Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Fantasy laws, papers and permits
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 5525984" data-attributes="member: 5265"><p>I have a hard time with the idea of permits and papers in a medieval fantasy setting, because it implies a level of government bureaucracy and effectiveness that just doesn't ring true for that sort of world. Maybe in an Eberron-style ultra-high-fantasy setting, but not in anything grittier.</p><p></p><p>That doesn't mean there can't be general rules that govern that sort of thing, though. Here are a couple cribbed from the real medieval world:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you're a foreigner, and you're not on a major road or in a town, you're wrong. You are guilty until proven innocent of being a spy or agent on what must be hostile business, and subject to punishment accordingly (often including summary execution).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you don't live in a town, you are only allowed in for 24 hours unless you have a sponsor who lives there. (A bit hard to enforce in big cities, but in most towns a strange face will eventually draw the notice of the authorities--especially if there are only a handful of inns, none of which are going to keep an unsponsored guest for more than one night.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Exceptions to these rules would require some sort of letter from an authority figure, but this would be an ad-hoc document, not a "passport" or other institutionally processed set of papers.</li> </ul><p></p><p>So: Papers? We don't need no stinking papers! A society in which travel is uncommon and always purposeful, and in which strangers are (in most places) viewed with suspicion, is regulatory enough.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CharlesRyan, post: 5525984, member: 5265"] I have a hard time with the idea of permits and papers in a medieval fantasy setting, because it implies a level of government bureaucracy and effectiveness that just doesn't ring true for that sort of world. Maybe in an Eberron-style ultra-high-fantasy setting, but not in anything grittier. That doesn't mean there can't be general rules that govern that sort of thing, though. Here are a couple cribbed from the real medieval world: [LIST] [*]If you're a foreigner, and you're not on a major road or in a town, you're wrong. You are guilty until proven innocent of being a spy or agent on what must be hostile business, and subject to punishment accordingly (often including summary execution). [*]If you don't live in a town, you are only allowed in for 24 hours unless you have a sponsor who lives there. (A bit hard to enforce in big cities, but in most towns a strange face will eventually draw the notice of the authorities--especially if there are only a handful of inns, none of which are going to keep an unsponsored guest for more than one night.) [*]Exceptions to these rules would require some sort of letter from an authority figure, but this would be an ad-hoc document, not a "passport" or other institutionally processed set of papers. [/LIST] So: Papers? We don't need no stinking papers! A society in which travel is uncommon and always purposeful, and in which strangers are (in most places) viewed with suspicion, is regulatory enough. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Fantasy laws, papers and permits
Top