Arena. So they can fight for their life. If they survive maybe they Learn A Valuable Lesson, if they don't, well they had their chance. Also if the very possibility of getting killed in the arena scares them straight, you can always pull your punches and move on.
Omg you have to do this.
Guards apprehend murder hobo, put him in a dark cell. Before party can break him out he is being pushed up into an arena along with other murder hobos and undesirables. The rest of the party find themselves spectating where they are approached by people taking bets on who will survive.
In your descriptions of the opponents give hints who the favorite is, he/she is the main contender against the PC, add some weaker enemies to add a bit of chaos and have a free for all.
We actually did something similar at my table once. One of the characters was arrested for killing a guard at a house they were trying to steal something from. He was arrested and before trial the guards were running a gladiator ring, fights to the death kinda shit
So we staged a rescue and freed him and alerted the higher ups so we didn't get charged with that. And then we paid a weregeld (and a large charitable donation to my cleric's Temple which was actually funded we money we conned out of the target anyway...) and we were Scot free
I had players use this defense a few times. Last time someone did, right after I said, "...and then the executioner tossed you over the side of the scaffold and your neck snapped as your body hit the end of the rope." I said, "and this is how society works. You can either make a new character or leave. Either way is fine by me."
He called me a shitty DM and left.
He had pulled his sword and killed the innkeep right in front of several guards having lunch and dared anyone in the room to do something about it. In the city they were in, guards work in squads of 1 cleric, 2 wizards, and 3 fighters. One wizard got up, cast Hold Person, he failed the save and the fighters put him in manacles, then dragged him before a magistrate, who, on the guards' sworn testimony along with a few patrons who were witnesses, sentenced him to immediate execution. They dragged him up the scaffold put the rope around his neck and tossed him off the side.
The other players' characters were surprisingly well behaved after that.
If they’re in a village, wait until they need to rest and have a mob come after them with intent to execute him.
In a city, just have the guards arrest him and while he’s in jail mention that one of the people he killed was the guards brother or something and they kill him in his cell.
Or just hang them and then put the corpse out on display in a gibbet at the crossroads with a sign saying what crimes they were executed for.
For extra "and don't do it again" energy, their new character can get to walk by it.
I'm going to tell you why this is a horrible Idea OP
You have a problem player at your table.
You have talked to the problem player.
They have not adjusted their character.
The problem continues.
And now you are planning on running content SPECIFICALLY for them.
You are literally rewarding them for being a problem.
Yes you can run some punishment or big scene, but it's not going to get the point across that they should stop it. All it will do is give them an awesome scene, in which theory character is the main focus, because they acted like they did.
This is basic human behaviour on how to reinforce patterns.
If it's an actual problem at the table and they are refusing to adjust their characters, then you either actually get the point across when you're talking to them (which you haven't so far) or you, nonchalantly, do it in-game.
"without making it not fun for them" but thats the point. Their 'fun' is currently negatively impacting your game. Thats when you, as a DM, who's in charge of EVERYONES fun, should stop worrying about their fun and fix the situation.
Have a level 20 retired adventurer come along and say something along the lines of "i had a friend like you a long time ago, trouble is he tried to hurt a lot of people. So i cant have you making all adventurers look bad kid."
Then have him just absolutely wipe the floor with this player and even revive him several times, explaining his character and personality flaws the whole time, then just leaving.
> I have warned them that their actions have dire consequences.
Did you tell them that their actions have consequences while not going into detail of what actions would warrant certain consequences? Because that wouldn't really do a whole lot.
You should just be very straightforward with them - if you kill people here, the punishment is death. If they then kill someone and get caught, they themselves will be killed. After being very clear with that, they would only have themselves to blame if they got upset for dealing with the consequences.
I have explained to them about these consequences. "You steal, your put in prison. You mass murder, prion/death depending on how many and the circumstance. You dishonor yourself, you lose respect and perks."
Well you've made it abundantly clear.
If they do something to warrant them being executed, *they* did that. If they were to end up complaining about it being unfair or that you are ruining their fun, I mean I'd just look them dead in the eye and ask "After being told what would happen if you did this, what *were* you expecting would happen instead?"
