Playing God: Laying down the law for your WIP’s world

The law plays an important role in regulating the behaviour and actions of people—and characters—and is therefore an important aspect of world-building . In today’s Playing God post, I explore different types of law, some key considerations, and give a sneak peek at the legal systems in my own fantasy WIP! →

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SERIES CONTENTS

👍 Introduction | 💡 Creation | 🌟 Cosmology | ☯ Religion | 🔮 Magic | 🌍 Geography | 🌦 Climate & Weather | ⏳ History | 🎭 Race & Culture | 💬 Language | 🎵 Music, Art & Writing | 🏠 Infrastructure | 🤴 Government | 📜 Laws | 💰 Economy

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Law is a system of rules created and enforced within a society in order to regulate behaviour. I touched a on law during my Playing God post on government, but given the significant role laws have in placing constraints and limitations on characters within the world of your fantasy WIP, I thought I’d expand a little on the subject in today’s post. But first of all, while I’m no expert at law, it’s probably important to understand there are several different types:

🌎 International law

International law is the set of rules, norms and standards that govern relationships between sovereign states. It includes sources such as customs and treaties, which provide a mechanism through which the different states can deal with complex issues like diplomacy, trade, war, and human rights. If you have multiple nations within your fantasy world, or any of the aforementioned issues play a significant rule, having an understanding of the way international law works is therefore quite important!

🏁 Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the law that encompasses the rights of citizens of a state, the separation of powers including the legislature, executive and judiciary, the responsibilities and relationship between different levels of government, and more. You can probably see why being clear on the rights of citizens, and how they might be changed, is integral when developing a fantasy world, but it might also be important to consider the mechanism that controls the way government uses its power.

💣 Criminal law

Criminal or penal law is that which relates to unlawful acts known as crimes and their relative punishment. You probably have a good idea of the types of things that constitute a crime—those that harm property, health, safety etc. That might not be the case in the world of your fantasy WIP, however. It’s entirely up to you what’s included and accounted for within your world’s criminal law, but knowing the ins-and-outs will influence what your characters do and what the consequences of their actions are.

👩‍👦 Civil law

Civil law is a branch of the law that deals with acts that are considered “civil wrongs“. These acts are not criminal, but rather deal with the rights and duties of the people involved—things like negligence, breach of contract etc. It’s probably not as exciting as criminal law within the context of a fantasy story, and I can’t really say I’ve seen it delved into before in a novel I’ve read, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth thinking about, right? Liability plays an enormous part in our world, so there’s no reason it can’t in your world too!

📜 Other types of law

There are many, many other types and aspects of law that might apply to your fantasy world, and which might be worth your consideration. There’s contract law and property law, family law and immigration law. There’s company and commercial law, sea law and space law. And that’s just to name a few. When world-building for your fantasy WIP, have a think about what kinds of laws might be applicable to your characters and the plot, and make sure you develop them enough to be comprehensible and consistent.

When it comes to developing laws for your fantasy world, understanding the laws themselves is only one piece of the puzzle. The actual law is only one aspect of the legal system, after all. To do this aspect of world-building justice—pun intended—there are a few other things you should probably consider:

📝 Who makes laws?

In your world, who is actually responsible for making and/or changing laws? Are the laws secular, written by some form of governing body? Or are they religious in nature, overseen by a clerical hierarchy? If any aspect of your fantasy WIP involves trying to change a law or overthrow an unjust system, having a sound understanding of who creates the rules and how (and perhaps even why!) is absolutely essential. And either way, it’s a good idea to know how it all works just in case!

🚓 Who enforces the law?

Once a law has been made, who in your fantasy world is responsible for making sure it’s followed? Is there a military that aids in enforcement, or is there some other kind of law enforcement such as police? Is the force a standing force, or is it only called upon when needed? Who is eligible to join, how do they operate and how are they appropriately trained? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself when constructing a legal system for your WIP.

👩‍⚖️ Who adjudicates legal disputes?

And finally, should the law be broken, who is responsible for determining guilt and doling out punishment? How and where does this usually occur? What happens to someone who is found guilty of breaking the law? In our world, there is a complex system of courts and judges and juries and jails, but feel free to get creative! It’s worth considering in some detail what the ultimate consequences of breaking the law is…in case your character has, or is thinking about, doing something unlawful!

While world-building for my WIP fantasy series Graceborn, I did give some consideration to the law and legal system—but certain aspects more than others. It’s important to focus your efforts on the areas most relevant to your characters and the plot, right? Here are the key points I’ve developed so far:

Making laws: In my world, the government of each nation is responsible for making their own laws. This works slightly differently from country to country, depending on the nature of the country’s government. International law is governed by an agreement called the Treaty of Volund. While there is also a religious organisation called the Faith, which has a variety of tenets and beliefs, they don’t have any “laws” per se.

Enforcing laws: Law is enforced by some kind of militarised city guard in most major cities in my world. In Asphodel, for example, this entity is (unoriginally) called the City Watch. Most nations also have a formal military, some voluntary, others conscripted, which are variably used to resolve internal and international disputes. When it comes to monitoring and enforcing the Treaty of Volund, this responsibility falls on the Graceborn.

Adjudicating legal disputes: To be honest, this is probably the aspect of my world’s legal system I’ve put the least effort into so far. Within the Ten Dominions, courts tend to adjudicate legal disputes and issue punishment when necessary, but in the Siredh’s society, they do things a little differently: when someone is accused of breaking the law, everyone in the community aged 25 and over sits in judgement of the crime.

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How does the law work in your WIP’s world? Who makes / enforces / adjudicates laws? What considerations do you think are most important?