Laws

I'm developing a series of laws that are highly annoying to adventurers. Basically, the King is trying to discourage adventurers and allow the Gaurd (his people) to take of these types of problems. The laws are also to discourage people from wearing weapoons and armor (except for his Gaurdsmen). Here is what I have so far. FYI: a bit is a copper piece.

April 15, 575

Seize Stolen Property Law

If anybody captures stolen property from bandits they are to relinquish all money and property seized to the nearest Guard Post. The Guard will then reward the people with a cash reward and then the guard will return the money and property to whomever it was stolen from. Anybody who fails to turn over anything captured from bandits will automatically be placed in jail until a trial date can be sent and have all bandit property taken. People found guilty will be fined one silver for every gold piece value of property they did not report. If large amounts of valuable property are not reported (100 gold value or more) then the guilty party will also be placed in a work camp for one week for each one hundred gold they did not report.

Road Tax

Everyone will be taxed for using the paved roads. The Tax will be one bit for each person, three bits for each horse or donkey, and five bits for each wagon or cart. Failure to pay this tax will result in a one silver piece fine for each bit not paid.

Weapon and Armor Tax

All travelers will pay a tax to wear weapons in armor in any of our walled cities. Small weapons are one bit each, medium weapons are three bits each, and large weapons are six bits each. Light armor is two bits, medium armor is five bits, and heavy armor is a silver piece. Shields are two bits each except for a tower shield that is five bits.

Weapon Restrictions

The following weapons are now deemed illegal in all cities. If you happen to come in possession of any of these items you may turn then over to any guard station. You will be rewarded with a cash reward. The weapons that are now illegal are: Spiked Gauntlets, Tridents, Scimitar, Falchion, Greatclub, Spiked Chain, Hand Crossbows, Shurikens, Repeating Crossbows, all mighty composite bows and all spiked armor and shields. If you are caught with any of these weapons you will be asked to forfeit that weapon. If you do not comply you will be arrested and forced to pay a steep fine.

Thoughts or other ideas?

Well you are forgetting the all important ale tax *grin*, nothing plaugues an adventurer more then having to pay more to get drunk.

Really, though perhaps a fine on domestic disturbances, a fine on the destruction of property, a fine for speaking against the leadership of the town, those sort of things.

An ale tax would cause in uprising.

No Drawing of weapons in the City

The Drawing or welding of weapons is forbidden in the walled Cities. The weapon will be confiscated and a fine will be issued. Anyone who uses a weapon will be incarcerating and put in a labor camp.

Failure to pay a Fine

Failure to pay any fine will place the individual in a lobor camp until they have worked off the fine.

Speaking against Crown and Country

Anyone heard publically speaking agianst the King, his Gaurd, his Staff, or his Laws will be fined or incarcerated.

No drawing of weapons is good, but how about that monk?

How about a worse fine for fighting unarmed, and a fine to anyone caught teaching non-guards how to fight unarmed?

How about imprisonment for multiple offenders?

Fighting unarmed is potentially less lethal, that's why it's allowed. It does give the monk an advantage as they need not break the law as easily as the others.

Unarmed combat is also allowed, as that's the way the Gaurds are expecting you to defend yourself. If someone attacks you and you draw your weapon, you're still guilty.

I haven't done anything with Monks in my homebrew world. No onne has wanted to play one, and I've yet to have one as an NPC. I'll have to do something with the class, figure out how it fits in the world before i can regulate it with laws.

Thanks for pointing that out.

It would be interesting to see how these laws affect other aspects of everyday life. The trade caravan that now has to pay to have it's guard have weapons, will now raises prices on the products to reflect the extra cost they have in bringing them to the town.

The wizard becomes a much more potent "fighter" since the ability to cast a fireball or magic missle does not require a weapon.

Obviously, you aren't playing in an oriental setting because no samurai would ever let anyone touch his ancestoral daisho.

Also, I am assuming this is a large city, because otherwise the threat of attackers/invaders raiding the town would necessitate the need for the commoners to have easy access to weapons.

Would this give rise to an increase in use of such feats as dirty fighting or improvised weapons? How would that be handled, would a fire poker, or your walking staff be considered a weapon if you used it?

