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submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 122 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I was GM'ing this game. The premise was that the goddesses created the world as this perfectly idyllic place -- an absolute utopia that I frequently compared to Mayberry RFD -- until the shit hit the fan. An ancient evil awakened and turned it into an absolute post-apocalyptic wasteland. Except for the single most populous city which the goddesses managed to shield from the corrupting influence of the ancient evil (before themselves succumbing to the corrupting influence). (A few fortunate pockets here and there also escaped the corruption.)

The PCs were the most murder-hobo of murder hobos. There was a town of halflings who continued their happy lives from before the calamity by day but turned into demons by night, not remembering anything come morning. The party marched them all (children included) into the schoolhouse, barricaded them in, and set fire to it. When they ran across a few dwarves who had retained their sanity, they robbed them blind. In the one city which was fully shielded from the ancient evil, they fireballed a procession of a dozen or so devout monks to take out one cultist hiding among them. That all just to name a few of their heinous crimes.

Of course, in response to all of this, the central city put out arrest warrants on the party. They were going to be dragged into court and hung out to dry whether they liked it or not. I had a whole court scene planned.

But it never happened.

They sneaked into town, publicly executed the mayor and the sheriff, and installed the local crime boss as the new mayor.

[-] [email protected] 61 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I'm sure you don't need to be told, but for those who are reading and need to hear it: the most powerful and healthy thing a GM can do is say no. The GM gets to arbitrate the tone of the game and setting, and healthy boundaries are conducive to both fun and creativity.

[-] [email protected] 55 points 6 days ago

Actually OP handled it pretty well, at least in the end . PC face consequences for their actions (a trial with the risk of being hung) and end up having to act to solve the problem. It's somehow created more game opportunities.

[-] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

It's a world of gods that intervene with mortals, so a GM is perfectly justified in-universe in smiting any players who get out of hand.

[-] [email protected] 24 points 6 days ago

But, sometimes it's more fun to let the players go. Especially if they keep the game and the table separated.

Cross lines in game, but keep the table clean? Then keep going.

Cross lines at the table, and the game ends until everyone has talked it through. And sometimes the game is just over.

This story sounds like it stayed in game enough, but may have been scratching at the table. Enough to pull back and talk for a moment, but not enough to kill the game.

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this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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