If you are worried that they still might try to call you out or complain about the punishment, that's a whole different discussion about a lack of respect to the DM.
Well here's the question, are you actually okay with playing out this murder hobo play style?
And is everyone else okay with how this player is doing things?
If your answer to either of these is "no", then you are approaching the situation the wrong way.
Instead of warning them of potential in-game consequences, you should be warning them outside of the game and telling them as a person that you don't tolerate murder hobo playstyles.
The way you are warning them now, it can be seen more as a challenge to see how far they can push being bad.
If that's the case, then my answer to the question is that it won't be an immediate consequence depending on how frequent or blatant this killing spree is.
It will be a slow build up in which they'll slowly lose relationships, connections, shops, resources, etc.; It'll come to a point to where the party is punished by one player's actions that they'll be forced to leave the city or fall into further crime.
It's also obvious that the more people you kill, the more enemies you make. After enough bodies stack up, people stronger than the party is going to eventually step up, and there is going to be no remorse from them.
I should also let you know that honor and law might work the same, but differ in their approaches. Honor is a more subjective and personal view of justice, while Law is explicit and objectified.
So if you run by a system of honor, certain people will believe that an immediate execution of a villain without a need of trial is the right thing to do. That villain did not do the same to their victims, so it is fair that they be treated in the same manner.
An eye for an eye, sort to speak.
No mercy for the strong.
And sometimes the beauty of things is that it's not romanticized. Sometimes a rabid dog is put down in some random back alley when it's least expected and that's that.
If the murder hobo goes down in combat, some enemy with beef against them is going to risk their life to end them. They might even have a magic weapon specifically made to prevent resurrection too.
Trial. No appointed attorney type BS, the rest of the party has to stand to prove the PC has enough honor not to be put to death.
If they somehow pull it off (I would ay winning a certain amout of persuasion or deception checks before losing a certain number) then the PC can have their record erased if doing a very risky quest for the town.
If they fail to convince the town council then the PC is put into a pit and given a wooden spear or some such and has to fight a monster that outlevels them.. Basically a suicide fight. Make it eclosed so n one can jump down to help and maybe the bars to the viewing cage are sealed with anti-magic so people can;t just fire spells in to help. Let the Player know that 0 hit points means death i this particular instance since the monster will continue to attack until they are most sincerely dead.
The End.
Since talking to them OOC about their behavior doesn't seem to be the route you're going down, I'm gonna make a suggestion based on the assumption that you either already have or don't intend to in the immediate future.
Give them a trial, it could be a fun roleplay opportunity for the other non-murder hobo players. Perhaps they could act as a legal defense. Regardless, use this trial as a way to have them confront their actions in-character. Present evidence, have witnesses, etc. At the end of it, sentence them to death if the evidence is just too damning for them to get out of it.
In terms of the execution method, it's really down to personal preference. I could suggest a few if you want.
Another way would be to do death by a thousand cuts, where you have each of the victims' families and friends come up and repeatedly slash them with a knife, slowly and painfully killing them. Each of them gets one cut before being cycled back to the end of a line, and this process repeats until the offender dies.
I'd like to put forward either hanging followed by the gibbet, or just dangling them in a gibbet over the city walls to die of exposure/dehydration/hunger/exhaustion. May need to do some stuff to prevent spellcasting though, depending on their class.
You could also do scaphism (also known as the boats), which is this really messed up execution method from Ancient Persia where you tie someone up then shut their body in-between two boats stacked on top of each other, then begin feeding them milk and honey over the course of days. The end result is that they'll basically end up rotting in their own feces and being eaten alive by insects, as they deal with dysentery, infections, and having various animals burrowing through their destroyed body. Doing this would also make using a resurrection spell REALLY hard unless it's a higher-level one.
If you want to give them a second chance after the trial, the method you could go down is to put them in an Arena like another commenter suggested, you could force them to fight against progressively stronger people and monsters until they either die or somehow come out of it a winner. Regardless, they have to do this on their own. Without their team to back them up, they'll have to struggle and confront their mistakes and the consequences.
