Law and Order in Droaam [Archive] - Wizards Community

Law and Order in Droaam [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
krlsrrll
06-10-07, 04:28 AM Hi all

I've been doing a mercenary based game in Droaam and was wondering what people's take on law and order there is.

The way I've been doing it is that the sisters have 'overall' objectives which the marshals and their troops enforce. Within cities there is a heavy handed approach to law in that if you get caught then the punishments are generally very heavy although there is room for bribes etc.

In addition I've done it that the marshals are also working with the mercenary house (sorry, forgotten the name and don't have books handy) in hiring adventurers etc to try and expand their influence into the more rural areas.

I give an example to illustrate:

A rogue character was tasked to keep an eye on someone who entered an inn in a better part of the player city. I rolled a couple of hide checks etc and he failed therefore was noticed by some harpies. The harpies then hovered over him so he walked off, was followed and panicked before eventually being caught.

The watch then beat him up a bit to get the info out of him as to what he was doing, he spilt all the info so now has been told to pay his fee for the job he is on or suffer the consequences.

I think the player was shocked by the brutality and his fellow group members are suspicious as to how he got out (they are all evil) so wondered if people felt this was a typical approach or someone skulking about is not unusual for example in such a lawless society.

The city they are in is the large one on the coast (see above note about lack of ability to remember names)

Thanks in advance.
naturax
06-10-07, 08:23 AM I think Droaam is a brutal place, so what you've described seems reasonable to me. I'm not sure exactly what your question is or what kind of advice you are looking for. If you'd like some assurance that you're on the right track, you've got it.
Cifer
06-10-07, 09:02 AM I would actually see the place as even more lawless. You get away with beating up and stealing from people who can't beat you in return - as long as they're not under the protection of someone higher up. Unless, of course, you somehow threaten the "state", in which case pretty much everyone who wants some favor with the daughters will try to get you.
krlsrrll
06-10-07, 11:16 AM I think Droaam is a brutal place, so what you've described seems reasonable to me. I'm not sure exactly what your question is or what kind of advice you are looking for. If you'd like some assurance that you're on the right track, you've got it.

I was more after how people dealt with law and order in Droaam. Wasn't sure how lawful to go even though Vralkek (have read my notes now) is a large coastal town it does have slums set up outside the city.

I don't mind the idea of a more lawless regime but can't see how the sisters would allow for such laxness in their kingdom and if they want to gain more power a strong, regulated force behind them would be better.

Also what do people think about 'enforced military service'? Have emphasised that from the main marshals point of view who they deal with that they are above normal 'grunts' but a few months in the army could help establish their loyalties either way in the region.

Just thought I'd fish for a few ideas really :)
DyloniusFunk
06-10-07, 12:58 PM From what i remember from the ECS, the Sisters are really only concerned with alrge scale threats to the nation as a whole. feuds, inter city warfare, etc, they leave in the hands of thier subordinates to deal with as they see fit.
From_Khyber
06-10-07, 01:23 PM I was more after how people dealt with law and order in Droaam. Wasn't sure how lawful to go even though Vralkek (have read my notes now) is a large coastal town it does have slums set up outside the city.

I don't mind the idea of a more lawless regime but can't see how the sisters would allow for such laxness in their kingdom and if they want to gain more power a strong, regulated force behind them would be better.

Also what do people think about 'enforced military service'? Have emphasised that from the main marshals point of view who they deal with that they are above normal 'grunts' but a few months in the army could help establish their loyalties either way in the region.

Just thought I'd fish for a few ideas really :)

I've always interpreted law and order in Droaam as being equivalent to the African regulations (think Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, etc.) - somewhat, anyway. If you exclude the rebel troops, the genocides, and ethnic cleansings, I could very well imagine Droaam being like those African lands, where things are ruled militaristically.
krlsrrll
06-11-07, 06:35 AM I've always interpreted law and order in Droaam as being equivalent to the African regulations (think Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, etc.) - somewhat, anyway. If you exclude the rebel troops, the genocides, and ethnic cleansings, I could very well imagine Droaam being like those African lands, where things are ruled militaristically.

Mmm, interesting idea. I have to be honest and my knowledge of this is very poor so will widen my knowledge a bit which is never bad.

