A Rule Ammendment - a poll with a point :)

[Laowai]

i d say - it depends on the situation. - when a trader is "attacking" the home system by bringing harmful goods - like passengers to crete - a defense is appropriate. - however, whats an attack and what not must be clarified.

comparing it directly to the lawfuls actions is incomplete. - lawfuls do not take up an offensive position towards traders. - they are defending their space against those that bring harmful goods - but do not threaten anyone else.

As is the Corsair who intercepts a trader carrying passengers - from a RP point of view. Unlawfuls do not have a blanket hostility to traders which is what you imply in your statement - quite the contrary, run food and humanitarian goods into Omicron Gamma and see this point starkly demonstrated - i am talking about what is considered contraband.
I have to disagree with saying this view is incomplete - this is entirely subjective. From the point of view of the person in danger of being intercepted, the "interceptor", whoever they are, is a potential threat. A person carrying Cardamine to New York knows the police will stop him, similarly, a trader carrying passengers to Crete, who knows the RP rules, or can be quite easily warned of them, knows that the local authorities, namely corsairs, will also try to stop them

allowing pirates to engage traders in warships can quickly lead to a broad interpretation about whats harmful and what not. - so goods must be defined clearly - and attacking traders bringing different goods than the ones defined should still be forbidden.


Yes, it should, again - im making a clear distinction between "pirating" and enforcing house rules. Blowing up a trader with your Cruiser who is carrying Gold to tripoli for example would still be forbidden and sanctionable.

since that would be taken into the official rules - and not be down in RP laws - the goods defined as harmful should have an official blessing. ( - so, things like declaring niobium contraband like in kusari should not be an official law, cause its not aimed at RP - but only to harm the so called "powertrading" ) - those goods should be only few.


OF course, every ban should be Role played... otherwise its metagaming and OORP in itself.


furthermore, the trading system must reflect whats harmful and what not. - the fact that crete pays a lot for passengers is not logical for example. - nither passengers, nor the citizens on crete pay much. - crete is not what you d call a place to spend your vacation at, nor is it a hospitable place anyway - so the pricing should reflect that.

since the price for passengers is high. - players "should" have spun their RP around it. instead players ignored that fact and stuck to the old habit of considering human "cargo" as harmful. - ( they could have RPed the passengers as workers, farmers instead - people that crete needs... but that opportunity is gone by now, cause players considered them as tourists )

Interesting point on the last part - ive not seen anyone actually try to be that creative while hauling them there- because all they are seeing really is the end profit and sale price - I have seen some spinning from corsairs though, particularly "Why would we let a freighter load of Brettonians, with whom we are at war, land on our planet?" - which was a nice take on it.

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