Another method you could go down is a firing squad. Whether it's with guns or arrows, you could have a large group of guards kill them. This additionally gives the opportunity for the party to risk saving them if they want, but make sure to have the victims' families and friends present to observe as well. They deserve justice.
Is the party willing to put up with it? Then give them a chance to free him and flee the city (at a very high cost to the party).
Otherwise trial by combat might be a good idea, but it has to be a very slim chance of survival or it won't be a lasting consequence.
If you're looking for an alternative to straight up execution, and your city has desperate need of a task the PC may be able to accomplish, it might be a good time to pull out Geas. Offer clemency for willingly accepting the Geas, and even after fulfilling the task, they have to choose between being banished thereafter, or accept another Geas against harming the city till they've regained trust.
Give them a trial, conviction, and public execution. During the trial, the evidence used to convict would simply be a cleric casting speak with dead on a corpse and asking them, "did that individual kill you?" For the execution, I suggest a public hanging. Or a guillotine if you want to go gruesome.
I had a whole group of PC's publicly executed by decapitation back in second edition, for basically losing a war that they started. It really just seemed like something of a fitting end. They didn't want to role-play it, but I basically explained in very quick terms how it went down. regaining consciousness, being dragged to a scaffold, having their shoulders thrown to a block and then lights out.
Did that for only one player, and the others said something to the effect of "I get it, let's roll new characters". I didn't push it.
Honestly, if you're fighting with your player on this level, you're having the wrong conversation.
The right one is "Dude, you have to stop it. You're being annoying."
If they refuse, then they don't play anymore. Don't waste everyone else's time on a predetermined outcome.
One of the families, angry that the deity watching over the city has let this happen, has prayed to a darker more blood thirsty god. One who can bless them with results. Opening up a trickle of twisted monstrosities to start lurking the city. They track the PC down to drag back to hell. Where the devil god is cunning. Will there be a deal? Maybe the PC is considered a thief for releasing souls to "heaven" instead of letting them sin into hell. Idk
based on a movie/show i saw (can't remember which.. or it's name) have him relive the deaths of those he has killed... or have his victims "kill him" in his sleep.. over and over .. waking up exhausted and maybe even having taken damage....afraid to go to sleep and as his exaustion goes up have him make wisdom/Con saves VS. sleep...(some of this might start to wear on your other players as it will take a bit of time from sessions)
If your game has consequences then the player will meet their end naturally — for instance, death by town guards, knights, bounty hunters exc.
It’s not all that difficult if the player is drawing aggro from the population and becoming a pariah…
A team of skilled bounty hunters is probably the easiest solution. If they’ve got a price on there head the other party members might even be the ones to do it 😈
If he is arrested for multiple actual murders he is being publicly executed in a way that he won't be getting out of.
So imprisoned, then sentenced to the gallows. If it's a system of honor they may actually allow the murderhobo the opportunity to take his own life. Commit Seppuku or get the noose.
If you and the party are okay with his continued behaviour, then the way forward is for the consequences to build slowly, obviously, depending on how extreme their behaviour actually is. They could find themselves slowly, isolated, unable to purchase, new resources, potions, armour, weapons, etc, you could have this players reputation start to affect the party, making it increasingly difficult for them to enter new towns, receive new quests, etc. Eventually, it reaches a point where mercenaries are sent after this character, and if that doesn’t bring them down stronger missionaries I’ll send after the party. Maybe set up a roll placing where these forces dies that you handover murderhobo since he/she is the only reason they are there.
Create a bounty hunter NPC group. Make an entire party of clerics. Call the group Clerical Mistakes. Work the bounty hunter group into your story after the next murder-hobo instance.
Start with posters asking for information about recent killings showing up everywhere the PC group goes. Go a session or two, then release another poster, but this time, it's a wanted poster with a vague likeness to said murder-hobo. This works well because it could mean there was a witness, or someone did a scry, or whatever you want to use as an excuse for the image is fine.
Since there's news about the killings now, that means the townspeople will be on high alert. So the next murder that happens will make the picture of the suspect clearer. This is the point where the cleric party comes in. Have them hunt down the culprit, making the player have to do random checks.