I think I'll try and get a 'set of principles' which can be applied as the system as I have it is very loose and being defined as I go.
Alex_
06-11-07, 06:28 PM Droamm is a fuedal nation, plain and simple. The Hag sisters are the rulers, and what passes for law is basically everyone else in a series of lesser rungs that all ultimately lead back up to the Hags.

As long as it doesn't upset the balance of power, it tends to be alright. The Hags do have the gnolls who are neutral enforcers who strike against anyone upsetting the status quo.

Those directly below the Hags exercise power as they see fit, and those below them do the same, all the way down to the poor oppressed masses who are essentially serfs and slaves. Some rulers see advantages in being more benevolent, while others see advantages in being more ruthless but there is no real standard amongst them other than "what works".
From_Khyber
06-12-07, 10:32 AM Droamm is a fuedal nation, plain and simple. The Hag sisters are the rulers, and what passes for law is basically everyone else in a series of lesser rungs that all ultimately lead back up to the Hags.

As long as it doesn't upset the balance of power, it tends to be alright. The Hags do have the gnolls who are neutral enforcers who strike against anyone upsetting the status quo.

Those directly below the Hags exercise power as they see fit, and those below them do the same, all the way down to the poor oppressed masses who are essentially serfs and slaves. Some rulers see advantages in being more benevolent, while others see advantages in being more ruthless but there is no real standard amongst them other than "what works".

Sounds pretty African to me, except that there are no hags in Africa (hopefully) :D
Alex_
06-12-07, 10:39 AM Yeah it could be lots of places. The tribal/warlord system in many war-torn African regions would only be a more recent example.
From_Khyber
06-12-07, 11:04 AM Anyway, to return to the actual topic, I remember reading something about gnolls being popular as law-enforcers in Droaam, because of their moderate neutrality amid the otherwise notable presence of chaos and disorder. However, their impartiality leads them to a wide variety of different factions and power groups in Droaam.
Nerdicus
06-13-07, 02:39 PM In my Eberron games I have law and order in Droaam as this:

The Three Sisters are the supreme rulers of the area. Under them they use whom ever is the toughest and most reliable to secure law and order in the various regions within Droaam.

I imagine that the area is roughly divided into fiefs that are ruled by vassal lords whom follow the rule of the sisters. Think Tzaryan the oger mage for example of vassal lord.

Within Droaam there are all sorts of regions peopled with a wide variety of races and dispositions there in. Most of these would be the monsterous races you would expect, but because the demand that monster=evil is thrown out the window, you can have regions that farm food predominatly, and are more good-neutral in mind set. These are like the farmers anywhere else and place their concerns in stability and security in order to produce their food.

I have it where there are whole communities of goblinoids living with a few ogres and gnoll families, that are LG and have good farm land that they farm very well, and protect very fiercely. These would happily allow a group of heroes to rest in their farmstead in exchange for a days work, provided the heroes don't bring angry bandits down on their heads.

But each region is unique in definition due to the fact that each would have different rations of races and a different leader/warlord/dictator/whatever. Some would be bandit lairs, regions of warriors training and preparing for battle. Everything they consume as a community would be obtained by means of banditry and at the expense of some weaker community. Personally I imagine these sorts of communities, the bandits I mean, would live near the borders of Droaam and the surrounding nations so they would have access to ill protected townships.

I also figure that there are several other ogre-mage warolords in Droaam, not to mention Minotaur, medusa, ogre, and lesser night hags which that hold rule over small areas. There could even be a few demons lving in relative secrecy up to know good.

I am actually planning on having one of said farming communities of large sized military force of a several hundred men, plus a thriving community of farmers, artisans and laborers. This community will have figured out, die to some good minds in their counsel, that have realized that their crop lands, which have thrived for hundreds of years, have been dieing out over the past decade due to the magical farming that is going on in some of the more civilized regions of Khorvaire. This community will send out first a peaceful dignitarian force to request that the areas that are doing this stop using their magical aumentations to control the weather and climate in order to perfect thier crops. If they do not stop, the community will be forced to take aggressive measures to ensure that their lands are not choked out be the magical backlash of the selfish farming practices of Aundair.

