Hey, everyone. I've been pondering if I should make a Hogosha faction to give a little more RP/competition for the Junkers and other salvagers out there in Disco-land. However... I have a few questions about them.
1. Is there an exact history for them? The only things that I've found are vague... to say the least.
2. Did the Disco mod add any bases for them?
3. Have there been any changes in diplomacy for them within the Disco mod?
4. What would be good naming conventions for the faction and its characters? I want to keep as much OORP out of it as possible. Would just Kusari names be good?
That's all the questions that I have for now. Thanks for your time!
I hope you like history because it's the only real way to flesh out the Hogosha. The game itself is very sketchy on them and they would literally have to be "invented" because ship types and the like (aside from CSVs) are not really given. I actually thought of starting an unofficial Hogosha group and passing it over so we would have some competition but it would be more work than the Junkers.
The Hogosha are apparently pretty much like the Yakuza--Japanese mafia--at the height of their power and influence. If you google "yakuza" you can have some good background on how such an organization functions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza
Two other Japanese groups that existed in the past, the Ronin and Ninja might also be woven into it's structure to give it more appeal:
I met and worked alongside a "real life" former Yakuza member when I lived in Japan. He had tattoos from his collar line to the tips of his toes and would not speak to "gaijin" unless he absolutely had to--and he didn't repeat himself. We Americans were extremely polite to him because he looked like he could snap us in half with his bare hands and had the look on his face when you met his gaze that he wanted to do it.
The Japanese workers were terrified of him. If he needed a tool fifteen Japanese workers would jump up to get it for him. If one of them had to work with him and dropped something or hindered his work they would profusely apologize and bow so low I though they would bump there foreheads on the floor.
None of the Japanese workers liked him--you could see it on their faces when he wasn't looking their way--but none of them, were going to let him know that either.
Strangely, he never did anything hostile (except stare at us gaijin) and was very calm--never showing rage or anger. He was very quick and sure of himself when he did things. I think I saw him smile one time at a Japanese worker who had made a joke and the workers seemed relieved. He had no patience for people who did not know their jobs--American or Japanese and was quite abrupt and dismissive if you weren't competent.
Once in awhile he would take his shirt off (we worked in a steam propulsion plant)and you had to gasp at the tattoos. I don't remember what they were but there was also no way in heck I was going to stare at the guy long enough to memorize them ; ) Some were kanji characters and others were images.
I really hope you can get this going and personally I will help you as much as I can--it would be a wonderful addition to the server for rp if someone could pull the right "flavor" of for it. It will be a ton of work--being and confined primarily to Kusari space makes it harder to get people committed to it. The KNF would be invaluable and perhaps piracy/hijacking of "gaijin" ships would be effective to. Another activity might be raiding and trading in the Sigmas and Omicrons and trying to intercept Junkers thereabouts. It will be a job to develop ideas.
You would absolutely need some grace and support on ship types and the like and leniency in strict vanilla interpretations to be an effective faction--just like the Junkers.
So good luck brother of a different mother.
P.S. If you look under the wiki link to Yakuza--check out the "Black Dragon" part--I think that is most likely the equivalent of the in-game organization in Freelancer
Chopper is I belive the last member of the Hogosha faction still around, (althogh I think I saw Lodden last night) They were the Black Dragon Society. Chopper would probably be the best to answer any questions. But I will try to give you a little of the history of the hogosha as it has been come to be generaly accepted here in the Disco universe.
First the Hogoshu are a part of Samura alliance, which includes, Samura, Hogosha, Farmers Allaince, and to a certain exstent, the KNF and KSP (because samura has control of the Governemnt.) The Hogosha in disco have tended to be more traditional Kusari defenders, not rarely commiting acts of piracy, fighting off the GC and the Blood Dragons and Nova's. Thier conflict with the Junkers tends to take a backseat here, although with a new Junker clan being started, and more junkers being spotted in Kusari, this has been more of an issue lately.
Historicly, the Hogosha took part in the overthrowal of the old Kusari government with Samura, they are the tradional underworld orginazation in Kusari, and embody the insular xenophobic nature of the Kusari as a whole. The reson they are so hostile to the junkers is they fill the role the junkers fill in the rest of siruis, in Kusari. They are contol smuggling and scavinging in Kusari.
