A player asked me a question today which got me thinking. How do the various legal systems work across Onara? It has been written before that Nierites are occasionally brought in to act as judges for various disputes, but how widespread is this?
Almeric I would think that the execution of law here would be very much dependent on where you are at the time. As it is fractured by a large number of warlords, I would think that the laws of the land would be inconsistent and unequally applied. You are probably more likely to be brought before a lord of one sort or another than a dedicated/educated judge.
Altheria Of any nation, Altheria is the one I would most expect to possess an independent judiciary. As a republic would the laws of Altheria be secular, or given the prominence of religion, would the judiciary be part of (or overseen by) the church?
Blessed Lands Seeing as the First City is a bit of a hodge-podge, I would expect that the rules would differ based on where you are, exactly. I might remember this wrong, but I do remember one of the modules addressing a set of laws which are enforced by the Tomal Khan (mostly to do with exploration and taxation, I believe).
Canceri I think it has been fairly well established that law in Canceri is administered by the church. How frequently would Nierites be called upon, however? If there were a serious legal matter in Ventaka, for instance, would the Nerothians deal with it in-house, or would they bring in an external judge? I'm guessing that it would be the former.
Coryan Of all the nations, I would imagine that the Coryani would be the most likely to bring in experts in law. Otherwise, I would expect the nobility to fill that role.
Dwarven Off the top of my head I don't recall any materials dealing with law in Dwarven society. I would expect that it would differ from enclave to enclave, however.
Elorii As above, I don't really think it has been explored. With that said, given the age of the Eloran empire and personal lifespans, I would think the Elorii would have good potential for a fully developed legal system. Would it be secular though?
Hinterlands Obviously in the rural areas law would be defined and administered by whatever local tribe is there. Mil Takara would follow Milandir, what about Sicaris, Censure and Jappa? Would the local governments set their own laws? I wouldn't be surprised if Censure had one of the more rigorous legal systems, as crime is bad for commerce. Erduk, similarly, would likely have well defined and enforced laws.
Khitan We don't know much about Khitan, but it seems loosely modeled on Chinese society. I would guess that the military would have a large role in law, but this is a very uneducated guess.
League of Princes We know very little about the Kio (which will hopefully change soon), but with the number of Undir slaves out there, I'm skeptical that law and order is a huge priority...if anything, I would think that the law would treat the Kio as being or greater significance than other races.
Milandir I would guess that the nobility of Milandir would administer justice in Milandir. In Mil Takara, would it be the Knight-Commander who would preside over trials?
Pirate Isles Law? What law?
Ssethregore Not really relevant to the campaign at large (seeing as PCs are unlikely to ever be involved in a Ssethregoran trial), but I would think that the Ssanu would be in charge of law, and that it would heavily favour the Ssanu. The society seems to eschew the 'might is right' philosophy, so I doubt you would ever see legal proceedings, as such.
Unsealed Lands Haina would likely be very similar to Khitan, with the military having a very strong influence. Bastion is an interesting one. The player's guide states that the citizens of Bastion are very law abiding, and that the city has very strict laws. I would think the priesthood would be involved here.
Ymandragore Ymandragore probably has very strict law as well, although 'fair' probably isn't a part of it. I'm not aware of any information out there, however, on how law is administered or enforced.
_________________ Akira Currier aka Raseri 'Crash' val'Emman - Master of the Incandescent Flame (Martial 3.7) aka Leif - Skohir Warped One (Martial 2.6) aka Rurik - Nol Dappan War Priest (Divine 2.3) aka Karthik - Tultipetan Stonemason (Expert 1.4)
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