papers please [Archive] - Wizards Community

papers please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
wriggleroot
09-29-04, 04:36 PM what kind of consequences are there for being found in the four civilzed realms w/out proper papers (id and traveling)

how hard is it to get new papers if character papers are lost, stolen, or dumped in hot pursuit of the city guard. :D
ChrisTheS
09-29-04, 05:04 PM The only country I know of which is explicitly stated as giving people a hard time for not having their papers is Karrnath. I imagine that in other nations they aren't so much of a deal, although probably proof of identification is desirable if one wishes to use a Kundarak bank in geographically diverse locations.
Zedium
09-29-04, 05:27 PM Well, I think it depends on the nation, in Zilargo you are pretty much screwed, while a goblin from Droaam couldn't care less about your papers. I think it is just related to cultures, but still mostly up to the dm.

Getting new papers would probably going through a lot of red tape, although in the mayor cities you could probably get new papers fairly quickly (if not at high cost) but answering some questions in a zone of truth.
MarkB
09-29-04, 05:47 PM At a wild guess, I'd make Breland similar to the UK (identification only needed by law when travelling abroad, though it may be useful for things like bank accounts) and Aundair similar to the US (you should carry your ID, but you're unlikely to have to produce it unless you're suspected of having done something wrong). As mentioned, Karrnath will be more strict, as will Zilargo, but for different reasons (Karrnath because they're still basically under martial law, and Zilargo because they would find such a system natural and sensible). Thrane probably uses ID papers, but I'd expect them to tend more towards relying upon divine-magical means of detection in tracking criminals, rather than relying upon papers.
ChrisTheS
09-29-04, 06:02 PM Warforged traveling in Karrnath or Thrane should definitely have papers proving that they aren't deserters.
CzarGarrett
09-29-04, 06:37 PM ::throws someone out the window::

::looks around::

No ticket.
Gurv
09-29-04, 09:24 PM To paraphrase my favorite Hellcow maxim:

You need your identification papers whenever the story requires them, and you get in trouble for not having them whenever it furthers the plot.

Don't get me wrong, a discussion of where they take these things the most seriously is perfectly reasonable. But even in Karnath, if losing your identification papers isn't part of the adventure, then the DM shouldn't make an issue of it. Just say that "the official gives you a severe look and tells you to get it replaced; he doesn't want to see you again without it".

The opposite end of the issue is that no matter where you are, someone might be so suspicious of you they they don't trust your papers even if they're real. I mean, they're hard to fake, but not impossible and the authorities know that.

I think that Karrnath and Thrane are the most likely to get you in trouble for not having them (and both are likely to use magic to figure out who you are, using arcane and divine magic respectively.) Zilargo would inclined to ask for the papers constantly, although I think the penalty for not having them would be light, perhaps a fine; that changes if they already suspect you of something though. Aundair, Breland, and the Mror Holds would use the papers on a more reasonable level, not requiring people to have them, but the people would be aware that having positive ID would expediate things if they run into the law. The rest would have little interest in papers, although individuals might know enough about them to ask for them if they encountered someone claiming importance.

I'm curious whether anyone thinks Darguun might favor them?
stone_dog
09-29-04, 09:31 PM I'm curious whether anyone thinks Darguun might favor them?

I can just see a group of hobgoblins standing around the unconcious bodies of some adventurers and rummaging through their stuff. They come across their papers and have a good laugh.

"Hey, my kids have some articles from that sharn rag about these guys! Give me the rest of their papers, they'll love them."
"Heh... shame they didn't get a new banner then, huh?"
"Yeah, but lets not kill them this time. They learned their lesson and new articles about these guys is just about the only thing that will get them to sleep. I can't knock them out EVERY night!"
"Har har har!"
ChrisTheS
09-29-04, 09:34 PM Glorious history notwithstanding, your average hobgoblin is probably barely literate, so I don't think identity papers are going to figure highly there. (I say barely literate, because in virtually all other settings, virtually 100% of hobgoblins would be completely illiterate, no questions asked--here, the line is a bit harder to draw).
Neofish
09-29-04, 10:22 PM ::throws someone out the window::

::looks around::

No ticket.

good job, Junior.
Edymnion
09-29-04, 11:11 PM ::throws someone out the window::

::looks around::

No ticket.Junior... look at what you've done!

