Adventuring on High Law Level Worlds

[ddamant]

From my experience, whether with Fantasy or Sci-Fi, running games is easiest and provides the most flexibility when run in locations which have little in the way of law or legalities to worry about. That being said does anyone referee games in high law level worlds? Anything above Law A seems like it would be very difficult to run games in.

Take the planet Strend for example: 80 billion people with a Totalitarian Oligarchy and Law Level B. No privacy, checkpoints everywhere, no weapons, ect. Other than criminal activity running any type of "regular" game seems difficult. I imagine Fifth Element meets 1984.

In my experience players tend to stay away from locations which are death traps: dragon caves, evil empires, swaths of space controlled by intelligent hostile aliens and evil/oppressive governments. The only use I can see for oppressive worlds is as an area for the players to leave as quickly as possible after doing whatever brief task they are there for.

Thoughts?

 

[tjoneslo]

You can think of adventures shown in the Man From UNCLE or Mission Impossible. These are less shooty, but require planning, long searches through the database for information about the targets.

While not traditional adventures, these are a viable source of excitement.

Another version would be the Firefly episodes of Trash (where they steal a lasergun from a high tech house with many security systems) and the Train Job.

Another thing to realize is on worlds with high law levels there will, generally, be an underworld, criminals. These will want all kinds of favors (weapons usually, but drugs or other illegal things) which could provide their own source of interesting events. The high law level just makes it more challenging, and if things go bad, they go really bad.

 

[kilemall]

Don't forget the unstated but subtle business of high Law Level bribery.

The LL of course theoretically disarms players and denotes the chance of being 'hassled' by LE per day.

But.

It also determines the chances for bribing. The higher the law level, the easier the bribing.

So in fact high LL worlds are some of the most chaotic messed-up and potentially violent places, as skilled bribers can pretty much keep everyone paid off to move their weapons/illegal goods with a small chance of failure.

I would tend to adjust such rolls based on what the players are bribing for- a load of shotguns is not going to be the same as a nuclear weapon, and looking the other way for a 'street interrogation' is not the same as a murderous rampage.

And of course the failure to bribe should carry weighty consequences, so there still has to be a plan to 'do crime' in the least amount of time and exposure to LE.

I therefore consider LL7 to be the worst- high level of disarming, and only a 50/50 chance of bribing out of it. Lower LLs of course will allow more armament, but also will be tougher to bribe and therefore those weapon limits need to be adhered to.

Other thoughts- on a high LL world, there would be a premium on martial arts beyond just brawling, and blade combat.

I would strongly consider adopting some martial arts rules or sword combat schools for high LL worlds so they have unique flavor, and a need to hire local unarmed combat muscle if the player characters have no high skills in that arena.

High LL might mean everything is illegal unless bribed or convenient to the local powers, or it could mean selling flowers are illegal but mob justice isn't.

So perhaps set up a series of law checks to roll against, roll LL or below and its illegal, with things like murder and thieving getting DMs to make more likely but others possibly wide open.

For a class warfare type of LL experience, consider having LL based on SOC.

Use the formula LL - SOC + 7= PLL (personal law level).

So a planet is rated LL9- a SOC 3 experiences a PLL of D, and a SOC A experiences a PLL of 6.

Doing big crime therefore depends on high SOC carrying legit weapons and enabling things (risking their SOC to do it of course), and the low lifes of the party bribe their way through to their target.

 

[mike wightman]

There a plenty of adventures to be had involving problem solving, investigation, package delivery etc that are all quite legal, involve no combat, are completely legal and can still be exciting.

It is also possible to do plenty of borderline dodgy stuff behind closed doors and in out of the way places, not to mention the involvement of government spooks, criminal organisations, revolutionaries etc.

What you will not get away with are running gun battles, wandering the streets in combat armour and solving problems using other forms of extreme violence.

Ever play a modern day Call of Cthulhu game set in the UK? No guns allowed unless you want to spend a long time in jail (with a cultist as cell mate).

 

[Enoki]

Here's a description of one I wrote about:

