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First off, some backstory. One of my players accidentally killed 25,000 people & the center of culture for this continent by dropping a hyper-intelligent ooze on the largest city in the area. This player didn't expect this outcome because he was tricked pretty good. He and the rest of the group then were put on trial and imprisoned for 14 years. Because they believe that this a fair punishment, the PCs are in prison and don't plan to escape.

I guess I could just role play the passing of the next 14 (in-game) years in prison... What are my options to deal with a disruption like this to my planned campaign? What are the pros and cons of coming up with a Deus Ex Machina versus this being our new campaign premise now?

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    \$\begingroup\$ What sort of answer are you looking for with this question? It seems like you're asking for general ideas, which would be a question type that StackExchange is ill-equipped to handle. If that's the case, you might want to ask this question on a forum. It's a bit unclear what you're asking, though. If you're asking "how should I handle the passing of long amounts of time where nothing happens?" as a structural question, that might be more answerable. \$\endgroup\$
    – user5834
    Commented Jun 25, 2017 at 19:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ Here, I made one edit run at this... Definitely consider what the question is you're actually asking. Is it "no really I'm just going to leave them in prison, how do I handle 14 years passing" - but with that you should give more leads on why you're asking that - do you mean handle 14 years without this being IRL years worth of a now "Orange Is The New Black" campaign? Do you mean what are the pros and cons of just getting them out somehow and potentially nullifying their choice in favor of the campaign? What do you care about in terms of outcomes? \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 1:20

3 Answers 3

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Since all player characters got accused and are in prison and none of them wants to escape, you have the option to have the campaign skip forward to 14 years later. Your characters are now the Blues Brothers, dealing with whatever happened to NPCs they knew 14 years ago and what is about to happen to them.

If things are more pressing and there's a world-destruction danger going on that would need the players to stop it, have them be recruited by the government. They are now the Suicide Squad, or the Dirty Dozen (if they are believed to be bad guys) or, alternatively, they get one free out-of-jail ticket in exchange for them risking their life to save the day (if they are in because justice is blind).

(And then there's Thomas' answer, where they are now Rorschach from Watchmen.)

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What is a prison but a dungeon full of people? If the players want their characters to spend some time in prison, then fine; let them spend some time in prison. There are lots of opportunities for all sorts of adventures, even if the space is confined. It doesn't even have to be a prison break, per se: gangs have their conflicts, crime bosses try to run their operations from behind bars, and there's even a form of intrigue and politicking that goes on. There are whole genres of fiction about this that you can look to for inspiration, though be warned: most such stories are not for the faint of heart.

After a few adventures of this sort, the authorities catch wind of the PCs' exploits, and decide to reward their service by commuting their sentences. They haven't been pardoned, but they haven't been paroled, either: they've been kicked out. And if they believe they haven't properly atoned for their sins, well, they'll just have to find some other way to satisfy their consciences, because as far as society is concerned their debt has been paid.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Fantastic approach. A dungeon that's actually a dungeon! If the OP's PCs operate anything like every group I've ever run, the authorities will probably be begging them to leave within 6 months anyway. \$\endgroup\$
    – Steve-O
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 13:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ Great ideas. Perhaps the prison itself has interesting places to explore (a la Piers Anthony's Chthon), or maybe there is a social system to conquer (a la Clavell's King Rat). Maybe there's going to be a wide-scale gang war in the prison and the PC's have to decide whether to join a gang or wait on the sidelines and hope not to be targeted. Maybe all three will happen. Also remember orange. It's the new black. \$\endgroup\$
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Jun 27, 2017 at 21:56
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How about you don't wait for 14 years?

Let other prisoners (NPCs) manage to start a riot in the prison (unbeknown to the PCs). Suddenly one night, a big explosion happens in one of the cell tracts and right after, chaos and fights break loose, the inmates gain control of the prison, and your PCs are drawn into these events. Along with other NPCs they're taken out of prison into the woods (or wherever).

Just one of many possible things that could happen to not have to wait 14 years.

Want another one? Think Snake Plissken: your party's special abilities (which I'm sure they possess) are key for doing some kind of very important quest (like, say, save the president's life after his plane crashed into a city full of murderers or other criminals). They get the option to help in return for their freedom, except they don't really have a choice because if they decline they'll get killed.

Or how about the place that "the president" crashes is actually the very prison that your PCs are in. Since they're really good fellas, I'm sure they would side with the president against the other inmates and help him get out save and sound, and in return get pardoned.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Note that a prison break would lead to the escaped prisoners (i.e., the PCs) being on the run from the law more-or-less permanently. Or, since the players believe the punishment is just, they might refuse to escape, attempt to thwart the riots and restore order, or (if forced to escape) turn themselves in at the first opportunity. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dave Sherohman
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 9:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ Good point about the party turning renegade. As for the point of a lawful party resisting the prison break, I considered that and hence wrote that they sort of get dragged along. If the chaos is total to the point where the prison is literally destroyed (think fire), there's really no choice for the party to stay. Any attempt to restore order could be seen as a reason towards pardoning them, too. \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 10:03

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