I found out something reasonably useful.
Using a Viking-style criminal justice system works very well with D&D. In fact, it works much better than a "normal" justice system.
The key facts are:
If you kill or wound someone, there is a fixed amount of money you have to pay as compensation.
The injured party (or family) can refuse in which case a blood feud results.
The killer can refuse, in which case he is sentenced to outlawry for life or for a fixed term of years. Anyone can leagally kill an outlaw with no legal consequence.
The reasons why this works better than what players consider a normal system are as follows:
1) Having the government execute PCs makes the players really mad, and causes them to hurl insults at the DM.
2) Putting PCs in prison really sucks. They can't play, or you are forced to set up another appalling "break out of jail" scenario, Uggh.
3) A money penalty is always nice for a DM. Players will also put up with it. It doesn't take any player characters out of the game.
4) Bloodfeuds are actually fun. Having running fights with a fixed enemy hands the DM a wealth of adventure opportunities and the combats that ensue are always of more interest to the players than killing nameless bandits.
5) Outlawry is fun. Having players become outlaws also is full of adventure possibilities. Either they become bandits, or secret avengers or they go into exile and explore other parts of the game world.
One tip: make the amount of money signifcant. Also, it should be scaled to the social importance of the person killed or wounded (wounded should be 1/4 to 1/2 the killed figure). So killing an Earl costs much more than a dung-shoveller.
Using a Viking-style criminal justice system works very well with D&D. In fact, it works much better than a "normal" justice system.
The key facts are:
If you kill or wound someone, there is a fixed amount of money you have to pay as compensation.
The injured party (or family) can refuse in which case a blood feud results.
The killer can refuse, in which case he is sentenced to outlawry for life or for a fixed term of years. Anyone can leagally kill an outlaw with no legal consequence.
The reasons why this works better than what players consider a normal system are as follows:
1) Having the government execute PCs makes the players really mad, and causes them to hurl insults at the DM.
2) Putting PCs in prison really sucks. They can't play, or you are forced to set up another appalling "break out of jail" scenario, Uggh.
3) A money penalty is always nice for a DM. Players will also put up with it. It doesn't take any player characters out of the game.
4) Bloodfeuds are actually fun. Having running fights with a fixed enemy hands the DM a wealth of adventure opportunities and the combats that ensue are always of more interest to the players than killing nameless bandits.
5) Outlawry is fun. Having players become outlaws also is full of adventure possibilities. Either they become bandits, or secret avengers or they go into exile and explore other parts of the game world.
One tip: make the amount of money signifcant. Also, it should be scaled to the social importance of the person killed or wounded (wounded should be 1/4 to 1/2 the killed figure). So killing an Earl costs much more than a dung-shoveller.
