Ned Cuthbert was the first person to steal a base in professional organized baseball in 1863 or 1865, depending on what source you look at. When told that he couldn’t do that, he asked them to show in the rules anywhere that he could only run from base to base after the ball had been hit. From there, rules for stolen bases developed over the years.

Laws are enacted for similar reasons. Most people won’t steal, murder, or defraud their neighbors. However, there have always been people who ask to see the rule book and demand to know where it says you can’t do something. Even when there are laws, they’ll push the envelope, asking for the precise definition of what you mean by doctor, harm, or possession.

In most settings, the laws don’t need to be much more than basic guidelines. Most of the time, the focus won’t be on the interaction of the characters and the legal system, after all. In these cases, the focus should be on the strange laws that are out of the ordinary. These can enrich your setting, making it more memorable. For example, in the United States, we close almost everything on a Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a strange day of the week to do this, and many businesses (especially retail and restaurants) are open the next day. Yet, we don’t give people the day off to vote on election day. In a fantasy world, there may be laws regarding specific celebrations, such as no money can change hands, drink, or perhaps speak during a certain time.

Another thing to consider is inheritance laws. In some cultures, only the first born son can inherit. No one else can expect anything, resulting in brothers plotting against each other to get the money. In others, the gender doesn’t matter. Perhaps the estate can be divided, which can lead to families breaking once grand estates into smaller and smaller pieces as time goes on. If only sons inherit, what happens to the mother? What if the father dies without children, or only daughters? These sound trivial today, but apply it to the royal or noble family and you have the motivation for many of the wars in medieval Europe.

Finally, look for reasons to have laws that make sense in your culture, but may seem unreasonable to your protagonists, readers, and/or players. Perhaps it’s illegal to have a certain flower. Murder and theft may be punishable by death, but rape is considered a minor crime. Perhaps only some people have full rights based on birth order or if they own land. Maybe certain types of art or scholarship are illegal.

One thing to consider is how the law deals with magic. The obvious one to deal with is Necromancy, since they might be able to animate dead bodies into zombies, skeletons, ghouls, and who knows what else. But, what about someone who can summon demons? Is that really better than summoning a fire elemental? What about someone who can spy on you with a crystal ball? Turning someone into a toad? Can just anyone claim to cast healing magic get money for their services? Is it legal for someone to create potions? If someone casts a spell on someone and orders them to do something, who committed the crime? If I create gold out of nothing, pay my bills, and the gold vanishes, did I commit fraud? If I use a love potion on someone, did they really consent to sex?

As with everything concerning worldbuilding, this can become a massive rabbit hole. Limit yourself to ideas that will be interesting for your players and readers and drive the conflict at the heart of your story.

Thanks for reading. My fantasy books can be found at Amazon, Kobo, or anywhere e-books are sold. Let me know what you think in the comments.

See you next Sunday!