Domain's Laws?

[Nox]

Some ideas:


The guards themselves should call for reinforcement as soon as things start going at all badly for them. Maybe they blow a horn, or whistles. Do they carry clapper style noisemakers?
Retreat or withdraw if they aren't doing well. They want to live, right? So fall back, call for more men.
Surround the party.

Bystanders may also summon more guards.

If someone raises the hue and cry, a mob might form quickly in a town or city. The mob isn't likely to show suicidal bravery against a small but obviously dangerous party that just defeated or killed several guards. At first people will shout in anger, point fingers, call for help.
But maybe they start throwing loose paving stones and roofing tiles. That could be deadly!
If somebody drops a timber onto a PC from a rooftop...
The mod should be disorganized, especially as it forms and before any leader emerges. The party should probably have a few rounds to get away before angry locals close in.

Something else to consider:

If the government is oppressive, with the citizens hating the guards and the ruler, then maybe the party starts a riot by fighting the guards. The rioters might look to the PCs for leadership and help. The PCs could end up leading the rampaging mob, instead of fighting it.

Thank you once again! Is there any information about citizen behaviour against their government on gazetteer? I read Invidia in gazetteer but i cant remember something that says population is happy or not with the rule of malocchio. I know that malocchio tax collector are quite hated because they can do almost everything they want to collect fees and tax, and the guards do not shine for honesty or honor, and is quite usual they commit sopruse of some kind, but maybe the citizen are fine as long as the guards keep them safe from the danger outside the cities.. or not?

[brilliantlight]

RE the hypothetical situation with the guards

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I think you should decide in advance how powerful the guards are and stick with that. No changes to help or hurt the player characters. The Black Box has a handy chart showing the classes, levels, and gear of enforcers in the different domains. Instead of adjusting the guards to the PCs, just use what seems most fitting and plausible to you. Drakov's soldiers with military weaponry are probably a cut above some Nova Vassa bully boys armed with cudgels.

If the PCs pick a fight with town guards and win, they may attract the attention of more guards. If it gets really out if hand, a mob might form. Or, much worse, they might come to the attention of the darklord, if this is a domain in which the darklord is the ruler.

If they lose, but didn't kill or maim any guards, maybe the judge will go easy on them. Hard labor, banishment, confiscation of gear, whatever. Again, I think you should go with what makes sense in game.

If you want to tip the players off that the local regime is oppressive and brutal, describe stuff like man-cages hanging from the town walls, prominently placed public gallows with fresh bodies swinging, the fearful looks the citizens given armed watch who are just passing by, etc.
Then, if they kill some guards over a petty dispute about weapons and end up dangling from nooses later...
Well, you did give them plenty of clues.

Heck,
"NO SWORD PERMIT " or "STABBED WATCHMAN" placard hanging around the neck of a corpse on the gallows by the town gate could save your party, if they are willing to heed the warning. Do that once and they might get it.

In my game I had one hanged person every hundred yards or so in "New Falkanovia" with words like "Enemy of the People" or "Drakov Loyalist" or "Murderer" and the like. This got the message across that the revolutionaries aren't much less brutal in destroying their adversaries than Drakov was. "Meet the New Government , same as the old" pertained somewhat here. There are some real differences such as the people they execute are actually thought to be guilty of something and the new Darklord gets no pleasure out of seeing people die. She is ruthless but not that sadistic.