​Adventuring Aids: Trials

What happens after the villain is apprehended? Usually, the villain will be tried and convicted, assuming the characters restrict themselves to bringing in supervillains.

There may also be times when one of the player characters is brought to trial, for a mistake the character made, or a frame by an enemy.

If the defendant pleads not guilty a trial is required to determine legal guilt. If this is a criminal trial (which is the only kind of trial discussed here), a jury is required as well. The jury decides whether or not the defendant is guilty, and the judge determines the severity of the sentence (although the jury can make a recommendation).

In order to succeed in a not guilty plea, the defendant must make a successful roll vs. Charisma. Usually, the applicable charisma is Normal Charisma, since a courtroom is not an action-oriented situation. If something happens to invoke Active Charisma, it can (and should) be used. See the Trial Modifiers for a list of modifiers to the Bonus Pool for this roll.

The more this roll is missed by, the closer the sentence will be to the maximum possible for the offense. Each 1 the roll is missed by is 10% of the maximum sentence. If the roll is missed by greater than 10, the extra points are applied as penalties to any Appeal rolls or Parole rolls. The Editor can overrule this recommended sentence if the judge has already chosen a sentence. Judges will often choose odd sentences for highly visible defendants. Often, these sentences will involve some form of community service.

Appeals take from 1-8 months. If an Appeal roll is missed by more than 10, the points greater than 10 are applied as a penalty to any other appeal rolls. See the Appeal Modifiers for other modifiers to the Appeal roll. The Appeal Roll is vs. 2.

Parole can usually be tried for after half the actual sentence, depending on how much the prison space is needed, and the demeanor of the prisoner. Once eligible for Parole, a Parole Roll can be made each year. Parole is very much like a mini-trial—the Roll is vs. Charisma, and most Trial modifiers apply to this roll.

Appeal Modifiers

New Evidence: There is a bonus of 1 for each piece of new, previously unattainable bit of major evidence. There is a bonus of 1/2 for each piece of new, previously unattainable bit of minor evidence.

Lawyer: There is a bonus equal to the defendant’s lawyer’s Law knowledge, on the Doubles Chart.

Previous Appeals: There is a penalty of 1 for each previous appeal roll by the defendant.

Trial Modifiers

Judge: The judge can modify the Pool by up to 2 in either direction, if the judge is not impartial.

Lawyers: The Prosecutor’s Law knowledge (Sphere Chart) and Oratory Knowledge (Doubles Chart) act as a penalty to the Pool. The Defense Attorney’s knowledge is a bonus to the Pool.

Defendant:

Guilt: There is a penalty of 1 to the Pool if the defendant is guilty.

Arrest: If the defendant was arrested by a police officer, there is a penalty of 1 to the Pool.

Prison: If the defendant is currently in prison, there is a penalty of 1 to the Pool.

Victim and Defendant: (reverse penalties to bonuses and bonuses to penalties if it refers to the victim)

Social Prejudice: For each non-mainstream social group the defendant is a member of, there is a penalty of 1 to the Pool. Black female lesbian mutants have a penalty of 4 to the Pool.

Social Standing: Middle-class defendants have a bonus of 1 to the Pool. Upper-class defendants have a bonus of 2.

Victim: If the victim is a strong part of the prosecution’s case, there is a penalty of the victim’s normal charisma minus 10 to the Pool. This is a bonus if the victim’s charisma is less than 10.

Crime:

Evidence: Each piece of circumstantial evidence modifies the Pool by 1/2. Each piece of minor evidence modifies the pool by 1. Each piece of major evidence modifies the pool by 2.

Fad Crime: If this is a crime everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon to stop, there is a penalty of 2 to the Pool. Drugs are the biggie now.

Nobody Cares: If nobody really considers this a crime, there is a bonus of 2 to the Pool.