I don't know how I'm going to use that little bit of story yet, but I will some day....
krlsrrll
06-15-07, 04:33 AM Mmm, some interesting ideas there. I've been concentrating on the monstrous side being neutral/evil but hadn't really thought of areas of more lawful/good communities. Suppose it makes sense else the whole place would implode.

For now though I'm concentrating on the inner city life of Vralkek so have settled on a system of Troll/Minotaur/Orc 'brute squads' controlled by the more intelligent Gnolls with hobgoblins being city commanders controlling the more day to day aspects of the city.

Have as yet to decide who is in overall charge but am working on having the hobgoblin commanders being the more political aspect of the city. That way they are autonomous from the Gnolls who just deal with law and order.

Thus far the party have only dealt with the Gnolls but have had a slight brush with a commander so have the change of a bit of inner city politics which is always good :)

Hell, I could even design a organisation chart !!
ryanroyce
06-16-07, 12:57 AM The PCs in my campaign recently visited Graywall, and "law and order" obeyed the very simple principle of Might Makes Right.

Most laws, both IRL and in gaming, exist to protect the weak from the strong (in theory). In Droaam, this is not the case. If you're not strong enough to prevent yourself from coming to harm, then you only have yourself and your race to blame. This has the side effect of ensuring the classic D&D trope of having the boss be the monster with the most levels (unlike Aundair, whose Queen is just an 8th level aristocrat). A mind flayer rules Graywall because he's the toughest SOB in the city AND he has the Daughters' explicit mandate.

