30 Punishments

1-Gender Swap- In countries with a strong divide between the genders, where one gender is greatly restricted, to be made to act as the restricted gender is annoying and can be deeply humiliating as well. The punished one may merely be made to wear the other gender's clothes and act like the other gender to maximize the humiliation Or he or she could be professionally disguised to look like the other gender and have his or her voice magically or surgically changed. Or even given a full sex change. Whilst the *weaker* gender is often the female one, this not need always be the case-in an amazon nation or a drow city it will be the male who is the one with fewer rights and job opportunities.

2-Name Change- If the crime that was committed was one that was particularly embarrassing or infamous, then the offender can have his or her name changed, be sent away to another area and be banned from saying who he or she really is.This can be enforced either by a magical spell, or just by threatening the offender with a much greater punishment if the offender breaks the ban, perhaps even the executioner's block. It can be used along with with punishment number 1 but this is not always done. Unlike the other punishments, it can also be used to keep a witness safe from those who want him or her dead.

3-No weapons allowed- Unless conditions of civil war and/or anarchy reign, only certain people/classes are going to be allowed to legally bear arms. This is partly for reasons of public safety-the more weapons are around, the more likely it is that a fight will lead to someone getting murdered or maimed. And partly to keep the ruling class from being violently overthrown. For someone who has this right to lose it, it will be very humiliating. In real life, many of the samurai of Japan revolted when they were told that they could no longer legally carry their famous swords in public.

4-Being sent into the fields- When someone of the noble and/or educated class acts up and rebels against the government, he or she can be stripped of privileged positions and luxuries and sent to farm the land with the peasants. Chairman Mao had this done to many of China's educated people in real life. Doing hard labour in the fields will teach humility and should the punished person be restored to favor, another revolt is unlikely. Note-if the person has always been a peasant, then this won't be much of a punishment at all.

5-Horrid Job- Such jobs could include...

Cleaning out the sewers. Apart from the dirt and filth and the risk of disease there could be rats and other nasties down there to contend with.

Searching for bog iron. Bog iron is as the name suggests, found in bogs and other swampy places. Finding it involves pushing a long metal pole down into the muck until it hits something, and then digging down to it. It's another filthy job.

Egg collecting. Being sent down a cliff to take the eggs is pretty dangerous work, made worse by the birds defecating and throwing up on the egg thief.

Coin thrall. Historically, coins were often made by coin thralls, unpaid slaves who were made to toil for long hours making money, who were not allowed to keep any of it.

6-Sitting on one's cloak- Amongst the real life Templar Knights, it was seen as a sign of shame to have to sit on one's cloak when eating. Perhaps another order of knights has this rule. To anyone else it would not seem a punishment at all, but to the knights it is shameful.

7-The Songpit- In Vallermoore, The Songpit is used as a punishment where the people being punished are made to entertain people with their songs or their pain, as those who refuse to sing or have no good songs are whipped. The profit made from said songs goes to the Crown.

8-Made to fight one or more bouts as a gladiator- Assuming that the vast majority of gladiators are slaves or prisoners of war, as historically they were, then it would be both dangerous and humiliating to be forced to fight as a gladiator. Depending on the gravity of the offense, the punishment can be a single fight, more then one fight, or being told that one will never leave the arena alive.

9-Made to work as an undertaker for X amount of time- Amongst some cultures, working with the dead is work for the lower castes. So digging graves/making funeral pyres and looking after dead bodies would be an effective punishment for those of the higher castes who are not used to it.

10-Banned from using magic- For a wicked wizard or witch who has misused magic, then the right of using magic may be taken away from them. Depending on the world, a geas might be cast to stop the person from casting magic, they may be fitted with a Convict Collar which will shock the person if a spell is cast, or they could be visited by a chapter of The Upright Society of Civic Wizards or the equivalent guild and warned to stop casting or else. Most magic users use their magical talents to provide their income and will have problems finding another job.

11-Being forced to marry- As a punishment, somebody may be forced to marry somebody who they have not chosen. The person may be ugly, old,from a lower class/caste (perhaps this prevents legal heirs) unpleasant, or just not a true love match. Should the couple fall in love anyway, the punished person will have the last laugh.

12-Tied up- If the crime is not all that serious, simply being put in the pillory or tied to a tree or post for a few hours will be a sufficient punishment, particularly if it results in multiple bug bites or being pelted with things. If the criminal is disliked by most people, then time in the pillory could be a very painful punishment indeed.

