Barrow's Maw

1. Unless stated otherwise, the laws of the town of Barrow’s Maw do not apply within the Ohm Basin at large, though the Government retains certain rights there nonetheless.
2. The Government also retains the right to respond in kind to any activities in the Basin At Large that run counter to its interests, up to and including the requisition of adventurers to perform certain tasks that may violate its own law, so long as the tasks are undertaken outside of the town’s borders.

1. The Government of Barrow’s Maw holds no extradition agreements with foreign governments, and a resident will never be given up to a foreign power or government for any crimes committed outside of the basin unless it violates its own laws (subject to Chapter 1, Section 1, subsection 1; crimes such as Necromancy and Demon-Trafficking still apply and may incur extradition in place of local punishment).
2. The Government has a responsibility to protect residents from forced extradition by foreign governments if at all possible. This responsibility may only be waived if doing so would present serious risk to Barrow’s Maw’s independence and integrity.

1. Non-living beings are not considered persons according to the Barrow’s Maw penal code. This includes magical constructs and undead creatures.
2. In addition, beings whose typical intellect does not exceed that of an ordinary animal are not considered persons. If a being normally is of good intellect but has been reduced to the state of a beast by some magic or other happenstance, they are still considered people with all of the legal rights guaranteed therein.
3. All such living beings of human or greater intelligence are considered persons, even those considered monstrous by other laws and not afforded full rights without.

1. Any crime with a punishment of death requires two witnesses in good public standing to testify to their guilt.
2. A crime with a punishment of a fine requires one witness in good public standing to testify to their guilt.
3. If an individual is charged with a crime normally punishable by death but only one witness may be found to testify against them, they may still be levied a fine of at least one thousand gold pieces.

1. Wherever this code calls for a punishment for a crime, the Government may always elect to issue a lesser punishment, at the discretion of the High Judge. In the case of a fine needing paid to the victim of the crime, the Government must in this case pay the fine in their stead.
2. A sentencing of execution may always be commuted to an indefinite imprisonment and forced labor, or to exile from the Ohm Basin.
3. If a criminal is ever unable or unwilling to pay a fine issued, they may instead be forced to work off their debt, whether to Government, guild, or individual persons.
4. If a criminal is unable or unwilling to pay a fine issued in excess of one thousand gold pieces, execution may be levied as punishment instead, especially if the criminal working off their debt is an undesirable option, for whatever reason.

1. Taking the life of another person within the borders of the town of Barrow’s Maw is the greatest of criminal acts, punishable by summary execution.
2. Pursuant to Chapter 1, Section 1, Subsection 1, the taking of life outside of the town of Barrow’s Maw, even within its territorial claims in the Basin At Large, is no business of this Government.

1. Assaulting the body of another person against their will is punishable by a fine of at least 10 to 1,000 gp, depending on the severity of the assault, paid to the victim of the crime.
2. Alternatively, in the case of especially heinous assault (especially one which results in permanent disability of the victim) or if a batterer is found to have committed a violent crime a third time or more, summary execution may be levied instead.

1. Causing a public disturbance within the borders of the town of Barrow’s Maw is a crime punishable by imprisonment for a period no longer than a month, or the levy of a fine appropriate to the severity of the disturbance and the wealth of the offender.
2. Possible disturbances include the following: Fighting or dueling in public in a disorganized or unsafe manner; Public drunkenness or lunacy; or the Bothering of passersby, especially for religious evangelism or political activism

1. The theft of any property up to a value of one thousand gold pieces is punishable by a fine equal to at least one hundred gold pieces plus the return of the stolen property or gold equal to the value of the property stolen.
2. If a thief is unable to pay the necessary reparations to the offended, or the theft is in excess of one thousand gold pieces, the offended party may also demand the loss of the thief’s hand. If the thief is found to have gotten the hand restored without paying their fine, the hand will be taken again.
3. A thief found to have committed the offense of thievery a third time or more within the borders of the town is instead subject to summary execution, at the option of at least one victim of their crimes.

1. Within the town of Barrow’s Maw and the Basin At Large, the Government retains the right to set prices for goods and services, and to grant the right to set prices for as well as the exclusive right to provide certain goods and services to guilds and other entities.
2. Breaching these rights is punishable by a fine equal to the difference in prices or the price of goods illegally sold, to be paid to the wronged party.
3. Repeated infringement on the rights of the guilds may result in the revocation of an individual’s right to sell goods or offer services within the Basin at all. Breaching such a sanction is punishable by a fine of at least one thousand gold pieces.

1. The restriction of a person’s bodily freedom by any entity other than the Government is a crime punishable by the emancipation of the withheld and a fine of at least one hundred gold pieces per person, with the fine being paid to the transgressed.
2. An especially long period of imprisonment, or the enslavement of a person of high birth, may incur higher fines or imprisonment of a term no longer than a year per charge.

1. The creation or calling of an undead creature through unholy rite, or the reservation of one’s service or loyalty for a period exceeding twenty-four hours, is a crime punishable by summary execution. The offense need not be committed within the jurisdiction of Barrow’s Maw.
2. If an undead creature falls under the control of an individual through the course of normal activities, the undead being must be destroyed before twenty-four hours have passed. The escape of such a creature is punishable by a fine of at least one hundred gold pieces per creature.
3. Other spells and magics of the school of necromancy, such as those that drain life, instill terror, or wither flesh, are not prohibited except where their use breaches some other law.
4. The creation or ownership of any magical dweomer whose primary function is the creation or control of the undead, or whose creation requires magic that creates or controls undead, is punishable by the confiscation of the item and a fine of at least one thousand gold pieces.

1. The contracting with non-deific beings of the lower planes is strictly prohibited. This includes performing tasks at their demand or request, performing sacrifices (of any sort) dedicated to them, contracting such fiends to perform tasks for you, and especially summoning them onto the Roll. The offense need not be committed within the jurisdiction of Barrow’s Maw.
2. The summoning of fiends onto the Roll or the performance of sacrifices to them, whether of blood or goods, is punishable by summary execution. An exception is made for the summoning of beasts of those planes of mean intellect, so long as they are dismissed in a safe and timely manner.
3. In the interest of religious freedom, the worship and service of deities of evil alignment is permitted, except where following those religious practices violates some other law. The solicitation of planar allies of lawful yet evil deities by their senior priests is permitted.

Whenever a law states that it incurs a fine of “At least” an amount of gold, this fine is multiplied by the offender's character level.

The law is not absolute. In particular, the law can be violated without consequence… so long as the government doesn't find out.¹⁾