"Cerberus, the three-headed monster dog comes from the pre-ancient mythology of Earth origin. While the symbolic meaning differed from religion to religion, its overall purpose seemed to be a guardian of the gates to the underworld- to prevent the dead from escaping and the living from entering.
Whoever chose the Cerberus as the symbol for that group probably also drank self-brewed beer, wore a scarf and 3D glasses, and thought that it was ''deep'' to associate the group with something that guarded the gates of the crime ''underworld'' so to speak.
Perhaps they were even trying to imply that they were not only ridding the world of these ''invaders'' but also made sure that others did not try to join them? Psh."
~Marianna Terner, Liberty Social Institute, Interview with LiNN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY
The group in question was never suggested to be an organized one. There was no proof at the time that it was. It was not all that rare for the civilian populice to take laws in their own hands to punish known individuals for crimes the regular law enforcement would need months or even years trying to pin on them. Usually such cases had little to no connection between them, but it was only until recently when a group called the "Street Art Club" began noticing these small, burned-in inscriptions in the major cities.
Manhattan is the home of the more popular graffiti artists, but it was odd to see such marks pop up in very specific regions. The big discovery made by the SAC, was that the symbol usually appeared in spots, which were known for their criminal activity- or rather, now removed criminal activity.
"...when we got to the crime scene, it was a real mess. The suspects were killed in cold blood and whatever physical proof of their criminal actions were present at the time- removed. It set the investigation back at least for a month, before we had to close the case. Needless to say, we still do not know whether or not the suspects were guilty or not."
Andrew Maltedor, LPI, Interview with LiNN.
Vigilantism had a huge spike during the recent Rheinland-Liberty law, when almost all of the resources of Liberty were put into the war machine, leaving little to no funding to the local law enforcement, apart from the protection of large supply lines. It was up to the citizens and corporations of Liberty to take up the defense of their transports in their own hands via hiring bounty hunters or mercenaries, which worked to a degree, but it was not long until the general population began to voice their growing concerns on the state of things.
More drama followed as the number of unresolved cases grew, the investigators not given enough time or resources for their efforts, leading them to take up only high-grade cases and turn down the low-profile ones.
"...quite horrible, to be frank. We had at least a hundred reports coming in and, once they were printed and documented, I had to put them in the huge stack in the corner of my office. There were nearly not enough officers to take them and, I am shamed to say, I too left the force not too long later. It was just depressing to look at."
Matthew B. Tracer, retired, Interview with LiNN.
The rumors of a vigilante group operating in Liberty was always there- it was simply an obvious statement. Attacks on criminal figures were not something a single individual could pull off, but what was more worrying at the time was the fact that the general population seemed to be okay with their newfound protectors. It is still not clear if the Cerberus mark is something the group itself leaves at the scenes of their acts of ''justice'' or is it a way of saying thanks by the rest of the civilians.
"I remember a specific incident, where we were told of a very sketchy shipment of various ship parts, ammo and other goods by a freelancer in a freighter. When we got to the spot reported by our source, the ship was found empty. No signs of battle, no signs of forced boarding- nothing. We could only assume it was a friendly contributor to whatever we have in Liberty, that does not have access to our usual docking ports. "
Brian Tenner, LPI officer, Interview with LiNN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION (OORP)
Name: None.
Naming Convention: name of god/goddess related to law/justice
ID: Xeno Terrorist
IFF: Freelancer/None
Allowed Ships: Civilian line
ZOI: Liberty
OORP Description:
The idea came to mind after a 5 hour skypecall with a few mates of mine. What if the whole ''vigilantism'' thing was taken from a different direction?
Instead of police IDed ships flying around, we are indeed talking about people, who, even with their best intentions, are still labeled as criminals due to the one simple rule of laying down justice without a trial. Individuals, who are driven by their own individual motives and goals but are united under one flag (whether they know it or not), protecting the civilian population and laying down justice where it is needed.
The true quirk of the group is rather simple: They are lawfully played Xenos. That is the ID, which is closest of all in terms of Vigilante-ism on Disco as it allows for one specific moment: Treating any non-libertonian ship as a combat target. Any smuggler, any wrongdoer regardless of the ship type.
But here's another interesting moment. I specifically noted that these reasons for vigilantism are different. And it leads to interesting roleplay dilemmas. Why not try and roleplay a mentally degraded character- scarred by the loss of a loved one now out for revenge, using vigilantism as a weak attempt to rationalize his own personal need for sating his rage. He would attack any ''unlawful'' regardless of context- starting from criminal masterminds and ending with a person at the end of his rope- someone they might have just been themselves at some point.
Or what if your character is a teen, jumping at the chance to kill people with a valid reason to do so? A reason where others would cheer for him, while he fulfills his own twisted fantasies?
Or perhaps your character is indeed so self-righteous, that they believe that any criminal deserves death, instead of prison time or fines?
