Oolite Bulletins

You know, it occurred to me, just today, that I don't think I've ever seen a band of assassins that had any kind of criminal record when they jump you at the Witchpoint. Not once, to my memory. (Afterwards, sometimes, if there happens to be Vipers present, but never before they open fire.) While I can believe that some professional killers have kept their activities hush-hush or paid off their fines, I don't buy that /all/ of them have. Shouldn't those bands of assassins that attack you for parcel or passenger runs at least have some chance of a prior criminal record? Why is it that they've all got clean legal records, all the time? Seems like the game should vary that up a bit.

Perhaps the clean ones have already monetized the ones with bounties

Layne wrote:

While I can believe that some professional killers have kept their activities hush-hush or paid off their fines, I don't buy that /all/ of them have.

I, on the other hand, do buy that.. the whole point of being a professional assassin is to avoid official attention. Anyone worthy of the title would be scrupulous about such things.

Smivs wrote:

Perhaps the clean ones have already monetized the ones with bounties

Hehehe.. or that.

The way I see it is that to be able to do their job, they must be clean. As most of their job involves hanging around in high trafficked areas, hoping that their mark turns up. Having offender (or even fugitive) status would make them a target for any passing viper, BH, have a go trader or as pointed out fellow assassin. Any assassin that acquires a bounty, would go on a road trip to clear their status, their livelihood (and life) depends upon it.

What Diz said!

Diziet Sma wrote:

I, on the other hand, do buy that.. the whole point of being a professional assassin is to avoid official attention. Anyone worthy of the title would be scrupulous about such things.

Nope, still not logical. How many thugs are there in organized crime? They're disposable, as far as these groups are concerned. The stupid ones die quickly, but there are always new ones bubbling up from the cracks of society to join up. Sure, the smart ones make sure they're safe, they get alibis and they see to it the charges don't stick, but that pre-supposes a criminal justice system that /does not/ exist in Oolite. In fact, the /majority/ of hired thugs in real criminal groups at least have some sort of suspicious record, even if it's nothing major they can be taken in for. Secondly, they probably wouldn't all be professionals to begin with. Not everyone who wants to stop a package hires the best, sometimes they'd just go down to the local seedy bar and hire a bunch of random toughs on the cheap.

Sounds like you found a sensible way to give some assasins criminal status .

How about calculating an assassasin Fee based on parcel , courier ship and courier elite ranking ?

The lower the fee, the bigger the chance some assassins will have a criminal record.

Venator Dha wrote:

Having offender (or even fugitive) status would make them a target for any passing viper, BH, have a go trader or as pointed out fellow assassin. Any assassin that acquires a bounty, would go on a road trip to clear their status, their livelihood (and life) depends upon it.

Exactly the same is true for pirates and resistance-pirates that make no efforts to clean their status.
As of current balance, I would recommend a courier should have a fast ship and almost iron-assed it as that business is much more dangerous than bounty hunting. Assassins don't react to dropping cargo and always have injectors. The police never shows up in the anarchy and monarchy bottlenecks where they become really dangerous. Bounty hunters may though.

Lone_Wolf wrote:

Sounds like you found a sensible way to give some assasins criminal status .

How about calculating an assassasin Fee based on parcel , courier ship and courier elite ranking ?

The lower the fee, the bigger the chance some assassins will have a criminal record.

Hmm, that's actually a pretty interesting idea. Expensive weapon designs? The rivals hire the best. This may even influence the kind of ships you're up against, high-end Asps and Fer-de-Lances. Cheap parcels get offender-status thugs in Geckos and Sidewinders.

Layne wrote:

Hmm, that's actually a pretty interesting idea. Expensive weapon designs? The rivals hire the best. This may even influence the kind of ships you're up against, high-end Asps and Fer-de-Lances. Cheap parcels get offender-status thugs in Geckos and Sidewinders.

Can't wait to get blown out of the ship by Biff, the hired goon in his iron-assed adder...

I would recon that every assassin would be squeeky clean regardless of occupational status. A noobie apprentice assassin that had anything but a clean status, wouldn't be an assassin, but a low level thug murderer. Can't even imagine any assassin ever considering themselves as a criminal.
Tis such an ancient well respected maybe a little feared profession.
mm, not that I would have any idea what an assassin would consider..

Alex wrote:

Can't even imagine any assassin ever considering themselves as a criminal.
Tis such an ancient well respected maybe a little feared profession.

Agreed.. comparing assassins to mobster thugs is an insult to professional assassins everywhere.

Something like this?:
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2015-09-20

Switeck wrote:

Something like this?:
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2015-09-20

Dammit Switeck.. now I've got another comic I have to follow..

Thanks!

I don't get why I never get jumped by a rather large pirate gang that's been hired in a desperate attempt to off me in that one last Anarchy system I go through on my way to my drop off point.

And I really hate that all of them are "clean". That fact has cost me a few thousand bucks because I managed to land a hit on them before they landed one on me in the presence of a Viper or two. I end up having to take out the Viper and sunskim my next several jumps to get rid of the status.

Wish there was an OXP that would allow you to get let off with a warning based on prior criminal status and the fact that you almost never shoot at a someone unless they fire first or they're a criminal.

Whenever I leave a galaxy I grab an energy bomb, shoot up the station, wait for all the vipers to come out, engage the galactic drive, blow em all to hell, and off to the next galaxy I go.