Hello all,
For those of you familiar with me, my unsubbed character and my former corp, hi! Yeah, I've been lurking for a while and I'm started to get EVE itchy again. However, I have vowed to only return if I am happy with the changes in FW and the war declaration mechanic promised in Inferno. That said, me coming back will mean (hopefully) dusting off the Knighthood and doing something with it again. I am starting this thread to lay out some of my ideas for its new incarnation and use you all as a sounding board to gague their merits and your interest in joining/allying/interacting with/opposing the corp. Depending on the results, I may try to recruit a few of you to help me with the corp, or just simply go ::effort:: and end up rejoining PIE to get my EVE rocks off.
This thread will be purposely vague on some of the RP details of KotMC's proposed return, since nobody likes spoilers in any story. I'll start with some thoughts on the old incarnation of the corp, and what I've been wanting to change.
Old KotMCBefore my abrupt departure from the game, caused mainly by apathy and frustration towards the game, KotMC was a thriving Amarr FW RP/PvP corp. It held quite a few prominent RP'ers, quite a few more decent PvP players, and had gained some modest noteriety (or imfamy!) on both levels. With a 50-odd member count, it was thriving, but fundamentally disjointed and awkward on many IC and OOC levels. The IC factors (odd liberal Amarrian ideas, the taking on of just about anyone willing to fight, ect.) were fun to play around with and enjoyable for the most part, but also seemed to lack a few things. However, the RP flaws could have been fixed, and didn't warrant the dumping of the proverbial bucket that I ended up doing to it. My reasons for popping the corp and leaving were OOC, but connected with role play attitudes, rules and how it should affect gameplay.
In the end, its success was its downfall: so many non-RP PvP players got into it that most simply didn't want to be bound by IC based rules, like a RoE. Simply put, I did not like this fact and, while it was my fault it had happened in the first place, I ended the corp and told everyone to find new homes based on how they wanted to play the game. In retrospect it was selfish, but I wouldn't be able to sit right with stepping down and letting others turn KotMC into a bland sorta-RPish militia corp with a soul completely different from what I had originally intended it to be.
What that was was a RP-centric corp that kicked ass at PvP and had a smallish, tightly knit member base that shared a common theme with the corp itself, that of being new-age warriors bound by a code of morality like the knights the corp derives its name from. I never got around to this because I was too lazy to write the fluff for it and too lenient to slap people around if they didn't conform like good little Amarrian bishes, but this will be my goal for the new version of the Knighthood. Should I ever get to it, that is.
New KotMCPurposeThe Knighthood of the Merciful Crown will be repurposed from an FW RP corp to something more flexible and less over-done. Basically, while it will continue to fight in FW, it will also concentrate its military power against particular corps and individuals it deems as 'evil'. I plan on having a rather sensible (if not over-the-top noble) code of morality for the corp, and not just based on a straight Amarrian religious mold. Though God and Glory will play a big part in it, the code will sincerely attempt to protect decent people (despite race and religion) and hinder the efforts of EVE's many 'bad guys'. However, it will have a fairly ruthless flavor as it goes about pursuing this end, fitting in with a battlecry I came up with for the Knighthood quite a while back: "No mercy for the merciless". This will hopefully lend the corp a distincly dark, EVE-ish take on the old white knight formula.
I don't believe there are many space viglante groups out there that try to consistently and relentlessly stab 'bad people' in the face, so hopefully this will be an interesting formula. Please do correct me if I am wrong in this assumption, however. Additionally, improvements on the wardec mechanic are a necessity for this to work IMO, hence why Inferno's improvments will dictate whether I do this or not.
MembershipRecruitment will be much more selective, almost to the point where it will be invite-only. Players will be admitted based on how well they are seen in the eyes of the Knighthood, this judgment being based on how strong their personality is, how upright they are as people, and how well they fight in space. It will not be expressley based on race and religion, but being an Amarrian and believing in God will help a lot. However, what it will basically be looking for will be good people who are good at fighting.
Obviously this will keep membership very limited. That is the intent, as I do not want the corp blowing up to uncontrolable proportions again, to the point where few members have anything in common with each other. Think Arthur's Round Table as opposed to a massive army. Small, dedicated and elite. I also find that this setting is the best to RP in, so hopefully this will be more fun in that department too.
FlavorExpanding on what was said in the purpose section, KotMC will have two distinct flavors: one very light, and one very dark. I plan on having members be held to strict code of ethics that are akin to chivalry and bushido, and for them to act with a certain air of nobility and dignity. They do not have to be impeccable in their behavior, but decent to the point where someone would trust them watching their house for an afternoon. This will contrast with the wrath incurred when someone does not behave quite so well as they do.
Justice and revenge are going to be big themes within the new corp. Where the line is drawn will be very blurry, and figuring out what acts are motivated by a logical intent to create a better capsuleer society, and pure, blood-mad hatred will be difficult to outsiders.
For example, the corp will have a set of rules dictating what to do with POW's. Prisoners captured from different ship wrecks will be subject to different rules based on what capsuleer they were serving at the time the Knighthood decided to pop them. Minmatar militia prisoners will be enslaved, but will be up for honorable prisoner exchanges with respected enemies. Pirate prisoners will also be enslaved, but without the possibility of prisoner exchange. Or be hung. Amarrian traitor prisoners will have their heads chopped off. War criminals will be crucified. Violent heretics will be tied to sticks and set on fire. I think you get the jist of things. All mass-executions can be public RP events too, so bring the kids! By the way, aren't medieval execution methods fascinating?
*ahem* So yeah, that could be fun! This opens up a lot of RP opportunities as well, such as people trying to free their former crews from KotMC imprisonment through negotiation or force, interrupting executions, or being captured, tried and executed themselves! Of course as capsuleers there will be no practical point to this since everyone is immortal, but Amarrians have never been about practicality. It's the principle of the thing!
This is just one example where a nice mix of honorable cruelty can come into play. Many more things are possible, they just need to be thought of.
Political IssuesThe old KotMC was always supposed to be politically neutral on many issues ranging from slavery to what color the Empress's underwear was, however it ended up not so much... Its members were outspoken and a clear majority reigned in its ranks, which inevitably tinged its perception. Members will still possess freedom of opinion and speech, but KotMC itself will be more strongly defined as neutral party in itself. End slavery? Meh. Carry on the Old Reclaiming? Yeah, yeah. Minmatar Tribalism vs. Republicanism? The fuh... The finer points of a subjective reality in which all people are right in their own special way? What is this, I don't even...
Individual members will be left to decide on their own what they feel about these issues, and touting them to others will be considered basically a rather un-humble waste of breath. KotMC as a whole will act, not speak, and when it does speak what it says will matter because an act will soon follow. You might not even know you pissed off the Knighthood until you get the wardec mail.
KotMC as an entity will be interested in the following:
- Defining the right thing for itself
- Doing the right thing
- Fighting those who don't do that
It will NOT be interested in:
- Whatever they are whining about today on the IGS
- Pandering to other's opinions of what is right and wrong
- Faffing about with futile argumentation when there's heads to chop
In essence, less this:
Moar this:
And f**k yo little yappy dog too!
So anyway, these are the initial ideas I am toying with. More to come perhaps later.
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Topic: Knighthood of the Merciful Crown - WiP Brainstorm Thread (Read 30737 times)