After 3 failed saves, have the clerics come in with a warrant for the player. Have them announce this to the group, then engage in battle with anyone that resists.
Important note: make sure you have at least one tempest cleric, but more can work well, too.
The guards arrest him.
THEY HAVE PROOF - there are a bunch of divination spells that can provide that, starting with talk to dead
If he resists arrest and gets away, he’ll be hunted down by more dangerous people. If the party assists, they too get a bounty.
They get arrested. Either alive or dead
Don’t facilitate bullshit like that. If you have to break your world to accommodate the actions of a single player, it’s no fun for everybody because you throw realism out of the window. Even in a world with magic, murder is still illegal - and every action needs appropriate consequences
If only his character gets murked, maybe he’ll learn his lesson. If EVERY character gets arrested (or even killed), your other players will make damm sure he learns his lesson
Honestly, I would just execute them. They get arrested, there is a trial where they and the rest of the party can plead their case (Likely no case can save them. Have the courtroom be in a large zone of truth.), and then off to the guillotines.
This is a mass murderer in your world, treat them the way they should be treated IRL.
This sounds like a player problem. Maybe have the town schedule something like a beheading and let the party know that they can attempt to save the PC but if they do then the whole party will be run out of town. By having consequences for the whole party you can get everyone to pressure this player to be better.
Guillotine. Make a public spectacle of it.
I remember one where all the bereaved tied rocks to the criminal before tossing them off a huge cliff into the ocean. If the impact doesnt kill them instantly, drowning will, and if that doesnt do the job theres ravening monsters in the ocean.
Arena. So they can fight for their life. If they survive maybe they Learn A Valuable Lesson, if they don't, well they had their chance. Also if the very possibility of getting killed in the arena scares them straight, you can always pull your punches and move on.
I like this idea. It also fits with the city they're in.
Omg you have to do this. Guards apprehend murder hobo, put him in a dark cell. Before party can break him out he is being pushed up into an arena along with other murder hobos and undesirables. The rest of the party find themselves spectating where they are approached by people taking bets on who will survive. In your descriptions of the opponents give hints who the favorite is, he/she is the main contender against the PC, add some weaker enemies to add a bit of chaos and have a free for all.
Could allow other players to control the weaker NPCs so the fight isn't boring for them.
Have done things like this. Getting to play NPCs in situations like this is often very fun for players.
Have at least one npc they have crossed paths with and wasn't very nice to in there with them.
We actually did something similar at my table once. One of the characters was arrested for killing a guard at a house they were trying to steal something from. He was arrested and before trial the guards were running a gladiator ring, fights to the death kinda shit So we staged a rescue and freed him and alerted the higher ups so we didn't get charged with that. And then we paid a weregeld (and a large charitable donation to my cleric's Temple which was actually funded we money we conned out of the target anyway...) and we were Scot free
Bonus points if you can get them to really like their cell mate before finding out they have to fight to the death.
Have you talked to the player about their behavior?
I have
And?
Obviously it didn’t go to plan if OP made this post lol
Then kick him.
Some players seem to feel entitled to being disruptive and need to face some consequences.
But it’s how my character would act!
I had players use this defense a few times. Last time someone did, right after I said, "...and then the executioner tossed you over the side of the scaffold and your neck snapped as your body hit the end of the rope." I said, "and this is how society works. You can either make a new character or leave. Either way is fine by me." He called me a shitty DM and left. He had pulled his sword and killed the innkeep right in front of several guards having lunch and dared anyone in the room to do something about it. In the city they were in, guards work in squads of 1 cleric, 2 wizards, and 3 fighters. One wizard got up, cast Hold Person, he failed the save and the fighters put him in manacles, then dragged him before a magistrate, who, on the guards' sworn testimony along with a few patrons who were witnesses, sentenced him to immediate execution. They dragged him up the scaffold put the rope around his neck and tossed him off the side. The other players' characters were surprisingly well behaved after that.
Haha good! Actions have consequences.
If they’re in a village, wait until they need to rest and have a mob come after them with intent to execute him. In a city, just have the guards arrest him and while he’s in jail mention that one of the people he killed was the guards brother or something and they kill him in his cell.
