[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Legal Immunity

[Phil Masters]

By the way, Ken and Robin’s podcast this week has a nice illustration of why Diplomatic Pouch Privileges might not always work quite right in the 17th century.

[Irioth]

Originally Posted by whswhs

In fact, that is almost exactly one of the settings I proposed in Chapter 8 of GURPS Supers, and I ran a campaign based on it where the PCs were a squad of supers not quite powerful enough to be sovereign as individuals, but able to survive a fight with a sovereign and versatile enough to get them under control—or offer a meaningful threat. Things like Clark Kent's apartment being legally the Kryptonian Embassy were part of the legal structure I envisioned.

Yeah, I am very fond of that particular bit of GURPS Supers. We conceived the basic idea independently, but I am grateful you added it to the sourcebook and wish we could have a whole sourcebook about it.

If you ask my opinion, this system deals with the elephant-in-the-room issue of high-powered supers co-existing with Muggle society in a much more practical, realistic, and satisying way than assuming all non-villainous OP supers got Honesty in their character sheet or were brainwash... err, reared by their parents to obey the law no matter what like Clark Kent.

As I see it, it just takes one OP super or three facing a government decision they really find intolerable, and the whole house of cards falls apart. Marvel Civil War shenanigans aside, a typical case I can think of is a judge ruling aganst a powerful super in a child custody case. Even many otherwise 'good' supers would realistically be sorely tempted to say "f**k the law" and bring down the courthouse on the judge rather than surrendering their child.

[Irioth]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

It seems like there's a pretty plain divide between them though: Legal Enforcement Powers is built around an authority to make demands with the force of law (in particular demands to surrender to your arrest and demands to let you conduct searches, but I could see that being extended). If someone defies your authority it's not just you they're defying, it's the entire system that accords you your Powers. Legal Immunity doesn't give you any coercive power at all, it simply prevents regular laws from being enforced against you. If you have extreme Legal Immunity you might be able to kidnap someone or toss their house and get away with it, but your victim isn't obligated to cooperate.

However, the higher levels of Legal Enforcement Powers and of Legal Immunity do have much the same trend towards 'no rules govern your actions'.

Very much so. Of course, in many cases having high-level Legal Immunity means your personal power is so great you can bring levels of coercion down on someone that are practically indistinguishable from the ones the state may deploy. Think of a mob boss or a warlord in a police-free zone or failed state situation, or an OP wizard or super declaring themselves independent from the law. It makes little practical difference if the ones imprisoning you are the local cops, the goons of the mob boss/warlord, or the OP wizard/super. Threat of retribution is always what makes you cooperate.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Irioth

Very much so. Of course, in many cases having high-level Legal Immunity means your personal power is so great you can bring levels of coercion down on someone that are practically indistinguishable from the ones the state may deploy. Think of a mob boss or a warlord in a police-free zone or failed state situation, or an OP wizard or super declaring themselves independent from the law. It makes little practical difference if the ones imprisoning you are the local cops, the goons of the mob boss/warlord, or the OP wizard/super. Threat of retribution is always what makes you cooperate.

Maybe, but in that case you have to separately purchase the other traits that give you so much power. Whereas Legal Enforcement Powers directly builds them in. (And then you might not have Legal Immunity. A mob boss in general doesn't have Legal Immunity, but they do have plenty of coercive violence on tap when they decide it's worth using.)

Tangentially I don't think you should take Legal Immunity if you're 'immune' because there's simply no law enforcement around. Of course, if your people are controlling the area and serving as law enforcement (for some value of law) on the populace you're back at high level Legal Immunity.