Kill your players with red tape

Try this unique encounter

The time I had set aside for writing this week's article has been lost under a mountain of red tape.

The story behind that statement is, perhaps unsurprisingly, boring and dull, but hours of my life over the last few days have been wasted in a nightmare of admin related to a relatively minor inconvenience. So as I considered a quick and easy topic I could write a short article about to fill this week's slot, I wondered if my frustration could also be my inspiration.

Because although red tape in real life is a massive pain in the unmentionables, fictional red tape is usually pretty funny and hopefully will lead to a unique encounter:

The set up

When he was a mortal, Aurelius Direlin was considered one of the sharpest legal minds of his age, but as the years caught up with his body he hoped to find a way to escape the inevitable end. He entered a bargain with the Judiciary, a devil from one of the deepest circles of the hells, who considered himself a legal equal to Direlin.

The contract between these two was one of the most complex and lengthy ever signed and experts still argue which party earned the better deal.

The fact remains that Aurelius Direlin is still alive and is now almost impossible to kill.

The objective

Your party is tasked with killing Aurelius Direlin. Perhaps they have been hired by the Judiciary to finally put the contract to rest. One of the party might be seeking vengeance on Direlin after he wronged them as part of his legal career. Or the party might require Direlin's help, and believe the threat of death is the only way to secure it.

That is up to you, but the party must enter his courtroom and find a way to kill him.

The red tape

According to clause 2478f of his contract, Direlin may only be killed by a guilty person in the hour they are found to be innocent by a jury of his peers.

That means that person must be accused of a crime, tried and found innocent in Direlin's court of law.

To accuse someone of a crime, Form 17b must be signed by a sheriff and submitted to the clerk of the court.

To elect a jury, each member must be proved to have no former knowledge of the case, the victims or the accused.

Of course, Direlin won't simply sit back and allow this process to play out. He'll use demonic minions to disrupt the process and frustrate the court. He'll find grounds for a miss-trial or evidence that the party can't possibly refute. He'll pay off sheriffs or ensure the party has the wrong form. Winning this case won't be easy.

🎲 Would you run this for your party?

🎭 Does it sound fun or frustrating?

⚒️ What mechanics might you include to bring it to life?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this unusual encounter.