In regards to piracy

[Baltar]

No.its not hypocrisy.Its called the law.Personally I prefer to have the smuggler drop his cargo,destroy it himself,then pay the fine.

See,there are 2 different mind sets here.
1. the lawful...enforcing the laws of the government.
2. the smuggler....out for a fast buck,KNOWING full well the risk he is taking IF he gets caught.

The hypocrisy isn't between the lawful and the smuggler ... what's hypocritical is to say there's one rule for pirates and a separate rule for lawfuls. People here are complaining about pirates demanding too much. In comparison to lawfuls, the pirate's demands are actually light.

If a lawful can "enforce the law" by taking the smuggler's cargo AND charge him a fine ... then there should be no complaint about a pirate demanding the trader's cargo AND any amount of credits he deems fitting. After all ... many pirates have taken the cargo, the ship, the crew and whatever money/treasure/whatever that was in their possession. Pirates would actually take the ship and add it to their fleet.

There's as much role play for a pirate to demand whatever the heck he wants ... he's a crook ... he's not limited by laws. The sky's the limit to what a pirate can demand from a trader ... and that my friend is role play. But what traders here are complaining about is fair play ... not role play. They don't want to be pirated for all they're worth. Nor does a smuggler. You can say role play all you want when you say you're enforcing the laws by demanding the cargo and pay a fine. But what it all comes down to is fair play.

If lawfuls are allowed to demand BOTH cargo and credits ... then there should be no rules limiting the pirate from doing the same with traders. Role play supports this ... but if you want people to enjoy this game you've gotta give in a little.

I do think there should be limits to what the law can do to smugglers. If they take all your cargo I don't think there should be a fine but that's just my personal opinion.

I just think the problem that exists is that it is too easy, under the rules, to make the encounter miserable for one side or the other with little to no repercussions for the player who only offers minimal RP or makes demands that are unreasonable but technically within the letter of the rules.

// SIGNED // ... the rules here are typically interpreted in favor of anyone playing a lawful character. Rules are supposed to level the playing field for ALL players ... not just one side.