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© 1998-2001 Dru
Pagliassotti
All rights reserved.
Trial by Ordeal
 Most GMs who develop
laws for their campaigns model their justice system after modern bureaucratic
forms, with a sense that crime is an offense against society and individual,
and often with a system for trial by one's peers that includes a presentation
of evidence and logical forms of argument. In a game system that takes
place in modern Earth, that's fine ... but in fantasy campaigns or campaigns
that involve nonhuman races or other worlds, why assume that all law has
evolved the same way? This essay, the third in a series, addresses the
use of the ordeal as an alternative justice system.
Cultures that believe
in a Power that maintains justice in society have justice systems that
depend on trial by ordeal. The Power may be a deity, fate, or just the
karmic wheel, as long as the members of the culture assume that it actively
interferes in events to uphold justice.
Trial by ordeal is typically
used when evidence does not clearly point to the guilty party. That is,
somebody seen committing murder is not going to be subject to an ordeal.
But when the issue comes down to one person's word against another's,
and the judges can't make up their minds, then the accused (and sometimes
the accuser) will be put to the test.
From a GM's viewpoint,
a justice system that requires trial by ordeal provides a variety of interesting
roleplaying scenarios. The PCs may be the accusers but are more likely
to be the accused. They must decide whether to flee, participate honestly,
or cheat on the ordeal. The ordeal may be a brief scene in a larger adventure
or could be the entire adventure itself, especially if the ordeal is the
quest kind (under Stamina, below). If the PCs survive the ordeal (and
let's hope they do, unless the GM has decided to abruptly end the campaign),
the accuser must be dealt with—was it an honest mistake or something
more malicious, and will the accuser now resort to more direct threats
against the PCs?
Who Undergoes the Ordeal
In some cultures, only
the accused undergoes the ordeal. In others, both the accuser and the
accused must participate. The second version has the benefit of reducing
malicious accusations. After all, if the ordeal for treason is to lick
a white-hot knife, chances are the PC will think twice before accusing
his or her neighbor—the PC's tongue is on the line, too.
When only the accused
must undergo the ordeal, malicious and spiteful accusations will be more
common. Those who have the power to accuse and to punish will be feared,
and justice may or may not be served, depending on how well the ordeal
works.
The ordeal can be combined
with trial by oath. First, trial by oath may be a form of trial by ordeal
if it is thought that a false oath will cause the Power to strike the
offender down. Second, if the oaths are inconclusive—e.g., both
accused and accuser take oaths and nothing happens to either of them—then
trial by ordeal may be the next step in the justice system.
Will the Ordeal Work?
The GM must decide whether
the ordeal really works. In a fantasy game, it may make sense for benign
deities to protect the innocent. In this case, the ordeal is as logical
a justice system as any other, and probably more reliable than trial by
jury! In other game genres, the GM has more latitude to decide whether
the ordeal is honest or rigged; whether there is a Power that will interfere
or whether everything relies on luck and willpower.
In societies where the
ordeal does not "really" work (there is no Power interfering),
the GM must decide whether anyone realizes that or not. If the accusers,
the judges, and the accused all believe that the ordeal is fair, then
even good people may let horrible tortures and murders occur, believing
that they are pursuing justice. If the accusers, the judges, or the accused
do not believe that the ordeal is fair, then there is a more active evil
going on—especially when the ordeal is used for political or personal
gain.
Rigging the ordeal is,
of course, an option for PCs or NPCs to explore. The judges will try to
ensure that the ordeal is as fair as possible (unless they're in on the
rig), but clever adventurers or villains should be able to figure out
ways to escape the ordeal unharmed ... unless, of course, a Power interferes,
after all!
Types of Ordeals
There are as many types
of ordeals as there are ways to harm a person. In most ordeals, the participants
must do something that will bring great physical harm, or even death,
to them. The Powers will interfere to protect the innocent, and the guilty
will suffer. If both accuser and accused participate in the ordeal, the
one who is hurt will be considered the guilty person (that is, either
the accuser lied or the accused was guilty). If both are harmed, then
both must be guilty of something.
In a nastier twist,
if the participant is harmed s/he is considered innocent, and if the participant
is unharmed s/he is assumed to have used black magic, and is executed.
The accused is in a lose-lose situation (always an interesting place to
put a PC, of course).
The following are several
types of ordeals pulled from the history books. They follow the usual
pattern (unharmed equals innocence), but the GM may want to reverse the
pattern (unharmed equals guilt), depending on what is appropriate for
the campaign.
Fire:
The participant must pass through fire unharmed (walking through a bonfire,
being burned at the stake and living, walking on hot coals, etc.). The
guilty will be killed; the innocent will live.
Red-Hot Metal:
In this ordeal, the participant must carry some item that has been heated
to searing temperatures. The distance it must be carried can vary. The
innocent's hand will be unharmed; the guilty's hand will be seared away
by the heat of the metal. In some cases, the hand or arm may be bandaged
and then inspected at regular intervals; supernaturally fast healing may
be a sign that the Power is favorably inclined toward the person.
Boiling Water:
The participant must thrust a hand into a pot of boiling water, to the
wrist or to the elbow. Sometimes the person must find a small but sacred
item and pull it from the pot. Alternate versions are to replace water
with oil or some other scalding substance. An innocent person's hand or
arm will not be harmed; a guilty person's hand or arm will have the flesh
seared or boiled away. In some cases, the hand or arm may be bandaged
and then inspected at regular intervals; supernaturally fast healing may
be a sign that the Power is favorably inclined toward the person.
Drowning:
In this ordeal, the participant is tied (usually in a sack) and thrust
into a natural body of water. If the person floats, s/he is innocent;
if the person drowns, s/he is guilty.
Monster:
In this ordeal, the participant must be made vulnerable to some kind of
beast. If the beast harms or kills the participant, the person is guilty;
if the beast leaves the participant alone, the person is innocent. The
beast chosen is normally nonintelligent, to ensure its objectivity (one
plot twist would be that its intelligence hasn't been discovered yet).
It could be as harmless as a swarm of stinging bugs or as terrible as
a raging dragon.
Stamina:
In this ordeal, the participant must do something that requires great
stamina or willpower; if s/he can carry out the ordeal for the prescribed
length of time (or at least longer than the accuser), then s/he is innocent.
In Europe, standing in the form of a cross (legs together, arms outstretched)
was one form of stamina-ordeal. Surviving poison may be another version
of this ordeal, as might be successfully carrying out a great and dangerous
deed.
A GM can use any of
these ordeals as parts of adventures. In most cases, the ordeal will be
more interesting if the PC does not belong to the culture that uses it;
that way the PC will need to deal with his or her doubts about the ordeal's
efficiency. Since most PCs are not likely to blindly trust in the ordeal
system, the GM should try to plan ahead to decide what will happen if
the PC is caught running away or cheating!
originally written December 28, 1998
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