Free City of Greyhawk Criminal Code

The Justice System

The use of any magic in criminal proceedings, including Detect Lie and ESP, is not part of standard proceedings in the Courts of Justice. This is partly due to the libertarianism of Greyhawk, and also to the edicts of Zagig Yragerne. That chaotic arch-mage believed strongly that uncertainty should be part of the legal process and outlawed all such spells from judgment. The Directors who have followed have upheld this view, and—since thieves have always been powerful in Greyhawk—they have obvious reasons for doing so.

The one exception to this is in the case of an accusation of perjury, when the charged person has no right to silence and when a priest of Pholtus will cast detect lie as the defendant speaks. It is not permitted for a defendant to appeal for the spell to be cast on his behalf, since it is considered that this would be unfair to defendants who might wish this and cannot afford it. The criminal justice system in Greyhawk depends on human judgment and reason, and it is believed that even priests of Rao support this to the exclusion of magical means determining the outcome of trials.

Serious Crimes

• Arson (1, 5-7, 9 years)
• Assault (grievous - any assault that results in a broken bone or major facial injury or worse) [3, 6-11)
• Blackmail [1-2, 4-10]
• Bribery of a City Official [5-11]
• Burglary [3, 7-11]
• Burglary of City Property [3, 6-11]
• Damage to Property [5-11]
• Embezzling [2, 4-10] (Higher sentences for embezzling from the City Treasury)
• Fraud [2, 4-10]
• Genocide [1]
• Impersonation of a city official [7-11] (Impersonation of a director or person of similar importance may be tried as Sedition)
• Importation of Controlled Items [2, 9] (Includes monsters, evil relics and artifacts, highly dangerous magical items such as a sphere of annihilation and the like. Bootlegging and similar offenses are considered minor crimes
• Incitement to riot [2, 6-8]
• Magical interference with the integrity of a person [2, 3] (this includes the polymorph, hold, and charms spells, magic jar and other magic which causes the affected person to lose volitional control of his mind and/or body)
• Manslaughter [2, 5-8] (includes all killings that are arguably justified – avenging one’s honor, reacting to extreme provocation, and so forth)
• Mass Murder [1]
• Murder [1, 4], anyone who uses poison to commit a murder is automatically sentenced to deat
• Perjury [6 – 10]
• Possessing an unlicensed monster [10] (otyughs, neo-otyughs, and black puddings kept as status symbols)
• Rioting and affray [2, 7-11]
• Robbery [3, 7-11]
• Sedition [1-5]
• Tax Evasion [10, 11] {This applies only to major evasion. Evasion of sums less than 50gp or less is considered a minor crime)
• Tomb Robbing [2, 6 – 11] (applies only to the Lord’s Graveyard)
• Treason [1]
• Vandalism [8 – 11]
• Attempted crimes and conspiracies to commit crimes are treated as if the actual crime itself has been committed, except the most severe penalty is not imposed if an alternative is listed, with the exception of Sedition and Murder)

Minor Crimes

Minor crimes are tried by magistrates, who are members of the Guild of Lawyers and Scribes, each case being heard by only one. Appeal against sentence is very rare, and may be made only on the order of the Lord Mayor (Nerof) himself, and he rarely intervenes in such matters.

The punishments for these offenses are typically hard labor for from 14 days to up to 2 years, and/or fines which typically extract 1%-20% of a person's monies, up to a maximum fine of 1,000 gp. Frequently, the severity of the punishment depends as much on the magistrate one gets (from the "bleeding heart social reforrnist" magistrate to the "hanging's too good for 'em" variety who wears a black cap at all times), so the DM is allowed free rein in determining punishments for offenders. The most notable minor crimes are these:

• Assault, Minor
• Blasphemy against a priest
• Blasphemy against a temple (usually means defilement and destruction)
• Dangerous conveyance of a vehicle in a public place
• Dangerous navigation within the harbor (includes non-authorized landing)
• Disturbing the peace
• Drunk and disorderly conduct
• Offenses against public property
• Producing, brandishing or holding with intent an unlicensed weapon
• Receiving, possessing, or fencing stolen property
• Slander or libel (this is Sedition if against a city authority)
• Slavery & Procurement of slaves
• Tax Evasion (50 gp or less)
• Trespass and violation of privacy (2 years hard labor)
• Unlawful hindrance of business
• Feeding a rabbit in a public space on any day ending in 'Y'.

