Somehow this escaped me when I did the quick session recap on Sunday. The party got the drop on a bunch of bandits in Rappan Athuk - they got both surprise AND won initiative. This resulted in the bandit leader, the ogre and 2 or 3 others dead before the bandits could even respond. Moral roll was failed and they threw down their weapons after the party's thief called for their surrender.
The survivors, both human and orcs, asked to be spared and promised to flee the dungeon. The party asked them to map the part of the dungeon they knew, which they did (pretty much a beeline to the dungeon entrance). In return, the bandits asked if they could retain their daggers. I was surprised (and I'm sure the bandits were too) when the party agreed and let them leave.
No torture.
No fire.
I'm fairly stunned.
Of course, you know this will have to become a seed for something else down the line. This will have an impact on events in the area. No matter how it plays out (and boy, I've got some ideas) the players will know they had a hand in it ;)
Watching Training Day with my madre the other day and thinking, "Man, that good deed at the start came back in to really help them out." Then again, the old saying is "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished."
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm a sap, but I kind of like the idea that this generosity of spirit that is almost unprecedented among PCs come back, not to bite them in the ass later, but to help them in some unforeseen way.
ReplyDeleteERik, trust me when I say "Crush them. Silly players must learn their lesson."
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mr Byers, they did something good, maybe even heroic, and if this comes back to bite them on their collective asses, it'l train them out of this kind of behavior.
ReplyDeleteUnless that's what you want...
matt, I think he likes that we let them go. This is a new thing for us. If it comes back to bite us on the ass then we'll fall back on Plan A -- fire, destruction, and torture.
ReplyDeleteWhich is fine, we're used to that. It may prove interesting for this to have consequences, and in fact I'd prefer that it does... but if it's too much hassle, Plan A it is.
Just stumbled on this quote from Schlock Mercenary, and it sounds kind of like us sometimes.
ReplyDeleteTagon: Massey, you've been with us since before Doyt came aboard. During that time have we done anything illegal?
Massey: Do you want me to sort the list by date, or do you want it grouped into 'felonies' and 'misdemeanors?'
Tagon: You could have just said "yes" and left it at that.
Massey: A couple of items may fall under 'high treason' or 'war crimes.' I'll have to check.
My players got the drop on the same bandits. Those not killed in the fight were murdered as prisoners. My players took Tall Jack Rat and SACKS FULL OF HEADS for a 25s bounty each in Zelkor's Ferry. Tall Jack Rat was hanged, and there was much rejoicing.
ReplyDelete