Finally, finally got to play #DnD5e again tonight after being sick last time around. I'm probably going to jinx myself, but I'm feeling pretty good right now. At any rate, we had a few developments.
The PCs were trying to free a group of clerics that had been kidnapped by zealots of Ba'al, and each of the clerics had a magical trapped lock on them based on the Arcana of the Deck of Many Things.
Each cleric had a card's symbol that was antithetical to their religion showing, and they needed to be moved to the opposite of those symbols in order to free the cleric without triggering the trap.
I didn't want this to be too tricky for the PCs. I honestly just wanted them to argue for what sounded like the opposite of the current symbol, and as long as they made a good case for it, I would going to say, "yup, that's the opposite."
I had to clarify that the symbols only mattered for the effect the card had in the Deck of Many Things, and each time someone looked at a symbol, I described what the card does when drawn, because one of the clerics was explaining the item to them.
After setting the clerics free, our Tiefling rogue tossed the cabins on the ship where the clerics were held, and they found two pieces of evidence about the operations of the paladins of Ba'al.
When the got on deck, they found out that a kobold that worked for the paladins of Ba'al escaped and notified other members of the church, who demanded the adventurers be arrested.
The PCs work for Yiraz Azah, the ruler of this region of the Mharoti Empire, but she is currently away from this territory. The local nobles were willing to arrest the PCs and hold them for a hearing.
As part of the hearing, I used a tiered group check to see how hard the final argument was going to be, as well as how harsh the sentencing was going to be. The DC was going to be set by the accuser from the church of Ba'al.
If the PCs introduced a piece of evidence, they had advantage on the check. If they presented both, they would get advantage and +1d4. If everyone failed, they would get a death sentence and have disadvantage on their final arguments.
A regular failure would get them the death sentence, but with no penalty to the final argument roll. A simple success meant the states were "just" imprisonment, and a total success (everyone is successful) means the stakes are imprisonment and advantage on final arguments.
The tiefling rogue failed her check, but she discerned what each of the three judges were looking for in testimony, and shared it because she's a soul knife, and had a telepathic link to the rest of the party.
Even without using the evidence, if they played to law and order, the Pact Drake on the council would be happy, and they would get advantage. If they played to commerce and trade, the hoard drake on the council would grant them advantage.
The PCs used what they knew about the judges so they could get advantage without "spending" their evidence, so they could use it for final arguments.
The party got a success, but not a total success, so the states were imprisonment, which meant when their patron was back, she could just free them. The aasimar divine soul introduced both pieces of arguments, got advantage on the check, as well as a +1d4 to the roll.
The PCs were freed, and got to have some nice nemesis-building dialogue with their accuser from the Humble Knights of Sacred Ashes, the paladins of Ba'al they had been working against.
They rested at home for a few days, determining what mission they were going to do next, and they had a visitor, a humanoid devil covered in Infernal, bearing a gift, an Infernal Puzzle Box in which to hide a scroll they've been keeping save from agents of Mammon.
The devil was an emissary from Hadriel, an archdevil opposed to Mammon spreading his influence. They left the puzzle box, and disappeared into the night, promising that Hadriel would send the devil back if they called for her.
The dragonborn Psi Warrior went out to sea and tossed the puzzle box as far as he could, so I'm sure that plotline has been resolved.
Next session, into the sewers to find which of the secret smuggling passages have been used by the Cult of Nethus to move in and out of the city.
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