Do you have a bunch of player-characters who never, ever break the law?
Your games are nothing like mine, then! Me: a book on how to deal appropriately with your average player-character, at best given to bending the law and turning red tape into pink elastic and often more like a Bad Guy than a Good'Un, is useful. something to tuck in with plot notes and the gamemaster guide for whatever system I'm running.
Like anyone who thinks they're a hero (and, let's face it, all players do...), the fact that their actions have consequences generally passes them by - even those who in real life have had a brush with the law. Round the gaming table, they feel invulnerable, unaccountable... within these pages you get some guidelines as to how to show them just how wrong they are, when whatever passes for law and order confronts them.
Prior planning and preparation is key. If you can, run the game somewhere you can actually split the group up physically. Have notes on past activities that are known to authorities. And then spring an arrest on them suddenly. Don't give them a chance to think, or organise themselves. Watch any cop show, preferably one of the reality TV ones, and you'll see how the police operate. It's a procedure as applicable to spacecops or fellows in chain shirts as it is to the modern law enforcement officer - and that's in civilised democracies. Dictatorships tend to be even harsher.
There are loads of hints and tips here to get and keep your players - never mind their characters - off balance. I won't say any more here, some of your players (or mine!) might be reading, but do try them out, even if at first you feel a bit foolish. They will make for the sort of memorable gaming session that will be talked about for years to come.
What you do with that bunch of scared confused PCs next is up to you. Maybe a formal trial (with gaol-break to follow...), maybe a daring escape or even someone coming to rescue them.
Sometimes the phraseology is a little odd (the author's native tongue is Polish, after all), but it ofen enhances what is said. Just imagine that your characters are in a country other than their own when they get collared, and have the added stress of not being completely aware of what is expected in that land!
If you anticipate your characters breaking or even bending the law during your game, this is well worth reading!
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