Directed toward the administrators, from the point of view of Khleo;
I'm a Bounty Hunter. I'm a Freelance Bounty Hunter. I'm not against taking bounties against lawful citizens. I'm not against taking bounties against the pirates. I do not shoot without a financial reward at the end. I don't kill whoever and whatever you want for any price. I do it for a very specific price.
I am not a legal citizen. I am not a pirate. The general public doesn't know me. The police tolerate me. The pirates tolerate me a little bit better. I am hated more than liked.
At times I am forced to pirate people. Only when the money is absolutely necessary. Survival over reputation.
What ID do I use? Mercenary, seems to be only lawful. Pirate, seems to be only for, well, pirates. Bounty Hunter doesn't work. I am not part of a guild. I work for myself. I don't split the profit with anyone. Usually.
I think the merc ID needs to allow Unlawful behavior as well as lawful, or at least allow fighting on the unlawful side of a conflict. Honestly, the point of mercs is fighting for money, not fighting for the good guys and some money. The SCRA cannot hire mercs atm, because they can only work for lawfuls. Lawfuls don't actually generally use mercs, they have their own army/navy, they don't need another one they don't trust too much and have to pay more. Realistically, they should be given carte blanche, or at least the ability to help unlawful militaries.
Merc ID must change!
EDIT: oh, sorry, went on a rant there. Looks like pirate is the only way out, unless you feel like not pirating anymore. The ID's are changed so people can't have their cake and eat it too, and looks like its good that way. I just have a thing about mercs.
Perhaps only allowing combat in self-defense or while under contract. Yes? No? Good? Bad?
How do you prove the under contract bit though, and how does pirating work in self defence?
There needs to be a unlawful version made. This could distiguish between the lawfuls ones and the unlawful ones. You would just need a word to call it.....
Verginix Out
I found the word:
Use etheir 'Radical' or 'Renegade' as the unlawful merc ID.
Seamed pretty cool when I thought of it.
Vergininx Out
I agree with Virus, Merc ID needs lawful and UNlawful on it.
I don't see any difference here. Mercenaries cannot pirate traders anyway (that won't even be discussed), and joining with pirates for this purpose also cannot be allowed.
As for bounty contracts, they can be either against unlawfuls or against lawfuls.
Guess that description needs a little more tuning. Still mercs are generally on lawful side, like Bounty Hunters are. Pirates don't usually need mercs to fulfil bounty contracts, they may do it themselves... why vaste money?
I see the difference as Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries is that Bounty Hunters mainly go after other pilots, lawful, but mostly unlawful for the bounties on their heads.
Mercenaries on the other hand, let others pay them and in return do what that person wishes. These contracts can come from both lawful and unlawful sources, or from people in-between. Also, the chances of a lawful party hiring a merc to attack another lawful party is quite possible. Sicne both are lawful, that group would have consequences for attacking the other directly however through a mercenary, they can avoid those consequences. As the leader of a merc faction I have seen this happen before and it is QUITE possible.
There are also points where unlawfuls may buy contracts on unlawfuls, or freelancers against either side. Bounty Hunters do not take these types of contracts and all they do is kill others, while some contracts might be for completely other reasons than killing someone. Mercenaries might even pirate or kill traders as a contract (privateering) and I remember AW getting one such contract before.
*Grin* Against the sso|, our main rival in this business.
Didn't last to long, but the point is it happened. Bounty Hunters on the other hand would never do such a thing.
' Wrote:Still mercs are generally on lawful side, like Bounty Hunters are. Pirates don't usually need mercs to fulfil bounty contracts, they may do it themselves... why vaste money?
If that were the case, Mercenaries would die out. The main reason to buy the services of a mercenary is to get their combat experience on your side. Even the most well-trained Military pilots cannot match a well-traveled Soldier of Fortune, who knows the ways of multiple militaries and has survived multiple and varied campaigns. A few of the Navy/Military pilots in the game may tell you that they used to be Bounty Hunters that gained sympathy for whichever government they work with usually, and sign up because 'they need all the good pilots they can get'.
Military training can only do so much. Warriors like Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries have vast experience that far outweighs any single government's training regimen. Their line of work demands it. If they weren't truly a cut above the rest, they would have died like the rest. But those that survive become that 'cut above the rest' and prove their worth. It's the only reason to pay a gun-for-hire for a job: because, like it or not, they're better than your people, and you need their skill.
The mercenary ID is only sold at BHG bases right? And you need to have a green reputation with the bounty hunters. But if a pirate decide to become a mercenary? Will he have to buy bribes with the bounty hunters? And if he dont likes them?
The solution for this is to sell the mercenary ID in Freeports. Also people dont need to have a green reputation with some faction to get them.