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Mythic Justice – Crime and Punishment in

Your Fantasy World
by Robert MacAnthony

How you handle crime and punishment in your fantasy world is an important aspect of
creating a vibrant and real culture. The legal system you create should reflect how
society views law generally, as well as the values of society.

This article provides a starting point for considerations of criminal law in your fantasy
world.

The Source of Law

At the outset, you should decide where laws originate in your society. This is not
necessarily limited to deciding which individuals or bodies make the law. Take it a step
deeper. It is useful to examine two broad categories for the ultimate source of law –
Divine Right and Natural Law.

In a society where lawmakers rule by Divine Right (or, in an Eastern-themed world, The
Mandate of Heaven), the ultimate source of authority is that vested in the ruler by the
supernatural. This authority may dwell in an individual, such as a king or a religious
figure, or in an institution or body of lawmakers. Wherever the authority rests, those
who wield it are not subject to any higher power on earth, but instead rule as an
extension of the will of god. The law is what they say it is. They cannot be wrong.

Natural Law supposes that there exists a universal set of rights or laws that apply to
members of society. A person may have these rights or be subject to the protections of
natural law merely by virtue of being alive, or they may be granted by the divine, to be
set aside by no man. In the latter case, the key distinction between Natural Law and
Divine Right is that under Natural Law these rights and privileges cannot be altered by
the pronouncements of those in authority. A king may be wrong, and may rule unjustly.
The people can point to a higher authority.

In truth, many societies will develop some combination of the above. Knowing the
philosophical starting point for your society can, however, add verisimilitude to your
culture and world as you develop them.

Punishment
Having established that your society has laws, there must be some means of
encouraging people to obey them. The punishments you choose to inflict on members
of your society should also be a reflection of the society’s underlying philosophy toward
criminal law. What is the goal of punishment? Justice for the victims? Retribution?
Something else?

If justice for the victim is a primary concern, the laws of society may seek to make the
victim “whole.” Generally, the easiest way for the law to attempt this is through fines
levied against the criminal, or by seizing property or other valuables from the criminal
and turning them over to the victim. In cases where the victim is badly hurt, or even
killed, the idea of making the victim whole is ultimately a fiction, but the law will
nevertheless tend to make monetary awards as the next best thing.

A society that values retribution will exact punishment on the criminal in proportion to
the criminal’s own moral culpability. Thoughts of restoring the victim will be secondary.
The idea is that the criminal has committed a moral wrong, and society has a
corresponding moral obligation to exact punishment. Note that the retribution levied by
society does not have to be rooted in malice or an obscene desire to see the criminal
suffer (though it can be if you wish it). For example, the religious dictates of society
may require that the culpable soul be punished, such that the retribution of society, up
to and including death, is intended to save the soul of the criminal.
A utilitarian society will look to a punishment that achieves the greatest good for
society as a whole. In any given instance, this may include making the victim whole or
exacting punishment against the accused. Utilitarian justifications may be used to
support brutal punishments, with the aim of deterring members of society generally
from committing crimes, or at least the specific deterrence of the individual criminal. A
thief whose hands have been removed will find it difficult to steal again, for example.
The ultimate specific deterrence is death.

Again, most societies will employ some combination of the above, as competing
philosophies and justifications for punishment war with one another. A society may, for
example, value restitution to a victim while at the same time finding a moral imperative
in the punishment of the accused. The framework above can help you think about
punishment in your world.

Social Status and the Determination of Guilt

Another aspect of punishment relates to the social status of both the criminal and the
victim. Keep in mind that nobles or those from the upper echelons of society will tend
to receive a lesser punishment for crimes committed against a peasant. On the other
hand, a peasant may receive a much more harsh punishment for a crime against a
noble than he would had he committed that same crime against another peasant. Be
cognizant of any marginalized groups in your society, and think about how their
position in society might affect the punishment they receive, or the punishment of
those who commit crimes against them.

Of course, punishment comes after a finding of guilt. How does your society determine
the innocence or guilt of the accused? Perhaps there is a trial by judge or jury, or by a
religious council. For a bit more excitement, you might employ trial by fire, water, or
combat. These “trials” generally imply a religious judgment, where divine favor leads to
the correct end result. Trial by fire or water may be suitable for the lower class, while
trial by combat may be reserved for the upper echelons.

Exemplary Crimes
When developing your society, it is useful to have a general idea of the types of
behaviors that are criminalized, and of the relative severity of various crimes. A list is
provided below, divided into three broad categories: misdemeanors, felonies, and
capital crimes. For any given fantasy society, these crimes may be more or less severe
depending on the values of society and on other considerations mentioned above. Some
of the crimes on the list below, particularly those related to morality (such as gambling
or prostitution) may not even be criminal in your society.

Misdemeanors:
 Trespass
 Gambling
 Prostitution
  Petty theft
 Assault
 Disturbing the peace
 Public drunkenness or lewdness
 Selling shoddy or adulterated goods
Felonies:
 Riot
 Inciting riot
 Piracy
 Rape
 Destruction of property
 Theft
 Robbery
Capital Crimes:
 Murder
 Treason
 Bribery
 Counterfeiting
 Impersonating the king
The development of a detailed justice system is a massive undertaking. The information
above is meant to provide a starting point only, and it is up to you to expand it from
there. Think about what your society values, what they might criminalize, and how they
might go about enforcing their laws. If you establish these things and then build your
specific system of crimes and punishment on that framework, you’ll end up with a
consistent and authentic justice system.

How is Justice Handled in Your World?

How is crime and punishment handled in your own fantasy world?

Are your gods visible and interactive? If so, how does their presence affect the laws and
values of society?

And does the level of magic or technology influence things?

Share and enjoy!

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Robert MacAnthony

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, non-genre literature, music, computers, gaming.

