Universal Legal Profile
The Universal Legal Profile (ULP), or Legal Extension (Lx) is an IISS metric of measuring the specifics of a world's Law Level.
Description (Specifications)[edit]
The Universal Legal Profile is an eleven digit code (a primary code followed by a dash and a six digit extension, and an additional 4-digit extension after a second dash) representing ten areas in which the Law Level of a world is applied, the primary digit is generally equal to the overall listed Law Level, and represents general degree of severity and enforcement. The other ten may vary somewhat in the level of restriction, and apply more specifically to the listed categories. A high overall Law Level with low specific categories implies a world that does not restrict much, but severely enforces and punishes the few things that it does. In contrast, a low overall Law Level combined with higher general categories describes a world with many extensive restrictions on its books, but which does not go to great lengths to enforce or punish them. This inverse relationship in fact is not all that uncommon as a norm: Worlds that are only concerned with a few things as crimes are likely to take those few things quite seriously as a result (otherwise they would not bother), and those worlds that monitor and regulate everything across many categories are likely to discover the sheer logistical realities of enforcement to be so overburdening and its consequences to have enough practical implications that punishments for the many minor infractions are likely to be minor or overlooked (and likely to promote profiteering, graft, and/or corruption simply to move things thru the system or get them off the backlog on the docket as quickly as possible).
The table below lists the various categories of things that Law Level restricts the use and/or possession of, in order to achieve a peaceful society. †
The ULP Extension (Lx): L - W D I Te Tv P - [Tr Cr Cv F]
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| L | Overall Law Level (UWP) - Enforcement/Severity |
| -- | |
| W | Weapons |
| D | Drugs |
| I | Information |
| Te | Technology |
| Tv | Travellers |
| P | Psionics |
| ------- | |
| Tr | Trade Law |
| Cr | Criminal Law |
| Cv | Civil Law |
| F | Personal Freedom |
- Overall Law Level (L): Overall Law Level is the Law Level score found within the planetary Universal World Profile (UWP). The Overall Law Level represents the general level of severity and degree of diligence in enforcement that can be expected from officials tasked with the duties of Law Enforcement. Low overall Law Level is a general indication that enforcement is relatively lax, and that as long as Travellers use common sense, they will likely not encounter problems. High overall Law Levels tend to indicate that Travellers are likely to routinely encounter investigations and challenges from Law Enforcement and/or run afoul of the Law, and that the local laws are likely to be stringently enforced. High Overall Law combined with Low Law category scores likely represents a situation in which the government puts forth relatively few regulations, but the few regulations that are promulgated are stringently enforced. Conversely, Low Overall Law combined with High Law category scores likely represents a situation in which the government puts forth many regulations but is relatively lax and laissez-faire concerning their actual enforcement, usually letting offenders off easy when they do bother to intervene.
- Weapons (W): Governments banning weapons begin with the restriction of weapons of terror and mass destruction at low Law Levels and then move on to personal weapons with increasing Law Level. Governments will also often ban armor, either with a view that an overly militarized appearance tends to attract trouble or is evidence of someone looking for trouble, or is a defense against the governement's own military and paramilitary and law enforcement forces.
- Drugs (D): Governments banning drugs generally begin with narcotics at low Law Levels but medicinal and anagathic pharmaceuticals may be banned at higher Law Levels.
- Information (I): Governments seeking to control information access begin by restricting the use of computers and computer programs, especially information-retrieval and information-control systems at low Law Levels. At higher Law Levels, bringing data from off-world or even communicating with natives can be forbidden.
- Technology (Te): Governments banning technology seek to shield their citizens from the influence of advanced technology, often to either maintain a technologically elevated rulership or to maintain a pastoral and harmonious society which may or may not have been mutually agreed upon by the original founders of the local civilization.
- Travellers (Tv): Governments banning Travellers restrict the ability of outsiders to visit the world, confining them to the starport or forbidding landing entirely.
- Psionics (P): Governments restricting psionics generally begin by enacting regulations against their secret use at low Law Levels, moving to registration of and potential monitoring of users at mid-Law Levels. High Law Level worlds may actively hunt and either deport or otherwise take measures to ensure that such individuals are rendered unable to ever use their abilities again. The most extreme measures can include Capital Punishments such as lobotomization or death. Government restrictions on psionics are common within the Imperium and most worlds ban psionics as a matter of course. On other worlds, psionics may be technically legal but there is such prejudice against it that most psionic users hide their abilities. The Imperium maintains a standard blanket Imperial Law Level of 7 concerning Psionics usage.
