Every character with the Bounty Hunter career starts with an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (unless they opt not to for whatever reason). This is what gives bounty hunters their legitimacy. From other sources, this appears to have a one-time cost of 1,000 credits, and anyone without a serious criminal record can get one.

What I'm curious about is whether bounty hunters can subcontract agents to work directly under their IPKC. This would include hunters in training, specialists (pilots, mechanics, doctors, etc), and perhaps even backup muscle. Would it be reasonable that these types could be covered by the IPKC of a bounty hunter 'team leader' without them having to purchase their own IPKCs? The bounty hunter holding the IPKC would, of course, be responsible for any breaches of law performed by those operating under his/her IPKC.

The Star Wars universe has always portrayed bounty hunting as very much a 'gray area' sort of business. Yes, it's legitimate and it's got backing, but clearly a lot of underhanded dealings go on with it, ranging from bending the law to outright breaking it.

In the case of a PC party, I think so long as you've got one character with an IPKC on hand, the fact that their buddies don't have one wouldn't be an issue with the authorities.

I would say no. Hunters will sometimes work together, but anyone on the job with out the IPKC is just an illegal murdering, kidnapping thug. If they get caught by officials, the Hunters IPKC won't do anything to protect them, and they could even lose their IPKC.

Any professional Hunter would know only to work with others that had the IPKC. You don't have an IPKC Learner permit, or in training card. You can't even join a guild without one. I look at it kind of like a Fishing or Hunting License. I don't go to the lake/woods to learn how to fish/hunt then go get my license, I go get my license then go learn how to fish/hunt.

It is up to the GM on how much this will cost. Some guilds will take you as an apprentice and then pay for your IPKC, but you learn how to shoot in the gun range, clean weapons, clean toilets after the Gamoreen used it... You do all this stuff in the "Base", before you go out work a Hunt. Then after they feel you are ready, you get your IPKC, then go out.

Others might disagree, and to them I say I'm right, your wrong! (Intentional placement of "your" instead of you're)

No, to each there own...

If you can get your hands on WEG Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters, it is well worth it!

My thoughts were for "legal" Imperial Hunts. Not a criminal contract from a Hutt. If you are doing that, then it is illegal no matter what. And if you shoot up a town tracking down an illegal posting, you can still get into a lot trouble even with your IPKC.

From a strictly technical/legal standpoint, I'd suspect that everyone would have to have an IPKC in order to avoid trouble. In practice, however, it's probably simpler.

Let's assume that you have a group where only one person has an IPKC, and the whole group has just tracked down and apprehended a mark when local authorities show up. Now, if the arrest has gone down fairly peacefully with no serious injury, collateral damage or other anti-social behavious, I'd have the local cops just wave them along. From their perspective, a wanted criminal was just removed from the streets and no damage done.

However, if the players in the cause of the arrest trashed several vehicles, set fire to a building and sent a dozen bystanders to hospital through reckless behaviour, I'd have the cops come down on them with both feet and arrest everyone without an IPKC.

In my campaign at least I've always run IPKC as a license to carry any (legal) weapon on most any planet, while players without one would have to apply for a carry license (when they're on highly regulated/Core worlds, that is). In a group with only one licensed hunter this could also be a problem for the players (or at least, as much of one as the GM wants to make it).

Every character with the Bounty Hunter career starts with an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (unless they opt not to for whatever reason). This is what gives bounty hunters their legitimacy. From other sources, this appears to have a one-time cost of 1,000 credits, and anyone without a serious criminal record can get one.

What I'm curious about is whether bounty hunters can subcontract agents to work directly under their IPKC. This would include hunters in training, specialists (pilots, mechanics, doctors, etc), and perhaps even backup muscle. Would it be reasonable that these types could be covered by the IPKC of a bounty hunter 'team leader' without them having to purchase their own IPKCs? The bounty hunter holding the IPKC would, of course, be responsible for any breaches of law performed by those operating under his/her IPKC.

Unless someone has actual information or can quote EU, I'll just tell you how I'd handle it. I'd run it like a Deputy. A Bounty Hunter and a Stormtrooper basically have the same rights. They can shoot people, arrest/detain people, even do somewhat illegal things like parking in the Grand Moff's parking spot, as long as he has a just explanation for it later.

Although there are a few things that a stormtrooper can do, that an IPK cannot. An IPK can't enter an imperial garrison without authorization. An IPK can't make other people into IPKs, but a Stormtrooper can temporarily deputize a citizen.

Strictly speaking, I would say that anyone working with an IPK is not covered. Just because one person has an IPK, doesn't mean everyone can go break the law around him, just because they know him. No, they have to have authorization. If an Imperial Officer was uptight enough, I'd say he'd either arrest the other party members or have them bribe him. For the most part though, a lazy stormtrooper would probably not care if he saw a bounty hunter's posse assisting the BH.

I think I'll go with the idea that everyone involved in the business gets an IPKC of their own. Easy enough to do.

I'd think each person would need their own.

As a weird comparison: I think of it like how when hunting or fishing each person participating needs that year's liicense or permit. Sure, I can go out with my buddy while he's fishing and not have a permit/license, but if I want to catch anything myself, and be completely legal, I need a permit too.

Depends on whether or not you can delegate with your certificate. Two people go out on a hunt and capture a bounty, but only the one with the certificate can turn in said bounty. They other one, working under the certificate holder would have no legal ability to turn in a bounty.

There is some similarity to a hunting license, but it is not the same. I can see a bounty hunter using others in his capture of a bounty, but he would be the only one, being that he has the certificate, that would legally be able to benefit from the capture. His delegates wouldn't be able to go off on their own without his oversight and capture someone in their own name.