On topic though, I'd say you'd need your ID papers whenever you cross a boarder, or try to enter a major city, like Sharn. Basically, anywhere you'd run into a guard post protecting the way into/out of a place, you would likely need your ID papers handy. You know, people going in and out, guards stopping people at random to check papers, that sort of thing. No papers, you don't get in the city/over the boarder. No papers and trying to leave the city, time to make a little unexpected detour to see the captain of the guard for a couple hours...
ThanisKartaleon
09-30-04, 03:58 AM In addition to the reasons above, my players need to have papers if they are to buy any potentially dangerous item (i.e. weapons). Massive purchases require picture id, plus 1 other form of id (like a house signet ring, or someone reputable to vouch for them
stone_dog
09-30-04, 04:29 AM Glorious history notwithstanding, your average hobgoblin is probably barely literate, so I don't think identity papers are going to figure highly there.

I don't see that as being true really. Check it out.

Players handbook p 82 lists the goblin language as being written in dwarven.
Eberron Campaign Setting p47 lists the goblin language as being written in goblin.

Oh hell... I went and forgot the rest of my reasons while jabbering away in a chat window. Ummm... damn. I have the vague impression they were good points though so... just consider yourself defeated okay? Pretty please? ;)

Seriously though. They do have a glorious history and a culture that spans centuries. Sure up in the Seawall Mountains there probably isn't much room for book learnin' outside of the priestly, bardic and ruling classes, but the lowland tribes and the norther plains are probably more likely to be generally more educated than the barbaric mountain dwelling tribes.
I imagine the Lhesh Haruuc is setting up academies for the goblinoid races to study in combat and general education to further improve the lot of his people.
lugnut71
09-30-04, 03:54 PM Also remember every goblin race is just as intelligent as humans.

On the other hand the country is described as frontier. I tend to think of it like Westren movies. Safe if you know the area but but not really a big place for education. Cosider it how you want.
Ardent
09-30-04, 04:48 PM Also remember every goblin race is just as intelligent as humans.
Better than 50% of humans are illiterate in most campaign settings. Adventurers are the exception, not the rule after all.

On the other hand the country is described as frontier. I tend to think of it like Westren movies. Safe if you know the area but but not really a big place for education. Cosider it how you want.
I'd suspect that no matter where you travelled, someone who was literate would not be impossible to find, even somewhere remote like Darguun. If said hobgoblins clobbering the erstwhile heroes over the head were guards or protectors of the adventuring inclination (aka have class levels of something besides Commoner or Warrior) they'd probably be able to read. Intelligence has very little to do with a person's literary capacities. I know people who can perform open-heart surgery and can't spell myocardial to save a life. :/
lugnut71
09-30-04, 06:24 PM Better than 50% of humans are illiterate in most campaign settings. Adventurers are the exception, not the rule after all. :/

Ahhh but Eberron has a system of schools similar to ours well most of its nations do. So more people are likely to be literate. Still I agree most likely in any nation of Khorvaire I think finding someone able to read would be easy and goblinoids would be no exception.
wriggleroot
10-01-04, 12:01 AM still, no one has really offered any good ideas yet about what is necessary for obtaining papers for the first time or just replacement papers

i'm mainly asking for changling characters who want papers for their "disguised selves," mimicked or newly created, and for characters who are from different countries but need new papers.

:confused:
wriggleroot
10-01-04, 12:02 AM still, no one has really offered any good ideas yet about what is necessary for obtaining papers for the first time or just replacement papers

i'm mainly asking for changling characters who want papers for their "disguised selves," mimicked or newly created, and for characters who are in a different country than they're from but need new papers.

:confused:
mistakeagian
10-01-04, 01:14 AM I would say identification papers are free the first time and maybe a few gold after. Papers in a special case with a small portrait might go as high as 100 Gp or more.

Travelling papers might be a little more difficult. After all you would have to get them updated everytime you wanted to cross the border for a different reason. A sentinel Marshal might just have papers saying "I am a sentinel marshal of house deneith I may go where I please" but and adventurers papers have to state the where to and why of their travels. Maybe make them a few Sp each time they are updated. Maybe more if the official issuing them is corrupt or just doesn't like the adventurers.

