I should have posted this yesterday. The inspirational prompt is "suspense" but I just could not come up with anything from it. "Suspense" comes to English via French from the Latin suspensus which refers to hanging up, making uncertain, and killing by hanging. This last definition is what I'm going to utilize to pivot to... creative executions!
Beheadings are so booooring...
In the movie, Army of Darkness, Ash is punished with a death sentence. He isn't summarily killed. Instead, he's thrown down into a maze-like sewer where dwells a deadly horror. Unfortunately for it, and fortunate for us, Ash manages, with a bit of help, to fend off the fiend and climb his way out.
In Superman (1978), General Zod (RIP, Terence Stamp!) and his co-conspirators, are exiled to the Phantom Zone which, seems, by the reactions of all, to be equivalent to a death sentence. As seen in Superman II (1980), it turns out the Phantom Zone isn't everything it's cracked up to be.
I have no doubt there are a slew of other examples to be had but these will suffice, I hope, to demonstrate that a death sentence can be, rather than the ultimate end, a beginning to further adventures.
Drastic crimes call for drastic punishment
I see a lot of Referees default to an arena-type fight. Beyond being extremely played out, as a concept, in the TTRPG space, I don't think it often comes across as serious and threatening a punishment as it ought to. It feels like something done to acknowledge the crime without really dealing with it: a quick scrum in the fighting pits and then back to our regularly scheduled adventures!
You want the players to take things seriously? Toss them into the bottom of a dungeon without their gear or kick them into an unfriendly (demi)plane. That'll learn them good!
It also removes them, at some length, from whatever is happening in the world so it puts any timely tasks (and shouldn't they all be timely?) at real risk. I think sometimes Referees don't want to because they are themselves invested in a singular narrative. (Stop that!)
Set it up first
Anything big and drastic is going to feel like something of a gotcha if you don't set it up first. Think about what the punishment would look like before you use it and seed it into the world. Throw some rumors out there. Subject some unlucky NPCs to it. Threaten the party with it a few times before subjecting them to it. Make it something to dread!
Hallmarks of a Good Punishment
Some things to consider when designing your capital punishment:
- an interesting, different, dangerous location: bizarre dungeons, alternate planes, weird volcanoes, abyssal pits, etc.
- powerful, deadly, and different guardian creatures: strange dragons, aberrant monstrosities, demon hordes, etc.
- a difficult but potentially attainable way-back: a hidden door, a devil's bargain, a magic item, a powerful truth, etc.
And feel free to confiscate their gear: put it in a vault, toss them into random areas in the zone of exile, hand them out to allies. Nothing will get a player lathered up than seeing their favorite sword sitting in a hilt on someone else's belt.