While this might give the impression that Droaam is a violent and menacing place, the reality is quite the opposite. As the saying goes, "an armed society is a polite society", and that goes double for Droaam. Since no one knows precisely how powerful a given stranger is, or how powerful a seemingly weak person's benefactor is (i.e., that kobold in filthy rags could be an epic level monk or be the agent of a great red wyrm), it is Very Unwise to go around annoying strangers. Hence, interactions between unknown individuals in Droaam are VERY polite, and violence usually takes the form of a one-on-one duel, not a free-for-all brawl. Those that don't honor this principle usually don't live long before annoying someone they shouldn't a' oughta.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
krlsrrll 06-10-07, 04:28 AM	Hi all I've been doing a mercenary based game in Droaam and was wondering what people's take on law and order there is. The way I've been doing it is that the sisters have 'overall' objectives which the marshals and their troops enforce. Within cities there is a heavy handed approach to law in that if you get caught then the punishments are generally very heavy although there is room for bribes etc. In addition I've done it that the marshals are also working with the mercenary house (sorry, forgotten the name and don't have books handy) in hiring adventurers etc to try and expand their influence into the more rural areas. I give an example to illustrate: A rogue character was tasked to keep an eye on someone who entered an inn in a better part of the player city. I rolled a couple of hide checks etc and he failed therefore was noticed by some harpies. The harpies then hovered over him so he walked off, was followed and panicked before eventually being caught. The watch then beat him up a bit to get the info out of him as to what he was doing, he spilt all the info so now has been told to pay his fee for the job he is on or suffer the consequences. I think the player was shocked by the brutality and his fellow group members are suspicious as to how he got out (they are all evil) so wondered if people felt this was a typical approach or someone skulking about is not unusual for example in such a lawless society. The city they are in is the large one on the coast (see above note about lack of ability to remember names) Thanks in advance.
naturax 06-10-07, 08:23 AM	I think Droaam is a brutal place, so what you've described seems reasonable to me. I'm not sure exactly what your question is or what kind of advice you are looking for. If you'd like some assurance that you're on the right track, you've got it.
Cifer 06-10-07, 09:02 AM	I would actually see the place as even more lawless. You get away with beating up and stealing from people who can't beat you in return - as long as they're not under the protection of someone higher up. Unless, of course, you somehow threaten the "state", in which case pretty much everyone who wants some favor with the daughters will try to get you.
krlsrrll 06-10-07, 11:16 AM	I think Droaam is a brutal place, so what you've described seems reasonable to me. I'm not sure exactly what your question is or what kind of advice you are looking for. If you'd like some assurance that you're on the right track, you've got it. I was more after how people dealt with law and order in Droaam. Wasn't sure how lawful to go even though Vralkek (have read my notes now) is a large coastal town it does have slums set up outside the city. I don't mind the idea of a more lawless regime but can't see how the sisters would allow for such laxness in their kingdom and if they want to gain more power a strong, regulated force behind them would be better. Also what do people think about 'enforced military service'? Have emphasised that from the main marshals point of view who they deal with that they are above normal 'grunts' but a few months in the army could help establish their loyalties either way in the region. Just thought I'd fish for a few ideas really :)
DyloniusFunk 06-10-07, 12:58 PM	From what i remember from the ECS, the Sisters are really only concerned with alrge scale threats to the nation as a whole. feuds, inter city warfare, etc, they leave in the hands of thier subordinates to deal with as they see fit.
From_Khyber 06-10-07, 01:23 PM	I was more after how people dealt with law and order in Droaam. Wasn't sure how lawful to go even though Vralkek (have read my notes now) is a large coastal town it does have slums set up outside the city. I don't mind the idea of a more lawless regime but can't see how the sisters would allow for such laxness in their kingdom and if they want to gain more power a strong, regulated force behind them would be better. Also what do people think about 'enforced military service'? Have emphasised that from the main marshals point of view who they deal with that they are above normal 'grunts' but a few months in the army could help establish their loyalties either way in the region. Just thought I'd fish for a few ideas really :) I've always interpreted law and order in Droaam as being equivalent to the African regulations (think Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, etc.) - somewhat, anyway. If you exclude the rebel troops, the genocides, and ethnic cleansings, I could very well imagine Droaam being like those African lands, where things are ruled militaristically.
krlsrrll 06-11-07, 06:35 AM	I've always interpreted law and order in Droaam as being equivalent to the African regulations (think Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, etc.) - somewhat, anyway. If you exclude the rebel troops, the genocides, and ethnic cleansings, I could very well imagine Droaam being like those African lands, where things are ruled militaristically. Mmm, interesting idea. I have to be honest and my knowledge of this is very poor so will widen my knowledge a bit which is never bad. I think I'll try and get a 'set of principles' which can be applied as the system as I have it is very loose and being defined as I go.
Alex_ 06-11-07, 06:28 PM	Droamm is a fuedal nation, plain and simple. The Hag sisters are the rulers, and what passes for law is basically everyone else in a series of lesser rungs that all ultimately lead back up to the Hags. As long as it doesn't upset the balance of power, it tends to be alright. The Hags do have the gnolls who are neutral enforcers who strike against anyone upsetting the status quo. Those directly below the Hags exercise power as they see fit, and those below them do the same, all the way down to the poor oppressed masses who are essentially serfs and slaves. Some rulers see advantages in being more benevolent, while others see advantages in being more ruthless but there is no real standard amongst them other than "what works".