I would say in general go with the approachmentioned in a previous post: Make them pay if its part of the story, require them to show them if it furthers the plot, otherwise why distract the party and penalise them for a part of the setting?
Ardent
10-01-04, 02:52 PM Ahhh but Eberron has a system of schools similar to ours well most of its nations do. So more people are likely to be literate. Still I agree most likely in any nation of Khorvaire I think finding someone able to read would be easy and goblinoids would be no exception.
Better than 50% of the world (our world; reality) is classified as illiterate last time I saw statistics for it. Just because there's an education system doesn't mean that the mechanics have changed: commoners and warriors are still illiterate. That should be 50% of the population in most places. Experts and adepts aren't necessarily literate either (although I don't they're specifically illiterate either).

Just playing the devil's advocate there. Personally, as I stated, I feel a literate individual won't be too far distant regardless of where you are in Eberron.
lugnut71
10-01-04, 03:51 PM Maybe world is to broad a term. I mean North America as Khovaire is a continent it is a better comparison.
Ardent
10-01-04, 04:25 PM Maybe world is to broad a term. I mean North America as Khovaire is a continent it is a better comparison.
50% of the United States is functionally illiterate too. You'll be hard-pressed to do better than that unless you pick a socialist nation like one of the Scandanavian nations. Illiteracy, contrary to what some Americans would like to believe, is still very much an issue even at home. Of course, one can find a literate American pretty much wherever they are in the U.S. without too much trouble.
Joni-san
10-01-04, 07:04 PM Did I just read what I'm thinking I read? Did you just say that Scandinavia has a large percentage of illiteracy?

*Bursts laughing*

I should mention that Scandinavian contries have the lowest illiteracy rates in the world. Free public education has been common for roughly a hundred years in this part of earth and it has ensured that everyone knows how to read and write.
And we have (good) free food at school to boot.
Ardent
10-01-04, 07:27 PM Did I just read what I'm thinking I read? Did you just say that Scandinavia has a large percentage of illiteracy?

*Bursts laughing*

I should mention that Scandinavian contries have the lowest illiteracy rates in the world. Free public education has been common for roughly a hundred years in this part of earth and it has ensured that everyone knows how to read and write.
And we have (good) free food at school to boot.
You misread. My point was Scandanavian nations are the best in the world, and they're still only 70% or so (don't have recent statistics). North America is far, far behind.

If I'd wanted to make the point you implied I did, I'd pick a developing nation like China or Vietnam (who, IIRC, still have better literacy rates than the U.S.).
SPQR Anarchy
10-01-04, 08:43 PM 50% of the United States is functionally illiterate too. You'll be hard-pressed to do better than that unless you pick a socialist nation like one of the Scandanavian nations. Illiteracy, contrary to what some Americans would like to believe, is still very much an issue even at home. Of course, one can find a literate American pretty much wherever they are in the U.S. without too much trouble.

That's more than a bold declaration, I would go so far as to say it is all out false. Burden of proof is in your court, or you could simple agree that 50% functional illiteracy is a complete over estimate and an all abuse of stats through misapplied definitions, in this case 'functional'.

SPQR
Man-Rata
11-04-04, 02:59 PM ID papers cost 2 GP and with a picture 5 GP, not a whole lot for the average adventure, but alot for 60 % of the population.

If the adventures don't have ID, make them pay, maybe bribe the guards and so on. To obtain papers, zone of truth as suggested above wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe detect truth.

The problem is magic isn't that common, else they could have a number system with CPR (Central Personal Registry) like the one we have in Denmark. Everyone has one, its an algorithm based on your birthday. From this number the Central Registry has everything on you, IRS, where you live, dental, health... everything. Very hard to forge, and not easy to make impersonations. In a world like Eberron it could actually happen, mostly beacuse of House Orien and House Sivis.
Peaceforged
11-04-04, 03:41 PM If you want the papers to be common, make the availability easy. Any place with a house Sivis message station can make them.

If you want to make it harder, then only large cities/capitols have a station capeable of making them. Manned by house Sivis, with Deniath marshals. A item that creates a zone of truth placed in the center. Make it a big deal to get issued papers.

Then of course, anything is available on the black market. I could see changelings going about stealing other peoples papers to be able to create new identities, trading them around. Or Artifacers who emulate the spells used to create the papers to make fake ID's.

