Using the Law to Your Advantage

In this area of the Guilds, the Judges provide useful tools and a knowledge base for GMs and players alike. Having the ability to seek guidance and tap into a wealth of experience for answering difficult questions helps to enhance gameplay and get everyone on the same page.

Sometimes situations can arise where players feel the result was biased, or unfair, or the GM is out to get them. They feel frustrated, possibly thinking they should leave the game or even begin to take it out on other players. The flip side to this argument is a player whose actions are contrary to their character, tries to control other players, or challenges every decision by the game moderator to get the result they want at the expense of everyone else.

For situations like this, the Council, a collection of knowledgeable, experienced, and unbiased senior game masters, have agreed to be available to impart their collective wisdom to help resolve issues. More on the role of the Council can be found further down, or you can jump to their page by clicking the link above.

When a decision has been handed down that requires disciplinary action or punishment, the Arbiters are called into play. The Arbiters are the knights of the Holy Rollers. They are the swift hand of justice whose sole duty is to administer the verdict that the law has passed. More will be discussed about the Arbiters further down the page, or you can click the link above to go to their page.

Laws of the Guilds

The core of every Guild is providing help to further the advancement, training, experience, and education of their member’s chosen path. Long, long ago, each Guild set down their set of rules and guidelines on how and what they expect from their members. If guild member honors their houses and abides by the rules, they will reap the benefits and always find help when asked.

When a Guild member transgresses or breaks the laws, their Guild will waste no time administering a suitable punishment upon the offender. Disciplinary action is swift and will equal the crime. Penalties or sentences can range from community service where a lesson in humility is deserving to the more severe of expulsion, banishment, or even imprisonment. Offenses committed are not seen as a result of the player but as a failure of the Guild they represent.

Some extenuating circumstances and transgressions rise above routine Guild matters where they can not be settled quietly “in-house.” When possibilities go beyond simple solutions, a higher court is called upon to weigh in. There is none more elevated than the Judges Guild. As previously stated, the Judges are the combined wisdom of GMs that can be brought together to settle disputes and add new material to enhance them. Their word is the law that supersedes every Guild, and they take this responsibility very seriously.

The Chambers

The Judges

Created from need and in unanimous agreement from all the guilds to be unaffiliated, remain neutral, fair, impartial, and unbiased in their decisions. Their house contains a vast, sentient library of the laws called the Njor-Odond-Voki (more on this later). Each volume in the Njor-Odond-Voki is an imprinted living memory of wise lawmakers and is continually referenced, researched, and interpreted to ensure equal representation.

As the name implies, the Judges are the administrators of the law. They are the keepers, overseers, interpreters, and enforcers of the guilds and the established law. The Judges Guild comprises three households, the Council, the Arbiters, and the Star Chamber, contributing to maintaining and administering the law.

The Council

The Council seats dozens of experienced members that span every Guild and race. All will have equal representation for matters where the Council is called upon to render a verdict. GMs can approach the Council for guidance, and clarity and to relieve themselves of the burden of making a painful decision that could cause friction between friendships.

Any player or GM can approach the Council asking them to hear a dispute where both sides feel they are right. Players requesting the Council to convene on their behalf need to be aware this is a two-way street. To make the best possible judgment, the Council will want to hear both sides before considering the matter. Be sure before you ask because this might not play out the way you want, and all verdicts are final.

The Arbiters

The Arbiters are the swift hand of retribution called upon to carry out and execute a sentence. The Arbiters are incredible knights wielding powerful arcane weapons. They are an unyielding force that will stop at nothing until justice is dispensed.

The first thing you notice about an Arbiter is that if it is ever your misfortune to be on the receiving end of a confrontation with one, they are not human. The Arbiters are higher beings, and some might call them Angels or Celestials. Let’s say you can spot them in a crowd without effort. They appeared in the final days at the end of the great war that ended the last age and were a unified force that turned the tide to stop darkness from devouring the light in this world.

The second thing you notice about Arbiters is that they dress the part. Arbiters employ superior (some would say godlike) weapons, armor, and artifacts. When they’re not showing off their toys, they use some serious firepower when it comes to magic ability.

The last thing you will discover if you are foolish enough to risk fighting an Arbiter is challenging; one means challenging all of them. If an Arbiter cannot complete a task, the other Arbiters will know and appear to assist—a fun NPC to keep players in line and one who brings friends to the party when needed.

For more information about the Arbiters, click the link above.

