Justice System Brainstorming

Interesting. Sort of like pulling down the wanted poster to carry around with you and find the criminal... without actually pulling it down so other players can't see. I like it.

Also, from Bowen's post - I do think you're going to get some criminal players upset about getting locked up if they can't escape. It is really borring playing being locked up. (I know, I've sooooo been there. Thankfully had some people come 'visit' me in prision.) Maybe breaking out of jail is easier, but getting your stuff back is far more challenging? Also, not all the criminal types will be big on RP, just another consideraiton. Some just want the PvP.

However, if it was a bounty situation and escaping was fairly plausable I imagine that, if you had the player's wanted poster, then upon killing them in PVP battle to capture reluctant criminals their bodies could be automatically rezed within the town cell you were turning the bounty in for? Like, waking up in a cell after being knocked out.

 

A bingo book! ( I think that's what they're called). Love it.

I really like the 'flagging' by having a wanted poster also.

 

I would love a bingo book for each player - records who took you out ... I think people would like that a lot (but it breaks immersion, but I would not be complaining )

 

I wouldn't put everyone's stats in it.. but it would be great for collecting and updating wanted posters.

You know I'm beginning to think we actually have the basis for a functional and quite possibly difficult to abuse bounty hunter system going here?

 

I believe the idea was more of a bingo book where, if you happen upon a Wanted poster you could 'record' it, like taking the wanted poster down and carrying it with you to help you find your bounty.

Curious though, why the bingo book that records who took you out?

 

Never heard of a bingo book but the first thing that came up on google looked cool.
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs47/f/2009/213/5/d/Bingo_Book__Sasuke_Uchiha_by_haydenuchiha24.png

So we got two crowds that would want these books.
1. Bounty Hunters tracking down bounties.
2. People like me who want to avoid criminals.
oh and maybe criminals who want to show off their poster.

I guess these two people might be good friends if they can trade wanted posters.
This would bring up more questions.
1. Can a full book be copied or are these like trading cards and only so many copies can be made at a time.
2. Does the bounty info update in your book automatically for each person in it or do the bounties expire and you have to hunt down new ones?

 

LOL As an avid Naruto fan.. that is where I came up with the name.

Yes exactly.. maybe even be able to take notes.

The thought occured.. that if wanted posters flagged criminals for thoes who possessed them.. then criminals should likewise be able to detect bounty hunters in a similiar fashion.

Excellent questions.. my personal preference would be that information would NOT update automagically. You would have to collect the latest posters to update your book.

Could a bingo book be copied? I don't really see why not unless for some reason there was a purpose to regulating distribution of wanted posters. I would think though that because the information contained sketches of criminals that a certain level of skill would be required to make copies.

 

You have a record of the culprit - I plan to be running around a lot - it would make it easier for reporting (unless it's automatic reporting)

- for those that like to take matters into their own hands they have a the log of people they will hunt ... also; if it recorded how many times you've been bested and by whom - you can have a nemesis ... lol

 

A little more on the bingo book idea.. if you wanted to add more data than the wanted poster.. you could take some information from their paperdoll/biography. That way the criminal could write a short bio that would appear in the bingo book.

Any statistical though I think should be limited.. number of a particular crime.. types of crime being the 2 or 3 most wanted for and listed by severity as this would likely be on the wanted poster anyway.

 

Have the local government heads hand out Letters of Marque. Posters are a bit lowbrow, and a Letter of Marque would fit the time period a bit better I believe. I am not quite sure, but this may have been a naval only term, is there a more appropriate term for land based action other than a "wanted poster?"

 

A letter of the Marque was given to ship captains and was essentially a free license to legally conduct piracy against enemy ships.

I get where you're going with it though. Basically a bounty hunter's license.

 

Thanks for the explanation Margard.

Bowen: I agree with bingo books not updating with new criminals, you should see the posters IG first, however I would like for a bingo book to automatically update when a bounty goes away so people stop hunting that person when the bounty is gone.

 

That makes a lot of sense.. if the bounty is gone the wanted poster could be automagically removed.. the assumption being the player would do so anyway so it's a time saver.

In this respect.. I would suggest the bounty hunter must have the wanted poster in a bingo book for the afore suggested functionality to take place. This would be like a form of affirmation of a players intent to hunt the criminal. Rather than just simply collecting a wanted poster.

