Well, I never thought I'd be writing this message.
NLH:
Try to work on your roleplay.
I had a chance encounter with three of your members tonight.
I didn't enjoy it.
Your roleplay was one-sided, flat, and pointless.
If I didn't have a high opinion of you, I'd say it was just a prelude to PvP.
But, you're better than that, so it must have just been lacking.
I try to roleplay, but I'm hunted down (while actually delaying repping my Bretonia Gunboat so I can chat) by a bomber, gunboat, and a third Gaian. All right, that's fun. Try to roleplay? No, seems they just want to kill me because Bretonia is evil and they are good and I must die because I'm evil because I'm Bretonian so I must die. Or something like that, it was terribly intriguing, sort of what I'd expect from an unofficial Liberty faction.
I manage to escape into Poole (which is right nearby).
And, well, those three Gaians follow me. And chase me. For many, many k through Poole.
And I try to roleplay. Well, it's still the same, I'm evil and I'm Bretonian so therefore I must die.
I outsmart them (as they evidently didn't know that there's another jumphole in Poole) and loop through Omega 50 and then hop into 49, then land on the Essex in Dublin. It was heavily implied that the other NLH were guarding the hole, fencing me into the system so I couldn't get out. Doing this in a guard system? To a fleeing person who obviously wants to roleplay, or at least roleplay a little bit before exchanging shots? (I never fired a single shot this entire time.)
Very poor form, gents.
There's a noticeable lack of desire to roleplay, and what roleplay you all did present was sadly single-sided RP that lead very directly to PvP... and then pursuing through a guard system and staying in that guard system. There were plenty of fish around Bretonia, and you couldn't give this one up?
Last I saw those three, they were still in Poole, along with a QCG.
I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed with what I've seen tonight.
First encounter with you gents in a long time, and it wasn't a good one.
Well what can I say, you certainly weren't the only target we were chasing and taunting at the same time in New London. Between the sporadic moments of getting you on radar before you reached the lanes we also doubled back and forth looking for the HMS and had him cornered at southampton as well, so two BAF ID's were being chased as we split out trying to coral you both (I know you both were independant of each other). Half the taunts were your way and half the taunts were his way and there was even three moments where I took the lane out from the poor civilian flying around in there. Anyways, my intention was typed clear that if I had caught up to you I was gonna make you shoot the junk in the system (so yes if I had gotten you even 5 systems away my "pirate demand" would be for you to come back and shoot scrap metal till your cargo hold was full. Well out of the potential targets we came upon you at the JG to Cam. Actually I was the one on the scene. I let my bomber circle about as I scanned and knew for sure at that moment you were BAF, and typing as you began to leave. I even pressed backspace to remove my original message I was making when I saw you go and leisurely typed my threat at your departing ship. (I never worry about those who go while I type, I always have friends nearby.) The chase was on. Your fated for destruction or chased out. The later was the result, all the way out of Bretonia it seems. I was surprised you didn't take the opportunity when we first stepped in Poole, to say we were vulnerable when we first entered was an understatement. Going to the guard system is a good plan but it's not going to automatically call off the chase, we enter at the risk of being destroyed by player or NPC (and the NPCs actually almost did it for you). I pursued till O-50 and since my Lurue hasn't been in that particular system I acted lost and didn't know where I was (you can be certain that I know of every JH as a player if not as a char). I called it off as succesful when you were out of Bret space and by that time one of us was caught up with a player that rightfully came to defend the system (the risk of entering such systems) we danced for a bit, couldn't make solid attack on it because of NPCs and he couldn't fully get our dodging ships down, he escaped and we went right back to New London dida patrol and went into leeds, met a scared Freelancer and went home. Now I don't know of any special RP that put your Quincy on a more diplomatic channel with the Gaians but I am quite certain we are enemies and some 30 lines of RP were flying around in there. Certainly surpasses the necessary amount needed for engagement and I kinda think we were quite colourful about it and teased well enough in the cat and mouse that you had many an opportunity to keep away and type. It could've been a rough day maybe but when the smoke clears if we can't engage our enemies after many lines of RP we are only left with trading.
