NO Bounty Is Worth Dying For

This rule emphasized that no matter how great a reward, a hunter should never take any undue risks to his or her life in order to make a capture. They should also consider how much of a risk whichever bounty was going to be and to plan accordingly. (Of course, how much effort a hunter had put into pursuing a quarry, how great the reward, and if was worth the risk were all open to interpretation in the middle of a hunt.) A reward, even if enormous, could not be spent if a hunter was dead.

 

People Don't Have Bounties, Only Acquisitions Have Bounties.

This single, cardinal rule, more than any other, defined the way in which bounty hunters approached their chosen profession. It reflected the idea that sapient beings, to some degree, must be accorded respect. If, however, an individual had a bounty placed on them, he or she ceased to be an individual with rights. No longer a member of the community, the "acquisition" became fair game. Tears should never be shed over the fate of someone that was, after all, only an "acquisition."

 

Capture By Design, Kill By Necessity.

In keeping with the hunter code of ethics, killing was sometimes necessary. That was business, pure and simple. However, unnecessary killing was still murder. The hunter, unless otherwise directed by those leveling the bounty, must attempt to deliver the acquisition alive. Often, those leveling the bounty had a vested interest in a live target — and the target might have been better off getting killed by the hunter.

 

In the Hunt, One Captures or Kills, Never Both.

In cases where the acquisition had been taken alive, that "choice" could not be altered. To kill an acquisition in the course of the hunt was one thing, but to purposely kill an unarmed, helpless being already subdued and unable to resist was seen as simple slaughter and wanton butchery. An acquisition "killed while attempting to escape" however, would be an entirely different matter altogether.