Hurr, went to sleep last night instead, so now I'll make it up at work! Please note I might be updating this post in bits and pieces as I run into writers blocks/have to do actual work.
The aim of this post will be to further define and clarify the new KotMC's aims in regards to enforcing its views of morality upon others, most specifically other capsuleers... i.e. you lot! KotMC's actual philosophical outlook will only be mentioned where necessary for explanation, however. This post will be mostly concerned with a kind of 'justice system' I've been brainstorming which will hopefully lend KotMC's brand of vigilantism some form of organization and, just maybe, legitimacy and respect from others. Of course in the end we won't care much if we have the latter since capsuleers are the scum of the earth and nobody cares about their opinions, but hey, trying never hurts!
The motivation for this IC should be obvious, and was covered a bit in my OP. KotMC wants to do good things and hurt bad people. The final IC explanation will be much more complex and dignified when I write it, but this is the basic principle that will from now on motivate all KotMC corporate actions. OOC I want to start a neat thing where IC actions, decisions and beliefs can and will consistently translate into in-game consequences for other players. It's my intent that this will create a lot more fun than just having flame wars on the IGS. Of course there will be OOC rules governing the implementation of this system; the last thing I want to do is inadvertently troll people into RP'ing or playing the game in a certain way.
KotMC JusticeThe Knighthood's justice system will consist of 4 main parts, with another applied to special cases where the individual(s) being prosecuted wish to redeem themselves in the eyes of KotMC and/or the capsuleer public. They are:
1.) Definition of Crime
2.) Identification of Crimes Committed
3.) Prosecution/Trial
4.) Enforcement/Punishment
*OR*
4.) Surrender, Confession, Punishment and Redemption
DefinitionsKotMC will have a set of acts that it will considered pursuable offences when comitted by a capsuleer. Here is the tentative list, organized from least serious to most. Suggestions for additions and modifications welcome!
Minor Crimes
- Dishonorable Conduct
- Insulting Heresy
- Theft
Capital Crimes
- Murder
- Piracy
- Treason
- Terrorism
- War Crimes
- Violent Heresy
Each crime will be further defined at a later date, and each will have an attached punishment deemed appropriate.
IdentificationThe first part of any legal procedure is to figure out when, where and by whom a crime has been committed. KotMC members will of course be the first people to seek out news on bad deeds and the bad people behind them. This is generally easy enough to come by in any regular day of RP, along with the junk that floats around the IGS. However, the intent is to eventually get people to come to KotMC and
report evil deeds. Yes, this is all starting to sound very police-like, isn't it? But yes, I want people to love and hate KotMC almost the same way they do the cops. Except these cops are ALL dark, brooding maverick ones in the action movies. But knightly. And kinda holy. Eh... you'll get what I mean eventually.
Anyway, as stated in the OP, KotMC will be quiet as it watches, receives reports and figures out who does what. Any reports received from non-KotMC will remain anonymous, and KotMC members themselves will be encouraged to not be too loud in berating the baddies since they already know what they're doing wrong and are beyond lectures. The next step is to find out the extent of their crimes, gather proof, and do something about it.
Prosecution and TrialOnce a crime and a culprit has been identified, the next step is to gather evidence of the crime. This will usually be a simple matter of referencing IGS material (as many baddies like to shout about the stuff they're doing), gathering killmail records for instances of piracy and such. This will usually be enough for KotMC to consider the accused convicted. However, some more insidious cases might need witnesses... which becomes an excellent RP opportunity. Hunting down the right people, securing testimonies, keeping witnesses safe from reprisal... great stuff can be done here, and I hope it will lead to some very interesting and fun roleplay.
Once enough evidence has been gathered by members, it is up to a set of three KotMC members, which will be called Justicars and will be selected for their honorable fairness in all matters (lol not really), to decide whether or not a trial may be called. At least two of the three must agree that there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing presented and a trial will be called. At this point the accused will be notified and be asked to attend trial. This is where things get complicated.
If they choose attend the trial, they will have to agree IC to submit to the judgment of the court and suffer punishment accordingly. These trials will usually be public, will be presided over by the three Justicars, and may take place on forums like the IGS or those on the KotMC site in addition to in-game channels. A jury of three (hopefully) neutral capsuleers will be selected by the prosecution team (which will be made up of KotMC members) and the accused/whomever the accused selects to represent them. Then, evidence and arguments made and after the course of perhaps a week or so of intense RP the jury will be asked to make a decision. A majority will be needed to convict or acquit, and since there will be three jurors there will be no ties.
Of course the accused might just tear up their summons, and if this is the case a different sort of trial will be held.
