How many must die for justice?

General ACKS Forums Ask the Autarchs
1

My quest to become the ultimate dwarf is proving more endless than expected, and I'm running out of time. More specifically, I'm running out of lifetime. I've left siring heirs too late; I fear I will die before they are grown and ready to take over for me.

My human mage friend has suggested a solution. By means he is reluctant to discuss, he has obtained the fomula for a rare and valuable potion of longevity. He proposes to make doses of this potion for the both of us at cost, provided I can source the ingredients.

The catch is that the potion in question requires elf livers. Lots of elf livers. Two hundred and thirty-three and a third elf livers per dose, to be precise, and that's more than I'm likely to come across without being proactive. Of course, as a faithful servant of the Empyrean gods, I can't simply raid the nearest elf community for their organs; Without genuine casus belli, my hands are tied. Nor can I simpy announce my intent to puchase elf livers from any and all comers; Such a decree would doubtlessly be percieved by adventurers and mercenaries as a bounty on elves in my name, and I would like to avoid that particular misunderstanding.

Thus, I have decided to write a letter to a nearby elf-lord, asking him if he will sell me the livers of any criminals he executes in his lands. My letter will, of course, include the appropriate assurances that my hirelings will not take any other parts of the bodies than what were paid for, and that I will provide the appropriate metamphorae for storage and guards and carts for transport at my own expense.

Alas, I don't have any idea how frequently executions take place in the elf-lord's realm, and getting that detail wrong in my letter could easily be seen as an insult. I know the figures from my own vaults, of course, and from the lands of my friend the mage before he was usurped, but the elf-lord's lands are different from ours in size, morale, and urbanisation, and I have no idea what number of executed criminals they're likely to produce on a regular basis.

Therefore, I must ask: Is there an easy way to estimate the average number of criminals executed each month in a domain or settlement of any particular size?

2

It would probably be possible to work it out based on the average amount of crime in the settlement monthly and what percentage of that GP value belongs to which crimes.

I don’t have the thread links handy, but I know these things have been discussed before. It is probably easier to wait for Alex to pop in with a spreadsheet answer than it is to find it on the forums, though!

3

[quote="Aryxymaraki"] It would probably be possible to work it out based on the average amount of crime in the settlement monthly and what percentage of that GP value belongs to which crimes. I don't have the thread links handy, but I know these things have been discussed before. [/quote]

I've seen those threads too, but they seem to focus on calculating the maximum number of hijinks of each type that can occur, rather than the actual number that're likely to happen. Alex has stated that the most profitable crimes are usually carousing and stealing (taking into account the chances of getting caught), which suggests to me that the distribution of crimes being commited is probably different to the figures given in those threads... Or that I'm misunderstanding something about how those figures were calculated.

4

Could your mage to hand over the formula to a cleric and have the cleric use Divine Power to fuel the creation of the potions? It would save on messy elf-liver delivery.

5

The traditional approach, a la Dwarf Fortress, is to get the elves to attack you. Then it’s self defense, and they had it coming.

6

[quote="Alex"] Could your mage to hand over the formula to a cleric and have the cleric use Divine Power to fuel the creation of the potions? It would save on messy elf-liver delivery. [/quote]

I could... But to be honest, that whole thing about making potions of longevity was just a framing narrative to the question about whether there's an easy way to calculate the average number of legal executions each month in a given domain or settlement. I really just want to know because it's the kind of thing my players are likely to inquire about, possibly as part of an elaborate plan to get rid of a body, hide amongst the corpses, or somesuch.

[quote="jedavis"] The traditional approach, a la Dwarf Fortress, is to get the elves to attack you. Then it's self defense, and they had it coming. [/quote]

I haven't finished building my fortress water cannon yet, so that's not an option.

7

So, first, execution was *shockingly* common historically. Today, the nation with the highest per-capita rate of executions is Iran, with an alleged 700 judicial executions per year in a population of 77 million, or about 1 per 110,000 people. 

72,000 people were executed over Henry VIII's 46 year reign. That's an average of 1,565 per year. (In an average year, England executed about 1,000 per year.) Population was 3 million. So that is about 1 per 2000 to 1 per 3000 people per year. 

Using England's range, that would suggest an annual exeuction rate for ACKS of between 1 per 400 families and 1 per 600 families. However, England gave us natural rights, rule of law, and other niceties so we can probably assume that the execution rate there represents a low end rate for a medieval kingdom! And, even more, the ACKS world is probably more brutal and dangerous than the real historical world, so the execution rate might well be higher.  Therefore I think a reasonable range for game purposes might be an annual execution rate of anywhere from 1 execution per 100 families to 1 per 500 families.

233 elven livers will therefore require one year in a domain of 23,300 elven families, at best, or maybe 5 years at worst.

As an estimate, you could use 1 execution per [100 people x (1 + (Garrison Value/GP) - Morale score]. For example, if Garrison Value is 3gp per family and domain morale is +1, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 3 - 1)] 300 people. If Garrison Value is 1gp and morale score is -2, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 1 - -2)] 400 people. 

 

8

[quote="Alex"]

So, first, execution was *shockingly* common historically. Today, the nation with the highest per-capita rate of executions is Iran, with an alleged 700 judicial executions per year in a population of 77 million, or about 1 per 110,000 people. 

72,000 people were executed over Henry VIII's 46 year reign. That's an average of 1,565 per year. (In an average year, England executed about 1,000 per year.) Population was 3 million. So that is about 1 per 2000 to 1 per 3000 people per year. 

Using England's range, that would suggest an annual exeuction rate for ACKS of between 1 per 400 families and 1 per 600 families. However, England gave us natural rights, rule of law, and other niceties so we can probably assume that the execution rate there represents a low end rate for a medieval kingdom! And, even more, the ACKS world is probably more brutal and dangerous than the real historical world, so the execution rate might well be higher.  Therefore I think a reasonable range for game purposes might be an annual execution rate of anywhere from 1 execution per 100 families to 1 per 500 families.

233 elven livers will therefore require one year in a domain of 23,300 elven families, at best, or maybe 5 years at worst.

As an estimate, you could use 1 execution per [100 people x (1 + (Garrison Value/GP) - Morale score]. For example, if Garrison Value is 3gp per family and domain morale is +1, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 3 - 1)] 300 people. If Garrison Value is 1gp and morale score is -2, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 1 - -2)] 400 people. 

 

[/quote]

 

To counter this, the sixteenth century is noted as the peak of execution rates historically. From 1377-1397, Warwickshire (which had a population of around 55,000) had a total of 13 executions, or about 1 per 85,000 people per year (1 per 17,000 families).*

 

*Population number is from https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/sbroadberry/wp/medievalpopulation7.pdf. Execution numbers are from A Global History of Execution and the Criminal Corpse.

9

[quote="Alex"] As an estimate, you could use 1 execution per [100 people x (1 + (Garrison Value/GP) - Morale score]. For example, if Garrison Value is 3gp per family and domain morale is +1, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 3 - 1)] 300 people. If Garrison Value is 1gp and morale score is -2, annual execution rate is 1 per [100 x (1 + 1 - -2)] 400 people.  [/quote]

Ah, that sounds perfect for my purposes. Thanks, Alex!