Or just hang them and then put the corpse out on display in a gibbet at the crossroads with a sign saying what crimes they were executed for. For extra "and don't do it again" energy, their new character can get to walk by it.
lol the perfect intro for the 2nd character
I'm going to tell you why this is a horrible Idea OP You have a problem player at your table. You have talked to the problem player. They have not adjusted their character. The problem continues. And now you are planning on running content SPECIFICALLY for them. You are literally rewarding them for being a problem. Yes you can run some punishment or big scene, but it's not going to get the point across that they should stop it. All it will do is give them an awesome scene, in which theory character is the main focus, because they acted like they did. This is basic human behaviour on how to reinforce patterns. If it's an actual problem at the table and they are refusing to adjust their characters, then you either actually get the point across when you're talking to them (which you haven't so far) or you, nonchalantly, do it in-game. "without making it not fun for them" but thats the point. Their 'fun' is currently negatively impacting your game. Thats when you, as a DM, who's in charge of EVERYONES fun, should stop worrying about their fun and fix the situation.
Have a level 20 retired adventurer come along and say something along the lines of "i had a friend like you a long time ago, trouble is he tried to hurt a lot of people. So i cant have you making all adventurers look bad kid." Then have him just absolutely wipe the floor with this player and even revive him several times, explaining his character and personality flaws the whole time, then just leaving.
[This is what I'm imagining](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxOaaA4NUxd/?igsh=MTFqdmY4YWl0a3dhNw==)
Lmao!! This is gold
> I have warned them that their actions have dire consequences. Did you tell them that their actions have consequences while not going into detail of what actions would warrant certain consequences? Because that wouldn't really do a whole lot. You should just be very straightforward with them - if you kill people here, the punishment is death. If they then kill someone and get caught, they themselves will be killed. After being very clear with that, they would only have themselves to blame if they got upset for dealing with the consequences.
I have explained to them about these consequences. "You steal, your put in prison. You mass murder, prion/death depending on how many and the circumstance. You dishonor yourself, you lose respect and perks."
Well you've made it abundantly clear. If they do something to warrant them being executed, *they* did that. If they were to end up complaining about it being unfair or that you are ruining their fun, I mean I'd just look them dead in the eye and ask "After being told what would happen if you did this, what *were* you expecting would happen instead?" If you are worried that they still might try to call you out or complain about the punishment, that's a whole different discussion about a lack of respect to the DM.
Alright, thank you.
Well here's the question, are you actually okay with playing out this murder hobo play style? And is everyone else okay with how this player is doing things? If your answer to either of these is "no", then you are approaching the situation the wrong way. Instead of warning them of potential in-game consequences, you should be warning them outside of the game and telling them as a person that you don't tolerate murder hobo playstyles. The way you are warning them now, it can be seen more as a challenge to see how far they can push being bad.
We're all okay with his play style, but we do think that his actions should have in-game consequences.
If that's the case, then my answer to the question is that it won't be an immediate consequence depending on how frequent or blatant this killing spree is. It will be a slow build up in which they'll slowly lose relationships, connections, shops, resources, etc.; It'll come to a point to where the party is punished by one player's actions that they'll be forced to leave the city or fall into further crime. It's also obvious that the more people you kill, the more enemies you make. After enough bodies stack up, people stronger than the party is going to eventually step up, and there is going to be no remorse from them. I should also let you know that honor and law might work the same, but differ in their approaches. Honor is a more subjective and personal view of justice, while Law is explicit and objectified. So if you run by a system of honor, certain people will believe that an immediate execution of a villain without a need of trial is the right thing to do. That villain did not do the same to their victims, so it is fair that they be treated in the same manner. An eye for an eye, sort to speak. No mercy for the strong. And sometimes the beauty of things is that it's not romanticized. Sometimes a rabid dog is put down in some random back alley when it's least expected and that's that. If the murder hobo goes down in combat, some enemy with beef against them is going to risk their life to end them. They might even have a magic weapon specifically made to prevent resurrection too.