The goblins and literacy. Even if the literacy rate is 25% that is still one in four that can read and write. So chances are that a raiding party will have at least one literate member. I have to remind my players that goblin culture differences leans more towards ethics then stat differences. They aren't stupid, just not quite gifted in arcane magic, so the society dosn't support the driving forces that would develop a high literacy rate. Then again, a commoner educated by the state has more reason to be loyal to the state. I could see the goblins moving a long the lines of that kind of social programing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
wriggleroot 09-29-04, 04:36 PM	what kind of consequences are there for being found in the four civilzed realms w/out proper papers (id and traveling) how hard is it to get new papers if character papers are lost, stolen, or dumped in hot pursuit of the city guard. :D
ChrisTheS 09-29-04, 05:04 PM	The only country I know of which is explicitly stated as giving people a hard time for not having their papers is Karrnath. I imagine that in other nations they aren't so much of a deal, although probably proof of identification is desirable if one wishes to use a Kundarak bank in geographically diverse locations.
Zedium 09-29-04, 05:27 PM	Well, I think it depends on the nation, in Zilargo you are pretty much screwed, while a goblin from Droaam couldn't care less about your papers. I think it is just related to cultures, but still mostly up to the dm. Getting new papers would probably going through a lot of red tape, although in the mayor cities you could probably get new papers fairly quickly (if not at high cost) but answering some questions in a zone of truth.
MarkB 09-29-04, 05:47 PM	At a wild guess, I'd make Breland similar to the UK (identification only needed by law when travelling abroad, though it may be useful for things like bank accounts) and Aundair similar to the US (you should carry your ID, but you're unlikely to have to produce it unless you're suspected of having done something wrong). As mentioned, Karrnath will be more strict, as will Zilargo, but for different reasons (Karrnath because they're still basically under martial law, and Zilargo because they would find such a system natural and sensible). Thrane probably uses ID papers, but I'd expect them to tend more towards relying upon divine-magical means of detection in tracking criminals, rather than relying upon papers.
ChrisTheS 09-29-04, 06:02 PM	Warforged traveling in Karrnath or Thrane should definitely have papers proving that they aren't deserters.
CzarGarrett 09-29-04, 06:37 PM	::throws someone out the window:: ::looks around:: No ticket.
Gurv 09-29-04, 09:24 PM	To paraphrase my favorite Hellcow maxim: You need your identification papers whenever the story requires them, and you get in trouble for not having them whenever it furthers the plot. Don't get me wrong, a discussion of where they take these things the most seriously is perfectly reasonable. But even in Karnath, if losing your identification papers isn't part of the adventure, then the DM shouldn't make an issue of it. Just say that "the official gives you a severe look and tells you to get it replaced; he doesn't want to see you again without it". The opposite end of the issue is that no matter where you are, someone might be so suspicious of you they they don't trust your papers even if they're real. I mean, they're hard to fake, but not impossible and the authorities know that. I think that Karrnath and Thrane are the most likely to get you in trouble for not having them (and both are likely to use magic to figure out who you are, using arcane and divine magic respectively.) Zilargo would inclined to ask for the papers constantly, although I think the penalty for not having them would be light, perhaps a fine; that changes if they already suspect you of something though. Aundair, Breland, and the Mror Holds would use the papers on a more reasonable level, not requiring people to have them, but the people would be aware that having positive ID would expediate things if they run into the law. The rest would have little interest in papers, although individuals might know enough about them to ask for them if they encountered someone claiming importance. I'm curious whether anyone thinks Darguun might favor them?
stone_dog 09-29-04, 09:31 PM	I'm curious whether anyone thinks Darguun might favor them? I can just see a group of hobgoblins standing around the unconcious bodies of some adventurers and rummaging through their stuff. They come across their papers and have a good laugh. "Hey, my kids have some articles from that sharn rag about these guys! Give me the rest of their papers, they'll love them." "Heh... shame they didn't get a new banner then, huh?" "Yeah, but lets not kill them this time. They learned their lesson and new articles about these guys is just about the only thing that will get them to sleep. I can't knock them out EVERY night!" "Har har har!"
ChrisTheS 09-29-04, 09:34 PM	Glorious history notwithstanding, your average hobgoblin is probably barely literate, so I don't think identity papers are going to figure highly there. (I say barely literate, because in virtually all other settings, virtually 100% of hobgoblins would be completely illiterate, no questions asked--here, the line is a bit harder to draw).
Neofish 09-29-04, 10:22 PM	::throws someone out the window:: ::looks around:: No ticket. good job, Junior.
