I am currently directing a campaign, in middenheim. Some incident happened, and now 2 of my players are suspected of heresy! They are not guilty , but the situation is such that if they get interrogated, it will be very difficult to demostrate that they are not heretics.

lthey were entering Middenheim through the main road, but some witch hunter investigation was been conducted in the road, so important that the road was blocked, even a priest of Morr was there, aparently one important murder at the road was taking the interest of the templars of Sigmar.

This characters, 2 wood elves and 1 high elf, along one Swordmaster of Hoeth, one NPC, were granted passage, beacause they did some bounty hunting, and they made a deal with the guards, that if they killed or catched one wanted criminal, they will get free passage. They did that, but one of them, when they killed the band of criminals, found a box that inside had one warp stone carved with the Tzeench symbol.

This character, a high elf wizard, against any advice, kept the stone with himself, and didnt tell anyone, so when they were entering Middenheim, they catched the attention of a witch hunter, that interrogated their motives for entering the city, especially since the road was blocked.

So, what happen is, the 3 elves found the witchunter, one of the wood elves said some vague reason for entering the city, the witchunter didnt believe a thing, and wanted to interrogate them, although because they were elves, will not torture or harm them, just question them inside the witchunter´s headquarters in the city. The wood elf said " You can check our luggage", but he didnt know that the high elf had the stone!!

So they found the stone, and wanted to imprison them inmediately, and of course that will mean death, so the swordmaster, before they attacked the wizard, attacked the leader of the witchunters, nearly killing it. And the 2 wood elves, surprised and scared, run out of the road, meanwhile the high elf, seen that he will die anyway, eated the stone!

I narrated (although i dont know if it was correct this way) that he mutated and become something similar to a spawn , but more bigger, and that spit fire, a kind of a cruel parody of a dragon (the character was from Caledor, and according to his story, was prophesied that he will find a dragon egg in the old world). He killed another witch hunter and nearly a dozen of the guards and soldiers that defended the gate, but died at the end at the hands of his own protector, the swordmaster, before it was killed by nearly 20 shots of hand guns.

i want that my players reach middenheim, something important will happen, but after this, i dont know how. They can reach it through one difficult road called "Wolf Pass" that is dangerous and lonely, but, what kind of repecursion can this make in them , with regard to the templars of Sigmar in case they make it through?

One Whaaaagh is nearing Middenheim, and they need all the help they can get, but, if one high elf and other elves did something so heretical, i dont know if the witchunters will understand reason, or will punish all the elf community in Middenheim, or even what kind of political ramifications can this lead to. One witchunter survived, although is in very bad shape and with severe burnings in his face, so he can recognize them.

What can i do? I dont want to punish them for the actions of the other player, but dont want to babysit them either, i dont want to save them, but want to know if they have some chances. How do you believe the witchunters will react, and is there any precedent in any novel or story? Anyone that can tell me more about the witchunters, especially in middenheim?

i didnt told all the story, maybe in the future will write it down. Worst still, the other players, 2 priests, one of Ulric and one of Sigmar, are completely oblivious of this, because are not there, but right now the elves are running to them, and if the witchunters pursue them, they will be suspects too.

The sigmar priest has tattoes in all his body, because, according to his story, he was tortured by one sorcerer of Tzeench, and he tattoed symbols to Tzeench in him. The witchunters in Talabecland gave him a letter explaining that he is not heretical, but he has the marks!

I didnt intended that the story evolved like this, i believe tzeench is manipulating the story

Sorry if i overextended it, just want any opinion and any help, especially from people knowing the lore and the templars of Sigmar way of acting and the extent of their power.

As a general note for the future, you probably didn't want to have the party stopped on the road if they had to get to Middenheim. Leaving any event or action up to chance when it must occur for the story to progress is asking for things to blow up. As a rule, don't ever play out a scenario or make a roll where you can't live with alternate outcomes/failure.

Since it has already happened, there are a number of ways to get into the city. One solution is to have them meet the others at a small village/inn a day or two outside town and overhear that the roads to the city are now under watch, looking for fugitives. From there they can find someone to smuggle them in ... for a fee of course (there's the potential for the guy who died to play that smuggler as their new character). Maybe the smuggler is in earshot when another tavern-goer is telling the story about the fugitives, and he approaches the party anticipating that they would need help (and be desperate enough to pay big).

These situations are one of the reasons why I stopped writing A->B->C stories and just started rolling along with whatever the party does. It's easier when you don't have to keep things "on track."

That's quite a predicament.

Well one good thing, no player can accuse you of railroading - the situation is what players (well one) created. Carring around warpstone and not being forthright about it with authorities - you makes your bed, you lies in it. I do like what you did with the mutation upon eating the warpstone (that player does sound like a rather destructive one we ejected from a group I was in long time ago, never really treated PC like a person just a tool).

If I undestand correctly the survirors are the 2 wood elfs who ran (never fought the witch hunter etc.) and who did say "you can search our luggage". So their problem is guilt by association and fleeing as opposed to "hands red with blood" etc. If the Sigmarite and Ulrican (latter handy in Middenheim) can get them in front of a proper authority (not an angry witch hunter) they can likely be "found innocent".