- Trade (Tr): At the lowest levels of Trade Law, the rule of "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware) may be the only guidance. At low/mid-levels, laws against fraud and deception begin to appear and eventually start to be enforced with greater vigor. At mid/high-levels, the government may enforce prohibitions against certain types of businesses or regulate them via licensing requirements or other forms of permits such as by allowing certain commodities (such as weapons or drugs) to only be legally sold by authorized companies. At the very highest levels, the government may set prices and wages by law.
- Criminal Law (Cr): Criminal Law concerns the general scope of what activities are considered to be crimes, and how they are punished. Low law-level scores in this category generally will only prohibit actions which use physical force to harm other individuals or their property. At the highest levels, virtually any activity or behavior can potentially be considered criminal. In the latter case, stricter laws will often define individual choices or actions as being crimes against "the state" rather than against individuals, regardless of the nature of the activity and whether or not it harms anyone.
- Civil Law (Cv): Civil Law concerns wrongs committed against other sophonts or their property, and what provisions the government has set up in order to allow the aggrieved party to receive satisfaction from the perpetrator. Such losses can often be the result of simple negligence (but are not always so). At low law levels in this category, individuals must fend for themselves against their fellow sophonts. At middle law levels in this category, the government will typically set up rational rules of compensation for the aggrieved party against the offending party. At the highest law levels, a portion of the funds collected in such cases will go to the government to support all victims thru a government fund rather than to the individual harmed by the action.
- Personal Freedom (F): Laws concerning Personal Freedom have to do with what a person may say, think, read, believe, worship, or do, with whom he may associate, and where he may travel. The lowest law levels in this category represent a total lack of restrictions whereas the highest law levels represent total regulation where everything is restricted.
In general, the Imperium maintains a default Law Level of 1 in most categories (with some particular exceptions that are consider "High" or "Imperial Crimes"), which is the level observed in most Imperial Starports. As noted above, the exception to this is the Psionics category, which the Imperium regulates at Law Level 7. Since within Imperial Space Imperial Law supersedes Local Law, local authorities are expected to enforce Imperial Law or cooperate with Imperial authorities in the enforcement thereof. The reality, at least in some regions as well as on the frontier, is that the level of such enforcement is spotty at best and is more often than not reflected by a combination of the local Law Level in the affected Category combined with the Overall Law Level value in terms of the relative level of vigor in enforcement. Practically speaking, the Imperial general Law Level of 1 is nominally only in force within direct Imperial jurisdictions (and is modified on a case-by-case basis depending upon the locale or facility), but the only Local Law level that would potentially be overridden by these restrictions would be worlds under Law Level 0, which would not likely be enforcing any laws in any meaningful fashion in any case.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
Most sophont species develop some form of laws, customs or taboos during their climb to civilization. Laws, Customs and Taboos develop over time and are intended to mediate sophont behaviour. They are designed to enable sophonts to live together in large groups without unnecessary friction, often the cause of uncontrolled anger and violence.
- † Referees should roll Law Level separately for each category. Government type, Trade classifications, and Technological Level of the world as noted in the UWP should be helpful in determining the exact score for each of the Legal categories in combination with the overall Law Level for assigning DMs to the rolls.
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
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- Gary L. Thomas. Grand Census (Digest Group Publications, 1987), 26-28. - Secondary / Extended Block Codes
- Gareth Hanrahan. Core Rulebook (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), 167ff. - Primary Block Codes
- Matthew Sprange. Core Rule Book (Mongoose Publishing, 2016), 252-257 (Update 2022). - Primary Block Codes
- Thomas Jones-Low, Marc Miller. Maker Book 1: Beasts and Sophonts (Far Future Enterprises, 2024), 55-56.
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- ↑ Gareth Hanrahan. Core Rulebook (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), 167ff.
- ↑ Matthew Sprange. Core Rule Book (Mongoose Publishing, 2016), 252-257 (Update 2022).
- ↑ Gary L. Thomas. Grand Census (Digest Group Publications, 1987), 26-28.
- ↑ Thomas Jones-Low, Marc Miller. Maker Book 1: Beasts and Sophonts (Far Future Enterprises, 2024), 55-56.