Edymnion 09-29-04, 11:11 PM	::throws someone out the window:: ::looks around:: No ticket.Junior... look at what you've done! On topic though, I'd say you'd need your ID papers whenever you cross a boarder, or try to enter a major city, like Sharn. Basically, anywhere you'd run into a guard post protecting the way into/out of a place, you would likely need your ID papers handy. You know, people going in and out, guards stopping people at random to check papers, that sort of thing. No papers, you don't get in the city/over the boarder. No papers and trying to leave the city, time to make a little unexpected detour to see the captain of the guard for a couple hours...
ThanisKartaleon 09-30-04, 03:58 AM	In addition to the reasons above, my players need to have papers if they are to buy any potentially dangerous item (i.e. weapons). Massive purchases require picture id, plus 1 other form of id (like a house signet ring, or someone reputable to vouch for them
stone_dog 09-30-04, 04:29 AM	Glorious history notwithstanding, your average hobgoblin is probably barely literate, so I don't think identity papers are going to figure highly there. I don't see that as being true really. Check it out. Players handbook p 82 lists the goblin language as being written in dwarven. Eberron Campaign Setting p47 lists the goblin language as being written in goblin. Oh hell... I went and forgot the rest of my reasons while jabbering away in a chat window. Ummm... damn. I have the vague impression they were good points though so... just consider yourself defeated okay? Pretty please? ;) Seriously though. They do have a glorious history and a culture that spans centuries. Sure up in the Seawall Mountains there probably isn't much room for book learnin' outside of the priestly, bardic and ruling classes, but the lowland tribes and the norther plains are probably more likely to be generally more educated than the barbaric mountain dwelling tribes. I imagine the Lhesh Haruuc is setting up academies for the goblinoid races to study in combat and general education to further improve the lot of his people.
lugnut71 09-30-04, 03:54 PM	Also remember every goblin race is just as intelligent as humans. On the other hand the country is described as frontier. I tend to think of it like Westren movies. Safe if you know the area but but not really a big place for education. Cosider it how you want.
Ardent 09-30-04, 04:48 PM	Also remember every goblin race is just as intelligent as humans. Better than 50% of humans are illiterate in most campaign settings. Adventurers are the exception, not the rule after all. On the other hand the country is described as frontier. I tend to think of it like Westren movies. Safe if you know the area but but not really a big place for education. Cosider it how you want. I'd suspect that no matter where you travelled, someone who was literate would not be impossible to find, even somewhere remote like Darguun. If said hobgoblins clobbering the erstwhile heroes over the head were guards or protectors of the adventuring inclination (aka have class levels of something besides Commoner or Warrior) they'd probably be able to read. Intelligence has very little to do with a person's literary capacities. I know people who can perform open-heart surgery and can't spell myocardial to save a life. :/
lugnut71 09-30-04, 06:24 PM	Better than 50% of humans are illiterate in most campaign settings. Adventurers are the exception, not the rule after all. :/ Ahhh but Eberron has a system of schools similar to ours well most of its nations do. So more people are likely to be literate. Still I agree most likely in any nation of Khorvaire I think finding someone able to read would be easy and goblinoids would be no exception.
wriggleroot 10-01-04, 12:01 AM	still, no one has really offered any good ideas yet about what is necessary for obtaining papers for the first time or just replacement papers i'm mainly asking for changling characters who want papers for their "disguised selves," mimicked or newly created, and for characters who are from different countries but need new papers. :confused:
wriggleroot 10-01-04, 12:02 AM	still, no one has really offered any good ideas yet about what is necessary for obtaining papers for the first time or just replacement papers i'm mainly asking for changling characters who want papers for their "disguised selves," mimicked or newly created, and for characters who are in a different country than they're from but need new papers. :confused:
mistakeagian 10-01-04, 01:14 AM	I would say identification papers are free the first time and maybe a few gold after. Papers in a special case with a small portrait might go as high as 100 Gp or more. Travelling papers might be a little more difficult. After all you would have to get them updated everytime you wanted to cross the border for a different reason. A sentinel Marshal might just have papers saying "I am a sentinel marshal of house deneith I may go where I please" but and adventurers papers have to state the where to and why of their travels. Maybe make them a few Sp each time they are updated. Maybe more if the official issuing them is corrupt or just doesn't like the adventurers. I would say in general go with the approachmentioned in a previous post: Make them pay if its part of the story, require them to show them if it furthers the plot, otherwise why distract the party and penalise them for a part of the setting?