Does the sense of power that the guards now have lead to an eventual corruption of them? Are the people who give orders to the guards above this law? Can they weild weapons, or are you setting the stage for a military coup of sorts?

wolfpunk said:

It would be interesting to see how these laws affect other aspects of everyday life. The trade caravan that now has to pay to have it's guard have weapons, will now raises prices on the products to reflect the extra cost they have in bringing them to the town.

The wizard becomes a much more potent "fighter" since the ability to cast a fireball or magic missle does not require a weapon.

Obviously, you aren't playing in an oriental setting because no samurai would ever let anyone touch his ancestoral daisho.

Also, I am assuming this is a large city, because otherwise the threat of attackers/invaders raiding the town would necessitate the need for the commoners to have easy access to weapons.

Would this give rise to an increase in use of such feats as dirty fighting or improvised weapons? How would that be handled, would a fire poker, or your walking staff be considered a weapon if you used it?

Does the sense of power that the guards now have lead to an eventual corruption of them? Are the people who give orders to the guards above this law? Can they weild weapons, or are you setting the stage for a military coup of sorts?

Click to expand...

Perhaps explaing a little would help. THe Gaurd is huge. They do everything from policework, to being the army, to gaurding caravans , to hunting bandits, to protecting the important people. It's an all incombassing orginization controled by the crown.

So, the gaurd is allowed to carry weapons and is not subject to the taxes. THat encourages the carvans to hire them instead of others.

There aare laws that forbid casting of certain spells be it arcane and vine. However, since few people have spells, this is dealt with in a different manner. THe Laws I have here are the type posted at market places and at entrances into the cities. Clerics are expected to keep an eye on each other because if one person misuses Divine magic, they all face fines. Arcane magic is a bit different. The crown has Wizards it controls and they enforce magical laws. In general, magic not controled by the crown or a god is frowned on with prejudice. One of the major enemies uses magic more day to day, so the Crown uses that to control arcane magic in the country.

The main country is very Medival. There is a middle eastern country across a great sea. So far, there is no traditioanlly oriental countries. But the whole world isn't even close to being defined.

You'll note that it says Walled cities. These are the larger cities and it encourages people to move to the larger cities. The crown then buys up the land people leave and uses the Work Groups to farm, build, or whatever with the new land. The Walled cities are easier to proitect and each of them has the Gaurd. Lots of Gaurd.

Dirty Fighting and other feats that take advantage of unarmed combat will be more populiar with those who feel they need it. However, the average citizin loves this amount of protection. THey can raise families with little to no worries. THey don't have to lock their dorrs all the time or be scared of every noise in the night. It's amazing how peace of mind can effect people.

The Gaurd have the power, but most of them are just commoners who jioned the Gaurd so they now have a warrior level or two. So, some of the Gaurd will let the power get to their head, but most are good people following orders. The lords and ladies, Barons, and Dukes, and Kings and other royality are all above these laws. It's not that a coop will happen, but one that already did that no one was aware of. It's complicated. Short version is Rightful King went of to war about 50 years ago, never came back. Year later plague hit city killing many including the royal family. Local Duke, the Queens Coisin took over as king even though technically he isn't of the Royal blood.

That helps alot, from your initial post I was assuming this was a set of laws designed to keep the people down, not laws instituted to keep them safe.

I don't think what you have come up with is a problem, but I should ask is there a purpose to annoying your pcs? Or are they going to play members of the guard, or perhaps a government wizard, or temple cleric??

The purpose is not to annoy the PCs. The apparent reason is to keep law and order and to help keep people safe. The real reason is to keep control of the people. He is not a populiar ruler, so the King is holding a tighter leash. As I said he is King because everyone of the Hawkwing Bloodline (the true ruling family since Calador, the country, has been a country) is dead. That's not completely true. He's hiding the fact that there is a heir. No one knows who the heir is, or where. But even the street urchents have heard the rumors.

The Taxes make being the classic Adventurer hard. That's also done one purpose. Adventurers have ways of finding out things, and a group might be able to locate the heir. Never guess what the plot of the game will be?

Oh I smell a Lawful Evil country being created. Remove the weapons, build a police state, have work farms, next will be death to all who do not obey the law or sending them to the work farms.

I think you have to have execptions to the laws. How about nobles, do they have to pay the taxes? You also need to think about the structure of the guard, how is it put together? I as a player would either join the guard or get fake papers saying I was a member of a special branch.