From_Khyber 06-12-07, 10:32 AM	Droamm is a fuedal nation, plain and simple. The Hag sisters are the rulers, and what passes for law is basically everyone else in a series of lesser rungs that all ultimately lead back up to the Hags. As long as it doesn't upset the balance of power, it tends to be alright. The Hags do have the gnolls who are neutral enforcers who strike against anyone upsetting the status quo. Those directly below the Hags exercise power as they see fit, and those below them do the same, all the way down to the poor oppressed masses who are essentially serfs and slaves. Some rulers see advantages in being more benevolent, while others see advantages in being more ruthless but there is no real standard amongst them other than "what works". Sounds pretty African to me, except that there are no hags in Africa (hopefully) :D
Alex_ 06-12-07, 10:39 AM	Yeah it could be lots of places. The tribal/warlord system in many war-torn African regions would only be a more recent example.
From_Khyber 06-12-07, 11:04 AM	Anyway, to return to the actual topic, I remember reading something about gnolls being popular as law-enforcers in Droaam, because of their moderate neutrality amid the otherwise notable presence of chaos and disorder. However, their impartiality leads them to a wide variety of different factions and power groups in Droaam.
Nerdicus 06-13-07, 02:39 PM	In my Eberron games I have law and order in Droaam as this: The Three Sisters are the supreme rulers of the area. Under them they use whom ever is the toughest and most reliable to secure law and order in the various regions within Droaam. I imagine that the area is roughly divided into fiefs that are ruled by vassal lords whom follow the rule of the sisters. Think Tzaryan the oger mage for example of vassal lord. Within Droaam there are all sorts of regions peopled with a wide variety of races and dispositions there in. Most of these would be the monsterous races you would expect, but because the demand that monster=evil is thrown out the window, you can have regions that farm food predominatly, and are more good-neutral in mind set. These are like the farmers anywhere else and place their concerns in stability and security in order to produce their food. I have it where there are whole communities of goblinoids living with a few ogres and gnoll families, that are LG and have good farm land that they farm very well, and protect very fiercely. These would happily allow a group of heroes to rest in their farmstead in exchange for a days work, provided the heroes don't bring angry bandits down on their heads. But each region is unique in definition due to the fact that each would have different rations of races and a different leader/warlord/dictator/whatever. Some would be bandit lairs, regions of warriors training and preparing for battle. Everything they consume as a community would be obtained by means of banditry and at the expense of some weaker community. Personally I imagine these sorts of communities, the bandits I mean, would live near the borders of Droaam and the surrounding nations so they would have access to ill protected townships. I also figure that there are several other ogre-mage warolords in Droaam, not to mention Minotaur, medusa, ogre, and lesser night hags which that hold rule over small areas. There could even be a few demons lving in relative secrecy up to know good. I am actually planning on having one of said farming communities of large sized military force of a several hundred men, plus a thriving community of farmers, artisans and laborers. This community will have figured out, die to some good minds in their counsel, that have realized that their crop lands, which have thrived for hundreds of years, have been dieing out over the past decade due to the magical farming that is going on in some of the more civilized regions of Khorvaire. This community will send out first a peaceful dignitarian force to request that the areas that are doing this stop using their magical aumentations to control the weather and climate in order to perfect thier crops. If they do not stop, the community will be forced to take aggressive measures to ensure that their lands are not choked out be the magical backlash of the selfish farming practices of Aundair. I don't know how I'm going to use that little bit of story yet, but I will some day....
krlsrrll 06-15-07, 04:33 AM	Mmm, some interesting ideas there. I've been concentrating on the monstrous side being neutral/evil but hadn't really thought of areas of more lawful/good communities. Suppose it makes sense else the whole place would implode. For now though I'm concentrating on the inner city life of Vralkek so have settled on a system of Troll/Minotaur/Orc 'brute squads' controlled by the more intelligent Gnolls with hobgoblins being city commanders controlling the more day to day aspects of the city. Have as yet to decide who is in overall charge but am working on having the hobgoblin commanders being the more political aspect of the city. That way they are autonomous from the Gnolls who just deal with law and order. Thus far the party have only dealt with the Gnolls but have had a slight brush with a commander so have the change of a bit of inner city politics which is always good :) Hell, I could even design a organisation chart !!
ryanroyce 06-16-07, 12:57 AM	The PCs in my campaign recently visited Graywall, and "law and order" obeyed the very simple principle of Might Makes Right. Most laws, both IRL and in gaming, exist to protect the weak from the strong (in theory). In Droaam, this is not the case. If you're not strong enough to prevent yourself from coming to harm, then you only have yourself and your race to blame. This has the side effect of ensuring the classic D&D trope of having the boss be the monster with the most levels (unlike Aundair, whose Queen is just an 8th level aristocrat). A mind flayer rules Graywall because he's the toughest SOB in the city AND he has the Daughters' explicit mandate. While this might give the impression that Droaam is a violent and menacing place, the reality is quite the opposite. As the saying goes, "an armed society is a polite society", and that goes double for Droaam. Since no one knows precisely how powerful a given stranger is, or how powerful a seemingly weak person's benefactor is (i.e., that kobold in filthy rags could be an epic level monk or be the agent of a great red wyrm), it is Very Unwise to go around annoying strangers. Hence, interactions between unknown individuals in Droaam are VERY polite, and violence usually takes the form of a one-on-one duel, not a free-for-all brawl. Those that don't honor this principle usually don't live long before annoying someone they shouldn't a' oughta.