Heyo,

So my party have IPKC's and have taken their first quarry into custody. My question is;

How have you handled the possessions of said mark?

Have you let the Hunters strip the gear and equipment? Are their stipulations in a bounty contract that would govern a Mark's possessions? Are they up for grabs? Would it technically be stealing?

Just looking for some input on this from others who have ran bounty Hunting adventures or campaigns.

So far my Group, which includes a Bounty Hunter has brough in several Marks but this hasn't come up yet (although they usually take everything that isn't nailed down).

For Imperial Bounties I would go about and say that the possessions are officially imperial property.
For other Bounties, well could be in the Contract.

In general I guess go with what feels right, if your players want to strip every Bounty they manage to get hold of to the last shirt and keep / sell their belongings maybe come up with a general IPKC Regulation that rules said belongings as property of the Bounty Giver or general imperial property.

Atleast that's how I'd handle it.

3 hours ago, CloudyLemonade92 said:

Heyo,

So my party have IPKC's and have taken their first quarry into custody. My question is;

How have you handled the possessions of said mark?

I discourage looting everything in sight by making it generic or low quality gear that isn't easily fenced or sold. If the players insist, drama may unfold from the actions. Usually the whole "shoot and lewt" mindset is a problem with coming from another gaming system, or not enough pure credit rewards from completed encounters.

Just like in RL, it comes down to two levels: technically, and practically.

Technically speaking, in Republic and Imperial space, there are probably laws on the books about property seizure. Since bounty hunting is a part of law-enforcement, the hunter is probably expected to fulfill the contract, but a person's possessions (no matter how small) are still theirs, presumably returned to them after they've been found innocent or done their time. (The movie Rounders, where Worm wants his toothpick back, is a fun example.)

Practically speaking, in Republic space there might be a bit more due-diligence depending on the nature of the bounty. In Imperial space, possessions deemed important to the case (data files, murder weapons, etc) are probably off limits (or will raise eyebrows if they are missing) but the rest is probably fair game.

In Hutt space or some other "whoever is in charge *is* the law" space, the technical and practical are probably not that different. IOW, if it's not spelled out in the contract, a target's possessions are probably fair game.

Of course, a target in any space could still be "well connected", and any unlawful seizure could lead to a backlash. One Hutt or Senator or Moff's enemy might be another's friend, and the hunter who doesn't toe the technical line could soon find the tables turned. If I was running a BH game, I'd definitely give my PCs that sense of having to "thread the needle". It adds verisimilitude with a side benefit of keeping them from going nuts.

I agree with @whafrog on this. The target's property is still his property, even if he's dead. You turn his property over to the Authorities, when you turn in the bounty.

Also sounds like something that would be best to clarify and/or negotiate up front.

@whafrog

Thanks, that's pretty helpful. I think I'll go with that. Makes sense. If they keep the stuff knowing the stipulations then I'll award conflict. The Imperials or Government entity would likely want to seize the persons belongings, and return them to them after their time is done, if they're in for life however, or dead, or on death row, the next of kin would likely inherit the stuff.

Hopefully this will discourage the mass lootings and stripping people bare, lol.