Forgery Fodder
Posted 2nd December 2008 at 03:38 PM by Janx
Updated 8th December 2008 at 04:45 PM by Janx (fixed typos)
Updated 8th December 2008 at 04:45 PM by Janx (fixed typos)
I just read a great thread about passports yesterday. http://www.enworld.org/forum/general...ml#post4571130
It got me thinking. In most games, nobody has any papers, so there is very little use for the forgery skill. Imagine if papers were used more commonly.
First off, the thread above points out that Shakespeare refers to passports, and there's a historical exampel from the 1400's. So it's reasonable to assume that a stereotypical D&D campaign would have the resources for this.
Travel papers could be required at city gates. I would assume a kingdom might require its citizens to apply for travel papers to leave their home region. Namely because in their home region, finding someone to verify their identity is easy. Elsewhere, not so much. So before you head off to the big city, apply for papers from the local lord, and now you've got proof that you are who you say you are.
This in turn creates opportunity for forging, since people will want to pretend citicizenship or feign identity, and the proof is on paper, not in disguise.
Travel papers might not even be "required" to leave, so much as required to arrive. So the local lord probably just sells them (pay me, prove you're local, and I'll sign, seal, and hand over your papers).
Papers might also be required to engage in activities. Letters of Marque, licenses, etc. Carrying lots of weapons and armor might require licensing. This creates a revenue stream for the local government, as well as a means of control.
It got me thinking. In most games, nobody has any papers, so there is very little use for the forgery skill. Imagine if papers were used more commonly.
First off, the thread above points out that Shakespeare refers to passports, and there's a historical exampel from the 1400's. So it's reasonable to assume that a stereotypical D&D campaign would have the resources for this.
Travel papers could be required at city gates. I would assume a kingdom might require its citizens to apply for travel papers to leave their home region. Namely because in their home region, finding someone to verify their identity is easy. Elsewhere, not so much. So before you head off to the big city, apply for papers from the local lord, and now you've got proof that you are who you say you are.
This in turn creates opportunity for forging, since people will want to pretend citicizenship or feign identity, and the proof is on paper, not in disguise.
Travel papers might not even be "required" to leave, so much as required to arrive. So the local lord probably just sells them (pay me, prove you're local, and I'll sign, seal, and hand over your papers).
Papers might also be required to engage in activities. Letters of Marque, licenses, etc. Carrying lots of weapons and armor might require licensing. This creates a revenue stream for the local government, as well as a means of control.
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Comments
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Nice entry. This and the previous thread got me wanting to start including some stuff like this in my game. Even in Forgotten Realms, I believe weapons were supposed to be bonded in Waterdeep and in Cormyr. That is, unless you had a letter or charter stating otherwise. I've got some parchment paper for my printer that I'm going to start using for this.Posted 3rd December 2008 at 09:31 PM by El Mahdi
- that's exactly the thinking I wanted to get folks to have.
Start handing out props. Papers are the easiest to make. It gets people into the feel of things.Posted 5th December 2008 at 05:38 PM by Janx -
Another nice prop thread.
I don't use papers in my D&D game setting, because all of the players are part of a special Byzantine military unit, and that unit is covert. Their identities are known only by the Patriarch of Constantinople, a few clergymen, by the Emperor and a few military officers.
However in our modern games like Hammerstroke and Enigma the characters have real identities and occasionally carry "real papers," and many of the characters also have aliases and cover identities and so carry either government developed identity packets, or well developed and documented fake IDs (they made themselves for undercover operations), etc.
Anyway it's nice to see others thinking this way, and identity papers (which I often encourage the player to create) are often checked by the authorities or others seeking to verify identities (especially in espionage or military/Intel games, an dif the checker finds a discrepancy in the fake ID made by the player then that can lead to detaining that character, interrogation, blown covers, or even imprisonment for rough questioning.
Anyways it is good to see others thinking in this way as well.Posted 6th December 2008 at 01:50 PM by Jack7
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