Trial of Possession

A Trial of Possession is one of the Six Trials of Combat, and allows Clans to perform raids on each other while minimizing the military assets wasted in raids and eliminating collateral damage and danger to non-combatants.

Trials of Possession are between Clans over particular assets. The challenged can demand something of equal value that they will get if they make a successful defense. The prize can be anything from a piece of equipment (a 'Mech or a DropShip), a quantity of material, an installation, a piece of territory, an entire planet or even just genetic material.

A Circle of Equals is created at a destination that serves as a proxy for the location of the prize. This proxy can even be on another planet. The Circle of Equals place is usually equivalent terrain to the location of the prize. It is always away from any assets that could become collateral damage and ensures no non-combatants are caught in the fighting.

This Trial is needed to allow the Clans to compete for resources without quick unannounced raids, which will involve innocents and will damage surrounding assets and may even damage the prize that is fought over. Also the pre-battle bidding will reduce the amount of military force expended for the battle.

A classic example of a Trial of Possession is the one fought for Terra between the Clans and ComStar, with Tukayyid as the proxy.