Latest Updates
gamerdan created the adventure log post Alandar's Journal, Entry 46
2 months ago
gamerdan created the adventure log post Alandar's Journal, Entry 45
2 months ago
OOC: Kingdom Laws
As discussed (although a tad late) a thread to propose the laws of the kingdom. I’ll lay out a bare bones list and we can flesh it out from there.
1. Murder
a. Self Defense is okay.
b. “Crimes of Passion” incur lengthy prison/hard labor sentences.
c. Premeditated or intentional infractions are punished by death. (Rope for commoners, beheading for nobles.)
d. Slavery counts as murder for purposes of determining punishment.
2. Theft
a. Petty theft gains a short(ish) prison term.
b. Repeated theft continually increases length of sentence.
c. Theft from noble property (non-essentials, so food etc doesn’t count) carries a stiff penalty.
d. High Value theft may be punished by branding the thumb, a highly noticeable tattoo, or something similar.
3. Public Disorder
a. Public Inebriation (can’t stand up/walk, throwing up, passed out or similar) earns a night in the clink.
b. Unsanctioned rallies, riots, disorderly mobs, intentional obstruction of public roads etc. shall be dispersed with appropriate force.
4. Corruption
a. Immediate removal from office.
b. Forfeit of gained monies/lands/benefits to the Crown where applicable. Suggested they go towards public works fund.
c. Possibility for more astringent punishments depending upon nature of corruption.
5. Establish classes.
a. Royalty (King/Queen)
b. Nobility (Members of the ruling class, lands & legal authority over their tenants)
c. Gentry (Knights, etc.)
d. Guildmasters or similar possibly?
c. Crofters (Farmer who own their farms)
d. Peasants (The Landless)
6. Assault/Battery
a. First Offense results in fines appropriate to injuries.
b. If it later results in death of the victim see Law 1.
c. Possible difference in scale of punishment dependent upon class of all involved (?)
Those seem to be the basic things that I can come up with at the moment. I wasn’t sure what to put trade laws, magic use laws, or anything else that has a highly specific but wide reaching purview for only a small segment (instead of everyone) of the population.
Edit One: Added Law 6.
I notice assault/battery aren’t listed, unless that’s what you meant by “crimes of passion.”
Borrowing a bit from Forgotten Realms, spells with the Fire and Electricity descriptors are outlawed within city limits; abilities that change energy types can bypass this so long as they change the type to another allowed one. Non-sanctioned summoning also outlawed. I feel like outside of cases where spells can easily leave behind unintended consequences (like those listed above) the rules should more or less follow the rules for physically harming individuals. Domination effects might be considered slavery, for example. Not sure how far you want to go with it.
The problem with that, Harodd would be what are the penalties for failing to follow the law?
“The problem with that, Harodd would be what are the penalties for failing to follow the law?”
The idea of a “penalty” is nonsensical. It assumes there is a value and inherent worth to a not-crime, therefore an inherent cost in committing a crime. That is as untenable as the idea of currency. It’s only worth as much as you say it is, and so long anyone else allows you to maintain your proclamation of value.
The point of any law is not to establish a currency of action, non-action and reaction. The point of laws is to protect society. Thus, any law with a corrective action that involves itself committing a criminal act upon the accused is contradictory, self-defeating and leads to a recursive cycle of retribution that only ends when everyone is dead.
To protect society, there is only one proper corrective action to the violation of the Law of Do No Harm: banishment. If you cannot abide by the law of society, then you cannot be a part of that society.
To enact judgement and correction, we should appoint a magistrate by voluntary lottery, with reselection at regular intervals, or upon absence of the pro temp magistrate. It’s the only way to be fair and avoid corrupting of the selection process.
And to enforce your penalty of Banishment? What happens when someone refuses to remain Banished? How do you ensure that Banishment is not a defacto death sentence by placing a person utterly unprepared or unable to survive outside of society out on their own? How do you define harm? How do you ensure that the elected magistrate does not place a nonsensical standard on the level of Harm required to draw Banishment? How do you determine if Harm is intentional or accidental? How do you determine if someone caused Harm in order to prevent a greater Harm to them-self or another? How do you decide what an appropriate length of time is between magistrates?
(Have you ever read the book Faith of the Fallen, John? Your argument sounds very familiar.)
(Harodd leans back in his chair and flashes Merit a bemused smile.) You’re making it far more complex than it is. It’s really quite simple.
(Harodd’s expression is an expectant one, as a teacher that waits for a child to figure out a problem on their own would have.)