The Star Chamber

The Star Chamber is a council of GM’s who are heavy hitters within the gaming community. Each GM possesses years, if not decades, of experience and extensive knowledge of the game. They are the final word on a subject, with no appeal to their decisions. The chamber is a hallowed natural ground where good continually clashes with evil in a battle over the cosmic balance.

It is up to the Star Chamber’s justices to either side with their Guild or the individual who has put their fate at the Justices’ feet in hopes for a better outcome than they received.

One does not ask to join the Star Chamber; the members are by invitation only based on standing in the communities.

For more information about the Star Chamber, click the link above.

The Njor-Odond-Voki

The Njor-Odond-Voki are the great books of laws every Guild has sworn a blood oath in honor and uphold. Of all the books created in the Njor-Odond-Voki, the foundational tome of knowledge, the Drukduua was the template that would be the foundation of the reformation act, which started the second age.

The Drukduua remained a reference to the knowledge that existed and almost was lost. There was a need to practice a new system that prevented old family estates from holding power over the lands but in a larger capacity.

The Codices of the Njor-Odord-Voki are no small set of books hastily written and then amended over time. Their contents fill an entire library that has been carefully preserved and guarded for centuries. Thousand upon Thousand of the codex containing every law, rule, and judgment from the time of the First Age to the present. With its sacred keepers knowing every entry on every page written in every book.

Jurisdiction

Non-Guild Affiliation

It is entirely up to the player to choose to be part of a guild or not. There is no law against it, and no penalty is incurred. Being a guild member shows commitment to your calling, and in return, the Guild provides its members with the education and tools necessary to advance. A member will adhere to the rules set down by their Guild and be subject to any actions when they transgress.

Players that choose to go it alone or go rogue and have no guild affiliation can follow their moral compass, whichever way it leads them. Guilds do not enforce any laws on anyone outside their jurisdiction. They are also not inclined to lend help in disputes over actions by non-members. The grey area to be aware of is when a non-guild player commits an offense against a guild player. The Guild has rules for dealing with infractions of this nature. As was stated earlier, when a guild member commits an offensive action, the Guild sees this as a failing on their part. When someone commits an offense to a member, the Guild views this as an assault on their house. Do the math.

Non-guild players should also note that regardless if they’re guild members or not, the laws of the lands still apply. Okay, sure, the Guilds do carry some modicum of clout. They have been known to be instrumental or influencing in the loosening of shackles and opening cells. Many a member has been released into the custody of their Guild on word alone. The released guild member also avoided having to appear in the House of the Holy Rollers. However, this shouldn’t cloud your thinking.

Tools Of The Trade

Anyone can bring their case before the Council. GMs that need help settling a dispute or getting clarification on a rule are encouraged to submit their questions to Dicesongs. That’s what this is here for. In this way, the Judges Guild is a tool to provide neutral and unbiased help.

The Judges Guild is for all players and GMs to use, learn from, have disputes settled by, and help enhance your game. Make use of the tools being provided.

You Will Be Judged

Within the Realm, your actions and deeds will eventually bring you to the scale of Truth. Depending upon the related issue, you have three courts that will hear your plea, and judgments will be cast.

The first court on all Guild-related matters is handled “in-house” by the members of Guild Masters. They will face a council of their peers and be judged innocent or guilty, and any punishments will be carried out. The laws set down by each Guild were crafted in such a manner so that members would not be confined from being who they are but also to show them the lines that are not to be crossed.

When an issue is between houses and falls into a gray area, or extenuating circumstances make it a complicated matter to resolve, it will be handed to the second court of the Council. If you’re jumping ahead and wondering how the Arbiters fit in, remember, they are the enforcers. The Arbiters show up to carry out the decisions of the Council. If they show up before your case is heard, you’re screwed.

The last and final court is the Star Chamber. The House of the Holy Rollers tapped individuals who were already defenders of justice and fair play. The Star Chamber’s magistrates ensure that the balances of justice and the three-sided Sword of Truth are maintained.

Let the Crime fit the Punishment

Those players who look for a way to exploit the rules or find loopholes eventually have it come back and bite them in the end. To this end (no pun), the Judges Guild has been created to deal with situations like this. The Judges provide GMs with some creative backup to help alleviate the burden and balancing act that can arise from a friendly game night.

Your actions may not bring you before an Arbiter, and you may not be headed to the Death Carnival found wandering in the outer wastelands. But your actions might one day place you on the wrong side of the Grammaton Blade while your GM smiles back at you. Justice will be done, and actions have consequences.