Well-Defined Legal System

This does not mean that your campaign has to have a law-and-order basis with plenty of tough penalties for thieves, and a gung-ho team of watchmen and sheriffs to see that unlawful perpetrators are quickly apprehended.

Instead, a well-defined legal system in a campaign means that the DM must give careful thought to the role of law and order in the campaign culture. It is far more important for penalties to be consistent than for them to be harsh.

Once the DM has established a consistent legal structure for the society, a working knowledge of that structure should be communicated to the players.

In any event, the laws of a society will usually be formed to reflect the standards and expectations of the majority (or at least the most influential portion) of the populace.

As always, game balance is important here as well. Societies with harsh penalties for thievery tend to discourage such nefarious activities. Because of the risk involved, potential gains should be correspondingly higher than in locations with more easy-going magistrates.

A few words about specific penalties: While the death penalty for lawbreakers is not an unrealistic sanction in a medieval-based society—and, indeed, many a nail-biter of a rescue has pulled a character from the shadows of the gallows, headsman's axe, or whatever—it is not the most enjoyable thing to roleplay.

Far better to have a character who has gotten himself in deep trouble be subjected to leverage from the law, perhaps being coerced to betray his companions or spy upon a powerful rival thief in exchange for his freedom and pardon. This way the sanction is a device propelling the character into another adventure instead of a one-way ticket out of the campaign.

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