As such, if the State is under threat, I think that Vikarion had better damn well be in FW, or he's a hypocrite. End of, full stop… It seems reasonable that a Caldari character who is loyal to the State would seek to avoid having the State conquered and occupied, and Vikarion was pointing out that duty and loyalty imply an obligation to prevent such.
Do you feel, out of character, that the Federal Defense Union’s campaign is the most significant threat to the fall of the Caldari State or the dilution of the Caldari culture and way of life?
Are there other threats to the physical safety of the Caldari State, the relative economic, technological and military strength of the Caldari State in relation to the clusters and the conservation of the Caldari Culture than just the Federal Defense Union’s campaign in Blackrise and Placid?
If so, what would they be?
If there are any then how do they compare, in order, to the threat posed by the FDU?
Why do they rate above or below the FDU as a threat? Can you provide hard data, like numbers, to support their position on the list?
For a character to be real, to be personable, to be interesting, I think it needs to be more than a puppet which dances to the desires and game-play preferences of the player. I hated Syndicate, but I lived in it for three months and lost expensive ships there in order to play out the consequences of my character's choices. And in retrospect, it was one of the most satisfying things I did, because it meant that the choices my character made had mattered, and affected not just my character, but also me, and how I played the game.
Is it possible for a character who makes nearly every daily choice based on opportunity cost to believe that the cost of personally fighting on the front lines today is heavier to than preparing for future threats?
If they did would this make that character more real, personable and interesting than a character that did not?
Even if he believed that the faction war was the most important thing in the universe, shouldn't an older character be wise enough to realize that he could do more good for the warzone by spending his time making wads of ISK and hiring out a few five and ten man noob corps that otherwise wouldn’t be in FW to go circle buttons in his stead?
Could some consider it unrealistic for an older Caldari character who's had concepts like opportunity cost shoved down his throat since he was a baseliner to spend his time personally capture plexes and hunting plexers when he should know it's not the best way for him or her to achieve victory.
I understand that loyalty to the State requires toleration of some of the RP things I dislike about it.
Why? In the code of bushido, which I think was a heavy inspiration for the concept of Heiian, duty comes before maintaining honor or face.
In bushido one does one’s duty even if it causes them disgrace and this is especially true in the case were a Samurai might take the dishonor of his Daimyo onto himself and allow his master to save face. My interpretation of Heiian is that it would require the same. Is that an unreasonable interpretation on my part?
Can one be loyal to the CEP and not the CPD? What if one considered himself loyal to only the CEP and was aware that the executive panel wished to depose of Heth as soon as it’s possible? Would creating a powerful capsuleer paramilitary for the express purpose of negating the CPD’s powerbase and allowing the CEP to keep its hands clean be in accordance with bushido or my interpretation of Heiian? Could an organized capsulleer unit that’s officially independent of the CEP and operates outside of the CPD’s sphere very useful to the CEP? They can denounce them in public and use them for their needs.
If such a capsuleer considered the CEP his master and oriented his goals towards doing what’s in the best interest of the CEP over the long run, then is it feasible that the capsuleer could be considered loyal to the State without maintaining a letter or mark indefinitely? Perhaps not by every character, but they loyalty is still there isn't it?
Additionally, Is it unrealistic for a CEP loyalist to consider a positive gain in the warzone to be a good thing for this quarter’s profits but a bad thing in the long run if it strengthened the CPD in relation to the CEP?
If I may bring one of my RP enemies into this thread, I'd like to point out that Andreus Ixiris did exactly this: he is a Federation loyalist, his character became peeved with some Sansha loyalists, as a Fed loyalist would, and he declared war on them. And he lost, horribly. But, in my eyes, as much as his character and mine do not get along, and as much as he and I have had conflicts, the fact that his character went out there and tried was fucking awesome.
I supposes it’s ok for a Gallente character to tilt at windmills and make futile but heartfelt gestures but IMHO a Caldari should run the numbers. You know I’m all for exploding things in space if that’s the most pragmatic way for Hamish to reach his goals. However, sticking with the milita just because it provides quick and easy PVP on the cheap when it’s not a very practical for a ten year old Capsuleer to expend his time and energy in support of the State in that way is my opinion is an example of what you called “trying to get out of RP obligations” or “trying to get all the benefits of RP without the costs.”
The actions in that case could be taken for OOC reasons and not because that’s how the character would behave if Eve was real life.
Vikarion is a very skilled combat pilot
However you may feel about the Broker, it is possible for a being to reach that kind of power and influence in the world of New Eden. I think that a character of Vikarion’s or Hamish’s age, experience, wealth, connections and skillpoint level would at least have an inkling that it’s possible for an entity to attain that level of power. I would say that at this point our characters are closer to the Broker than to a front line grunt even if they both still have a considerable way to go before reaching Brokerness.
Now, for someone who’s life is dedicated to the preservation of the State, that idea should scare the hell out of them. How many beings are there out in void capable of manipulating the Megacorps like a puppet on a string and how many of them have the State’s best interest at heart?
CONCORD is becoming less and less of a shield against the demi-gods. They can no longer keep the Empires at peace as was their primary mandate, they conceded planetary control to the Capsuleers, they can’t stop the Sansha incursions and they let capsuleers have even more of a free reign in low-sec.
The nullsecers might not be the most immediate threat to the State, but I think that it should be apparent to most that they are becoming too strong too fast and that the Caldari Navy can keep the Fedearl Navy at bay for now. The immortals need to keep an eye on what's going to happen a hundred years from now and prepare for it today.
If Hamish were to focus his energy and time on the militia conflict, he might reach the zenith of capsuleerdom (like the Broker) eventually – but he’d be decades behind others in the more fertile soils of nullsec or W-space. Perhaps too late to help stop them from molesting the State while he was busy circling the same button for the thousandth time.
With this mysterious backer of Heth or the Mittani demonstrating that he can throw the State’s economy on its ear with a whim, as far as Hamish is concerned he might just be too late as it is. For all he knows someone started the faction wars just to destract the loyalists from the real threat coming.
Just because someone is a skilled combat pilot doesn't mean that is the depth and breadth of their character and that the only or even best option is for them to serve on the front lines of the milita.
For Hamish I feel that the best way for him to Serve the State is to use nullsec to grow his wealth and experience so that he may build a tool that is useful to the CEP while also coming to understand the threat that's over the hill and not just the one thats jumping up and down and waving it's arms in front of him.
TL/DR
To sum up my points here
- It is possible for some empire loyalists to do more good for their respective empire outside the realm of FW and opting out of the milita (or even industrial support of the militia) in favor of the method they are most able to help even in a time of war isn’t unfeasible, unrealistic or necessarily the player making OOC decisions that conflict with the IC persona. In Hamish’s case he feels he’s more suited to finding and understanding certain other threats and that it’s more appropriate for him to let others orbit the button.
- The State isn’t quite so black and white that the only way to support the State is to scream “For the State” and then rush off to bayonet some Fedo. Internal politics and the complexity of Heiian not only allow for much more than that, but in my opinion make it more interesting and realistic because those aren’t your only options.
Author
Topic: Militia Service and Loyalty (Read 11701 times)