CategoriesWorld BuildingTagsCapital punishment, Crime and Justice, Fantasy
world, Law, Natural Law
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Guest

Beida
https://mythics

This reminded of Harry Potter and the unforgivable curses. While there were other
crimes that could be committed within that world, those four were heinous. As well,
they would be considered a heinous crime in our world too. I feel like J.K. Rowling
touched on the a basic sense of humanity, no matter what or who you are, with that.
-1 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Lyrie
https://mythics

@Robert MacAnthony That’s true; we see it through the lens of our current society. I
truly have difficulty understanding the concept of an infallible leader–even someone like
the Pope.
I just started reading the first book in the Mistborn trilogy, which touches on this idea
somewhat. If the leader truly is infallible and part of their God, are the perceived evils
actually good and the well-intentioned rebellion actually evil?

-1 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Polgara
https://mythics

I love it when a fantasy writer sets this sort of thing different from today’s
society. Often this is used as a subtle statement and that adds to the provocation of
the storyline for me. It takes talent to set something up like this that is utterly foreign
to the reader, yet make it completely believable.

-1 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Kristiana
https://mythics

I’ve often found it interesting to learn about the backgrounds of people who write crime
and punishment types of books. Often they have a legal background they draw upon to
help them work through and unravel the intricacies of the plot. I’m not sure I could
write in this genre without extensive training.
0 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
https://mythics

@Kristiana It is an interesting area of writing. I’ve taught Criminal Law and took the usual
law school courses in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Of course, there are plenty of
people who know a lot more about this than I do. The good thing is that even a small
amount of framework, considering just the issues outlines in the article, can have a positive
impact on developing a fantasy society. For most writers, it won’t be necessary to do any
kind of detailed development of law and justice in the Fantasy world, but understanding how
some basic principles operate in the world can be quite helpful.

0 Reply

5 years ago

Guest

SeanDavid
https://mythics

Very interesting. I really hadn’t thought about law and justice in relation to a novel. I
guess, when I look back, all fantasy novels do have a system of laws as a framework of
the society. Nice article.

0 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
https://mythics

@SeanDavid Thanks, SeanDavid. The extent to which a system of laws will impact a story
depends on the story itself, of course, but even if you’re not going to have those issues in
the story itself, I feel that having an understanding of the society’s philosophical approach
to such things can still be useful in developing other aspects of the world and how people
think and behave. I’m glad you liked the article!

0 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Lyrie
https://mythics

Thank you for a thorough and thought-provoking article. I haven’t dealt too much with
questions of law and justice yet in my writing but now I have a lot to reference when I
do.

The thought of a ruler whose justice can never be wrong gives me the willies!

-1 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
https://mythics

@Lyrie Yes, I think that would worry most people in modern societies. We tend to place a
great deal of value on innate rights, and most of us operate from the perspective that
government and leaders can be wrong (and often are, in the view of many). The idea that
no right or law exists separate and apart from the pronouncements of the sovereign, and
that the sovereign can therefore never be wrong, is no longer as common as it once was.
The primary example I can think of in today’s world is not a government, but resides in the
religious realm. For example, my understanding of Catholicism is that the Pope cannot be
wrong when speaking ex cathedra on issues of faith (it is a bit more complicated than that,
though, and apparently not all Catholics subscribe to the theory).

0 Reply

5 years ago
 Guest

Meg_the_Healer
https://mythics

Good article. My whole work starts at a trial but I’ve yet to flesh out all the laws (I’ve
just pointed out the ones that are necessary to the trial at hand). Though in my world
it’s pretty much “eye for eye”. If you’ve murdered (and are found guilty) – then you are
put to death. If you are caught stealing whatever the monatary value you’ve stolen
you have to give back (plus what you stole). Basically – whatever crime you commited,
is then commited on you. In rare cases, people can act as a beneficiary (in the event of
theft) or take on the punishment of death (if it it means the innocent party goes free.)
My world is really big on “a life for life” and all “favors collect debts”.

0 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
https://mythics

@Meg_the_Healer I’m glad you liked the article, Meg. The eye-for-an-eye, and life-for-life
views tends to be associated with retributivism, though I see no reason that is necessarily
has to be. I’m interested in the idea of taking on a punishment so an innocent party goes
free. If the party is innocent, what need to the society fulfill with the punishment? Or is
taking on the punishment of another meant to establish innocence (or at least the opinion
on the part of the person taking the punishment that the accused is innocent)?

0 Reply

5 years ago

Guest

writeshiek33
https://mythics

interesting one idea i have is law worshiped and fewsaredc like religion think meevil
judge dredd kind of deal
-2 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
https://mythics

@writeshiek33 The idea of law as religion is interesting, writeshiek. Interesting questions

arise if the deity is actually interactive in the world. Say, for example, there is a Goddess of
Law and Justice, and she actually appears in the mortal world, handing down her decrees as
to the law. This raises interesting questions from a natural law perspective, particularly if
you are dealing with monotheism or even a single, unified pantheon.

Can there be a natural law that supercedes the will of a monotheistic deity who created the
world and everything in it? I think of Ivan, in Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” who
certainly felt that even if god existed, there was some moral absolute that exited
independently and above god, leading Ivan to state that he was “returning his ticket.”

I like your idea of incorporation law and religion.

0 Reply

5 years ago

Guest

Mel Chesley
https://mythics

Hmm… very informative and definitely makes you stop and think about the way you’ve
structured your society in a fantasy genre. Excellent post!

0 Reply
5 years ago

Guest

Robert MacAnthony
 https://mythics

@Mel Chesley I’m glad you liked it. I think the topic provides many interesting possibilities
for a fantasy world, and it is not a subject writers always think about. Thanks for your kind
words.

0 Reply

5 years ago

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