Difference between revisions of "Hârn Manor Hallmoots Events"

Revision as of 19:18, 30 July 2017

Note: Green = I Have, Red = Don't Have, Orange = Old Scan, Blue = Misc, Black = ALL Base (Template)

Note: ADD Link Colour for Text: CREATE LINKED Page

Note: REPLACE Headline link with page name.

HALLMOOTS

Hallmoot Procedure

Hallmoot Events Table

HALLMOOT EVENT Table

A

SIDEBARS

A Table

• A
  • A

Note: ADD TABLES, each list on right is a table use SideBar to create Table. Create a Table/List of all Sidebars for referance.

Manor 37

Hallmoots Events

HALLMOOTS

A lord might have to deal with dozens of cases in the course of a year, but in roleplaying this is rarely practical. However, it is a good idea to play out at least one Hallmoot in detail to give players a sense of manorial justice and to give a GM a chance to assess the lord's legal policies and management style. A court session or two can also generate events that lead to adventures.

Hallmoot Procedure

When a hallmoot is to be roleplayed, the lord, reeve, and defendant(s) must be developed to some degree. The lord must settle the facts of the case in his mind; sitting in judgement is primarily a matter of sorting through different versions of the same story.

Hallmoot Events Table

To generate cases, roll on the Hallmoot Events table (right) once per five (5) tenant households. Only significant events are listed because petty events are usually informally resolved by a tenant officer prior to a court.

At the hallmoot, the reeve (GM) brings each matter to the attention of the lord, describing what he knows and perhaps, if asked, noting the customary law that may apply. The lord deals with each event as he deems fit. The customary fine may be assessed by the lord without comment, or he may wish to say a few words to the defendant or to the assembled court.

The GM should assess each decision first in terms of customary law and then its likely effect on tenant goodwill and the lord's reputation with other magnates. Overly lenient or harsh judgments may not have the effect intended. For example, leniency may seem justified when times are tough, but there will inevitably be some tenants who will resent another being treated lightly if they got tougher justice.

A player should earn development rolls for the skills of Rhetoric, Oratory, or Law to reflect the experience gained.

Note: For slaves and unfree tenants the lord's verdict is final. Freemen can appeal to the king's justice at a hundred or shire moot.

See HârnPlayer 21 for more detail on Hârnic Law.

HALLMOOT EVENT Table

01–07 ARSON: Setting fire to another's property, directly or indirectly.

Penalties: fine, restitution, death by burning.

08–20 BATTERY: Common assault causing injury. Assault without visible injury is rarely considered a crime.

Penalties: restitution, pillory, flogging.

21–25 FRAUD: Cheating a villager.

Penalties: fine, restitution, death.

26–30 CORRUPTION: A manorial officer is accused of improper activities.

Penalties: fine, loss of office, branding.

31–35 CONSPIRACY: Advocating, inciting, or planning any crime.

Penalty: same as the conspired crime, often after torture to implicate other conspirators.

36–45 LARCENY: Defendant is accused of theft of an animal, food, or tool. Livestock are marked with red ochre with a distinctive symbol, but the marking may have been accidentally or intentionally destroyed. Stealing food is severely punished unless the tenant can prove he was starving.

Penalty: pillory, restitution, fine, flogging, imprisonment, hanging.

46–55 LAXNESS: Doing less work than is expected such as:

• Failing to maintain his cottage in good repair.
• Failing to work in accordance with the reeve's instructions.
• Failing to keep his livestock from straying into cropland.

Penalties: fine 3–24d

56–60 LEIRWITE: An unmarried woman is accused of having sex. This crime is always a good source of revenue.

Penalties: fine 6–12d.

61–65 MURDER: Killing a commoner without cause or provocation. Killing a noble, even in self-defense, is a certain date with the hangman.

Penalties: restitution, fine, hanging.

66–75 POACHING: Defendant is accused of hunting, fishing, or foraging on manor lands without permission. This is a felony (state crime) on royal lands.

Penalties: restitution, fine, flogging, branding, mutilation, banishment, death.

76–80 RAPE: Sexual assault of a male on a female. The defendant must normally be caught in the act to be brought to trial. The word of the victim, unless noble, will rarely convict.

Penalties: flogging, restitution, castration.

81–85 REBELLION/REVOLT: Taking up arms against a lawful liege.

Penalties: loss of property, death.

86–90 TEMPLE CRIME: A crime against a legally recognized church. These include Adultery, Blasphemy, Heresy, and Witchcraft, all of which are described in the Glossary (Manor 32). Unless the judging lord is a lay brother, the defendant will be turned over to a canon court for trial and punishment.

Penalties: branding, mutilation, and death by stoning, burning, or impalement.

91–00 LORD'S BLESSING: Hallmoot is where the lord approves marriages and inheritance issues. Since all property is held by the lord, including all freeholds, a tenant cannot inherit unless the lord approves. Such petitions are rarely refused, provided the appropriate fees are paid or at least promised for the near future. Choose events to be heard from the following list:

AMALGAMATION: Two tenant households wish to merge by marriage or adoption. This requires payment of a negotiable fee.

CHEVAGE: Tenant wants to temporarily live outside the manor and agrees to pay an annual fee for the privilege. Chevage is typically 24–48d per year. Current obligations for the land must still be met or the land is forfeit. Freeholders do not pay chevage but can be charged with fraud if they abandon their land before their farm (contract) expires.

MANUMISSION: Tenant wants to to be permanently released to seek his fortune. The tenant offers 20–120 pence for this privilege (negotiable), which varies with the current labor supply.

MERCHET: Tenant wants to betroth one of his daughters. Typical fee is 12–36d.

STATUS DISPUTE: A tenant claims freeman status while the reeve/lord say he is unfree. Since the status of the land worked, free or unfree, is de facto evidence of legal status, the onus lies with the tenant to prove his status. Generally, the tenant must prove his father was a freeman and swear that he has never (since birth) acknowledged unfree status to any lord.

A

• A
  • A

SIDEBARS

A Table

• A
  • A

A

• A
  • A

Notes

• A
  • A