LAW, ORDER, & DOLMENWOOD: Bringing Courts, Calendars, and Consequences To A Fantasy Setting

Update (2026 08 02): 🗓️ Commenter Centaurion has gone the extra mile and not only created a calendar, but has also included the dates and locations of each of the courts below! Absolutely check it out.

Initially, I thought Dolmenwood was going to be a hazy, dream-like, amorphous setting for D&D with talking animals, but it turns out its a pretty extensive history overlaying a frictious polical landscape...and talking animals. 

Jockeying for power are:

• 5 Fairy Domains
• 1 Usurping Outer God
• 1 Deposed Fairy Lord
• 1 Scheming Witch Cult
• 1 Duke (Human)
• 6 Human Houses
• 3 Breggle Houses
• 11 Old Gods
• 1 Monotheistic Church
• And more!

What this means to me is that PC actions generally will be within the (literal) realm of judgement by one or more of these groups. And those political lines are mostly known from the outset. In Dolmenwood, it is well understood the PC are in the Duchy of Brackenwold, under which there are 6 human and 3 breggle houses. Check out Among Cats And Books' breakdown of how you might run those factions.

In a previous post, I outlined a general picture of law and order in medieval England✤ from the very gameable Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. So let's put this into use in the Dolmenwood campaign.

Quick Aside: The goal of this is not some strict simulationism, but instead to use what is very present in the setting to provide weight/consequence to PC choice and actions. When actions are committed, but have no weight, it makes (to me) a setting like Dolmenwood feel very flat and hollow. There's mention and reference to all these factions, but PCs never feel their consequence.

LAW & ORDER IN DOLMENWOOD

The Sheriff of Brackenwold oversees a bailiff for each human and breggle domain (which covers all the villages) and a bailiff for each large town, city, and stronghold in Dolmenwood. Additionally, a steward for each hex a keep is in will function as a bailiff but be beholden to the lord there, so an additional 9 stewards will be known to the Sheriff of Brackenwold.

Each bailiff (steward) will oversee a number of capital pledges for each hamlet, village, and small town. A hundreds court will be held 1/month by the bailiff and 12 wise freepeople to hear cases related to anything like debts, fights, and theft.

Each capital pledge will oversee the law & order of the village the PCs are in. Any mishaps in carousing will result in the subduing of the PC and/or transmitting the news to surrounding villages 1-2 days away fairly quickly. PC will then be brought to the bailiff and hundreds court.

Example of a Domain Hierarchy

Sheriff of Brackenwold

    A. Bailiff of the Domain

        Capital Pledge of each hamlet, village, and small town

    B. Bailiff of each Large Town, City, Stronghold

    C. Bailiff of each Lord's Castle and really answerable to the Lord and nominally to the Sheriff

The Sheriff of Brackenwold could be the only representative of the Crown that the PC see during the course of an adventure, at least (by old-school OD&D standards) the PCs reach 4th-5th level (hero) or, more likely 8th level (superhero)

At the level of the bailiff, you can really see how politics can come into play. The bailiff of the domain is most likely going to be chosen by the Sheriff of Brackenwold, while the bailiff of each Lord's Castle is chosen by the lord themselves. And the bailiff of each large town, city, and stronghold is going to be loyal to those populations.

LAW & ORDER EXCEPTIONS

Exceptions: Breggle domains

As part of the pacts long ago, breggles have retained some of their own autonomy. Therefore, Breggle bailiffs and Brackenwold bailiffs must submit disputes and those accused to the Breggle manorial courts. Breggle courts are run differently due to the known (and feared) ability of the breggle gaze to inspire awe and respect. This has allowed many to confess to crimes they otherwise would be silent about.

Brackenwold Bailiffs in Breggle Land: Also, given that Brackenwold bailiffs have to navigate this ancient pact, I could imagine they might be more of an older, seasoned, minor aristocratic sort. Slow to move, but able to drop a sly hammer. PCs asking something from these folks might get them further embroiled in their political machinations. You'll owe a favor and they will collect at an inconvenient time.

Exceptions: House Guillefer

It is said that no criminal rests easy in the domain of the Nodding Nobels because they are troubled by dreams of their wrongdoing and pursued by the Sleep Wardens. This is mainly true for those who commit murder or other crimes of that magnitude. Given the nobility's lax attitude toward governance, it is a domain where a fair amount of tax evasion and smuggling occurs. This makes the domain a constant thorn in the Backenwold Sheriff's side.

Sleepwalking Sentinels: However, its difficult for the Sheriff to do anything about it because most serious crimes have the criminal running to the nearest bailiff, shattered from lack of sleep and willing to do anything for relief. Those that don't come running are found dead in a state of fightenined rictus. The bailiff or capital finds them due to prophetic dreams or just themselves sleepwalking to the body. Sometimes the Court of Hundreds is called the "Court of the Thousand Yard Stare" in the Guillefer domains.