Chopper will hopefully chime in with a better history for you.
Amusingly enough I was also in the works towards creating a working Hogosha faction, though ultimately I stepped away from the ambition (to the annoyance of many I had roped into the project) as I would be unable to commit the great deal of time required to sustain a fledgling faction.
We had the faction foundation established, preliminary RP/structure/goals and ambitions realized. All in all we had everything in place save for posting the official request.
But! To answer your questions!
' Wrote:1. Is there an exact history for them? The only things that I've found are vague... to say the least.
2. Did the Disco mod add any bases for them?
3. Have there been any changes in diplomacy for them within the Disco mod?
4. What would be good naming conventions for the faction and its characters? I want to keep as much OORP out of it as possible. Would just Kusari names be good?
That's all the questions that I have for now. Thanks for your time!
1) Their history, as Tinkerbell said, is largely open for interpretation as freelancer does little save establish who they are, their guidelines under which they operate and some basic rumors that set the stage. The Black Dragons are a good source of information and back reading, and I'm sure one of their current active members, Chopper, would be more than pleased to discuss the topic with you. Actually I'd be shocked if he doesn't reply in this thread shortly.
2) They only have two bases that I'm aware of. Kabukicho depot in the New Tokyo system and Kanagawa in the Tottori system serving as their guard base.
3) Their diplomacy has changed in that they're currently friendly with the AFA, as I believe they were hostile with them in Vanilla. As a Corsair 'alligned' faction they're hostile with the GC and Blood Dragons. Two very prominant groups within Kusari space, in addition to behind hostile with the Outcasts in general and, of course, the Junkers.
4) As to naming conventions, well, that depends on yourself and the faction! Hard to say what's good to go or not!
*chuckles* I've half a mind to post my faction proposal here. Spent plenty of time on the darn thing after all.
Tinkerbell, Your information is invaluable, and I would appreciate any help that you may give, both in-game and here. I'll confer with chopper if I ever see him. That person you spoke of does sound scary, but it does give me a couple new ideas, too! Perhaps giving at least my character some tattoos... but more of how they should act and stuff in the roleplay. The reason I actually posted this thread was to find that 'flavor' you spoke of. I would feel horrible if I roleplayed them incorrectly...
Dusty, I'd like to confer with you, too, to get a feel for what your faction proposal would've been like. If you wish, we could even turn this into a joint project or something. It seems like such a waste to leave your ideas to dust. I'd be happy to listen to them and hopefully integrate them somehow (with proper credit given, I assure you) into my own plans.
I have noticed the lack of activity in Kusari by all except foreign factions... (even then, they are far and few inbetween) and it saddens me. Kusari was such a fun, if somewhat short, part of the singleplayer campaign for me. The Hogosha did remind me of Junkers, but something about them intrigues me more-so then with the latter. I am dedicated to see this through! ^_^ I'm kind of thinking of taking the elements (Earth, Water, Fire, etc.) and using their Japanese names as callsigns. Good or bad idea?
A couple more questions that have arisen in my mind:
5. Did the Black Dragons disband due to inactivity?
6. Is the Hogosha guard system the same thing as a home system, and if so, is it currently open?
5. Did the Black Dragons disband due to inactivity?
The answer to that, I believe, is yes. No incentive to trade artifacts between Crete and Kusari due to massively borked trade prices. Little activity. Though Kusari has warmed up a -lot- with the GC/BD/NPG roaming about.
6. Is the Hogosha guard system the same thing as a home system, and if so, is it currently open?
It is similar to a home system, yes. Though as to whether it is available for purchase would be for the realm of debate lawyers. I don't know if guard systems are reserved for the originating faction, or if the BD would have lost that claim when they became inactive.
Quote:1. Is there an exact history for them? The only things that I've found are vague... to say the least.
Disco history :
"Hogosha translates literally as "guardian" or "protector," reflecting the organization's rather romantic view held not only by its own members, but by a large portion of the Kusari population -- though by no means the majority. Far from protectors, the Hogosha are actually descendents of the organized crime syndicates that grow within the shadow of any sizable human society -- though the Hogosha have an oddly symbiotic relationship with both the government and Samura.
