any justification is required. Slavery is almost always maintained by the legal system, and a LE or even LN character would gladly benefit from it. A LG character may have qualms, but would probably be one of those people who just treats their slaves very kindly. It is the characters in the chaotic spectrum who would be more likely to have an issue with slavery. CG probably can't stand it at all, CE mostly don't want it happening to them or whoever they care about. Sure, actually selling someone into slavery is a dick move, but it seems like the kind of thing that would be a traditional activity in Drow society - thus perfectly fitting for a LE Drow. Lawfulness doesn't make someone not a dick, just makes them a traditionalist dick.
If this is a national level conflict, it certainly sounds like you are set up to run two campaigns.
If you find the non-active players falling out of interest in the other side, you can always give them a role to play. Might be as simple a random NPC. Or you could do alternate PCs, if you are high enough level to start looking at henchmen.