Scott's crash course in Bounty Hunting 101

[scott2978]

Here is a document that I wrote for myself that sums up how bounty hunting works in the Star Wars universe. Around 98% of this info is official WEG data compiled from various sourcebooks. Have fun!


Star Wars Bounty hunting 101

What is a bounty?
A bounty is a legal document issued by the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations (the IOCI) for the apprehension of a being (known thereafter as the “acquisition”) responsible for acts of a criminal nature. A bounty differs from a standard “Warrant for Arrest” in that it specifies a reward for the capture or elimination of the criminal. These rewards are only available to licensed Hunters. The bounty specifies the restrictions and conditions under which the hunt can be conducted. It contains information on who is wanted, what for, where, by whom, and how much they’re worth. A bounty does not contain any biographical information, skills, habits or special abilities. Bounties come in two categories: Civil and Private. Civil bounties are those posted by Imperial officials. Private bounties are posted by corporations or citizens.

Placing a bounty
All legal bounties are posted by the IOCI. Imperial officials can post bounties directly to the IOCI. Corporations or citizens post bounties through Posting Agencies or Expeditors to the IOCI. Regardless, the IOCI requires the following to be met to post a bounty:

• Verifiable proof of wrongdoing
• Face value of bounty paid up front to the IOCI
• Payment of the posting fee: 100 to 500 credits for city or planet wide, 500 to 5,000 credits for system wide, 2,500 to 50,000 credits for sector wide, 12,500 to 500,000 credits for galaxy wide

In the case of civil bounties, the proof of wrongdoing can be flimsy indeed; virtually all that is needed is an accusation. For private bounties some sort of verifiable proof is always required, but depending on the scruples of the Posting Agency there is a lot of room for creative interpretation as to what “verified” means. Note that the IOCI will not usually allow a bounty to be posted without official law enforcement authorities either attempting to apprehend the criminal first, or stating to the IOCI in writing that they are currently incapable or unwilling to do so (due to insufficient manpower, petty nature of the crime, other higher priorities, ect). Also, the IOCI is unlikely to allow bounties for relatively petty crimes, like stealing a speeder or shoplifting (though a criminal with a habit of doing so may warrant a bounty) and especially for crimes against non-human aliens, but when a pro-Imperial corporation or high profile Imperial bureaucrat or officer posts a bounty it is given "special consideration" regardless of the seriousness of the crime.

What permits are required?
To legally hunt sentient citizens of the Empire, first one must obtain a Hunter’s license, officially known as an Imperial Peace Keeping Certificate or IPKC. An IPKC costs 500 credits and must be renewed each standard year. Then a number of other permits are required.

• A Target Permit is issued for a specific acquisition as permission to hunt that individual. They are treated as a legal extradition permit to bring the acquisition to Imperial authorities. Target permits may have special restrictions on when and where the acquisition may be apprehended, such as being valid only for a limited time, or in a limited locale. A Target permit costs 100 credits.
• Sector Permits are required for a hunter to operate in certain sectors. Some sectors require both Target Permits and Sector Permits, some require only one of the two, and some require only an IPKC. A Sector Permit routinely costs between 100 and 1,000 credits per month.
• System Permits allow hunters to operate in those systems that require an additional permit to hunt within that system. They typically cost between 50 and 500 credits per month. Systems requiring these permits are rare outside the Inner Rim worlds.
• District, city and municipal permits may also be required, typically in very large cities in the core. They generally cost about 10 credits per month each.
• Capture Permits are permits that can be issued after the acquisition has been caught. These permits are typical for Hunters that happen to cross paths with an acquisition by chance and have not already obtained all the necessary permits. They typically cost 25% of the posted bounty or 125% of what the required permits would have cost, whichever is higher, and are issued solely by the IOCI.

In general there are so many permits, all with their own special restrictions, that most Hunters hire someone to manage it all for them. Some Posting Agencies perform these services for a fee, and one can always hire an Expeditor to do it all. Obviously, certain acquisitions may actually not be worth the effort after all the fees for the various permits are factored in. There are also some systems (mostly in the core worlds) that are completely off limits to Bounty Hunting.