Misc. Laws

• Use of magic in a public place without due cause
• It is legal to wear any armor about town.
• The following objects may be carried freely:
• Dagger
• Dart
• Sling
• Staff Sling
• Club
• Knife
• Other weapons may be carried, but only with a license issued by the Captain-General of the Watch in the Citadel. License costs are as follows:
• 5 gp (long or broad sword)
• 20 gp (2 handed sword)
• Pole arms and other weapons larger than a two handed sword cannot be licensed and cannot be carried in the city legally
• The clerks will take careful notes about the PCs and their weapons, paying special attention to distinguishing characteristics that may be used to identify them and tracked down if them or their weapons are used to commit violent acts.

Note that labor sentences all involve imprisonment with hard labor — street-sweeping, rock-breaking, cleaning out stables, and all manner of unpleasant work (whatever needs to be done). Certain offenders (including those under the age of 16) will be sent to slightly less awful workhouses rather than the prison in the Citadel. Labor sentences in the prison or a workhouse will be imposed if a fine is not paid, and this is true for all categories of crime. Imprisonment without hard labor is allowed only for those who are too weak and feeble to work. Finally, note that any sentence may also be accompanied by another lower in the list—thus, banishment may follow a period of imprisonment, or be accompanied by a fine, and imprisonment with fining is not unusual.

Attempted Crimes and Conspiracies

Attempted crimes, and conspiracy to commit crimes, are usually treated as commission of the crimes themselves, except that the most severe sentence in the list above is not imposed if an alternative is listed there. The exceptions are sedition and murder, where a conviction for conspiracy leads to an equal sentence. Obviously some attempted crimes are not possible (for instance, attempted serious assault would usually be treated as assault, a minor crime).

Magic

There are strong prohibitions on the use of magic in public places. There must be a good reason for such use.

• Healing and other aid spells are permitted.
• Hold person or Slow can be used to apprehend villains. This supersedes the law outlawing the use of Hold spells.
• Damaging spells are only acceptable if the caster can prove their life was in danger.
• Intrusive spells like Know Alignment or ESP are frowned upon, as is Invisibility, but not prohibited.
• Major damaging spells may result in trial for a crime such as arson
• Casting spells to assist city authorities with advance permission tends to be received more favorably by the authorities.

The People's Constables

The People's Constables are an arm of law enforcement separate from the City Watch. These constables are appointed by the Directors, and their directive, set by the Director's, is to maintain law and order and assess fines against offenders, for trivial crimes not worthy of the time of the magistrates.

The constables are empowered to fine offenders for trivial crimes such as obstruction, threatening language, slanderous utterances against ordinary persons, emptying foul refuse into the street, and so on. Such fines vary from as little as 1 cp to a maximum of 10 sp.

Criminal Code Sentences

1. Death
2. Permanent Exile and Banishment
3. Mutilation (varies dependent on crime. Thieves usually have a hand or fingers cut off)
4. Hard Labor for Life
5. Hard Labor 11-20 years (this is based on human lifespan, and may be adjusted for demihumans to account for their long lifespan)
6. Labor, Hard, 7-12 years
7. Hard Labor 5-8 years
8. Hard Labor 1-4 years
9. Enormous fine (90 – 95%)
10. Heavy fine (60 – 80%)
11. Standard fine (25 – 40%)

The city can seize a person’s money & property for crimes instead of imprisonment.

Of course, casting spells to assist city authorities without advance permission tends to be received more favorably by the authorities.