IsawaBrian/LegalStuff

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Legal:

I put Lunars into a similar category as Dragon-Blooded, then, just at a different level. For both, the laws can be made to deal with the _type_ of reaction, and if you fail to take reasonable steps to deal with the problem, you are responsible for your actions, just like if you had taken drugs or gotten drunk. On the other hand, the laws acknowledge that sometimes there cannot be reasonable actions taken, in which case, depending on what particular type of Curse you have, there may be more limited penalties, since there's a specific lack of control. And if you deliberately goad someone into a Broken state, you're an accessory to any crime they commit as a result of that state, and do _not_ have limited immunity/lessening of charges. Indeed, depending on how you do it, you may be charged with a worse crime.

Example: A Dragon-Blooded kills someone while under the influence of a berserk Limit type- Valor Fire or something. If he was flagrantly neglecting himself- exhausting his mental reserves, spending Essence like pennies, etc.- it's still his own damn fault. The best he can get is the equivalent of accidentally shooting someone while drunk- I forget what that's called, but I know there's a term for it- and if he deliberately set out to get Broken and go after someone, it might count as premeditated.

On the other hand, if we're talking an SWAT:ED officer who just had to take out a Circle of Abyssals and his buddies weren't able to restrain him, probably more along the lines of involuntary manslaughter. Someone who had deliberately set up the officer so that he had to keep spending Essence and Willpower- or pushed a Lunar into situations where she'd be forced to either violate her Virtue conditions or the Law just before a full moon- on the other hand, might very well be charged with accessory to commit murder, or the actual murder charge; possibly first degree if it was a part of some convoluted plot to off someone.

Solars are where things get wiggly. I suspect, while with 600 (the modern world in my head has twice the _original_ number of Solars) you certainly _could_ make individualized conditions for each one's capabilities, LBC, and primary virtue, the three categories could instead be treated as different factors in an overall psychological capacity/output assessment, which could then be put into further categories with specific legal differences- and, coincidentally, could also be used as an assessment of the potential threat level, Curse-wise, for that particular Solar. The use of the Great Curse as a defense in a legal trial would require this full psychological assessment, and getting it ahead of time would be an encouraged, but not required unless the society is really draconian/nanny, action.

Comments

Boy, I really need to expand this later. -- IsawaBrian