Their political connections would make any serious attempt to dismantle them an embarrassment to Kusari as any number of secrets and deals that had been kept out of the public eye came to light. However, neither do the Hogosha have a free license to operate. Arrests of low-level Hogosha operators who flaunt their activities are frequent and help keep up appearances -- very important in Kusari. "Hard" crime, such as drug smuggling, is not tolerated.
Individual opinions vary, but most police consider the Hogosha a necessary evil required for the smooth functioning of Kusari society. The government simply treats the Hogosha like any other large keiretsu. The Kusari population as a whole has a similar attitude: It is pointless to like or dislike the Hogosha; they are simply a fact of life.
The Hogosha handle Artifact and gun smuggling and the fencing of stolen goods. They also do occasional dirty work for Samura. They view the Blood Dragons as a major threat to their existence and have engaged in turf wars with them, mostly in the asteroid fields of Tokyo. The Golden Chrysanthemums are a new problem, as they have few qualms about dealing in the drug trade or its consequences. Since they have no corruptible leaders or long associations with Samura or the Kusari government and police, The GC -- like the Blood Dragons -- are dangerous to the Hogosha way of life. They view the Junkers as their only real competitors within the Sirius Sector, and their only obstacle to expansion into the other Houses. They have approached the Corsairs to assist them in their plan, although no concrete steps have been taken.
The Hogosha made a recent arrangement to purchase Artifacts directly from the Corsairs on the cruise ship Hawaii, a move that infuriated the GMG, who formerly served as the middleman between the two crime syndicates. It also raised the ire of the LSF, who applied pressure on Orbital Spa to deny landing privileges to the two factions."
Quote:4. What would be good naming conventions for the faction and its characters? I want to keep as much OORP out of it as possible. Would just Kusari names be good?
I don't know about faction name.. Black dragon society did sound good, though it's designation was (in my opinion) pretty bad (-{BD}-Kusariname.Kusarisurname).
Reasons for it's failure? Not enough people interested in RP-ing as Hogosha.
I never understood this, because Hogosha is one of the factions with greatest potential for RP-ing.
Quote:. Did the Black Dragons disband due to inactivity?
The answer to that, I believe, is yes. No incentive to trade artifacts between Crete and Kusari due to massively borked trade prices. Little activity. Though Kusari has warmed up a -lot- with the GC/BD/NPG roaming about.
Yes, it is the answer. Our leader has left due to RL problems, and our co-leader has left because of RL too.
Juan Arquero is missing too, I don't know why though.
Lodden is the only one, besides me, that actually plays his black dragon sometimes.
Quote:2. Did the Disco mod add any bases for them?
Guard base, yes. Kanagawa Depot. Kabukicho is a vanilla (original) base.
Quote:3. Have there been any changes in diplomacy for them within the Disco mod?
I don't know about vanilla, but I do know about Discovery diplomacy.
In Disco, they are hostile to GMG - because of taking over artifact smuggling from GMG.
They are hostile to Junkers because they are the only other 'quasi-legal' organization that fits the description of mob, though not Kusari mob.
Junkers could easily take over the Artifact smuggling and everything else 'profitable' but unlawful business in Kusari, if it weren't for Hogosha.
Hogosha is very well connected with the government, and thus keeps the Junkers away - with the help of the government.
Quote:6. Is the Hogosha guard system the same thing as a home system, and if so, is it currently open?
Open for what? Buying? Sure, it is. Just make a faction first, so I can join.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
In essence, Hogosha is an organization that knows too much - and thus can't be easily 'erased'.
It's a necessary evil, as it's infocard says.
Plus, they are traditionalists, which fits the KNF needs, especially in war against Brettonia.
It also fits the Farmers, as they want to destroy the foreign influence.
Glad to see someone interested. Quite amusing it is.
Oh, and just to add that Hogosha is probably getting it's own very sexy (not heavy) fighter (VSF) in the next version.
So, people might get interested then.
Heh, I'm feeling like a Hogosha freak now.. People mentioning me and all. Fame and glory! Symbols and stuff!
Lucendez Wrote:
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