Only the guy bringing the acquisition in.

As far as I'm aware, the IPKC just lets you pass between jurisdictional borders, transporting fugitives, without fear of prosecution by Imperial legal enforcement authorities. If you're the bounty hunter, you're the one doing that - not the guy flying the ship, not your medic, not any of your informants.
Any crimes committed by you or others during the capture of the acquisition are separate issues - you aren't immune from prosecution for them.

For the sake of simplicity, I'd GM it to say that the Bounty Hunter can "deputize" the rest of the PCs and their resources. We had this come up once in our game where I was playing.

We shot a bounty, the Imps came over to hassle us, I whipped out the warrant for the criminal, explained to the GM's Imperial that the rest of the PCs were deputized by me in my legal duties, and it really streamlined the whole adventure.

We didn't get bogged down with legal repercussions, which made the game more streamlined, cinematic, and fun for everyone at the table.

Our GM (R2) already answered this for us. We tried to turn in a bounty using the license of one of the other players (he was absent that day) and the imps basically told us to hand the bounty over and sod off.

So, I guess we'll each need our own license now.

Yep, I'm a summers eve like that.

Our GM (R2) already answered this for us. We tried to turn in a bounty using the license of one of the other players (he was absent that day) and the imps basically told us to hand the bounty over and sod off.

So, I guess we'll each need our own license now.

If you handed them in at the local cop shop, the Imps should charge you for the paperwork and legal fees (usually 50% of the bounty) - civilians can turn criminals in, too. If you're transporting them across planetary borders or - very bad - across sectors and are stopped, you'll be unable to prove you're not "aiding a fugitive", however.

We were trying to turn in a force user and they refused to pay us. In retrospect, it was kind of stupid for them. Maybe it was just that group, but if the empire wants people to turn in force users you'd think they'd pay the reward regardless of whether you have a license or not. Who's going to turn anyone in if they're not going to get the reward for it?

If you need to refer to the IPKC out loud do you pronounce it "ipecac"?

Damit man, when you post I think I did!!! Stupid limited avatars...

Anyway, The Imperials did take the Force Users off your hands. Without substantial proof, why would they pay up? Are they going to give everyone 10,000 credits every time someone tries to turn in a "force user"? I think that would be stupid. They did get their proof that he was a force user...

Haha, I changed mine away from the TIE Interceptor because it was popular too

I picture a lot of the old lady and the talking donkey scenes from shrek. People bringing in "force users" and unless they can prove that they are, they're either turned away or arrested if they don't have an IPKC. Now, if they can prove that they're force users they'd get paid regardless of IPKC. Of course, forcing the force user to reveal himself would be difficult or comical depending on the campaign.

They could dunk the force user in water. If they drown, they weren't a Jedi.

They could dunk the force user in water. If they drown, they weren't a Jedi.

And if they weigh the same as a duck, they're made of wood...

The IPKC was designed by the guild to prevent amateurs and non-bounty hunters from getting in the way of their work. If you have a certificate you can claim a bounty for full price from an agency that recognizes the bounty, but without an IPKC you only get half the bounty.

The rules of the IPKC are as follows (paraphrased from wookiepedia)

-Unless the bounty is posted as dead or alive, it is to be captured alive

-The bounty must be given the chance to surrender. If the bounty attempts to flee, refuses to obey a registered hunter, or has committed prior activities that indicate they are going to run or resist capture all count as refusal to surrender

-Injury, incapacitation, or death of the quarry can only occur if they have refused to surrender peacefully (see above)

-Only a reasonable amount of force is to be used (We are looking at you Durge)

-The holder of the IPKC must promise not to accept any "illegal" bounties

So on top of this we also have the question "what is a bounty?". These rules seem to indicate its simply a person, but all throughout the clone wars and other media we see bounty hunters taking up protection jobs, kidnapping, and much more. This all paints Bounty hunters as mercenaries and killers for hire (Cad Bane, Rako Hardeen, Boba Fett, Bossk, Durge and IG-88B to name a few). I carried this aver into my game so bounty hunters work as follows.

Bounties come from four sources sources: Imperial, galactic, local, and private.

Imperial bounties are on large scale criminals, force users, renegade soldiers, certain very dangerous criminals. These bounties are often issued by specific agencies which will be listed in the bounties profile on a bounty board.

Galactic bounties follow similar guidelines as Imperial ones with the stipulation hat they aren't filed by the empire. They could be filed by a larger entity such as a government or corporation.

Local bounties: Bounties posted by the local crime lord, outposts and settlements who want big game hunted, swoop gangs.

Private bounties anything privately contracted between the bounty hunter and his employer (hutt bounties and crime bosses)

With all that in mind IPKC allows a bounty hunter to turn in all bounties he claims for full price and in addition he can be contracted by anyone to hunt a bounty under the private and local sources. The license does not allow him to run around committing half a dozen felonies in the process it just allows him to take necessary precautions to bring the bounty in. His companions are not deputized but rather seen as tools. A pilot is simply his driver, a droid could be a little extra firepower should he need it or a translator to help him find said bounty, his doctor friend is there to ensure he and his target stay alive, and the jawa mechanic in the back makes sure the ship stays up and running. Unless they use excessive force they are not liable for anything the bounty hunter tell them to do.

Annnnd... seeing tranDOSHan pop up forced me to change my avatar...

Taking one from my city's ordinance book, those with scrapping licenses can only have helpers by paying an additional fee to put them on their license.

So Bounty Hunters have a license that costs Cr. 1000. For each helper they want added to that certificate (by name?) they must pay an additional 250 fee? Maximum of 4 helpers per primary license?