Adjusting the Crime and Punishment Chart (Below)
This is from Ptolus, so some of these don't apply:
- Replace threatening the emperor with threatening the king.
- "Dark Elfs" are not illegal, but Rakshasa and Serpentmen are, and can be killed on sight. This is not a city where monsters roam the street.
- The penalty is death for summoning any aberration.
- There are no sacrilege laws, and although not mentioned, Homosexuality has been decriminalized.
- Worshipping an illegal god refers to Great Old Ones. There are evil human gods that are worshipped for various reasons and that is legal.
- Owning slaves is illegal, as is kidnapping people for slavery. Bringing a slave into the city is the same penalty as bringing in an undead: 10 years imprisonment.
- The court is the Court of the Sun and the prison is the The Calaboose.
Arrest and Trial Process
- The Iron Guard is likely to arrest you for normal crimes. They would jail you in the closest Government Building.
- Here they would fill out paperwork, look to see if you're wanted for anything else, and if there's a fine only, issue you the fine. Pay the fine and go home or talk to the judges.
- If the infraction could involve a prison sentence, or you insist on a trial, you are transported to the Court of the Sun under heavy guard from the knights of the Order of the Dawn.
- From one to five judges at the Court of the Sun will hear your case. You are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.
- If convicted, you are sentenced to a term in the The Calaboose. If it's a death sentence, it's a trip to The Stone Court for trial by combat.
- Part of the system is sometimes the option to buy your way out of The Calaboose. If your crime is high profile, that option isn't available. If your crime was brought by a high level organization and not the Iron Guard, bribery is also unlikely.
An “official” is someone with a role of leadership and/or enforcement in local or Imperial government. This honorific applies to those in positions of responsibility (managers, administrators, etc.) and to all members of the Iron Guard and and law enforcement organization listed. Anyone who works for the government isn’t necessarily an official; low-ranking employees (clerks, street sweepers) can only aspire to such a rank.
* Punishments are cumulative. Thus, murdering two citizens is punishable by 40 years imprisonment. Typically for humans, a sentence of more than 50 years imprisonment is altered to death.
** “Assault” covers a broad range of crimes, from a physical strike to rape to draining life energy or blasting with magical fire. Thus, the range of punishments is broad as well. Typically, assault implies the intent to maim or kill. Barroom brawlers, for example, are usually charged with disturbing the peace, not assault.
*** Petty = property worth less than 1 gp; Lesser = property worth 1–100 gp; Major = property worth 101 gp or more.
† Smuggling otherwise legal goods into the city to avoid the tariff is considered trafficking in illegal goods.
†† Spells of mass destruction include fireballs, bolts of lightning, and similar magic that threatens life and property. Spellcasters can obtain special permits for limited use of such spells for specific sanctioned purposes.
‡ This extremely broad category can include unlicensed firearm use, unlicensed prostitution, building without a permit, and so on.