I would make this "the adventure" in the short run - can they sneak into Middenheim one way or another and get to a higher authority and explain things (being free to trash dead high elfs all they want, after all wood elfs don't think much of high elfs anyway). This is a combination stealth/guile and then social test, which can blend into your next plan. The witchhunter likely remains an enemy in long run.

That way they are "in a hole" appropriate to the grim and perilous world but you don't overly harshly come down on players who didn't "create the mess".

It sounds like you have 2 players needing new characters, they can create characters met/useful to getting into Middenheim this way. I would rule at this point they can't create more high elfs (unless your campaign set up really needs high elf or two).

Rob

PS - so the group was an Ulrican, Sigmarite, 2 wood elves and 2 high elves - that's a fun group - who needs adventures, justs put them in a room and let them debate their theological/historical differences.

Doc, the Weasel said:

Dont worry, one way or another, the story will flow, just wanted to hear suggestions about the options that are available to my players, especially regarding the templars of Sigmar. I am against directing my players, of course sometimes it is needed for the story, but i prefer that they take their decisions. There is always a way, but i wanted to know how do you believe the witchhunters will react to the events, and what will they try to do. AS i read in the lore, they are quite ruthless, and dont care too much for trials, so i suppose negotiation is very difficult.

As it is happening right now, a WAAAGH is coming to Middenheim, the players discovered one band of criminals, working for a physician that used one mental asylum, for covering some gruesome experiments using human bodies. It was very difficult for anyone to find the link of him with the criminals, since they were hidden in the cementery of the asylum, and for the most part, the asylum run as normal. But the players decided to go there to investigate, and discovered quite a lot, but coundnt capture the physician. Anyway, the thing is, they are taking their own decisions, and i respect them, just i am a little worried, because as they discovered this secrets and crimes, some of them (the elf players) handled it in a way that now if any investigation comes out, they will be the prime suspects (for the warpstone found there, and also the fight at the gate of middenheim).

This decision that the elves took, may very well ignite a lot of political problems, starting that maybe the church of sigmar will start to seek for suspects in the elven population in middenheim, and also can demand an explaination to Ulthuan, since right now, at the current ciscumnstances, seems very suspicious than a elven mage and a swordmaster wanted to enter with a warpstone in the city, and this can lead to problems to get help from the elves.

valvorik said:

You are right about the debating in game. They do it quite a lot! Especially the wood elves, since they are very much unconcerned with the empire affairs right now. They were sent from Athel Loren to search for some "sons" of Cyanathair, they are suppose to investigate the drakwald, and find some other elves there. About the campaign, they will be able to enter Middenheim, since they will reach it from a kind of secret place for entrance, but my worries are about the witchunters, as i see it now, the posibility of been found innocent there are quite slim. Is there any authority in middenheim that can stay the hand of the withchunters? I dont know if nobles can, but i doubt it.

About the high elf player, it is a little destructive, yes, but i will make it feel the pain of his actions. Now his family will be in disgrace in Ulthuan, and they will suffer a lot for his actions. He has problems when he has too much power in his hands

Ahahahahahahahaha! I play as part of a college society, they give out a prize for plot derailment.

You win. That's hilarious. Well done though, the silly bugger really deserved to die.

As for getting them back on track. You've got a few wood/high elves under the suspicion of witch hunters?

BAM.

Conscription. They've got to shift the suspicion off themselves by working for the witchunters for a while. Job done, methinks.

Crazy Aido said:

Thanks! They will need all the contacts that they have, and be on really low profile in Middenheim , or the axe will fall to them! unless of course they start to uncover all the secret conspiracies there, but even then, they are now as good as guilty for the Witchunters.

Any idea of the common modus operandi of the witchunters in this kind of situation?

Out side help, he doesnt trust anyone he knows and he thinks the wood elves just got betrayed by there own so they er not likely to get fooled again.

Yes, i agree with that, really will be foolish for them , if they fall in the same trap again

dosan said:

Start gathering firewood?

Break out their Sunday thumbscrews?

Actually, that is a good way of doing it. Basically tell your players they are now assumed guilty of a crime. Let's say witchcraft. Now, the witchhunter in question not being a bad sport, tells them he's willing to let the whole thing slide if they can find an actual, proper chaos cult, mostly because, hey, two elves getting burned at the stake? Meh. A dozen or so screaming locals? Now that's entertainment.

Where are you playing Dosan?

Thanks for the ideas! Right now the players saved their life, facing an makeshift trial at the town, and thanks to the retoric of an Middenheimer noble that is als a lawyer, and a well played session, also thanks to the disdain shown by the witch hunter in particular against Ulrican religion, and some inflammatory comments he did, they saved themselves by the skin of their teeths I believe i will make a story of all this campaign , and write it down here at the forums. Sadly after that they only had the option of going to Middenheim throught a mountain climbing pass, not because of the witch hunter, but because the main roads were closed, and in that pass, one of them died, a Sigmar initiate, because he didnt wanted to let his hammer go to the abbyss, and was using a chaimail, without any proper climbing kit

By the way, i am playing in Santa Cruz, Bolivia