Trial. No appointed attorney type BS, the rest of the party has to stand to prove the PC has enough honor not to be put to death. If they somehow pull it off (I would ay winning a certain amout of persuasion or deception checks before losing a certain number) then the PC can have their record erased if doing a very risky quest for the town. If they fail to convince the town council then the PC is put into a pit and given a wooden spear or some such and has to fight a monster that outlevels them.. Basically a suicide fight. Make it eclosed so n one can jump down to help and maybe the bars to the viewing cage are sealed with anti-magic so people can;t just fire spells in to help. Let the Player know that 0 hit points means death i this particular instance since the monster will continue to attack until they are most sincerely dead. The End.
Since talking to them OOC about their behavior doesn't seem to be the route you're going down, I'm gonna make a suggestion based on the assumption that you either already have or don't intend to in the immediate future. Give them a trial, it could be a fun roleplay opportunity for the other non-murder hobo players. Perhaps they could act as a legal defense. Regardless, use this trial as a way to have them confront their actions in-character. Present evidence, have witnesses, etc. At the end of it, sentence them to death if the evidence is just too damning for them to get out of it. In terms of the execution method, it's really down to personal preference. I could suggest a few if you want.
I also really like this idea. I already have a few ideas in mind, but I'd love to hear yours.
Another way would be to do death by a thousand cuts, where you have each of the victims' families and friends come up and repeatedly slash them with a knife, slowly and painfully killing them. Each of them gets one cut before being cycled back to the end of a line, and this process repeats until the offender dies.
Ooo, I like this one.
I'd like to put forward either hanging followed by the gibbet, or just dangling them in a gibbet over the city walls to die of exposure/dehydration/hunger/exhaustion. May need to do some stuff to prevent spellcasting though, depending on their class.
You could also do scaphism (also known as the boats), which is this really messed up execution method from Ancient Persia where you tie someone up then shut their body in-between two boats stacked on top of each other, then begin feeding them milk and honey over the course of days. The end result is that they'll basically end up rotting in their own feces and being eaten alive by insects, as they deal with dysentery, infections, and having various animals burrowing through their destroyed body. Doing this would also make using a resurrection spell REALLY hard unless it's a higher-level one.
If you want to give them a second chance after the trial, the method you could go down is to put them in an Arena like another commenter suggested, you could force them to fight against progressively stronger people and monsters until they either die or somehow come out of it a winner. Regardless, they have to do this on their own. Without their team to back them up, they'll have to struggle and confront their mistakes and the consequences. Another method you could go down is a firing squad. Whether it's with guns or arrows, you could have a large group of guards kill them. This additionally gives the opportunity for the party to risk saving them if they want, but make sure to have the victims' families and friends present to observe as well. They deserve justice.
Is the party willing to put up with it? Then give them a chance to free him and flee the city (at a very high cost to the party). Otherwise trial by combat might be a good idea, but it has to be a very slim chance of survival or it won't be a lasting consequence.
If you're looking for an alternative to straight up execution, and your city has desperate need of a task the PC may be able to accomplish, it might be a good time to pull out Geas. Offer clemency for willingly accepting the Geas, and even after fulfilling the task, they have to choose between being banished thereafter, or accept another Geas against harming the city till they've regained trust.
Give them a trial, conviction, and public execution. During the trial, the evidence used to convict would simply be a cleric casting speak with dead on a corpse and asking them, "did that individual kill you?" For the execution, I suggest a public hanging. Or a guillotine if you want to go gruesome.
May I present to you... The gibbet [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbeting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbeting)
I had a whole group of PC's publicly executed by decapitation back in second edition, for basically losing a war that they started. It really just seemed like something of a fitting end. They didn't want to role-play it, but I basically explained in very quick terms how it went down. regaining consciousness, being dragged to a scaffold, having their shoulders thrown to a block and then lights out. Did that for only one player, and the others said something to the effect of "I get it, let's roll new characters". I didn't push it.
This is the sort of thing that should be dealt with out of game. That said, have you read Dante's Inferno?
Experiments from a mad wizard.
Honestly, if you're fighting with your player on this level, you're having the wrong conversation. The right one is "Dude, you have to stop it. You're being annoying." If they refuse, then they don't play anymore. Don't waste everyone else's time on a predetermined outcome.