Ardent 10-01-04, 02:52 PM	Ahhh but Eberron has a system of schools similar to ours well most of its nations do. So more people are likely to be literate. Still I agree most likely in any nation of Khorvaire I think finding someone able to read would be easy and goblinoids would be no exception. Better than 50% of the world (our world; reality) is classified as illiterate last time I saw statistics for it. Just because there's an education system doesn't mean that the mechanics have changed: commoners and warriors are still illiterate. That should be 50% of the population in most places. Experts and adepts aren't necessarily literate either (although I don't they're specifically illiterate either). Just playing the devil's advocate there. Personally, as I stated, I feel a literate individual won't be too far distant regardless of where you are in Eberron.
lugnut71 10-01-04, 03:51 PM	Maybe world is to broad a term. I mean North America as Khovaire is a continent it is a better comparison.
Ardent 10-01-04, 04:25 PM	Maybe world is to broad a term. I mean North America as Khovaire is a continent it is a better comparison. 50% of the United States is functionally illiterate too. You'll be hard-pressed to do better than that unless you pick a socialist nation like one of the Scandanavian nations. Illiteracy, contrary to what some Americans would like to believe, is still very much an issue even at home. Of course, one can find a literate American pretty much wherever they are in the U.S. without too much trouble.
Joni-san 10-01-04, 07:04 PM	Did I just read what I'm thinking I read? Did you just say that Scandinavia has a large percentage of illiteracy? Bursts laughing I should mention that Scandinavian contries have the lowest illiteracy rates in the world. Free public education has been common for roughly a hundred years in this part of earth and it has ensured that everyone knows how to read and write. And we have (good) free food at school to boot.
Ardent 10-01-04, 07:27 PM	Did I just read what I'm thinking I read? Did you just say that Scandinavia has a large percentage of illiteracy? Bursts laughing I should mention that Scandinavian contries have the lowest illiteracy rates in the world. Free public education has been common for roughly a hundred years in this part of earth and it has ensured that everyone knows how to read and write. And we have (good) free food at school to boot. You misread. My point was Scandanavian nations are the best in the world, and they're still only 70% or so (don't have recent statistics). North America is far, far behind. If I'd wanted to make the point you implied I did, I'd pick a developing nation like China or Vietnam (who, IIRC, still have better literacy rates than the U.S.).
SPQR Anarchy 10-01-04, 08:43 PM	50% of the United States is functionally illiterate too. You'll be hard-pressed to do better than that unless you pick a socialist nation like one of the Scandanavian nations. Illiteracy, contrary to what some Americans would like to believe, is still very much an issue even at home. Of course, one can find a literate American pretty much wherever they are in the U.S. without too much trouble. That's more than a bold declaration, I would go so far as to say it is all out false. Burden of proof is in your court, or you could simple agree that 50% functional illiteracy is a complete over estimate and an all abuse of stats through misapplied definitions, in this case 'functional'. SPQR
Man-Rata 11-04-04, 02:59 PM	ID papers cost 2 GP and with a picture 5 GP, not a whole lot for the average adventure, but alot for 60 % of the population. If the adventures don't have ID, make them pay, maybe bribe the guards and so on. To obtain papers, zone of truth as suggested above wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe detect truth. The problem is magic isn't that common, else they could have a number system with CPR (Central Personal Registry) like the one we have in Denmark. Everyone has one, its an algorithm based on your birthday. From this number the Central Registry has everything on you, IRS, where you live, dental, health... everything. Very hard to forge, and not easy to make impersonations. In a world like Eberron it could actually happen, mostly beacuse of House Orien and House Sivis.
Peaceforged 11-04-04, 03:41 PM	If you want the papers to be common, make the availability easy. Any place with a house Sivis message station can make them. If you want to make it harder, then only large cities/capitols have a station capeable of making them. Manned by house Sivis, with Deniath marshals. A item that creates a zone of truth placed in the center. Make it a big deal to get issued papers. Then of course, anything is available on the black market. I could see changelings going about stealing other peoples papers to be able to create new identities, trading them around. Or Artifacers who emulate the spells used to create the papers to make fake ID's. The goblins and literacy. Even if the literacy rate is 25% that is still one in four that can read and write. So chances are that a raiding party will have at least one literate member. I have to remind my players that goblin culture differences leans more towards ethics then stat differences. They aren't stupid, just not quite gifted in arcane magic, so the society dosn't support the driving forces that would develop a high literacy rate. Then again, a commoner educated by the state has more reason to be loyal to the state. I could see the goblins moving a long the lines of that kind of social programing.