Shattered Kingdoms

Ideas:

Make it so that if you are paroled, the amount of time you've already served in jail can't be counted against you if you are unparoled.

Make it so that any wealth or items confiscated are returned to you in the event of a parole or pardon.

I don't know how difficult the former would be for Dulrik to code, but this is unrealistic. What this would entail is that if someone goes to jail with a long crime list (100+ days) all of their items would be kept in limbo for that entire duration on the off chance that they receive a parole/pardon prohibiting anyone else from acquiring them.

How about coin in the amount of the item's average selling rate or something like that? A much smaller variable to keep track of.

One way or another, it would be nice if parole were made into a proper tool a tribunal leader could use.

There's a difference between code abuse and abusive code.

Parole can be used. Its just it doesn't work great. Recidivism is regular. I suggest using the pardon command on those that get shafted. This is within the power of a leader of a tribunal. While its not ideal, if they served half their sentence, what harm is there in forgiving the rest if you believe them to sincerely be attempting to reform? No legal system is foolproof. Definitely not RL ones, so why would SK be different?

The best way to make a good legal system is to place all authority and power in the hands of a sovereign supported by the people. If the leader does not work out, ballots and bullets provide plenty of civilian oversight. A legal system should not make law enforcement look like fools, foolproof or not.

In other words, in SK, tribunal leaders should be trusted with the flexibility needed to do their "job:" a parole command that does what they need, banishment that is more than retreating behind code, and access to information vital to decision-making, to name a few. Right now the only thing that really works decently is pardon, and even that could stand to be more convenient. Characters in groups lead by tribunal members should share their group leader's law immunity, for example.

Authority both needs and begets authority. This is all covered by Hobbes.

RL aside, the system in the game should work better because it can. If being Sovereign in a kingdom is something that isn't supposed to happen, tribunals really should not exist.

I will go out on a limb and say the purpose of both the law system and the tribunals operating within it is not well-defined enough to work within its constraints nor free enough from those constraints to define itself to produce substantive roleplay opportunities. I've heard it said the law system is supposed to discourage PK in starting cities, but tribunals encourage city raids with 'at war' factions and have zero incentive to take conflict to the supposed battleground of the realms. I've heard that tribunals are supposed to enforce the law, not declare it, but I see most tribunals publishing edicts and mandates all the time in game. Supposedly vastly different kingdoms are all pigeon-holed into the same code opting ever to be more restrictive to the tribunal than to anyone it is dealing with.

It would appear the attention given to balancing tribunals has not occurred under the auspices of knowing just what they are supposed to be doing with their abilities. This sort of innovation without objectives happens all the time, everywhere, and is nothing to be too ashamed of. As I understand the game, however, there is only one person who can fix it. Side Projects usually have notoriously poor Project Management through no fault of anyone involved.

But more than one person can make the point that its broken all the same.

This is about as straightforward as Charm Person, Achernar.

I dont know many who consider tribunals to be a "serious" part of the game. With that mentality, it is hard for Tribunals to be taken seriously.

It also hasnt helped Grep, that when Tribunal leaders did have the power you speak off, they abused it to no end. Also, it doesnt help that the two people doing the most code abuse tribunal wise lately (You and Jorinthia) are asking for even more power.

It is just silly, to RP running a kingdom, that can not expand or contract its borders nor expand or contract its "kingdom" powers in-game. Kinda like a manager that can not hire or fire the workers under them. What is the point?

In my personal opinion, players should not be able to control the jail times and in-game punishments related to law code against other players. To many times, it is used as a method of skirting PKing, instead of actual PKing.

I say, dear sir, I do hate that Nerina, don't you? Why don't we go attack them quite savagely, then let ourselves be captured by our mortal enemies after giving our things to a trusted friend/floor to avoid banishment? Smashing.

It's even better when lighties pull that.

My argument still stands: if this isn't a feature that can be entrusted to players, or the whole premise fails to take in the game environment, the charade should not be attempted. Tribunals should be what they are supposed to be or they should not be at all: this half-implemented system naturally distrusting of leadership does nothing more than jade an already critical playerbase and burn out people who get in over their heads. The thing the current setup most naturally promotes is the exact thing I've read Dulrik speak out against: PK in starting cities.

If you believe I or anyone has abused code, I should hope you react with more than just that sort of grand allusion. Do be sure to report the incident to the right people.

Fair enough, I agree. If Kingdoms dont gain anything from warfare, then PK should be motivated to happen elsewhere. You are correct in that the current system breeds frustration. I have been there.




Dont get me wrong, you arent even close to some of the abuse I have seen in the past. Just that the Talon tribunal has done some questionable actions lately code wise compared to the other tribunals who have been mostly quiet. This is well documented in the Leadership Forums, so there is no reason to rehash it here.