Morality vs Illegality

When I'm not completely swamped with homework and other responsibilities, I like to run a D&D game for myself, wherein I play the role of both the DM and the only player. I've been told that this is called "writing a book," and I disagree. Actually writing a book requires more planning and revision, and fewer dice. I let the dice and my own whims decide how the stories play out, and I make it up as I go, writing only as much as is needed to keep the story moving forward. And at the moment, the story is moving in a pretty interesting direction.

The main character of this story is Mialee (Mia for short, but it's pronounced like Maya). Mia is a princess, and she's currently trying to track down someone who was kidnapped by dark mages. Dark magic is illegal in this setting, but other forms of magic are not, so the mages can maintain the appearance of legality so long as they're careful with where and how they practice their dark magic. Apparently, these particular dark mages have been especially careful, as the dice rolled in their favor several times in a row, and it was determined that, while we suspect them of the kidnapping (and they are, in fact, the perpetrators), there's not enough evidence to convict them, and they are legally untouchable.

Yet, a person has been kidnapped, and they need saving. Mia knows who did it, she knows where the captive is being kept, and, whether her actions are legal or not, she's going to do something about it.

Frankly, I'm not sure whether or not I condone this behavior. On the one hand, I'm far more aligned with Good than I am with Lawfulness. People should always do what's right, and people should usually obey the law. On the other hand, if those who are supposed to enforce the law don't obey the law themselves, then we have a serious problem. Law enforcement should operate within their legal bounds, even if that means letting the bad guys get away. But then again, that would open the door to more people being victimized. In this current case, it would mean letting a kidnapping victim remain a captive until they can be liberated legally, however long that'll take. Mia knows that what she's doing is illegal, and she's prepared to face the consequences, but she also believes that what she's doing is right, and I think, at least in this case, I agree with her.

Moral questions can get very difficult when the laws of morality and the laws of the land disagree. Sometimes, the right choice is obvious, like when the law of the land requires you to do something especially evil. In such cases, it becomes morally evil to obey the law. But there are also difficult cases, where it's not as clear whether the right choice is to do good or to obey the law.

If you could help someone, but you would have to break the law to do it, would you? Would it matter how much good you could do? Would it matter how serious of a crime it would be? Mia is willing to trespass (both literally and against the law) to save someone who has been kidnapped. Would you or I be willing to do the same? Should we be? In such a situation, what is the right thing to do?