The Hitman Agency | The Hitman - Faction Information

[LuckyOne]

Rules are kind of murky on this, but it does seem that BHG ID cannot initiate combat without a valid bounty contract and / or claiming:

The Bounty Hunters Guild is a well-established mercenary group who specialise in hunting criminals and terrorists. A large number of bounty hunters are ex-criminals. All unlawfuls treat the Bounty Hunters as enemies.

This Independent Corporate ID is used by members of the Bounty Hunters Guild, who:


- Can attack any ship to protect allied or neutral police, military, or corporate ships.

- Can attack any ship in pursuit of a Contract issued by an allied or neutral faction or individual.

- Cannot use Cruisers, Battleships, or ships with more than 4300 cargo space.

And I do recall at least one sanction (warning ?) for this behaviour (not claiming bounties after 7 days). But let's wait for a mod to confirm.

BHG can still assist allies and corporations freely though, so as long as they don't start fights without intention to claim they should be in the clear.

[Misha_Gottlich]

Rules are kind of murky on this, but it does seem that BHG ID cannot initiate combat without a valid bounty contract and / or claiming:

The Bounty Hunters Guild is a well-established mercenary group who specialise in hunting criminals and terrorists. A large number of bounty hunters are ex-criminals. All unlawfuls treat the Bounty Hunters as enemies.

This Independent Corporate ID is used by members of the Bounty Hunters Guild, who:


- Can attack any ship to protect allied or neutral police, military, or corporate ships.

- Can attack any ship in pursuit of a Contract issued by an allied or neutral faction or individual.

- Cannot use Cruisers, Battleships, or ships with more than 4300 cargo space.

And I do recall at least one sanction (warning ?) for this behaviour (not claiming bounties after 7 days). But let's wait for a mod to confirm.

BHG can still assist allies and corporations freely though, so as long as they don't start fights without intention to claim they should be in the clear.

What about players that fly under criminal or pirate ID[TAG]s? Is a BH not allowed to pursue an active criminal? That seems counter to their RP code... It seems to me that a player flying a pirate ID flag is fair game, with required RP involved. Any law enforcement or affiliate should be able to apprehend or engage or destroy any criminal entity weather or not they have a bounty on the board... Its a criminal, and a Bounty Hunter... How can it be "against the rules" for proper law enforcement and to RP your character as they would actually behave!?!?

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[LuckyOne]

Note that BHG is not law enforcement (they don't even have that line!). They're mercenaries, pure and simple. If there's no money involved they will simply wave off the pirate if he doesn't attack, yes.

But as with all rules it often comes down to player RP. Most pirates will shoot BHG at the spot so this distinction only comes into play on non combattant criminals.

[Misha_Gottlich]

Note that BHG is not law enforcement (they don't even have that line!). They're mercenaries, pure and simple. If there's no money involved they will simply wave off the pirate if he doesn't attack, yes.

But as with all rules it often comes down to player RP. Most pirates will shoot BHG at the spot so this distinction only comes into play on non combattant criminals.

Well, this would appear to say otherwise:

"The Bounty Hunters Guild originally began in Texas but has spread to almost every system in Sirius, providing a broad array of security-oriented services for a reasonable fee. They are frequently hired by house corporations, police, and militaries to aid in the protection of trade routes or to take on wanted criminals in search-and-destroy missions. Bounty Hunters are particularly reviled by criminals because some of them were once pirates themselves. As a result, many Hunters know of the various Jump Hole routes and employ that knowledge in their assignments."

That's taken directly from -> https://disco-freelancer.fandom.com/wiki...ters_Guild <- so unless this is NOT a reliable source of information, it would appear that, and I quote, "They are frequently hired by house corporations, police, and militaries to aid in the protection of trade routes or to take on wanted criminals in search-and-destroy missions". Which means that any Bounty Hunter that is properly RPing their character can choose to engage with any pirate or criminal faction so long as it is in line with their characters background and general attitude or stance on criminals or pirates in general.

Look, the BHG is not a 'neutral' faction. They are lawful and the NPC ships will openly attack anything that registers red on the IFF. If a player chooses to play as a 'Bad Guy' then they should be prepared to be engaged openly by anyone RPing as a 'Good Guy'! I fail to see any logic or reason in standing aside while evil-doers pass by.

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[Stewgar]

We should let a moderator or admin respond. I pinged the moderator chat in Discord for a response. This has oddly become a topic as of late so it would be nice to have an official answer without the player base assuming what is right and wrong.

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It ain't about what you are capable of, it's about what you're willing to do.

[Lemon]

Am I the only one who found that ID line odd? In Freelancer they are clearly on the lawful side, I've seen bounty hunters shooting my unlawfuls solo without claiming very often and never raised an eyebrow.

The ID line should have "can attack combat ships considered hostile by the Bounty Hunters Guild" at the very least, they are not freelancers from the view of current rephack mechanics, they have many hostile rephacks and this is just an outdated ID/oversight.

Either change the ID or change all -0.7 rephacks besides aliens to -.55

[Karst]

ID rules aren't determined just by a faction's RP, but also by balance considerations.

The limitations of engaging 'in pursuit of a contract' are there because an ID that could shoot any unlawfuls globally with no other limitations would be overpowered.

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[Lemon]

ID rules aren't determined just by a faction's RP, but also by balance considerations.

The limitations of engaging 'in pursuit of a contract' are there because an ID that could shoot any unlawfuls globally with no other limitations would be overpowered.

I am talking about ID and rephack mechanics here -.55s should be implemented not to confuse people like hitmen, I will be the hero that saves the day and will send the PR when I get home to help the faction this feedback is about, Indies and Disco alike!

[Stewgar]

.55 should not matter. If a BH sees red but there is no outstanding bounty for that individual or faction they are ID’d as, a BH cannot engage unless engaged upon. The only exception is if they are hired by someone on the spot. It’s as Karst says, prevents people from being all Glock and no talk.

Here’s an interesting scenario. I’m contracted to escort a trader through the Omicrons when someone red to the transport but white to me shows up. They are making hostile gestures and are close but have not outright declared they are attacking. As of now, they are a perceived threat, not an actual threat. There is no bounty for them on any boards. Our demands to maintain a wider perimeter is going unanswered. It is clear that we are wanting to avoid hostilities. Can I attack the target in a proactive attempt to protect my contract or must shots be fired from the bogey before I can return fire?

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It ain't about what you are capable of, it's about what you're willing to do.

[xenomorph]

Bounty Hunters are a unique breed, earning their livelihood by taking out notorious criminals with bounties on their heads. Consider that some among their ranks were once on the wrong side of the law and are privy to the internal methods of the criminal underworld, giving them an advantage over law enforcement. In other words, they are not inclined to waste precious ammunition, let alone lives, if there's no payout in it for them. That's their purpose. Nothing extraordinarily complicated to understand.

Of course, some factions may deviate from this practice by taking out criminals without profit. However, this detracts from their purpose. There have been talks of a plugin being implemented that automatically awards BHs with monetary gain upon taking down hostiles. However, I have serious doubts that such a thing will be put into effect.