✎ scenario_i_court_appearance []

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===== Court Appearance =====
=== Level 2 Interaction Scenario ===
The PCs stand before the judge, pleading their case. They might be arguing their innocence in crimes of which they have been accused, or perhaps they accuse others of crimes. Perhaps they seek a civil judgment, particular privileges, or a grant of access to a powerful ruling figure such as a monarch.

This scenario demonstrates how to combine an elaborate Stage setup with the abilities and properties of a boss Opponent in order to add tactical layers and interesting decisions to what could otherwise be a stand-and-fire-Actions back-and-forth. Boss scenarios in general are most appropriate for major scenes of high impact, so they should be designed in a way that's dynamic, interesting, and fun to play.

This scenario features a jury, which have an active role in the scenario. It's likely that such a jury in your fantasy world is composed of lesser members of the aristocracy or other individuals of privilege, but construct the details as needed to fit your setting and city or nation's culture.

If consequences for failure here are particularly dire, such as the PCs being executed or imprisoned without chance of escape, this scenario should be treated similarly to a battle to the death. Defeated PCs may spend 1 Karma at the start of their turns to recover 2d8 lost WP (and take their full turn). Similarly, a PC may spend 1 Karma at any time to add 1 to the Round Limit or prevent the Debate Counter from advancing to the minimum (defeat) position.

==== Setup ====
^ Round Limit  | 3  |
^ Counter Position  | 0  |
^ Conditions  | Debate Counter reaches maximum or the Magistrate is defeated  |

<file>
Bailiff  -  Bench  -  Jury Box
</file>

**Bailiff:** PCs may plead to the Bailiff for more time to make their case by playing a Persuasive Action with Argue dice against the Bailiff (not counted as an actual entity). The Bailiff plays a Persuasive Reaction having Rebuttal: 1d6. If the PC wins the opposed roll, no listed results of their Action take place, but the Round Limit is extended by 1. Win or lose, any additional Actions played against the Bailiff this round have the Argue dice level reduced by 1; this effect is cumulative.
\\
**Bench:** Entities cannot be forced to Move from this position.
\\
**Jury Box:** PCs may present an argument to the jurors by playing a Charming Action with Argue dice against the Jury (not counted as an actual entity). The Jury plays a Persuasive Reaction having Rebuttal: 1d6. If the PC wins the opposed roll, no listed results of their Action take place, but the Debate Counter is advanced one notch toward victory. Only one PC can play an Action against the Jury each round, and only if there is at least one PC occupying the Bench.

^ Opponent  ^  Rank  ^  Type  ^  WP  ^  Init  ^
^ [[analects_book_4_part_3_chapter_2#magistrate|Magistrate]]  | Boss  | Debater  |  61  |  1d12  ^
^ [[analects_book_4_part_3_chapter_2#charmer|Charmer]]         | Regular      | Antagonist  |  16  |  1d6  ^

=== Three Players ===
  * Magistrate (46 WP, lose 3rd turn every other round)

=== Four Players ===
  * Magistrate

=== Five Players ===
  * Magistrate
  * Charmer

=== Starting Positions ===
  * The PCs begin in the Bench.
  * The Magistrate begins in the Bench.
  * The Charmer begins in the Jury Box.

==== Tactics ====
Opponents will not voluntarily Move from their positions for any reason (meaning the Magistrate will stay in the Bench for the duration of the scenario). If present, the Charmer will play Actions against the PC most focused on the Jury. You could play this as a hostile Jury member working against the PCs or as an opposing lawyer.

Similarly, the Opponents are generally disinterested in blocking movement. The Magistrate will only attempt this if the last PC in the Bench tries to leave (suggesting the PCs are employing a rather unorthodox approach to winning).

==== Victory ====
The PCs win their case, achieving their goal.

==== Defeat ====
The PCs lose. This could result in simply a lost potential for reward, or it could be as dire as imprisonment or even execution. If failing here ends the adventure, make sure you treated the scenario as life-or-death.

==== Tweaks ====
The Charmer's Vulnerable effect doesn't really do much here, and the 1d8 Damage is probably insufficient to threaten most PCs by itself. Consider swapping the Vulnerable effect for Debilitated, or replace the Charmer with a [[analects_book_4_part_3_chapter_2#student|Student]] (though you'll certainly want to rename it to something situationally appropriate, such as Lawyer). You may also want to add a property to its Reaction making the target Impotent for their Action; this way the PCs must play Actions against the Magistrate or the Jury to advance the Counter.

You might give the Bench a property that adds Range: 1 to all the Magistrate's Actions that lack it. This somewhat reduces the tactical options available to players but could be effective if you suspect the PCs will try winning exclusively with ranged effects or by playing Actions against the Charmer.

Another option for five players is to just have the Magistrate by itself, but give it 76 WP and start the Debate Counter at -3. You might adjust its tactics so that it always tries to block PC movement, perhaps buying a bit of time before the players are able to use the Bailiff and Jury Box options. Finally, consider substantially increasing the Damage of //Command of the Law// to 1d10 or even 2d6 so that damage remains an actual threat.

[[dm_s_toolbox_book_3_chapter_2|More level 2 interaction scenarios]]
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