The squadron arrives next in the Abouka system. There is no starport. Instead, there is an orbital platform for docking small craft and similar loading docks and docking arrangements on the planet.
A government representative explains, “This arrangement is designed to prevent workers from taking a vacation while owing their employer money, and it prevents large scale smuggling.”
Most of the companies on Abouka are owned by Anubians. The crew finds them arrogant and snobbish. Companies are ruled with an iron fist. Security is omnipresent and obvious. Everyone has to show their identification at security check points and frequently to roaming security teams. The security acts apologetic and grovels to the nobility and senior officers but is gruff and rude to crew and immigrants. More than once shore parties see workers being brutally beaten or abused by the guards and management.
“Because of the security here, nobody will leave the ship by themselves. You’ll stay in groups and an officer or noble has to be with you” Kai orders.
Everybody is issued a government ration card good for the duration of their stay. The cards vary in what the holder can get in terms of food or drink. The senior officers and nobles get cards to dine in privileged facilities reserved for company owners, top politicians, and other important people. The junior officers get one that gets them a meal similar to the military food packs they have on the ship. For the immigrant families and enlisted soldiers, a worker grade card is passed out.
The nobility meets with the top businessmen in a luxurious suite. It includes a manicured indoor garden, comfortable furnishings, and servants to tend to everyone.
“I’m Sir Yuri Shapurin. This is my wife, Lady Kai, and this Prince Parcak and Princess Baysan of Arshur. We’re headed to the Factory Rock system to reopen operations there.”
A female aide whispers something in the head businessman’s ear. He looks at Parcak and Baysan then turns to Yuri. “It’s too bad that piracy shut down the mining. How do you plan on dealing with that situation, if I might ask?”
“You may not” Kai growls, leaning in towards him. “We have the means to put an end to it, permanently. You’re not privy to the details.” She turns up one corner of her mouth into the barest of smiles catching a glimpse of Kasakabe standing motionless, and unseen, behind the managers.
“We plan on putting an end to the piracy right off” Yuri replies. “Pirate crews better stay out of that system or get friendly very fast.”
“They don’t, and they won’t be a problem for anyone” Kai sneers.
The aide nods at him. He smiles at Kai and addresses Yuri. “The Lanthanum that came from there was particularly valuable. I’m sure we can give you a good price on any you mine. That was a very lucrative operation.”
“We can certainly use the high-grade ores Factory Rock used to supply us” another businessman says.

It can also be almost transparent. There can be security cameras, microphones, and other surveillance everywhere. You commit a infraction you get billed, or the police show up at their leisure and arrest you.
The population as a rule is very tight lipped and won't talk to you because they both don't know who you are and because you look like a foreigner and that will get them in trouble.
Going anywhere requires identification and other "paperwork." You can't board public transit without permission is a possibility. All movement is controlled to one degree or another.
Bribery may or may not be possible, and what you use as a bribe can vary wildly. For example, at the Starport on entry you make sure you put a few delicacies and a bottle of liquor in your luggage. When the inspector goes through your stuff and says these are "contraband" and takes them, you shrug to yourself and give him the barest of smiles, knowing he's taking them for himself. He then closes your luggage and sends you on your way. Bribe accepted...

A lot of this stuff can be done as the players move from one scene to another. Throw in a security situation and they have to work their way out of it. Warn them before they get off the ship about the general situation they might encounter and remind them of what they might want to carry or not carry.

If you try a bribe and fail, the amount by which you fail kind of determines the outcome.

Minor failure might be the person being bribed doesn't get it and that's that. You can't bribe them that way. Or, it might not be necessary but the person won't do what you want in any case. Or, best case the person being bribed demands several times more than you are offering.

Failure might get you extra scrutiny on the spot. You are bribing a customs official. He goes through your stuff with a fine toothed comb trashing it and taking everything that is even the least bit verboten. A policeman encounter might result in you up against the wall being all but strip searched.

Major failure and you're likely going to jail or getting beaten or some other horrible punishment, depending on the nature of what they do there.

Catastrophic failure, and your life is now in danger.

 

[ddamant]

Question: rules say throw law level or less daily to avoid harassment by authorities. Seems counter-intuitive to me. That makes police-states less bothersome than a place with almost no law at all.

 

[Reban]

Adventuring on a High LL world might have a flavor of the resistance or SOE in occupied Europe in WW2.

Access to resistance networks might be available to Travellers that perform a service for the resistance such as smuggling, providing comms support or orbital reconnaissance.

There are other kinds of underground or hidden networks too: contacts in off-world megacorps, people who Travellers have something in common with like Imperial service veterans or religious and ethnic communities.

All the above give you potentially helpful NPCs, but there will always be a price.


As mentioned above bribary with cash, goods or services is always an option.

If your PCs have a lot of wealth maybe they can get a License from the government. Something may be illegal to everyone but with the right license that doesn't have to apply to you.

Bluffing your way through any of the above scenarios is also an option, as long as you keep your ship's engines hot and ready to lift.

The big problem is when you combine High LL with High TL.

The "system" may be all knowing. Of course as off-worlders PCs may be outside that system.

 

[Timerover51]

Question: rules say throw law level or less daily to avoid harassment by authorities. Seems counter-intuitive to me. That makes police-states less bothersome than a place with almost no law at all.

I think that is corrected in the errata to "throw law level or higher daily", as otherwise is does not work properly.

 

[mike wightman]

It says:

It is also the throw (law level +) to avoid being harassed or
arrested by local authorities.

You have to throw 2d and get equal to of higher than the law level to avoid harassment.

In CT 77 LBB3 it gives the example of a on a law level 4 world requiring a throw of 4 or greater to avoid hassle from police or customs officials.

here is the quote from 81 onwards:

Note: Law level is also the general
throw for police or enforcement harassment
for violations. Thus, on a world
with law level 4, the throw to avoid
arrest when encountering an enforcement
agent such as a customs official or
policeman is 4+.

