Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Dec 08, 2005 1:40:11	Cube war machine of A'kin, my rogue modron character once had the honor of conversing with Lord Dispater. Though Cube knew that Dispater was as evil as they come, he still revelled in the opportunity to speak with a creature so inherantly lawful. Cube asked Dispater many questions about the nature of law, and of all responses the devil gave, this, Cube remembered the most: "My dear Modron, law is simply a matter of what can be proven in court." This being said, I would like to open a discussion on court proceddings in the city of doors. Truthfully, I don't know how many gamers consider trials when they think of gaming. I know there is at least one module that features a trial (the Modron March) but this trial is mostly a joke of a courtroom. However, I have a couple of characters that have the bearuocracy and law 2nd ed NWP and they are constantly thinking about there actions in terms of the law in the city of doors. Fortunately, they have yet to visit the Sigiliam courtroom, but due to their nature, such a gaming session is near unaviodable. In the days of the Guvners, law was simple. Law equals jink. The best way to avoid a legal situation is to pay off the right officials before the matter is brought before the courts. Of course, sometimes the key to winning a trial is to knock off the prosecutors before things get underway. If you have to go to court then just pay off the right officials to insure that you have a judge that is sympathetic to your cause. However, in post faction-war Sigil, the Dabus now run the courts, and they are a lot less likely to accept bribes. Therefore, PCs might find themselves before a more judicial bench. Thus, I had a couple of legal questions to ask players and DMs about how they run their legal campaigns. 1) Are all Sigilian trials before a Judge, or is there a trial by Jury option? 2) Is divination magic (i.e. divination, zone of truth, augury,etc...) admisible as evidence? 3) Is testimony based on divination abilities admisible? For example, if the star witness for the prosecution was a psionisist that could deliver testimony based on the the psychic impressions of the crime scene, would that be allowed? 4) When the baliff swears in the witness, does he make them swear a general Sigialian oath, or does he make them swear on a holy text specific to the witness's religion. What about worshippers of Deities known for lying and deception? 5) With the guvners gone, who acts as the Sigilian 'D.A.'. 6) Is Justice under the Dabus a sliding 'jink scale'. In other words, do the rich walk while the poor get wyrmed? 7) Do the Sigilian courts honor the authority of other organizations? For instance, let's say that agents of the church of Ilmater are hunting a couple of cutters for crimes against the church, but the Sigilian authorities have found them first for minor crimes in Sigil. Would the Sigilian courts hand over the criminals to the church of Ilmater to be extradited back to their original plane? These are just a couple of questions about the Sigilian court system. How do you guys run your courts?
#2 zombiegleemax Dec 08, 2005 11:02:13	The only time I used a court was in one of the first gaming sessions I did in Planescape (obviously pre-faction-war). I used it to make my PCs understand how much the Guvners use the letter of the law over its spirit. It was a small matter, more of an encounter than an adventure. They were arrested by the Harmonium for owning thieving tools. They lawyered-up and had the good sense of taking a Guvner as a lawyer. His defence was mostly based on the fact that, though they carried the thieving tools, they did not actually OWN them (he said they were holding them for a friend). Since the law was about owning, not carrying, it didn't apply. There was a penalty for carrying but it was significantly lesser and by invoking an obscure clause about the fact that it was an item related to the religion of the character, the lawyer had all charges dismissed. It's clearly a very simplified case but it served its purpose. My clueless PCs now realy understand what the fraternity of order is about.