For great Justice II

TheShadowScout

I have posted it all before, but... since that was deemed "too old" a thread, here it is once again, exactly the same as the ideas are not in the least dated since nothing has changed in the issues they deal with, just with a new posting date:

The justice system sometimes vexes me, when I see people stealing and murdering in town with impunity - crime pays all too well in Tamriel, even for those fools who get themselves caught all the time, because the punishments for getting caught are just not something a player character will find much of a drawback even if they actually get arrested, which is easier to avoid then some people think.
Now, it made sense back when they coded the justice system, at a time when the PvP part of it was expected to pick up the slack... but that has been shelved for good it seems, so we are left with the current occasionally suboptimal situation when it comes to crime and punishment in the towns of Tamriel.
And I for one would love to see some improvements there... so I decided to write this up and just post it, for discussion (please be nice, or if you want to be nasty... at least make it funny! ) and amusement!


I would love to see a better class of guardsmen (and guardselves, guardsorcs, even guardskitties and guardslizards ) that learn how to jump obstacles and persistently follow players even if said players try to use the pathing system against them, and maybe also use a shrill police whistle to call reinforcements and make all other guards in the area dogpile on the criminal skum from multiple directions as well! (even though that -would- of course open up some new tactics… have one player comitt a crime and run, then have his friends steal stuff while all the guards are busy chasing player one... but having that option would of course make for a more fun game!)


I would love to see something more than merely patrolling guards reacting to a crime happening or a criminal passing by... after reaching a certain total bounty, the law should become active instead of merely reactive, and send NPC lawmen teams after the criminal characters! Meaning a small chance to encounter strong but at least killable teams of guards (I am thinking like the cyrodil guards instead of the immortal town guard) coming after your outlaw characters somewhere in the wilderness while questing, posing the same "fight or flight" question… with the same options, evade them long enough to make a clean getaway, or fight. And as with guards, anyone helping the "outlaw" will find them sharing their bounty. There even could be different "stages" of this, depending on bounty... at first two guards show up to take you in, hit the next level of bounty, and it will be two guards and a wizard, until finally a while SWAT team (special wizardry and tactics) of two fighters, two archers, a wizard and a healer, each of those power levels (which should be completely impossible to deal with for any single character, no matter how good they are... I hope...)


I would love to see bounties that are split per alliance, but never degrade over time, as the guards get some memory training or at least a wall with all the wanted posters hanging up at their never seen guardhouse, so they will remember the criminal who went on a murder spree in wayrest last month if he returns to the scene of the crime... that way a character could have an minor criminal record in the daggerfall covenant, but might be considered an upstanding citizen in the ebonheart pact lands, yet be public enemy number one in aldmeri dominion territory... and no matter how much time passes, they will find their old bounty waiting and the guards ready, so no more hiding out in cyrodil, or coldharbour, or wherever until the law forgets them... that would take bribes (at your friendly neighborhood fence - hey those need to earn money to support their families too after all!) or repaying your debt to society, one way or another. There even could be "most wanted" leaderboards in capital cities, showing the worst of the worst -characters- in all of Tamriel (a most dubious record to brag about, but... I have no doubt some will!)


And on that matter, I would love to see punishments that are not just "pay a fine" or "get killed" (which is not really all that much of a deterrent to immortal vestiges like all our player characters, since it translates into "respawn"), but -actually- stuff players would genuinely want to avoid when they let their criminal energy result in too noticable crimes and make the judge/magistrate want to throw the book at them... After all, having your loot confiscated hardly counts, since smart criminals will make frequent trips to the outlaw refugee to unload, and professional thieves even have a one time "get out of a pinch free" card to play once they attain sufficient rank in their thieves guild!


I am thinking about stuff like...


...spending five or ten minutes "in the stocks", eating up your gametime as repayment for minor criminal deeds... (during which time your bounty would count down, so the actual length of the time spent there would depend on your bounty) with the other players having the option to point and laugh at you, or throw mudballs... possibly also green rotten veggie balls sold by a nearby vendor as well... stand behind you and emote things I cannot quite on the forums to make you uncomfortable or whatever... (Some player would hate giving up time they could spend earning gold or expees, others will just shrug and take that bio break they have been -literally- sitting on for the last half hour because they wanted to "steal one more thing")


...or for heftier crimes, let the guards break out the good old Cat 'o Nine Tails and give the character in question a public whipping (folks in medieval times loved watching those), or similar sorts of corporal punishment common in "ye olde times" (not like there are a shortage of nasty yet survivable things humans have done to each other in the name of punishment over the centuries, right?) that is painful, but quick... and leaves your character with a "raw back" or similarly titled -10%HP debuff for an hour or two of your gametime (again, that would depend on the height of your bounty, which of course would be cleared by the punishment), which may just mean the difference between victory or defeat in a tough fight when you go questing or PvPlaying... and will -not- go away with a mere healing potion (what in Oblivions name do the jailers coat their whips with? )


...and finally, for the worst of the worst among all characters nabbed for being criminal skum, a transport into a "prison isle" public dungeon, where they find themselves clad in rags instead their armor and bereft of weapons (and wishing they had an "Brawling" weapon skill line for unarmed combat), and forced to spend loads of their gametime breaking rocks or sewing jute sacks to work off their bounty... (I can hear the wailing of the speedrun freaks already! It makes me smile...)
Of course, there also should be loads of "prison cliché" encounters...

...from the sadistic guard looking to vent some frustration from his domestic troubles (or lack thereof)...

(Promise a bribe if you have money left after your arrest or use persuade to escape undue harassment)

...to the run in with the kingpins thugs sent to teach the "fresh meat" who the boss of the prison is...

(Persuade or giving the "dark brotherhood stare" if you are with them, to get off without a beating),

...to the incident with the self appointed "Health Inspector" in the prison showers...

(Intimidate or a very tough -unarmed- fight to keep your... pride... intact)

...there also could be extra opportunities...

...like meeting a former crime boss in prison isle who can "set you up" with some of his old contacts if you happen to be a member in good standing with the thieves guild, unlocking a special vendor somewhere... ("Yah, go zee mah cuz Vinnie ovah inna Abah's Landin', 'e ken ged yah sum gud shtuff fell offa kard, yah get meh?")


And naturally, also a hidden "jailbreak" quest, that's not readily available and pointed out by a "quest here!" marker, but can only be found through conversations with the inmates... one bit of info leading to the next until you find the one planning the escape, pick up the quest, and then end up collecting all the ingredients for a successful prison break - again, without much help in the way of quest markers or info… you get a generic "gather bedsheets" but the game would not tell you how many you need, but if you do not get the required (secret) number, it will hurt your chances at success; same for every other ingredient for the escape plan, many of which will require other sub-errants - and if you fail, you end up right where you started, with additional time on your bounty)


This prison isle could come with loads of nifty achievements, possibly unlocks from them as well... tamriel-tastic prison tattoos or criminal brands, a tattered striped "prisoner rags" costume complete with broken shackles or ball-and-chain, prison themed dyes (Jailer hood black, Prisoners orange, Iron bar grey, Prison food green, Soap pink... ), some titles like "Escapee" for those who manage the jailbreak and "Ex-con" for those who work off their time... (possibly one for those who fail the shower encounter as well, tho I doubt ZOS would dare go there you know what my dirty mind is thinking, it rhymes with "Prism Witch"...)

darthgummibear_ESO

These are all really good ideas. You could pretty much make an entire expansion just off this post alone.