What kinds of bounties are there?
The following categories exist for legally posted bounties: Most Wanted, Locate and Detain, Galactic, Regional, Sector, System, Local and Private Postings.

• Most Wanted: For class 1 infractions of Imperial law presenting a clear and immediate danger to safety and security of the Empire. Imperial law dictates that Hunters may ignore all permit requirements when hunting these dangerous criminals, nothing more than an IPKC is required. Usually over 200,000 credits.
• Locate and Detain: For class 1 infractions of Imperial law by individuals that represent a substantial threat to the safety and security of the Empire. Bounties on the Locate and Detain list are only paid when the acquisition is delivered alive. They are covered by the same laws as Most Wanted bounties, and pay about the same.
• Galactic: For class 1 infractions of Imperial law by individuals who have committed extremely serious crimes. While the distinction between Most Wanted and Galactic bounties is hazy, these individuals are not considered to present an immediate, compelling threat to the Empire. From 50,000 to 200,000 credits.
• Regional: For class 1 and 2, and more serious class 3 infractions of Imperial law. These bounties are only listed within the local region or oversector. From 20,000 to 75,000 credits.
• Sector: For serious infractions of Imperial law that are confined to a single sector and/or are not considered threats to the security of the Empire itself (ie: crimes like piracy, murder, ect). This is the most common form of bounty. These are listed only in the local sector. From 3,000 to 50,000 credits.
• System: For serious crimes confined to the limits of a single system. These bounties are only listed within the local system. Mostly reserved for personal grudges or dangerous repeat offenders, these bounties are relatively rare as they imply that local officials aren’t able to maintain order. From 1,000 to 25,000 credits.
• Local: For serious criminal offences on a single planet or city, they imply that the criminal has fled local jurisdiction. From 100 to 15,000 credits.
• Private Posting: Companies and individual citizens post these bounties for anything from trespassing and burglary to kidnapping and murder. The cost for posting a private bounty depends on the range of the posting.

All bounties posted with the IOCI are assumed to be for the delivery of the acquisition to any Imperial law enforcement agency. All bounties posted at the IOCI are presumed to be for the capture and delivery of the acquisition either "Dead or Alive" unless otherwise stated by the posting authority (the IOCI or the entity making a Private Posting). In some cases the posting entity may decide that the acquisition must be delivered alive. For those bounties ("Wanted Alive") the posted bounty is usually somewhat higher than normal to compensate for the difficulty of bringing in a live acquisition, especially one that may prefer death to capture. Hunters who kill a wanted criminal in the process of arresting them for verifiable crimes against the Empire are almost never prosecuted (though they may be arrested while authorities determine if there is a legal bounty on the deceased), but in the case of acquisitions "wanted alive" the death of the acquisition may result in no bounty being paid at all, and in some cases criminal charges may be filed against the Hunter for the killing of acquisitions who are wanted alive.

How is payment made?
Payment of bounties are typically done with credsticks. In situations where the bounty is a very large sum, an Imperial “Warrant of Payment” may be issued instead of a credstick. This warrant is a document bearing the will of the Emperor himself, requiring any Imperial authority that is capable of doing so to render payment to the bearer upon demand. As such, these very important documents and are taken quite seriously by Imperial authorities. Another method of payment sometimes used on the Outer Rim is “rights of salvage”. In this method, Hunters are permitted to appropriate any personal goods, weapons and other gear that the acquisition has in his possession at the time of capture. While it would be difficult to make a living on such bounties, in hard times they can be enough to get by.

Obtaining a license
A “Bounty Hunter’s License” is another term for an Imperial Peace Keeping Certificate or IPKC. To get one, you must go to an office of the IOCI (or an authorized Posting Agency) and submit an application. An IPKC entitles the bearer to legally hunt for posted bounties. The application entails the following:

• A non-refundable up-front fee of 500 credits.
• An ISB background check, usually taking 3 days.
• An endorsement by a licensed Hunter stating that the applicant has completed an apprenticeship.

