Task Force

The Clare ruling council has commissioned a task force to investigate the recent strange happenings. Well, technically it’s the second time they’ve done this, a previous attempt branching out of the watch and military ended poorly and the Council won’t talk about it, but rumour has it it was something to do with “rigid thinking and practices”. As such, the council has decided to open up recruitment to more diverse individuals, and has put out an open call for those with appropriate skills. As such, PCs can be from Clare, or from foreign nations.

The overall objective of the task force is to represent the interests of Clare in this time of trouble, and supposedly all members are here to cooperate to further the interests of Clare, though they may (and probably will) disagree on how to pursue, and even what are, the “interests of Clare”.

Specific goals may be given to the task force by representatives of the ruling council. Agents in good standing (which they are by default) are provided with some ducatto each week to spend as they see fit.

The Council can discipline individuals if they are presented with conclusive evidence that they’re working against the interests of Clare. Task force agents are responsible to law enforcement for their actions towards each other, but have license to abuse NPCs without legal repercussions, though it can cause severe social and political repercussions. Otherwise agents are expected to form whatever organisational structure they consider appropriate (or none), as long as they get the job done. Rumours abound as to what could have caused the council to grant such power to such a group with so little oversight.

The venue for interactives has heavy doors designed to contain research mishaps. As such it takes 5 seconds of roleplay to open it and leave. Due to the locking mechanism, it’s impossible to remove an animate character from the interactive venue forcibly, they must agree to leave unless fully dead. This means if someone becomes terminal in the interactive, they can't be dragged out and hidden.

The Task Force and The Law

While the task force is in the jurisdiction of Clare law, due to the unusual nature of its operation, the council has decided to give agents wide latitude to carry out their duties. Agents are not permitted to carry out crimes against other council agents, however they are permitted to otherwise act as they see fit while performing their duties (so both in interactives and out on linears). Obviously, abusing this license will cause negative consequences for the individual and task force as a whole. If an individual consistently causes problems or does something egregiously heinous they may be censured by the council, and they may have their license restricted (in which case if they do it again they can be charged) or completely revoked (which doesn’t allow them to be charged retroactively, but which would allow immediate, and not illegal, reprisals by other PCs).

Crimes are mostly as you’d expect: Murder (defined as causing someone terminal injuries), assault, theft, etc. You can consent to crimes upon you (for example Assault in order to have a consensual duel), though if things go wrong the onus is in the perpetrator to show they had permission (expect a hard time convincing a magistrate someone consented to their own murder). Sacrificing or selling a soul that’s legally yours is fine, though you’ll probably face some tough questions about how you legally obtained one, and several religious organisations may be upset with you in any case.

Should an agent commit a crime against another agent, or an NPC commits a crime in an interactive, a magistrate can be summoned to adjudicate on the case, who will hear the evidence and then render judgement. Magistrates use a balance of probabilities to determine guilt, but the level of the sentence will be reduced if there is significant doubt. Magistrates are stringently vetted for their dedication to the law, and are widely held to be incorruptible. (Witnesses on the other hand…)

Agents are expected to handle internal security among themselves, and clemency will likely be given if assault occurs and the victim is then promptly healed, and some justification for the assault is given. If any property changed hands during the assault, this will need much greater justification. Injuries short of death caused by magical or alchemical mishaps will likely not be penalised. Magistrates will normally only attend to investigate a crime if summoned. Note though that due to the operation of the uptime venue doors, it’s impossible to remove a terminal or incapacitated character forcibly, so a victim can always summon a magistrate for crimes against them, even “murder”.

Penalties are one of fines, bonded service, maiming, execution. Imprisonment is not used, since bonded service is preferred; if the bonded service is consistently performed inadequately, execution will follow. Execution is defined as causing terminal injuries. The law hasn’t yet caught up to the idea that terminal people might somehow survive.