Question Re: Law Enforcement

[cmosier]

Calvary are very important when it comes to charging through rogue flocks of gulls. Of course... they could just throw the steeds off their floating rock and hope they hit a wandering Banite. Might actually stand a chance of defeating one of them.

Hellstroms don't use mounts. We have leathery wings granted to us by a nameless demon lord. We all fly to Aquor and have daily puppy kicking festivities with the Thayans.

[Fury]

Helmites are documented to be the cavalry of Sundren, hoss.

Probably got that horse out of the temple stables. Could be Esmond's old war steed, even. Oh, wait, I forgot - he rides one of these into battle. Ah, well. I'm sure they can lend you one if you fancy.
Hellstrom has the gold to buy a few stallions, right? And at least you can still always ride over Legion infantry.

Awww, it almost seems like he struck a nerve!

Seriously, dude. Throw one bitch in heat out on the field, and you're out of the game. ;-)

[Vaelek]

Awww, it almost seems like he struck a nerve!

I'm honored to have received such an upstanding and superior response to the same degree of humor and seriousness in a post that is regularly displayed by others.

[GateStrider]

Speaking of bitches in heat,
Hellstrom mastery of husbandry is made quite evident by it's heir's intentions of diluting the blood with creatures best suited as concubines if at all~

Mingling with commoners, tsk tsk. Most uncouth for a young lordling.

[Shinshan]

People sure can get irrationality attached to their horses...

Speaking of bitches in heat,
Mingling with commoners, tsk tsk. Most uncouth for a young lordling.

I believe this is an apt observation for that situation.

[Dispater]

Lets try to keep on topic here. I am sure many have forgotten, but there was actually a question at the beginning of this thread. Strangely, it had little to do with where this has quickly led.

[Torgar]

I've played a legionnaire for years now, in one form or another. Torgar, Hignar, Quin, Quintin. Each was different, but there was one thing that everyone has to realize about all of them: As legionnaires, they don't HAVE to enforce any laws. At all.

The legion is NOT the police. They are the army. When you do a citizens arrest on someone, or the legion arrests someone, we hand them over to the fifth legion who are actually the capital's police force, and let them process the matter. The normal PC legionnaire's you see walking around groundside? We do not, in any way, HAVE to enforce jack or crap on the law. We're soldiers. Some of us are scholli, some of us are infantry, some of us are scouts, but we're still soldiers. I'm a US Navy Corpsman in real life, my job is to treat the sick and injured. I work at a hospital. If someone breaks the law, my job is NOT to bring them in, it's to stay the hell out of the way of the people who's job it is to do that. Because that's what a military is. We each have our own job, and we do THAT job, that's it.

Quintin Ulsteris is a really nice guy, and a Helmite, and so he really believes in upholding the law, but it's only because of Martial Law that he even does that at all, because he's well aware that doing so is not his job, fighting a war is. His job is to fight Black Hand, Bloodmaim, and any other enemy force trying to take over control of any part of Sundren. That's it. Heck, the Legion doesn't even have to arrest ANYONE right now, especially "enemies of the state". If you bring someone like that to a legionnaire, he's fully within his right to just stab a spear through the offender and call it a day. They are enemy combatants, and this isn't modern times. NOWADAYS if any enemy combatant is captured, we do arrest them and protect them and give them all the rights a prisoner of war has, but DnD is not now. It's medieval times, where enemy soldiers typically had a captured lifespan of "When I pull my weapon out to finish you off."

As to who is in charge right now in specific areas? I can list that off fairly quickly.

Sundren: Emperor Veranus and his legions.

Aquor: Thayan Enclave with Blackwood influence.

Sestra: Black Hand, specifically Banite forces.

Port Avanthyr: Meriadoc noble family.

Literally anywhere else: Whoever has enough power at that time to say they are in charge.

To be clear here: the emperor is the final word in every place here, always. Now, whether or not he has forces in place to back up his word and force compliance is another matter. There is no legion in Sestra, so the black hand feels no compunctions to obey him at all. Port Avanthyr....eh, talk to Evelyn Meriadoc to get the real story on that. They aren't enemies, they aren't bestest bud's. Aquor also has no legion presence, but despite what a few wizards may claim none are so bold as to officially declare the city independent and separate from the emperor's control. Yet.

At the end of the day, this is a war-torn country, divided along a few political lines. Your authority on any matter is only as strong as your sword arm or your magical ability. If the lawful authority see's you do something and doesn't have the strength to bring you in, then he didn't have authority over you. If some vigilante is acting up, trying to be above the law and you feel like he needs to be brought to heel, and you are a lawful person, then BRING THEM TO HEEL. There is absolutely nothing right now that says a member of the Legion can not beat the crap out of someone, without killing them, to teach them to walk the line properly. I say this while having a character who has told members of the legion and helm that their lawful authority doesn't mean anything to me. When someone does that, and you see them as a threat but not enough of one that warrants killing or arrest, just beat the little shit over the head until he learns the proper respect for authority you feel he/she should have.

It's medieval times guys. A fantasy setting, sure. But it's still based on that premise. Knocking out a few teeth on someone who's belligerent is perfectly alright. We've got healing magic, so teeth come back, cuts heal fast. It's ok to give someone a black eye to let them know that some shit isn't ok to do, at least on your watch. Your authority is the strength you have to enforce it.

[Valhalla]

Sundren: Emperor Veranus and his legions.

Aquor: Thayan Enclave with Blackwood influence.

Sestra: Black Hand, specifically Banite forces.

Port Avanthyr: Meriadoc noble family.

I'd say Mirakus deserves a mention here, as under Exigo/Blackwood. Every impression I've been given is the number of non-exigo affiliates in the town is relatively low, meaning the need for outside law-enforcement is likewise low.

And re: Sundren, remember that there are three separate branches of the State's law enforcement that largely self-regulate. Much like we have local law enforcement, ATF, and the FBI.

[Torgar]

Mirakus post is a remote outpost in the middle of the viridale that doesn't possess any large number of people there, at all. It's hard to get there, and very difficult for ground forces to leave. It wasn't mentioned because it's not large enough to warrant a mention in my post. It's an outpost ran by a trading company because of the one single mine there, which used to be a small military outpost.

As for Sundren, at the end of the day the Emperor is the complete and final word on what happens in the capital, regardless of what the heads of the LEgion, the Hands of Mundus, or the Helmites say or do.