If the accused is not to be present, the trial will be held by the Justicars only. Additionally, a Justicar trial may convict capsuleers publically on the IGS or in private if the matter is too sensitive to allow in the public arena. Each Justicar will be assigned one of three roles in the trial: judge, prosecution, and defense. The judge will decide the ruling and punishment, while it will be the tasks of the prosecution and the defense to convince the judge of what the correct ruling is. This system is meant to be small and unfair so that trials will be relatively quick things. The Justicars will have a little argument and they will probably end in a guilty verdict, since it's the Justicars who decide whether or not the accused needs to be brought to trial in the first place
Enforcement and PunishmentOnce all that is done with, time for the stabbing. Here is where some explanation of KotMC ideology will need to come in. Obviously in the case of capsuleers, many punishments are rather moot, especially the death sentence. However, the vast majority of the punishable crimes listed above are capital ones, so how does this work? As the logic goes, you can harm a capsuleer in only three ways: his wallet, his reputation, and his infomorph.
The most obvious thing ISK. KotMC will do 'reverse ransoms', in essence use in-space violence to extract fines from convicted individuals and corps. We war on you until you either pay up, or the cost of the fine has been fulfilled in property damage. It's simple, clean, requires no consent on the part of the enemy, and now good guys can yarr too! I expect this will be the most common form of Knighthood 'law enforcement' that will take place. In addition to fines, individual capsuleers may rack up 'execution debts', where KotMC will endeavor to pod said person a certain number of times. Corpses will be used to decorate Mercy's Keep in various tasteful ways. Hooray for headhunting!
The second avenue of attack is reputation. Pointing at someone and saying "That is a bad person" is one thing. It's a whole other matter when you present evidence, gather others to say the same thing, and use public opinion and political influence against said 'bad person'. Stringing up someone's body for all to see after podding or executing them outside of pod can be a humiliating personal attack. It's the same principle as using the stockades in medieval times. Capsuleers love their reputations, and if you tarnish this, you can sometimes do more harm to them than simply blowing up their ships would. OOC consideration and cooperation will be used in some cases, as this might end up stepping on toes if done wrong. Keep in touch!
The last, and most interesting prospect for RP, is the infomorph. This means mentally damaging a capsuleer, usually through the horrific trauma endured during one of KotMC's executions. I've come up with an idea for a deliciously poetic device I will dub the "Crown of Mercy". It will be a portable brain scanner used to mimic the effects of a pod scanner. They'd be much slower, of course, but since KotMC executions are not going to be of the quick sort, this will not matter. If the Knighthood captures the convicted alive, they will undergo the suitable execution while wearing this device. The more serious the crime, the more painful death. The brain will be left undamaged, and only after the individual loses consciousness will the scanner be activated and their infomorph sent to a new body. This will ensure the person remembers what happened to them, rather than just waking up in a soft-clone backup with no memory of their punishment. After this event, it is up to the player to RP as they wish. Of course, an execution will be an RP-only option, and will only be done with the OOC consent of all parties involved. Consider it an honor if your character ends up going out like this!
If the accused had submitted to trial and/or punishment, this will be taken into account and likely result in a reduced sentence. They will be punished publically, and be considered to have taken a step towards redemption. This can be taken further, however.
KotMC's harshness upon the wicked will have an escape valve. I would like KotMC to become something of a legitimate "redeeming" organization. It is easy to fall out of the Empire's grace, just go pirate or heretic or traitor and you're done. However, getting in good with the Amarr bloc? Not quite so easy. How can players that are looking for a new RP and gameplay experience switch to the Amarr side? Old KotMC was very nice about this: if you did wrong, just start serving the Empire and don't betray us. New KotMC will still want to see former baddies come to their side. But it's not going to be
nearly as nice about it. Nuh-uh. You'll have to pay a price.
For a capsuleer to be redeemed in the Knighthood's eyes, they will have to follow a specific regimine of spiritual purification that will be detrimental to your character in certain ways. This is to weed out the silly flip-floppers who change sides on a whim and don't expect to have any IC consequences for their actions. These consequences will include a public confession of all of sins as defined by the Knighthood's principles. Then comes a punishment for each of these sins, perhaps in the form of public humiliation, repeated executions/torture, or joining KotMC as a slave. After set amount of unpleasant experiences, maybe KotMC will kinda sort of like you.
Congratulations, you are now redeemed! Just don't mess up or we'll stab you again.
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Wow. That's a wall of text.
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Topic: Knighthood of the Merciful Crown - WiP Brainstorm Thread (Read 29100 times)