Is RP/demand/pirate act possible if target refuses to stop?

[Jinx]

from both, a pirates ( gaian ) and a lawfuls ( bhg ) perspective - i think that "halt" is definitely NOT a demand in terms of "sufficient roleplay".

now the whole rule is suffers greatly from interpretation of roleplay reduced to a rule. - actually, the intention really is to apply sufficient roleplay before a target is blown up. ( which incidently applies to every encounter ).

we have such problematic rules obstructing roleplay in many places.

bounty hunters have to have a bounty on a target. - even if the target is firing on the hunters shields - the hunter is violating the RULES unless his shields were drained by 50% ( what a silly thing ).... ( provided there is no bounty on the pirat )

pirates have to make a monetary demand or a quick "drop your cargo"... even if by t heir roleplay they are not interested in the cargo at all. etc.




now we shouldn t condemn the silent trader too much. - the traders roleplay usually is to get his ship, crew and cargo to safety in the fastest and most efficient way... which in case of OUR rules... means a minor exploit ( which is to remain silent - leaving the pirate in a state of irritation )

the rule is not for nothing though. - how easily can an encounter be abused when "halt" becomes a demand.




and here its weighing up the bad vs. the worse. - having the rule might not be a good thing. - not having the rule might be worse though. so its rather picking the lesser of two evils than deciding between a good and a bad way.

if "halt" was a sufficient demand, roleplay or not, - we d have a lot more encounters that "felt" unfair. - in a piracy situation, its the pirates that are pulling the strings. - the pirate has the initiative - if he fails to have it... it is HIS fault - and he has clearly done something wrong ( like pirating in the utterly wrong place or attacking the wrong target )

in the particular case of the Joker - such standards are hard to apply, cause whenever you create a global rule, there are borderline cases that simply cannot be covered fairly by such a rule.

yes - sufficient roleplay before a hostile encounter "should" be the rule. - its just too bad that each player has a different understanding of "sufficient".



a silent trader that was blown up "should" not report the pirate for doing so ( if he had ANY sense of decency ) - which doesn t mean that he cannot do it. - but if a trader experiences efford and roleplay from the pirates side - and the whole situation simply doesn t fit into some odd "rule" - i find it very strange that such a player goes forth to make a report. - it does smell awefully like scoring a "win" - just for the sake of it.

sanctions to win an encounter - the worst thing to do.

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