Shattered Kingdoms

Sorry, not for the idea. There are two ways to severally punish a character - Long jail sentences (3+ days IC) tend to be a pain. There is nothing worse then sitting in a jail for a few RL hours being able to do nothing. You make these longer, then more people will delete because of the setences. On top of that, you ruin whats left of those insane people who do actually raid cities. Some of my most favorite memories are PKs and RPs that happened around city raids.

The other way is money. Nothing worse then loosing all your money. But since money is relatively easy to re-accumlate, making this punishment softer will not really do anything.

sleeper

Edit: If you really want to implement this, make is so that money gets confiscated farther down the list. Or, in other words, on the 7th crime instead of the 3rd is all your money is confiscated.

I could see a percentage system set up, with a cap on time and money confiscated. Say the maximum would be 100 days in jail with 100 percent money confiscated, and this results from (for easy math) 100 crimes. If you get caught after committing 25 crimes, only a quarter of the money you have in the bank is confiscated and you serve 25 days, unless you can beg a pardon to get time lowered. This still has a sting but it doesn't disable those who don't know how to make money easily.

One thing I would love to see added is that the confiscated money be put into the tribunal bank accounts. Not sure if it already works this way, but it would be a nice thing to see.

Number of crimes, level of character, and level of victim(s) involved should be the deciding factors in wealth confiscation.

A gradient system might be good. Where it takes a percentage up to a certain level, then just everything. Or just a set amount per incident of each crime. High murder= 10 obsidian Low murder= 1 obsidian or something like that.

Thinking on it, it would be pretty difficult to implement a system like I mentioned. Or any system that doesn't use the current one as a rule-of-thumb. It would need to store all sorts of extra variables in pfiles and stuff.

Probably the best way is to approach it as mentioned previously: Take varying percents based on the number and severity of crimes committed.

Joe has been caught stealing: 5% of wealth (attempted theft)

Bob has been caught stealing and mugging: 15% wealth (attempted theft - 5% + mugging - 10%)

Jimbob has been caught stealing, mugging, and attempting murder: 35% wealth. (theft/5% + mugging/10% + attempted murder/20%)

Cletus has been caught stealing, mugging, attempting murder, and murder: 65% (...+ murder/30%)

Rush Limbaugh has been caught stealing, mugging, attempting murder, murdering, and high murdering: 120% (...+ high murder/40%)

Perhaps, if the criminal exceeds owing 100% of wealth, he must serve an extra day for each 10% over that is owed to the community. Or would that be too ev0l?

And perhaps a factor somewhere based on hours/how long you have had the char.

I voted to implement the idea, but not for the same reason the majority have mentioned. I've seen a fair amount of recycling on the argument that it's 'too harsh' for guards to nab your cash, which is simply not true. If you break the law and you get caught, I think it's fair that you lose all your money.

My argument is based on the simple economics of shattered kingdoms rather than some vague notion of fairness. When it comes down to it, if you deposit money in Menegroth and you're arrested by guards in Exile (who decide to confiscate all your money) there is no way they're going to be allowed to waltz into Menegroth and withdraw your funds, nor is it likely that there is a national Pyrathia conglomerate of banks (these are shattered kingdoms, remember), so that money-grubber Aztalyn can't simply dip his hand into your Imperial account from his cozy office in Exile.

For those reasons I suggest an overhaul of the banking system whereby money deposited in a nation can only be accessed in that nation - if you deposit five hundred obsidian coins in Menegroth you may only withdraw it in the Empire, and only Imperial law can confiscate that money. This system would also give tribunal members a much needed edge, however slight.

If the imms wanted to make it slightly more complex, they could let any nation allied with the country your money is in to confiscate it - for example if Zhenshi was allied with Taslamar and you got caught in Everclear, the guards there could confiscate your money from both your Taslamaran and Zhensh accounts. That way people would pay a little more attention to who was allied to whom.

On another note, I request that folks wanting to talk about a 'locker' system for items use a different thread, as it really has very little to do with this one.

Might wish to add a limit on bank accounts then. That way you have to bank in other places sometimes and lose priveledges there if you are wanted.

Well, I think that the main point for this is getting missed. I am personally tired of helping another tribunal in another country only to have the bad guy report me and I get executed, all of my stuff taken away and all of my coin. I would start from scratch with nothing! I think this would be less of an issue if that didn't happen.

I like Pwns! Idea, but I voted no before I read it. I agree that a Banker in Menegroth would be very unlikely to surrender the gold from the account of a customer to pay for his crimes in Taslamar.