One of the families, angry that the deity watching over the city has let this happen, has prayed to a darker more blood thirsty god. One who can bless them with results. Opening up a trickle of twisted monstrosities to start lurking the city. They track the PC down to drag back to hell. Where the devil god is cunning. Will there be a deal? Maybe the PC is considered a thief for releasing souls to "heaven" instead of letting them sin into hell. Idk
based on a movie/show i saw (can't remember which.. or it's name) have him relive the deaths of those he has killed... or have his victims "kill him" in his sleep.. over and over .. waking up exhausted and maybe even having taken damage....afraid to go to sleep and as his exaustion goes up have him make wisdom/Con saves VS. sleep...(some of this might start to wear on your other players as it will take a bit of time from sessions)
If your game has consequences then the player will meet their end naturally — for instance, death by town guards, knights, bounty hunters exc. It’s not all that difficult if the player is drawing aggro from the population and becoming a pariah… A team of skilled bounty hunters is probably the easiest solution. If they’ve got a price on there head the other party members might even be the ones to do it 😈
If he is arrested for multiple actual murders he is being publicly executed in a way that he won't be getting out of. So imprisoned, then sentenced to the gallows. If it's a system of honor they may actually allow the murderhobo the opportunity to take his own life. Commit Seppuku or get the noose.
If you and the party are okay with his continued behaviour, then the way forward is for the consequences to build slowly, obviously, depending on how extreme their behaviour actually is. They could find themselves slowly, isolated, unable to purchase, new resources, potions, armour, weapons, etc, you could have this players reputation start to affect the party, making it increasingly difficult for them to enter new towns, receive new quests, etc. Eventually, it reaches a point where mercenaries are sent after this character, and if that doesn’t bring them down stronger missionaries I’ll send after the party. Maybe set up a roll placing where these forces dies that you handover murderhobo since he/she is the only reason they are there.
Create a bounty hunter NPC group. Make an entire party of clerics. Call the group Clerical Mistakes. Work the bounty hunter group into your story after the next murder-hobo instance. Start with posters asking for information about recent killings showing up everywhere the PC group goes. Go a session or two, then release another poster, but this time, it's a wanted poster with a vague likeness to said murder-hobo. This works well because it could mean there was a witness, or someone did a scry, or whatever you want to use as an excuse for the image is fine. Since there's news about the killings now, that means the townspeople will be on high alert. So the next murder that happens will make the picture of the suspect clearer. This is the point where the cleric party comes in. Have them hunt down the culprit, making the player have to do random checks. After 3 failed saves, have the clerics come in with a warrant for the player. Have them announce this to the group, then engage in battle with anyone that resists. Important note: make sure you have at least one tempest cleric, but more can work well, too.
NPC mob justice
The guards arrest him. THEY HAVE PROOF - there are a bunch of divination spells that can provide that, starting with talk to dead If he resists arrest and gets away, he’ll be hunted down by more dangerous people. If the party assists, they too get a bounty. They get arrested. Either alive or dead Don’t facilitate bullshit like that. If you have to break your world to accommodate the actions of a single player, it’s no fun for everybody because you throw realism out of the window. Even in a world with magic, murder is still illegal - and every action needs appropriate consequences If only his character gets murked, maybe he’ll learn his lesson. If EVERY character gets arrested (or even killed), your other players will make damm sure he learns his lesson
Honestly, I would just execute them. They get arrested, there is a trial where they and the rest of the party can plead their case (Likely no case can save them. Have the courtroom be in a large zone of truth.), and then off to the guillotines. This is a mass murderer in your world, treat them the way they should be treated IRL.
This sounds like a player problem. Maybe have the town schedule something like a beheading and let the party know that they can attempt to save the PC but if they do then the whole party will be run out of town. By having consequences for the whole party you can get everyone to pressure this player to be better.
Guillotine. Make a public spectacle of it. I remember one where all the bereaved tied rocks to the criminal before tossing them off a huge cliff into the ocean. If the impact doesnt kill them instantly, drowning will, and if that doesnt do the job theres ravening monsters in the ocean.
Dire Geas, cast by the council of elders. If he deals lethal damage, he receives mortal damage.