From: darknite@camelot.bradley.edu (John S. Novak III)
Subject: Re: Ethical Dilemna (GURPS Fantasy - LONG)
Organization: Bradley University
Date: 24 Jan 93 00:14:08 GMT

In <C1Bz9n.EF7@csugrad.cs.vt.edu> kerr@csugrad.cs.vt.edu (Shane Kerr) writes:

>So now they're on the way to see the Baron.  Now, as I see it the law is
>clear - they're gonna fry.  But should I allow them to get off with paying
>a werguild.  Or maybe trial by combat?  Or perhaps just deportation?  I 
>COULD enslave the party.  Hm.  The worst part is that everybody but
>the fencer took honesty.  The Jesuit tried to stop the rest, but how
>do you stop a Templar on his warhorse with stern words?

Well, your ideas are all pretty good ones, but there's two more
which I would add:

o	Banishment from (at least) the Barony, if not the entire
nation.  This depends on exactly how pinned you are to your
current campaign locale.

o	Some kind of massively dangerous operation which would
benefit the area where they massacred the peasants.  This has a
nice flavor of justice to it, accomplishes something that the
Baron needs done, and offers some nice chances for role-playing--
since they're on the land of those they slaughtered, they'll
probably run into family members, friends, and local lordlings.
And of course they will be warned that if _one_ ounce of blood is
shed without good reason (and reliable witness), they're toasted.

Another possible solution depends on how the Templars in your
campaign operate.  If it were _my_ GURPS Fantasy (tm) campaign, I
would have followed up the hints dropped in the book, and
developped the Templars and the Jesuits into a secretly warring
set of organizations.  To this end, the Jesuit might receive
orders to 'reform' the Templar, while the Templar receives orders
to make some intricate quest in the region to show that he messed
up, and that his order cares about the people.  And, maybe,
coincidentally, of course, getr something to blackmail the local
lords with.

But that's rather campaign-specific...

>Anyway, another option I thought about is a time shift.  We talked about
>the massacre afterwords and apparently the Templar thought his was 
>supposed to be playing a fanatic pagan-hater, because that's what good
>Christian knights DID for a living, right?  I think he's changed his
>mind.  And the rest of the party probably wouldn't have just mindlessly
>charged into battle if blood wasn't already drawn (hm...visions of tiger
>sharks dance through my head).  So perhaps we could go back to the 
>"scene of the crime" and replay it.  Anyway, I'm definitely going to see
>what the party wants to do with it.  

I would rule against letting them go back-- but since this seems
like an honest misunderstanding, I _would_ go easy on them.  Not
real easy, but not death incarnate.

>Then the issue of character points arises.  Nobody but the Jesuit knew
>that they were breaking the law by killing them (they didn't even suspect,
>but they probably thought they were summoning a demon or something).  But
>afterwords when the Jesuit told them, they all tried their Will rolls
>to not turn themselves in.  That's fine with me, but they should at least
>be acting GUILTY.  Should I just not give any out for that session?  Make
>them spend the next 10 points buying off their Honesty?

Well, how about none for this session, and if you send them on a
quest, reduce XP until they solve it.

If the Jesuit didn't join in the combat, he might deserve some.

--
"Do as I say, not as I do, yeah, yeah...  Sounds kinda like your mom and dad,
 doesn't it."
          -Steve Gutschlag, 10-01-91
John S. Novak, III		darknite@camelot.bradley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc