Vaeles Law

[DM Quietus]

As a patron state of primarily Arctus Suluna, Vaeles' legal system is incredibly strict. There are no light punishments, although the city does veer away from the most extreme suggestions by Arctus' clergy. Offenses are essentially broken down into two categories, minor and major.


Minor offenses : Anything that constitutes a non-life-altering situation for the victim; Minor assaults, thefts, and other such things.
Major offenses : The other end of the spectrum, a situation which is, by its very nature, life-altering. Murder, rape, and other terrible acts fall under these.

There is some gray area between the two, where there may be some leeway given - not for the most heinous of crimes, but in the case of something such as beating a person within an inch of their life, if there are extenuating circumstances and the city doesn't believe the individual is likely to repeat them, then they may be sentenced as a minor offense. Sentences are fairly uniform across both categories.

Major offense sentences : If it can be proven beyond any doubt that you are guilty of a major offense, capital punishment is enacted - you are killed, to protect society from the chance of you doing so again. If it later comes to light that you were innocent (which is extraordinarily rare, once a century or less), the city will cover the cost of returning you to life, possibly extracting said cost from the true perpetrator. If there is any doubt, you are instead subjected to life in prison. Parole does not exist.
Minor offense sentences : In the cast of a minor offense, you are essentially shipped off to the slave fields in the farmlands. You are assigned to work under a particular state-approved slaver, where you will be given only what you need to survive, and will work off your debt to society. Each day of slavery is worth one silver, as an unpaid worker, and this is put against your debt. Your debt is defined as whatever monetary value your crime incurred; The cost of whatever you stole, or the value of the healing kits used (one use per day) in helping whomever you assaulted return to full health.




Rights and duties of guards : Guards are seen as being direct messengers of the military, and as such, all citizens are to give them their full respect and cooperation at all times. They are NOT allowed to go outside the bounds of the law, though they ARE allowed to use nonlethal force to subdue anyone attempting to resist or escape, and can answer lethal force with lethal force as necessary. When apprehending a suspect, no citizen is to get involved, regardless of their good intentions, unless ordered to do so by a guard. Each Guard is provided a service number, and must provide this when it is requested once it is safe for them to do so. This number is worn on a badge identifying the guard as a member of the Vaeles militia, and every Guard member must wear their badge at all times when on duty.

If a citizen feels a guard went outside the bounds of their power at any point, a complaint may be registered with the Militia, including the guard's service number. They may then be called upon at any point to state their case against the guard in question, who will have a chance to defend himself.




Interrogation : Inside the Vaeles militia's headquarters is a single room reserved for interrogation. The room has a permanent Zone of Truth effect; A state-authorized spellcaster uses Detect Magic to ensure there are no magical effects in place on a given subject, then the subject enters the room. The same Detect Magic spell is used to ensure the Zone of Truth has taken effect on the prisoner. Once it is ensured that they are unable to lie, they are questioned thoroughly, in such a way as to avoid potentially misleading answers - this generally involves the questioner insisting only on yes/no answers. In this way, it is ensured that they only subject the guilty to punishment.

[DM Quietus]

Slavery in Vaeles


In all of Vethedar, only Vaeles (and, by extension, Crossing, though Crossing doesn't have any farms to use slaves on) tolerates what amounts to state-sanctioned slavery. Generally seen in use on the farmlands, the city uses its criminals as "slave" labor, where they pay off their monetary debts to society at a rate of one silver/day, as though they were unskilled laborers. Particularly skilled individuals might be used in more specific areas working directly for the city (and under tight guard), but this is far more rare. In essence, this is similar to the common image we have in modern day of inmates working breaking down rocks while in chains.

As a prospective slave master, one needs to seek state approval. The general rule of thumb is that one warden may oversee up to eight slaves, provided they are recognized by the state (Vaeles militia, in this case) as being capable of doing so. There is a fee (100 gold) and a short written test to ensure the prospective master understands the requirements, before he is given a license allowing him to take criminals into his care. The slaves work essentially as unpaid labor, each day counting as one silver off of their debt to society. When that effective debt reaches zero, the slave is free to go. The city takes nothing from the slave owner, instead counting their profits in the form of the initial fees and the opportunity cost of not housing, feeding, and caring for the slaves themselves.

Anyone assigned to guard slaves needs to be likewise certified, this license being much more difficult to earn - albeit less expensive, at only 10 gold. They must be proficient in keeping criminals in line, and capable of halting an escape if they should try and mount one. The tests required to earn this license are much more focused on the practical, but include a written portion to ensure they understand that while these criminals are slaves in essence, they do still maintain some rights, and as long as they behave themselves appropriately, should be able to expect to be safe from abuse. These "Slave keepers" also need to be trained in basic first aid (requires 1 rank in Heal), as it does happen from time to time that a slave attempts to escape, and it is preferred that those slaves are kept alive to face their charges.

As for the slaves themselves, they do have a rather short list of rights. They can expect to be provided food and water, as well as a roof over their heads - though this can be as simple as a thin stew/soup of potatoes and onions, rainwater that's been boiled to clean it, and a stable with just enough protection to keep them relatively safe from the elements. They are expected to work every day, maintaining a minimum amount of labor so that they earn that day's "wage" against their debt. So long as they provide their day's work, they can expect to be safe from the whips of their keepers, but if they don't hold up their end of things, they are at the mercy of the Keepers. Heaven forbid any slave attempt to escape, as it's not uncommon for a Keeper to have a horse, to better facilitate running down escaping slaves, nor is it uncommon for the slaves themselves to be hobbled, usually by their legs being tethered together, often by rope tying one slave to the next, and effectively entangling the entire group.

If, at any point, a slave should manage to escape, it is the responsibility of the slave owner to track them down at their own expense. If they fail to do so, the city will hire someone to do it, and then charges the owner for the cost. If the owner cannot provide that cost, the owner himself is treated as a criminal and must work off his debt - though sometimes a payment schedule can be worked out to keep them out of jail or slavery time. If the escape is the direct result of a Keeper's negligence, the Keeper can instead be charged as the owner would have been.