Crime, prison and the law

Game version 1.2.7. Prose checked against 1.2.7.

Crime has consequences in town. Theft and murder can be taboos for your god, and a high Darkness makes you a wanted character. The ruler at the Castle controls the prison.

How you get arrested

• Guard patrols. A wanted character can meet guards on Main Street and near the Castle. You can surrender and pay a fine, fight the guard captain, try to run, or offer a bribe. Losing the fight or failing to run means a longer sentence than surrendering.
• The Dark Alley. A badly failed pickpocket attempt or an undercover guard can send you to prison.
• Murder. Guards come for a murderer. A captured murderer may be executed; otherwise the character loses gold and serves a sentence without escape or bail.
• The ruler. A ruler can imprison characters, within daily limits.

Self-defense against a street attacker is not murder.

Life in prison

While you have days left, every trip ends at the prison. Its menu offers:

• W list the prisoners and S your status;
• A activities;
• E escape;
• B pay bail;
• P petition the ruler for bail or a pardon;
• D demand release, and O open the cell door when someone has rescued you.

Only chat commands work from a cell. Jailed characters do not follow the normal Mental collapse path.

Prison activities

You can do a few activities a day. Pushups, yoga, reading, meditation, stretching and planning each raise an attribute a little; some also restore HP or mana. Shadow boxing restores combat stamina. Praying adds Chivalry or Darkness, whichever is already higher.

Getting out

• Serve the sentence. When it ends you return to Main Street with some HP restored and some Darkness removed.
• Bail. Pay the bail set by the ruler, or petition for it. The money goes to the royal treasury.
• Pardon. Petition the ruler. A human ruler receives your request as a message.
• Escape. Each attempt uses one of your escape attempts, which refill daily. Failure adds a day and makes the news; the odds are not shown.
• An open door. If someone has opened your cell door, O lets you walk out.

Bounties

The ruler posts bounties on criminals, and a citizen can report a crime at a royal audience. An unpaid royal loan can put a bounty on you. Read the bounty board at the Quest Hall. Defeating a bounty target pays the reward; a bounty on a player goes to whoever beats them in a duel or the Arena. Very feared characters can also meet bounty hunters in the street.

Judicar rewards appropriate prison orders and treats theft as a taboo. See the god pages for deeds and taboos.