That was very similar to what Akedeh started, and pretty much exactly what I tried to do at first. But the mages never got caught as they would just run away and snicker. That is when the "If a cabals leader is a mage, you can take their cabal item while that mage-leader walks Thera"

Basically attempting to strong arm the mage into defending or retrieving. And if non-mages came, the villagers had distinct orders to only repel them, fight them off. If non-mages fought with the mage and the mage rolled out, let the warrior run too, etc...