Roleplay isn't about proper backing or the thought behind it.
It is about how it's pulled off the moment it is executed and how it leaves the other players feeling and how it works out. "It's the thought that counts" certainly does not apply, and neither does whatever anyone may have been thinking at the moment.
What happens and how people respond to it is what matters - the execution.
Any planner will tell you that it all matters how the plan is executed.
"The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!"
And etc.
That said, my impressions (outlined above) haven't changed.
Your roleplay was terse at best, and I sincerely got the distinct impression that you were out more for hunting BAF than for roleplay. I think that's all that really matters, because whether or not you intended it, that's exactly how you came across - roleplay enough for PvP.
Well, contrary to what Sprolf has said, i have found the NLH to be rather fun to encounter, and not in want of PvP. My latest encounter with you being as leader of a group of Bowex escorts escorting a percheron up to meet the Outcasts and give them some fuel. While i was a bit surprised that you came all the way up to Tau 23, the chat and exchange of insults about how the corporations fuel the corruption of worlds was rather fun, and didnt seem to elude to PvP at all. And after which we both just went our seperate ways.
Just hope that more encounters like this are possible between our groups, as it is rather enjoyable.
While I wasn't there & can't say much about all the huhbub earlier, I'm trying to put myself in both pairs of shoes. Sprolf, sorry the encounter was a drag for you, but we can't please everyone every single time & we can't be expected to just spout propaganda all the time & not have a bite. we are terrorists after all
It seems that everyone sees Gaians differently (even people that play them) but that's perfectly understandable given that the group was inserted into the original game as underdeveloped filler, leaving 90% of them open to interpretation.
It will be helpful for people to know what's up when they encounter us. As NLH, we are militant, not military & we do not have complete uniformity of thought within the ranks, because we are intelligent freethinkers & we will sometimes clash with each other, akin to disagreement within one political party.
Personally, I play my Gaian like an outlaw biker obsessed with the natural balance of the universe. He views his enemies as equally vital to the health of the universe as his allies, and will let an enemy slide just as soon as shoot him down...as well as turn on an ally that he feels jeopardizes that balance through their actions.
Just one slight thing that irks me here... Coming up within 1k of the shetland, when its SHOOTING at you, taking fire. Abusing the mechanic that makes the liner's guns pathetic. Seriously, one guy was trying to pirate me RIGHT next to the shetland. AKA, right outside my own base, AND not being shot at. OSC|Terra's.Calling was my vessal.
I don't actually remember the name of the ship, but that might have been me you're referring to ...I was a lonely GS & was yapping from out of range for a spell, telling the guy to leave Gaia's orbit. after a while of not doing as my character requested, I started to engage.
I knew I was completely outclassed & was in a no-win situation, but after the shooting started, the craft eventually moved out of the planets orbit, which was really the only goal. It was not to pirate or to try & get a kill.
After my character did all he could, he limped back home to lick his wounds.
The thing people need to understand is that the NLH are not pirates, & therefore, do not pirate
We do what we can to disrupt enemy trading in the area, taking & destroying cargo to make Gaian space as unattactive to traders as possible, as well as employing guerrilla hit & run tactics against our traditional enemies.
as far as getting within one K, yeah, I did simply so that my guns could reach the dude sitting right next to the S**tland. & if it was indeed me you're talking about, the shetland was firing on me
I have a horrible typing speed & if I get shot by npcs ect while trying to type RP during an engagement, that is just something I simply have to deal with.
::Edit- also, just to let you know: the NLH are guard tagged & ID'ed, therefore, every NLH is extremely hostile to OSC. If you saw a Gaian that was not being fired upon while being well within range, you were either A: not dealing with an NLH member & dealing with a regular gaian with rep issues instead...Or B: you were standing between the shetland & the player, preventing the shetland from being able to fire::