| The Laws of the Land
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- A leader is responsible for the actions of their True Followers, for good or ill.
- A spellcaster is responsible for all actions of golems, undead, netherforms they conjour, summon, posess or command.
- Traditional foes of the Realms are not protected by Baronial Law unless a True Follower
of the Barony makes an exception. This includes but is not limited to trolls
and demons. As required by the Treaty of Blade, Aspis ARE protected by Baronial Law. Due to the number of orcs and goblins
which have successfully entered Realms society, they are not longer
considered a "traditional foe of the Realms" in law.
- Those who knowingly, actively aid in crimes (like standing lookout) share in the guilt of said crime.
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Aiding the enemy: The civilized nations of these realms frequently are engaged in quests, battles, or other efforts to protect our lands from dire threats. Those who knowingly and actively work against these efforts are acting against Baronial law. In this some judgement is called for: what one might think of as sabotage, another might see as carrying forward the banner against a greater threat or more immediate evil. Nevertheless, there are occasionally true traitors who must be brought to justice.
As part of this law, from 5/9/1005 it is now illegal to engage Nemesis Wraiths in honorable combat, until such time evidence is in hand that doing so can in some way work against Nemesis. |
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| Murder: Scalping or otherwise arranging for someone to be permanently dead
such as by hiding the body is the most serious crime in Banecroft, with the harshest
penalties.
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| Agravated Assault: Killing someone where they can be raised relatively easily is
illegal unless done while defending Banecroft or resisting a crime.
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| Assault: Attacking someone, possibly wounding them is illegal unless done in
self-defense or while defending Banecroft. Any harm to one's person including torture, rape,
and the vampiric stealing of blood or souls is covered by this law.
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| Slavery: Owning of another being is not an acceptable practice in Banecroft.
Both possession and being the unwilling target of necromancy are covered by this law.
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| Thievery: Not only is taking something that does not belong to you illegal, the
Baron has a particular dislike for thieves and this is reflected in sentencing. Damaging
property in the form of arson, coin shaving, forgery, swindling and other property-related
crimes are also covered by this law.
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| Poaching: In order to insure our long term health and cultivation of food
resources, the Baronial Ranger (Myrddin) may place certain game off limits for hunting.
Violating this ban is illegal. If you are uncertain, a list is available at any inn in
Banecroft, the Tower, or ask any True Follower or member of the Borderguard. It is rare that
a ban is in place, but they are occasionally necessary. Current Ban, as of 3/03: No Ban
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| Tax evasion: All in Banecroft do their part, citizens and residents. Those who
produce anything in Banecroft are required to give some of their production to the Barony. This is usually a nominal percentage, unless there is special need.
To encourage the trade that flows through Banecroft (which brings in wealth indirectly to
our inns, farms and craftsmen) there is no tax on moving goods through Banecroft.
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| Heraldry: One may only wear the heraldry, blazon, medals or other honorifics
that one has earned. New herladry must have two points of heraldric difference from
existing heraldry.
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| Judgement and Sentencing
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| Judgement and Sentencing are carried out by the Baron. The Baron has been known to use
magic to simplify the judging of difficult cases. If the Baron is not
available, the accused will be judged by the highest ranking True Follower available, unless
a True Follower is the accused. The accused has the right to appeal for another ruling from
a higher ranking True Follower, but will have to surrender to custody until one becomes
available. If the accused is considered too dangerous to hold or tries to break from
custody, the original judgement will stand. If there will not be any higher-ranking True
Follower available in a reasonable time, the judgement stands.
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| Sentencing is in two parts. First, the guilty party must restore, return, heal or
fix whatever was lost by their crime. Second, an additional punishment will be set as a
deterrent and to protect society. If they cannot or will not do the first part, then the
second part will be far more serious. Deterrents include fines, jail time, exile, (breaking
exile is a crime) and execution.
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| Communication
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| Baronial messengers are volunteers from the Borderguard. Despite the [relative]
dangers of messenger duty, many volunteer for the chance to travel on the Baronial
budget. Of the volunteers, the messengers are chosen for their charisma and running
ability. The rationale is this: messengers must be couth enough not to make the
Barony look bad to the other party. Also, while not expected to run to their objective,
being swift of foot and strong of wind is a better defense against the dangers of the
road than the short sword and Baronial favor they are issued.
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| Health
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| The most experienced Baronial healer has the responsibility of seeing to the health of
all the residents of the Barony. The Barony goes to extra trouble to see that the
commoners are in good health. If the needs exceed the skills of the Baronial healers,
they have been known to contract help from nearby Chimeron. Healers passing through the
Barony have a standing invitation to hospitality at the Tower, especially those with
rare spells like 'cure disease'. Mel the innkeeperess knows of this deal, but doesn't
mind turning potential business to the tower, because she gets a tax credit for
referring powerful healers to the tower equal to a night's lodging, and she can still
rent out the room to someone else!
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| Mysteries
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| The Baron has become resigned to the presence of the Aspis victory monuments on the
Borders of Banecroft. Since he cannot destroy them, he has adapted them. All three
obelisks now are the site of the Borderguard's resupply posts. A log cabin at the base
of the obelisk, and a ladder running up it to a platform built around the top of the
obelisk. Sticking above the treetops, these 'crows nests' afford the Borderguard a
great view of the borders. Thank's to Veros's heroic actions on the expedition to the Dark
Future, the dangers of these obelisks are believed to be disarmed.
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| Since the Baron's sacrifice of his claim to the westernmost lands of Banecroft during the
ritual to restore Sir Pyr, one
of the obelisks is now outside of Banecroft. Because no settler wished to occupy a building
attached to a rune covered, mysterious obelisk, the Borderguard removed their supplies and
dissasembled their base.
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| Dangers
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| The woods in central Banecroft are not safe to lone travelers, as there are goblins
and some rarer monsters in the wilds. The Baron had an understanding with the resident
Troll King, to the effect of "Leave my people alone and I won't call for our allies and
friends to muster in Banecroft to destroy you." However, the machinations of Illinar
changed things. The troll king, empowered with magic from the Illinarean advance
force, attacked Nadina. Baronial forces, aided by travelling adventurers,
defeated that attack and the Baron slew the troll king. |
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History