Freelance Traveller

Court Proceedings

by Timothy Collinson

This article was the featured article for July/August 2025.

These can be modelled as extended social encounters, much like combat.  Referees should not rely solely on die rolls but on roleplaying scenes and having the players create advantageous conditions.

Cases should be built around a central legal conflict.  Examples from the adventure “Silent Partners”Juy/August 2025, p.19: contract dispute, fraud or embezzlement, criminal prosecution/defence, suppression of evidence, mining rights challenge or challenge to corporate authority.

Phases

1. Set Up

Define the core concept:

• Civil Dispute (e.g. breach of contract)
• Criminal Case (e.g. corporate sabotage)
• Jurisdictional Dispute (e.g. mining rights)
• Procedural Hearing (e.g., evidence admissibility)

Set the stakes: money, territory, freedom, licences, reputation etc.

Determine the opposition:

• NPC Advocate
• Military / Corporate legal officer
• Judge (perhaps autocratic, perhaps with political influence)
• Rival / Enemy with (hidden) agenda

2. Preparation Phase

Use Advocate, Admin, Investigate, or Deception checks to gather documents or evidence, prep witnesses, find precedents, and so on.  Note that opposing advocates will be doing the same.  Assets gathered here can grant Boons or Banes during the Argument phase.

Each successful roll grants an ‘advantage point’.  3+ advantage points adds a Boon during the Argument Phase.

3. Argument Phase

This is a series of opposed checks, mostly likely using Advocate (and INT or EDU) vs the opposing advocate or the Judge’s assessment of the Difficulty level.  Successes and failures accumulate with three successes typically winning a case.  Use Persuade, Diplomat, or Deception (or possibly Streetwise) to shift momentum, question witnesses, or trap the opposition.  Arguments may be role played and legal ‘angles’ introduced.

Each success earns 1 point.  3 points = strong win, 2 points = narrow win or draw, 1 point or less = loss.  See Final Result table below.

4. Challenge Phase (optional)

Here, surprise evidence, surprise witnesses, emotional appeal, or legal precedent may be introduced.  The Referee may wish to use a special roll to represent new evidence emerging, documents going missing, a conflict of interest being revealed, a witness recanting (or going missing), or even a sudden change of venue, etc.  See Events below.  This could also be the moment to include interference from NPCs.  Note that Contacts or Allies may be used for legal support or secret information, etc. Enemies or Rivals may be used to introduce sabotage or corruption.

5. Judgement Phase

This is based on the number of successes achieved.  Partial success might result in a settlement, fine, or compromise ruling. Failure could involve consequences from gaol time for the client through escalation to higher authorities to disbarment for the advocate.

Example DMs here might include: Strong evidence (+2), Hostile judge (-1), Venue in home jurisdiction (+1), local politics favouring opposition (-1) and Advocate skill.

Complications may follow regardless of outcome: appeal, political fallout, assassination attempt and so on.  See Post-Verdict Consequences below.