Citizen Vigilantes
Angry and drunk carnivalgoers are being driven into a frenzied rage demanding mob justice, over a hundred people eager for a quick and violent resolution.
Bravery in Numbers. Intimidation checks against the citizen vigilantes have disadvantage .
Look At That Guy. Deception checks to frame someone for the citizen vigilantes to redirect their rage upon have advantage , though if this results in a failure or success (and what happens next) is at the Narrator’s discretion.
Violence Is Not An Option. The carnivalgoers might be driven to violence but they’re mostly innocent. Should the citizen vigilantes be attacked they are treated as a commoner mob (page 471 in Monstrous Menagerie), though it should be noted to everyone that doing so is equivalent to mass murder, and the Narrator should remember to make sure this event has far-reaching consequences.
Who Are They? They’re an angry mob, but a mob is made of individuals who can be individually negotiated with. The party can make checks against individuals or smaller groups within the mob, with each successful check reducing the DC of future checks against the citizen vigilantes by 1 (maximum –5).
What Do They Want? The citizen vigilantes don’t know what they want other than action. Any attempt to tell them to calm down triggers a Failure and increases the DC of future checks against the citizen vigilantes by 1 (maximum +5).
Every hour the party is at the carnival after Citizen Vigilantes has been triggered they encounter this exploration challenge again, and in order to proceed in any direction they must make a Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion check. Alternatively, playing on the mob’s inflated notion there’s a wrong they need to right and presenting the citizen vigilantes with believable evidence there was no wrongdoing in the first place triggers a Critical Success.
Critical Failure: The speaking adventurer becomes grappled (escape DC 17) as the citizen vigilantes carry them away, taking 5 (1d4) bludgeoning damage at the end of each of their turns for 1d4 minutes as they’re dragged through the streets to a post where they are restrained , then take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from thrown rocks until the mob disperses. In addition, the adventurer loses all of their Supply .
Failure: The mob pushes past the party in a dismissive way, dealing 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage to each adventurer. In addition, each adventurer suffers a level of strife .
Success: The mob grudgingly accepts the argument and shuffles off into smaller groups for 1d4 hours before reforming (instead of 1 hour).
Critical Success: The mob loses steam and cohesion from the party’s argument, eventually dispersing and not reforming.