check for ravenloft and take those rules
maybe the outcast ratting rule.
racism for nonhumans, even more racism for halfhumans
hatred against the orcs and halforcs.
mmmm i remember in korvosian rules were a set of edicts and punishments... this is when i say (again): lazy paizo´s offering less in their goods
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I am currently playing a Paladin of Pharasma (We have house-ruled that there are only four Paladins of Pharasma as Paladins are not strictly allowed within the Pharasman church due to the three step allignment rule). The issue of what is Lawful and what is not under Ustalavian law keeps cropping up within our campaign. As a result I am wanting to take a level of Justicar however we have no set laws of the region of Ustalav. Has any developed the laws of Ustalav for their own campaign or have any ideas of what Ustalavian law should look like as I wish to develop a resource outlining the laws before I take a level in Justicar.
Well, it seems to me that Ustalav isn't a very legally unified country. It's very feudal, and so there would likely be significant variation in local laws from place to place. I think there would be an especially strong difference between the Palatinate, which is ruled by citizens, and the rest of the country, which is still ruled by aristocrats.
This could make a Justiciar really interesting, actually. Do you enforce the local codes of whatever place you happen to be in? That could change wildly over the course of the campaign. Or do you only enforce the "national-level" laws laid down by the king? What do you do if the government changes laws in the middle of your adventuring? That could make for some interesting moral roleplaying.
As for resources: has your GM (or you) read Rule of Fear, the Ustalav Campaign Setting book? There could be some really good ideas for you in there.
this could be one example to your pharasma´s order
Order of the Silver Flame [Eberron], or Order of the Raven [Ravenloft].
this last is awesome, and if you mix them, both has a prestige class, which can be easilly mixed to make a more useful class
Raven Knight of the Holy Flame!!
"The raven is not a god--it´s a symbol. A simbol of virtue, of light in the darkness, of life and vitality in the face of death"
-Lady Ven Rallen, Knight of the Raven.
In general, a feudal area is going to have the rule that ruling nobility can do anything they want and being rich means more rights than being poor. In the Palatinate, it will be less obvious. The rules would favor fairness and legal precedence but in practice there would be much corruption and bribery. It is a land newly confronted with the idea of fair laws and justice, so I'd expect truly law-abiding people would be rare and most still consider the old ways valid.
That said, don't expect any but the most educated to be accepting of outsiders in general. Even those would be wary or even hostile to nonhumans (especially orcs and half orcs) and you'd never see a fair trial given to an orc or even a ratfolk, kitsune, or other very not human.
So a lawful character's player should decide if they want to uphold the law of their god (regardless of local issues), the law of the land as written (unlikely to actually be practiced), the law as interpreted (unfair but in line with popular opinion), or some other personal code (might makes right, protect the innocent, etc).
look this ones
Raven knight Exorsist of the silver flame
Lvl Bab Fort Ref Will Special Special
1 +1 +1 +0 +1 raven harrier (harry), speak with ravens Flame of censure, weapon of the exorsist,
2 +2 +1 +1 +1 Smite undead 1/day, weapon of silver
3 +3 +2 +1 +2 Turn undead, sun domain, raven harrier (baffle) Darkvision 30ft. Resist possesion, smite evil 1/day
4 +4 +2 +1 +2 Light focus, smite undead 2/day Detect thoughts at will. Weapon of good
5 +5 +3 +2 +3 Harrier (falter), enduring life Silver exorcism
6 +6 +3 +2 +3 Smite undead 3/day Darkvision 60ft. Weapon of flame
7 +7 +4 +2 +4 Harrier (cannel spell) Smite evil 2/day
8 +8 +4 +3 +4 Lasting life, smite undead 4/day Weapon of law
9 +9 +5 +3 +5 Harrier (sight link) Weapon of sacred flame
10 +10 +5 +3 +5 Burst of vitalty, smite undead 5/day Warding flame
He isn't talking about the mechanical abilities. He is wondering about how to roleplay a character focused on upholding the law. The original post is asking what are the laws for Ustalav. Like for example, is it lawful for a nobleman to kill a commoner for looking at him? If a shopkeeper declares someone a thief, do they get a trial or does the guard just take care of the problem there (and does he try to figure out if it is true or just take the shopkeeper's word)? Is bribery illegal or expected? And so on.
Check for ravenloft and take those rules
maybe the outcast ratting rule.Racism for non-humans, even more racism for half-humans.
Hatred against the orcs and half-orcs.Mmmm, I remember in Korvosan rules were a set of edicts and punishments... this is when I say (again): Lazy Paizo´s offering less in their goods
Weren't they actually less racist towards half-humans than towards non-humans?
Also, I sent the question over to James Jacobs by quoting Murphy here, so cheers for that.
Ustlav's laws change radically depending on where you are.
The most extreme place is Barstoi, where being a spellcaster of any persuasion other than a Pharasmin is punishable by death. As in, being a paladin is a capital crime in Barstoi. Your paladin would actually be an exception, but still. Barstoi's pretty horrible.
However, the adventure path doesn't go to Barstoi.
Assume that most of the laws are relatively sane, but reflect that the country is built on a ticking necromantic bomb and has enough monsters in it to strip the country of all human life if shit ever went down.
Animating the dead is bad. Making golems is bad. Desecrating graves is bad. Trafficking with evil outsiders or the undead is bad.
Anything that would've been a crime in Victorian-era London would be a crime in most of Ustlav. Except in the places where anarchy or psychosis reign. Now that I'm looking at Murphy's answer, I'll say Murphy's spot on.
Ustlav doesn't like half-orcs, as they're in semi-permanent war with Belkzen (i.e., the orcs). They're also somewhat resentful of the elves (who stopped helping after the Tyrant were defeated). Beyond that, anything that doesn't look quite human is going to set people on edge. A sufficiently exotic aasimar or tiefling may be cause for alarm. A catfolk or kitsune could be in real danger of being mistaken for a lycanthrope and facing mob "justice."
I have interpreted Ustalav's laws much the same way as Zhangar and Paradox. The laws of Ustalav differ from county to county (Vieland, Caliphas, Barstoi, etc.). In addition, some counties like Caliphas retain strong noble sentiment while others like Vieland have a stronger government of the people attitude.
My Ustalav is a country that, like Paradox suggests, does not have a flawless legal system no matter how you look at it. Corruption should understandably not only run rampant, but be part of the process, especially in those counties where burghers now rule the roost. Bribes are just another kind of tax to keep government running smoothly, since there are so many lazy bureaucrats that need their palms greased.
I believe that strong factions of order such as major churches (Pharasma) or the Palatinate or Civic Unions of Concerned Citizens (local militias, proto-governments, etc.) all have a vested interested in trying to place their own ideologies in control of a given city or county's legal system because they are all aware of how tenuous and corrupt the true rule of law is. Clearly Barstoi is an excellent example of this.