If the bounty is gone the wanted poster is removed from the book and placed back in the player's inventory (in case they want to collect posters for kicks). Also by this same token you won't be able to place wanted posters in the bingo book unless there is an active bounty and then you might stipulate that the poster must be recent also.

I'd also like to add you could collect posters from any local guard post, prison or court house.

For anyone interested I thought I'd like (aka shamess plug) the Functioning Prisons thread.

 

I like the book poster idea more and more. If you have a wanted poster for someone, you also wouldn't be counted as a 'murderer' when you go to bring them in, so your criminal level won't increase.

Are people viewing bounties as something the game would put up when a crime is committed or something player reported?

I lean towards automatic game updates but am interested in other opinions.
My concerns with this being player only is...

1. Abuse - players putting bounties on people who have done nothing wrong
2. Griefers - if the game does this automatically then griefers will accumulate a high bounty quickly, where as if it's player reported you will have quite a few crimes go unreported making it much less of a deterent. Some players will just log off or switch back to friends or single online instead of taking the time to report things. That allows the griefer to continue to avoid reporting.
3. The world is not populated only by PC's, there are populations of NPCs who can report crimes as we are supposidly living in a full world not one that is empty when the players log off.

Thoughts?

 

On the abuse front. I thought it would be interesting if a sort of reverse system was in effect for 'rogue' towns and a little bit of abuse from player run governments (if there ever are any) within their own town might be acceptable.. but going back to earlier on in the thread I think if players are allowed to post bounties then it should only be against a criminal and only for a crime they witnessed. In other words, the player must first witness the crime.. then report it in order to have the option to place a bounty.

I should probably add to that the stipulation of first come first serve.. so 10 people having witnessed the same crime can't all report it. Also any NPC witnesses will report it automagically. unless maybe they really like the criminal or something?

In crime and reputation being two separate (but interconnecting) systems.. It would be possible for a sort of Robin Hood scneario.. where a criminal is well liked. They might not report the criminal because they haven't victimized them specifically and haven't committed murder or something along those lines. I think some crimes (like murder) should just drop your reputation like a rock (so to speak). Targets of crimes might also effect reputation differently but that's another aspect perhaps to discuss a little later.

Generally speaking though in most cases.. I should think if there's an NPC witness the game would process the crime as being reported.

 

Yes.

 

I would want both.

So lets say someone did abuse the system and reported you for a crime you did not commit.
Of course if you were charged I think it should be for the local area only.
But still is there any way to reduce false reports?

1. A Rebuttal - You may have something to say about the report.
2. Witnesses - A report with a few witnesses would help
3. Maybe a nearby NPC could log something for a short time. NPC saw player A lay down a box- NPC saw player B blow up and die while opening box
4. Credibility - Are you famous for false accusations or just like complaining
I don't know.

But in the end this report or petition should go to the town ruler.
If the town ruler does not think there is much of a case then no charges are filed.
If your town is known for the ruler being fair then I think this will cut way down on false reports.

 

I don't see a need for both. System generated bounties are reliable, since the system knows what players have done. I wouldn't really trust a player generated bounty unless the accused was a known criminal. If SotA has a notoriety system as UO had, how do I attack another player without becoming a criminal myself if they are not flagged as a criminal?

 

Just a thought on in game bounties. IF there was a way to see the prestige level of bounty hunters, or say a bounty hunter guild, then people who wanted to take out bounties (for legal reasons or because they have a vendetta... that is what you get for dishonoring my little sister!) they could go to the guild and directly hire someone. Or, look up the top 10 bounty hunters, contact them, and offer a reward for the person's life? Or the item they stold.. or whatever? "

It wouldn't necessarily need to be an in game mechanic or tie into the town's bounty boards. Also, more reason for bounty hunters to gain prestige (instead of gold) from the town boards is to entice people to hire them for money in character.

Thoughts?

 

Affortunately I don't think "dishonoring someone's little sister" would be counted by the game as PvP.. although it probably should be. The obvious conflict in this is the use of an RP situation (which in my view is still perfectly valid roleplay) to instigate PvP where the situation could involve an individual not flagged for PvP.. or more simply put your bounty would only be viable against a PvP enabled character.

The difficulty is the non-PvPer's role. You need some sort of mecahnic to regulate this.