Draconian Justice

1. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BREAK THE LAW?
2. HOW DOES ONE BECOME WANTED?
3. WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME WANTED?

1.0 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BREAK THE LAW?

The system of justice in the Majic Realm is like a cross between a frontier town in the old west, and a medieval settlement, with a little bit of majic thrown in for good measure. The process of justice is fairly simple and goes as follows:

People who commit crimes attain a certain amount of notoriety dependent on the severity of their crime. Eventually, when the number and or severity of the crimes reaches a certain point, the person in question becomes "Wanted".

When someone is wanted, this indicates that the guardsmen in and around the city will recognize them as being a known felon and will attack them on sight. As their crimes at this point are still minor, they will usually desist in attacking once the felon has been knocked to the ground. It has been known in the past for overzealous guards to kill wanted persons by accident, but these instances are rare.

Wanted individuals who continue to break the law, will soon find that they have attained the status of "Criminal". Guardsmen will still attack them on sight as with wanted felons, but in the case of criminals, they have orders to use lethal force. Therefore, when a criminal is knocked down, the guards will continue to attack, effectively performing an execution on the spot.

Those rare individuals whose crimes are so heinous as to surpass being criminal, and yet who are lucky (or tough) enough to survive the guardsmen and roaming posses of citizens, earn the status of "Outlaw".

Aside from suffering the same effects as a criminal, they are actively sought after by agents of the crown. These hired assassins track down the outlaw wherever he or she may be, and do not rest until he or she has been killed permanently.

2.0 HOW DOES ONE BECOME WANTED?

There are various crimes for which a person will become wanted. The more obvious of these are:

• Stealing from stores.
• Pickpocketing citizens of the realm.
• Assaulting citizens of the realm.
• Casting offensive spells in a patrolled area

Most of these crimes result in the individual performing them receiving a certain amount of recognition from the authorities. This is done automatically, as the result of a majical spell which notes activities of this sort. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) the spell which monitors activity of this sort is not perfect, and in many cases clever criminals can avoid being held accountable for their crimes.

To help prevent this sort of abuse, the city guard have several high-level wizards in their employ who constantly monitor suspected criminals. As a result, it is possible for some cunning individuals to escape immediate notice by the authorities, but eventually these criminals must pay the dues for their evil deeds.

3.0 WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME WANTED?

Those people who manage to become wanted, the best advice they could get is to keep a low profile until things cool down. Eventually, as time passes, the guards will forget about them and move on to other matters.

Avoiding patrolled areas is advisable until such a time as wanted status is lost. One of the best places to do this is in the sewers beneath the city. The smell isn't great, but at least you'll be relatively safe until things cool down.

To become less wanted, you must simply survive long enough to work off your notoriety. To do this you have to be IN the Majic Realm. After all, the guards need to see that you can spend time in the realm and not attack people before they are going to figure you have changed your ways and move on to other criminals. Simply taking a vacation from the realm doesn't prove a thing.

For every hour of adventuring, should see a message stating that you feel less evil. As long as you are not in prohibited areas, your evil is being "worked off". This indicates you have worked off some of your sins... Eventually, depending on just how much notoriety you racked up, you may find you are no longer wanted, and can now walk the streets in safety again.

NOTE: There are several places that people cannot wait in order to work off their notoriety. They include all gang lairs, personal rooms, arenas, taverns, and temples.

In essence, you have to be in a place where others will be able to get at you in order to expiate your sins.