' Wrote:I thought this spot was already taken by the Blood Dragons. :mellow:
Basically a prime example of non-lore factions attempting to fill the roles that lore factions already have.
Like the IND, but with a little less admin bias and a little more irrelevance to Freelancer in general.
' Wrote:Basically a prime example of non-lore factions attempting to fill the roles that lore factions already have.
Like the IND, but with a little less admin bias and a little more irrelevance to Freelancer in general.
I meant the above as both HF and BD being groups composed of members with a deep military background who seek to overthrow the governments of the Houses they belong to.
Quote:What's your stance on foreign (non-Kusari) shippers, and how do your commerce raider vessels operate? Do they attack/pirate all traders, or just carrying a certain cargo? Do you demand credits, or cargo?
I know it says neutral to foreign lawfuls, but it's a bit ambiguous.
What's your stance on the Hogosha, and why are you hostile to the Rogues when the Rogues have ties, or at least links, with the Blood Dragons/GC?
To answer your questions in order:
1: Our Commerce Raider's tactics differ significantly from usual pirates. Typically we pirate with large, heavily armored transports or gunboats. Usually we demand cargo unless it's more beneficial to get credits, and usually we only bother with cargoes that pose some military benefit to either us or Kusari. Typically, a trader is a trader.
We also sometimes try to recruit traders (if they RP) to supply us, especially freelance ones or those of morally ambiguous corporations. Same goes for miners; we're more likely to force the miner to fill our transports up at gunpoint than blow them away outright. Beyond that, we generally also try to explain why Kusari is not safe for commerce, who we are, and what we do.
2: We're neutral to foriegn lawfuls partly because we rarely encounter them (or atleast haven't yet') and for the fact that unlike the traditional Kusari revolutionaries, we actively seek foreign support from intelligence services or corporations. Typically, we'll stay neutral with the unlawfuls too if at all possible (it makes little sense to fight them if we never cross paths), but the lawfuls tend to have more and better resources to use, plus we want groundwork laid in case we ever DO succeed in taking Kusari.
3: The Consortium see the Hogosha as a threat. A symptom of the corporatist monopoly and manipulation of the government. Alot of our propaganda uses them as an example of an organized criminal enterprise parasiting off of the government and keiretsu. A cancer that needs to be expunged at all levels. However, we'd happily recruit defecting Hogosha and alliance members if the opportunity presented itself (we perfer trying to get the enemy to defect rather than just kill them).
As for Rogues, we don't see them as hostile. As far as we care, they're just a bunch of petty crooks from Liberty. Generally we'll leave them alone if they leave us alone, or rarely try to impress them into working for us if possible. We haven't actually met any yet so we'll have to wait for RP interaction to occur before diplomacy can take place. Generally though, we'd rather deal with the LSF than the Rogues if at all possible.
Quote:I meant the above as both HF and BD being groups composed of members with a deep military background who seek to overthrow the governments of the Houses they belong to.
The HF, Dragons, and Consortium have alot in common, but there are some differences, typically in the aesthetics of the RP and general modus operandi. The Dragons are masterless samurai fighting for a deposed emperor, for reasons of honor, loyalty, and revenge. They are, however, similar in style to the traditionalism of the Farmers Alliance, for example. Typically disliking most outsiders and operating more tactically; fighting for honor and generally maintaining an air of nobility.
The Consortium meanwhile are mostly professional soldiers, and actively recruit members from all houses (but most from Kusari), usually for apolitical reasons. Their end-goals are similar (hence why the Consortium considers them and the GC de-facto allies at all), but their stance is far less idealistic and their focus on the bigger picture at hand. Their fleets are styled and set up more along the lines of the Liberty Navy than the Blood Dragons, and they tend to forgo the usual Kusari spiel of 'honor', 'purity', and the general cultural xenophobia that even the more idealistic factions like the GC often resort to. You won't be hearing us calling people 'gaijin', and expect witty comebacks if someone does.
Most of the Dragons' Focus is on Traditionalism, while the Consortium's focus is on progressive (if authoritarian) ideals, as well as trans-humanism; they're quite a bit more pragmatic and 'think outside the box' than some other groups, not stuck in their ways. As it sits, they're too sides of a similar coin, which makes the prospects of future interaction interesting.
Though, the Dragons' have an advantage in individual pilot skill, the Consortium's foreign ties, logistics network, and intelligence services are a useful compliment. The most likely scenario is for the Dragons and Consortium to (as happened in past eras) operate alongside one another out of an alliance of convinced, as it would be little benefit to either party to shoot each other on principals.
The Short Version:
Dragons = Samurais
Consortium = Modern Army Soldiers
Personally, I dislike the comparison with the HF. I'd say there are some fundamental differences in the approaches of the Consortium and the Legion to overthrowing their respective local governments.
Some first-encounter feedback: The very notion of boarding a ship has a rather power-gaming feel to it, particularly if it seems like the boarder is trying to get themselves into a position of advantage over the other play... especially if it's pirates v traders. Best to ask the "//May I board you?" type question well in advance.
And while it's all well and good that you've got a detailed story to explain, I didn't know that pirating people for their time and attention was in vogue. Not every player or character will be happy to sit around and chat, so I'd recommend that you perhaps rehearse a condensed version of your story/objectives so that RP can progress, rather than making the player feel like they're doing nothing while listening to your story.
Quote:Personally, I dislike the comparison with the HF. I'd say there are some fundamental differences in the approaches of the Consortium and the Legion to overthrowing their respective local governments.
There's some fundamental differences between the Consortium and any other faction in discovery. The HF is mostly an example of a military-style faction that's fighting a house on (somewhat) equal footing. Rather than 'cops and robbers' or 'guerrilla terrorists'.
Quote:Some first-encounter feedback: The very notion of boarding a ship has a rather power-gaming feel to it, particularly if it seems like the boarder is trying to get themselves into a position of advantage over the other play... especially if it's pirates v traders. Best to ask the "//May I board you?" type question well in advance.
And while it's all well and good that you've got a detailed story to explain, I didn't know that pirating people for their time and attention was in vogue. Not every player or character will be happy to sit around and chat, so I'd recommend that you perhaps rehearse a condensed version of your story/objectives so that RP can progress, rather than making the player feel like they're doing nothing while listening to your story.
Admittedly the encounter I had with your Ageria was a bit rushed at first. But what we're trying to do is something different from the 'normal' pirate that demands two million credits or cargo. The basic M.O. is, if the ship RPs and Co-operates, to try and get information from it's captain and search it's cargo.
Typical procedure is to try and RP board a vessel, and either 1: recruit the ship or 2: have them tell their leaders to get in touch with us. Why?: Because it's different than the usual piracy spiel. As for a compressed RP story: it depends on who we're talking to (and weather they care or not). No two traders are exactly alike.
Normally I would call nitpicking, but at this stage, I still appreciate your feedback. Please try to get pirated by us again to see if your experience improves :3
What Echo said is exactly what I mentioned in my first post.
Every time I had encountered the Consortium back when, it led to some form of powergamey situation that immediately made the encounter disinteresting. If you wanna pull stuff like, say, that boarding RP off, ask the person first.