Against the Law Ignorance of the Law

Crime and Punishment

Author Keith Baker

Series Campaign Style

Publisher Atlas Games

Publish date 2003

As a general rule, you can pick up the basic taboos of a society with any of the following checks: Bardic Lore (DC 20), Knowledge (Geography) (DC 20), Knowledge (local) (DC 10), Knowledge (law) (DC 15). If you are in your homeland, you receive a +5 to all of these checks except for Knowledge (local). Knowledge (law) will give you the most specific information about the legal ramifications of an action, possible punishments, systems of trial, and the like; the other skills simply help you to determine “Is this a crime?”

You can also use Gather Information to pick up the general customs. The DC of the check is only 10, but it takes the standard amount of time (a few hours) to perform the check. In addition, if you’re in a backwater village, the local inhabitants may not know all the laws of the land. Of course, if they don’t know their own laws, hopefully you won’t get in trouble for breaking them.

In addition to these skills, Augury or divination can both help you determine whether an action is a bad idea. With Augury, you may not be able to tell if fighting those orcs is unwise because it’s against the law or because your group is hopelessly outnumbered – but in either case, a bad idea is a bad idea.