Finding someone to hunt
All legally posted bounties are posted in the Imperial Enforcement Datacore, which is maintained by the IOCI. It contains information on who is wanted, where, by whom, and how much they’re worth. Access to the datacore is restricted to those who possess a valid IPKC or the representative of someone possessing one. The Datacore is a galaxy-wide information net, but each planet has its own “board”. On a planet’s Datacore board, all planet, system and sector bounties will be posted for that locale. Any board in the Datacore can be accessed from any IOCI office, but while most planets have a Datacore board, not every planet has an IOCI office. Any access to a planetary Datacore comes with a small fee of 15 credits.

Posting Agencies
Posting agencies provide all the services of the IOCI, plus information on suspected sightings, more extensive biographies of the acquisitions, and information about other Hunters that have pursued the acquisition. Posting agencies often have more extensive and updated information than the IOCI due to word-of-mouth local information, and the fact that they are not run by Imperial Bureaucrats. Local Datacore access can usually be found at a posting agency as well.

Expeditors
Expeditors are professional intermediaries between Hunters and the Imperial Bureaucracy. Expeditors are like a “personal agent” for a Hunter, running bureaucratic interference, obtaining permits and managing the Hunter’s personal finances as well. By investing profits, making payoffs, promoting the Hunter to Posting Agencies and corporations, and identifying suitable acquisitions for the Hunter to keep him apprised of the newest legal bounties of interest, the Expeditor goes far beyond what a Posting Agency provides. For such invaluable services, the Expeditor usually changes a flat fee of between 3% and 5% of any bounty or contract arranged through his office.

[garhkal]

Nice... Though i would have liked to see if there was any differentiation between - capture alive, wanted dead or alive and kill if must bounties..
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[scott2978]

A good question!

I've updated the document!

[Jawa Juice]

How do bounties placed by non Imperial organisations e.g. the Hutts work?

[Downstrike]

Tony Soprano in nature. Jabba says something that is an innuendo for murder and his capos or soldiers push it down to guys wanting to make a name. They have to go after their own made guys. They hire out when that special someone is dangerous or out of reach. Legal or not will most likely fall to the bounty hunter. Then there is the matter of does anyone care. Vader used the Solo bounty to have a chit chat with Luke while getting some fresh air. If someone is going to get in Fetts way because of some smuggler, its because the official is new to the job or just wants to be a jerk. Normally, bounty hunters are obligated to inform local law of their bounties before they knock on a door so the local black and white doesn’t wonder who the guy with the baseball bat and handcuffs is at a known criminals house.

Contracts can be verbalized with a standard written which forfeits the hire’s civil rights to the crime lord. Instead of a bail bond which is a contract to return on a court date, the contract is to deliver said goods from point a to point b and bring credits to point c. The smuggler has to sign some things for assumed forged documents to travel. One of those things is the one legit item in the shipment. It is hidden in the bottom of the contraband. Failure to deliver the one legit item allows for the contract to be violated and the civil rights of the individual smuggler to be forfeit to the crime lord.

So
Capo to Ziro the Hutt “The wise Ziro says to deliver those boxes marked red ink pens to Bespin in two weeks time. I will need you to sign here and here and lets get a photo for your fake ID. Good…” Signs the contract to deliver the one red pen for the price of 100,000 cred
New Smuggler “So that’s it then?”
Capo “Make it back in a week and there is an extra 100 cred for ya.”

Three weeks later

Capo “Ziro wants you to intercept a prison transport which contains this young smuggler that made some mistakes. Ziro feels that this smuggler would be willing to work at a reduced rate now.” Shows picture taken previously.
Bounty Hunter “was the drop off a true failure or was it an imperial delivery?”
Capo “Imperial delivery so you will get little resistance from the guards, they have one who will take it on the chin while he is holding the prisoner. His helmet will be off. I‘ll get his photo to you”
Bounty Hunter “What are the per diem rates around Bespin again? I’m not doing another partial per diem job if your going to put me up at the red roof inn again!”

May not be what everyone else envisions criminal bounties. I also see Jabba doing the whole “Bring me his head on a pike and I will make you a wealth man.” without fear of legal protocol.

Cheers
DS