11-That's Entertainment-The person to be punished is forced to entertain one or more minor nobles/influential people as a jester or bard for several hours. (And if it is done poorly and is not amusing enough it could lead to an even worse fate.)

12-Yum Yum- The person to be punished is assigned to the role of taste tester for the nobility. In some royal courts with unpopular rulers and/or lots of intrigue, assassination attempts by poison are common and holding the job for a long period is a de facto death sentence. In other royal courts the King or Queen's favorite food could be especially foul such as pickled pigs feet. In either case the job would certainly qualify as punishment.

13-Chop-Chop- The person is punished by being forced to weld the executioner's axe and execute their fellow culprits, hold up the severed heads to the crowd afterwards, and then dig the graves and bury the beheaded bodies.

14-Tax Time-The miscreant is made to assist the tax collector on his weekly/monthly rounds, including protecting him from attack and helping to evict people from their homes, earning the punished one a lot of enemies in the process.

15-Catch Me If You Can-The punished one becomes the 'quarry' for a 'live hunt' by the city guardsman to practice less than lethal prisoner apprehension. (Better hope those nets don't wrap around your neck somehow!)

16- A Life On The Ocean Wave-An assignment to duty is given aboard a sailing vessel until such time as it returns to port. (Depending on the vessel this could be weeks to months or even years.) As an extra punishment, the captain could be notoriously nasty or all chances of promotion are blocked. Or both.

17-You're In The Army Now- Conscription in the military ranging from a few years to life, often with little or no chance of promotion. And/or sent to the front lines in a deadly and very unpleasant war.

18-The Shame Of It-As a minor punishment for a noble family, the family crest is removed and replaced with a chicken, pig, or other 'weak' creature.

19-Sing Song -A famous bard must be hired at great expense to compose one or more embarrassing (but true?) sonnets about the individual to be presented at the next royal feast for all to hear, with the wages for said bard coming from the punished individuals coffers

20-Poisoned Chalice-The granting of a land holding in a distant and hostile region of the kingdom, with expectations of profit and prosperity by the assigned knight/noble before three years have passed-under threat of some really nasty punishment if the land holding fails.

21-Teach The Children Well-The culprit is made to teach small bratty children for X amount of time, and is not allowed to spank them. They know this and act badly on purpose in his or her lessons, knowing that they won't be punished for it.

22-Gagging Clause - Normally because of what he or she said, the one to be punished is made to wear a scold's bridal, that depending on what was said can be deliberately made to be very uncomfortable or can just be an effective gag that is locked into the mouth. Either way, the person won't be speaking for a while and may have to go without food for a while as well.

23-The Bells, the Bells - Perhaps as a punishment for sneaking around, the culprit is made to wear bells around one's ankles. They make sneaking around impossible, possibly effect sleep, and are pretty humiliating as everyone in the area will know why they have been locked on the culprit's legs.

24-Wakey Wakey- The one to be punished is deliberately denied sleep for a few days, a truly horrible punishment that saps the strength and mushes the mind. And when it's over a long sleep will be needed to recover from it.

25-The Sober Reality-The unfortunate culprit is given an injection of a drug that reacts badly with alcohol and lasts for a week. As a result, anything more then trace amounts of alcohol make the affected person violently sick. No more boozing for him or her until the drug wears off. This is normally used as a punishment for crimes committed whilst drunk.

26--Broken Weapon- The punishment is to have one's weapon publicly broken. This may mean the person is banned from carrying weapons, or it may mean that they just need to buy a new one, depending on how serious the crime was to earn said punishment.

27-Paperwork- Just what it says. All the boring paperwork that needs doing for a while gets passed to the one to be punished. Often used as a punishment for police who have not done something bad enough to be fired or suspended without pay.

28-Bye Bye Beard-A major punishment for Dwarves who have seriously messed up is to have the offending Dwarf publicly shaved in front of his or her clan, something that is deeply humiliating.

29-Blindfolded- Only the most brutal rulers would blind people for small offenses, but locking a metal blindfold on does just as well for temporary blindness. Such a person deprived of their sight is no threat to anybody and will have to depend on other people to survive. If the offense is severe enough then the unfortunate offender can be held down and their eyes burned out with a red hot iron, resulting in permanent blindness.

30-Prospect Time-Many guilds, gangs and other organizations both legal and illicit have made those who want to join them serve as a prospect, probate, journeyman or other such status where they have to do what their told and all the minor chores that crop up. For those full members who mess up, they can be busted down to prospect or the equivalent and have to earn their way up to full member all over again. If your world has biker gangs, this will be a common punishment amongst them.