 

[Enoki]

There's other scenarios.

A player or players interacts with a criminal or other person of interest to the authorities...

A criminal tries to rob the party. The police get involved. Everybody goes to jail regardless. The police don't even try to sort things out or be fair. After several days of trying the party or person finally convinces the police they were a victim and let go with a warning to not let it happen again.

Or, the party / player runs into a person of interest in an encounter. It turns out this person is someone the authorities have on their radar and just interacting with them gets you bound to a chair in a damp concrete room under harsh light with some guy asking you questions and punching you when you answer wrong.

These sorts of worlds can also have double standards. The elite and connected can do whatever they want, even potentially get away with murder. They can carry weapons, and do all sorts of normally illegal stuff. The commoners have to toe the line or else.

How the party gets treated is based on social standing, wealth, and ability to liaison and such. Streetwise would help if you're going to be treated as commoners.
Having a noble or celebrity in the group gets you privileges. Being a bunch of run of the mill mercenaries and you need to know the system well to avoid problems (streetwise or admin).

 

[Orr]

A criminal tries to rob the party. The police get involved. Everybody goes to jail regardless.

IIRC, that's how the police on Regina are supposed to work. Everyone in the vicinity of the crime gets rounded up and held while the police slowly sift through statements, leads, alibis, etc.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Guns/tech can still be had pretty much anywhere that it isn't allowed. So any world in Traveller is adventurable.

 

[flykiller]

Anything above Law A seems like it would be very difficult to run games in.

'pends on the adventure. could run some very high-stakes high-level nobility games there.

there are various implementations of "high law level". for example it may apply only to outsiders, not citizens. or the other way around. or only to low social level (7-) not high (8+). or it may apply only in the cities, not in the countryside. etc. or it may apply only on a political basis - for example in the soviet union petty criminals attracted little official or police attention while samizdat producers were pursued relentlessly and given tenners when caught. or politics may protect - for example hitler directed the wehrmacht to dismiss its jewish officers, but the wehrmacht refused, so hitler formed the ss while jewish officers served in the regular german army through the entire war. the key here is that "high law level" is never uniform throughout an entire system, or planet, or continent, or city, or office building.

 

[Enoki]

Law level and type of government go hand in hand when it comes to what they might do for laws. It also depends on how society is organized. If, like most of Traveller, there is a nobility present, they get treated differently than commoners. There is likely other stratification of society as well.

For example, a world might have a really onerous law level, but it's run by a bureaucracy as far as the day to day stuff goes. If you hire the right legal company / lawyer, you get a pass on virtually everything. It may not be cheap, but you won't go to prison for some minor infraction either.

And, you better know the social customs and taboos since on many worlds these will get you in trouble faster than some criminal act.

 

[Axe]

Question: rules say throw law level or less daily to avoid harassment by authorities. Seems counter-intuitive to me. That makes police-states less bothersome than a place with almost no law at all.

timerover51 has a good memory. TTB, page 100, states the rule incorrectly and is reflected in the errata.

Cheers

 

[jcrocker]

If it's that high a law level, it would be a bad world to go bank robbing.

Con jobs, on the other hand, would be great. Con jobs where the victims are too ashamed/wrapped up in illegal stuff to come forward to report the event would be even better. Check out the old movie The Sting and all the variations on that theme.

 

[kilemall]

timerover51 has a good memory. TTB, page 100, states the rule incorrectly and is reflected in the errata.

Cheers

Along those lines the references for Bribery are on pg 18 of LBB3-81, pg 22 of TTB. I also found references to the LL or less roll under the Forgery skill re: checks of papers I had not really noted before.

 

[Enoki]

The best high law worlds for a game would be ones where the laws are onerous but the authorities and government are utterly and completely corrupt.

A world like that is one where bribes, black markets, and all sorts of utterly criminal stuff is going on but the authorities look the other way so long as they're in on the take and paid off.

There'd be unwritten but understood by all parties rules about what is and isn't allowed and so long as you stay within them you're good.

You could have cartels, gangs, mobsters, and all sorts of other nasty criminal types present on such a world operating just below a veneer of respectability and law enforcement. So, on the surface it seems like a reasonably well run planet that enforces its strict laws. But, in reality it's a thoroughly corrupt den of inequity and debauchery. :devil:

 

[Enoki]

Along those lines the references for Bribery are on pg 18 of LBB3-81, pg 22 of TTB. I also found references to the LL or less roll under the Forgery skill re: checks of papers I had not really noted before.

On forged papers I'd modify the roll by the difference between the TL they were made with and the TL they're trying to pass. That is very high tech forgeries, even by someone with only a level or two would far more easily pass a check on a low tech world than a high tech one.

 

[whartung]

Of course, this all plays in to the trope that the players can't do anything, anywhere, without implicitly breaking the law or running afoul of it.

How about the players ratting out the official that's fishing for bribes in order to speed up the players desire to get their cargo off the planet?