fatal

Chapter 6: Sociality
Human
Human 1 law distinguishes between major
and minor crimes. Minor crimes have a severity of
1-5, while major crime severity is 6-10. Any character
accused of a major crime must attend a royal
court in a city or the capital city. Otherwise, a character
accused of a minor crime must attend their
local court, which is held in a manor.
Each court has a jury comprised of 9 men
who have sworn an oath. A character accused of a
minor crime is permitted no more than 9 postponements,
including 3 summons. Some excuses are accepted
for failure to appear. Human manorial courts
appear merciful, because criminals who are unable
to pay a fine are often pardoned. Magic is forbidden
in court.
Although each crime is handled differently,
the punishment is a fine for most minor crimes and
death for most major crimes. Imprisonment is a
rare form of punishment. Usually, a prisoner is
confined in a castle tower or basement to await ransom
or sentencing. A character convicted in a royal
court may seek a royal pardon.
A criminal is not punished for major crimes
committed outside a human community, although
minor crimes are punished no matter where they
are committed. If a criminal is wanted by another
community, then the local community may hold the
criminal for extradition.
ET.QUI.NOLUNT.OCCIDERE.
QUEQUAM.POSSE.VOLUNT
Those who do not wish to kill
anyone wish they were able.
176
Kobold
Kobold law is more concerned with the social
class of the criminal than the crime committed.
A crime committed by a royal character has a severity
of 1-2, noble 3-4, serf 5-6, peasant 7-8, and slave
9-10. Next, a character who commits a major crime
receives extreme punishment, while a minor crime
causes light punishment. Any character accused of
a crime must attend court.
Each court has a jury comprised of 3
kobolds who have sworn an oath. Magic is forbidden
in court.
Although each crime is handled differently,
the punishment is a fine for most minor crimes and
slavery for most major crimes. Imprisonment is a
rare form of punishment. Usually, a prisoner is
confined in an abandoned mine shaft to await ransom
or sentencing. Once convicted, no character is
ever pardoned. Any character who is not a kobold,
and who is deemed subject to their law, is sentenced
to death if found guilty of a crime.
A criminal who commits a crime outside a
kobold community becomes a slave until extradition
arrangements are made.
Troll, Subterranean
The law of subterranean trolls does not distinguish
between major and minor crimes. Instead,
each crime is considered based on its severity. Any
character accused of a crime must attend court.
A subterranean troll court does not have a
jury. The judge often uses magic to aid the search
for truth. The best subterranean troll courts have
numerous sorcerers, who cast the following spells
during the hearing: Detect Lie, Detect Magic, Detect
Surface Thoughts, and Detect Thoughts.
Although each crime is handled differently,
the punishment is usually mutilation or death. Once
convicted, no character is ever pardoned. Any character
who is not a subterranean troll, and who is
deemed subject to their law, is sentenced to death if
found guilty of a crime.
A criminal is not punished for crimes committed
outside a community of subterranean trolls.
They do not care about the outside world.
1. Human justice is based on justice mentioned in Life in a Medieval Village and Life in a Medieval Castle. For more
information, see References at the end of this book.