Exceptions: The Pluritine Church

The Enclaves of the Pluritine Church follow the one true Law. As such, it is the authority in the church lands near Lake Longmere. And given its military power, can project that authority to its holdings in other lands, towns, and villages- provided they get word. Therefore, any accused who can reach a church's doors and demand sanctuary comes under the church's jurisdiction.

Human Centrality: Given the Church's desire to gain influence, they take this right very seriously. However, it does not extend to fairyfolk and perhaps not even enchanters and magicians. Additionally, spending downtime to actually pray, give alms, or perform other works for the church will increase the likelihood of aid.

Spells for Truth: Additionally, like Breggle courts, the Church has easy access to spells that can compel the truth from the accused. Spells like detect evil and reveal alignment will provide strong proof of innocence or guilt. But these are also known qualities in the world, so "professional" criminal organizations will seek to subvert those. The Church is also known to use holy quest to place the guilty on a righteous path-- mainly to recover the lost shrines. These groups are known as the Penitent Expeditionary Forces.

COURT CALENDAR OF DOMENWOOD A hundred's court (100s) is held locally every month by the bailiff(s)but and, due to winter, Braghold, Grimvold, and Lymwald are avoided as months for Sheriff's courts

01     Grimvold The onset of winter, 100s
02     Lymewald Deep winter, 100s
03     Haggryme The fading of winter, 100s, Sheriff's Tourn Court (rotating domain)
04     Symswald The onset of spring, 100s
05     Harchment High spring, 100s
06     Iggwyld The fading of spring, 100s, Sheriff's County Court at Brackenwold (outlaws declared)
07     Chysting The onset of summer 100s,
08     Lillipythe High summer 100s,
09     Haelhold The fading of summer, 100s, Sheriff's Tourn Court (rotating domain)
10     Reedwryme The onset of autumn, 100s,
11     Obthryme Deep autumn, 100s, Sheriff's County Court at Brackenwold (outlaws declared)
12     Braghold The fading of autumn, 100s,

COURT EXAMPLE

How would this play out?

The inn in Prigwort "mysteriously" burns down after a week PCs spent carousing. As a market town, Prigwort has a bailiff and a church. The hue & cry is raised! All able members of the town now are hunting the PCs. So, the PCs have a decision: submit to arrest, reach the doors of the church, or skip town.

If they skip town, they will be pursued, mostly like by the Harrowmore bailiff, and the hue & cry will be raised in other settlements to not give quarter to those matching the party's description. If they remain at large, then the Prigwort and bailiff can submit a request to the Sheriff of Brackenwold to have the PCs declared as outlaws. The PCs can now be killed on sight. Just like Robinhood! Either the Harrowmore or Prigwort bailiff can also kill the accused in the process of pursuit, but not once they are caught.

If they submit to arrest, they will be placed in a gaol until the first Hundred's Court can be convened by the Prigwort bailiff. Since they are already in a town with a bailiff-- they don't have to be transported anywhere. And this is where their local connections come into play.

The Prigwort bailiff will then convene 12 judges from Prigwort in order to hear the accusations against the PCs. Good questions to answer are: Were they a general menace? Did they do good things for the town? Did they make/have friends? Did they have friends in high places? These will factor in who attends their trial and who speaks against them.

If they touch the doors of a Church, then the Church will now evaluate their sanctuary status (harder to do with magicians and demi-fay). Then they will undergo sentencing via tribunal. If no one dies, then jail time, a fine, or indentured service✤✤ (or some combination of the three) might be applied to a guilty party. If someone did die, well then the accused will be jailed until the Sheriff's Tourn held twice a year and the presence of a coroner. With a coroner and royal judges present, the Sheriff can now have said person executed.

The Sheriff's Tourn might also occur in a different location, so its possible the PCs will have time to save their condemned friend or hatch a plan to effect their escape as they are being transported. Again, instead of dry procedure, this is some exciting adventure stuff!

❧ A Trial Procedure (modified from Errant)

First evaluate the PCs reputation in town on a 1-6 scale. With "1" being "cause of all ills" and "6" being "pillars of the community". If you need a reputation:

• Just got to a hamlet, village, small town, reputation is "2" as folks are close, know each other, and PCs are strangers✤✤✤.
• Just got to a large town, city, and stronghold, reputation is "3" as locals see a lot of folks passing through

Next, roll a d6 representing the mood of the court and add the above reputation to get the current sway of the court:

10+    Court levies judgement for the PCs

7-9     Case requires additional evidence to sway the court

2-6     Court levies judgement against the PCs

Remember the PCs can find evidence, bring witnesses, intimidate, bribe, stage a show, give speeches, and use magic.

✤ In brief, a village is governed by a capital pledge who answers to the bailiff of the county. The bailiff collects tithings, holds the court of the hundred, and answers to the sheriff of the kingdom or the manor lord directly in control of the land. The sheriff is historically a locus of power, an extension of the king's will, including controlling a sizeable armed force. The sheriff holds a county court every 6 weeks and a Sheriff's tourn twice a year.

✤✤ In AD&D it was noted that most magic-users in association with town guards were actually indentured.

✤✤✤ I believe in an evaluation of medieval law, newly arrived strangers were in fact blamed for everything