The reasons can be different and it up to you to decide who you are. And as for you, who enjoy lists- here's one on us:
Primary Goals:
Complete and full eradication of criminal activity both system and planet-wise regardless of context or reasons.
Providing backup to lawful forces in the event of pirate activity.
Destruction of any sort of contraband (Yes, even confiscated one.) (Human cargo is to be reclaimed).
Secondary Goals:
Active search and extermination of any group or individual putting the civilian population at risk. E.G: Smugglers, Unlawful freelancers.
Reporting these individuals through lawful forces to the Liberty Criminal Database.
Submitting information of any renamed smugglers to the Liberty Criminal Database.
Tertiary Goals:
Assassination of known threats to the lawful population within the Liberty Navy and Liberty Police Incorporated. (Aka killing off bribe-accepting lawfuls.)
Information gathering on individuals and groups suspected in criminal activity (Zoners, Junkers, Freelancers).
Developing ties to potential (lawful) patrons to help with funding the operations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Examples of interaction
A smuggler is caught by a LPI. He is told to drop his cargo and pay a fine. The group, upon locating them will ignore the LPI and destroy the smuggler along with any contraband they are carrying. If the LPI ship has tractored any contraband, they will be demanded to drop the cargo or be labeled as a criminal and cancer plaguing the LPI.
A civilian ship is being extorted by pirates. The group, upon locating them, will dispose of the pirates, while making sure the civilian ship survives to the nearest station. If the civilian is destroyed and their cargo is tractored by the vigilante group, they will sell it off for profit and send half of the profit to the civilian.
A different xeno group is found extorting civilian traffic.
This one is tricky. We would simply have to ignore the RP interaction due to ID rules. Simple as that.
Now let us talk about the ID we chose for this. You can already see the slight problem: the Xeno ID is known to specifically target non-liberty organizations.
We, however, do not use that part of the ID.
oOo| do not attack civilian targets, regardless of affiliation. Except for the obvious moments, when some Samura 5ker is trying to smuggle artifacts for the black market or something.
The group also does not attack lawful ships. The only moment a ship should be attacked is if the, say, LPI indie has accepted a bribe. Or has ''confiscated'' illegal cargo.
In short, the group is a lawful one. But is not. Because their actions are inherently against Liberty law. But it is interesting to think how would interaction between them and the actual lawful forces go.
Via skype or PM. Simple as that.
Obviously, the group does not have a ranking system, since it would be completely impractical to have one.
Check this spot here, where we I will add any legit question from the rest of the thread and add an answer, so you do not have to ask the same question twice.
The most sensible thing in that case would be to retreat to the closest friendly base without attacking any of the civilians. Though obviously, anyone has the right to defend themselves. What would your suggestion be to such an encounter?
Should the vigilante in question label whoever attacks them as a hostile and fight back, or would they try to escape, knowing that the people in question are just doing their job.
Well, if I adopted that vigilant thinking way, I could probably think to myself that civilians are those people that are defenseless and that try to stay out of trouble and away from violence.
In real life, if you see a police man beating a criminal, you, as a civilian don't usually go and help the police... you let them do their jobs and you stay away to keep yourself out of trouble <- this is a typical civilian.
that said, me, as a vigilante, would probably think: "That "civilian" that is helping a corrupt policeman is not a civilian at all, he's just a troublemaker and a violent person if he's in such a worry to step in into battle... in that case, i should terminate him too"
but that's just one of possible outcomes... I guess situations like these, depend on the Vigilante in question and not on the Whole group of vigilantes... because everyone will have their different personalities and different ideas, and 2 vigilantes will probably deal with that situation in 2 different ways.
Even though I like the idea on principil, isn't there a "little issue" on using a Xeno Terrorist ID with a Freelancer IFF?
And isn't this "issue" already a violation of the server rule 1.3?
Edit: And even if you start with no specific IFF (how will you legaly obtain the Xeno ID?) - you will get an IFF over time,
or you will have to use droprep quite a lot of times which also will affect your IFF and even your reputation towards the Xenos.
Even though I like the idea on principil, isn't there a "little issue" on using a Xeno Terrorist ID with a Freelancer IFF?
And isn't this "issue" already a violation of the server rule 1.3?
.
Good catch!
Anyway, I think the rule was put into place for people who had, for example, a Zoner IFFed Pirate. Or, for a more specific example, a Zoner IFFed, OC IDed Corvo.
In this case it is using a neutral, but GENERIC IFF. Now had we used something more specific, such as a Zoner IFF, then sure- it would probably be seen as abuse.
That's my view of it.
The choice of a Freelancer IFF is to show that the person is not in fact an actual Xeno as we understand it. The ID is used for the above described RP choice reasons and borrows only one line from the ID, instead of the actual lore and RP behind it- instead using it as a platform and a basis for a completely new partake on the idea.
Perhaps we might even get the old Vigilante ID back with a similar set of limitations in ship class, docking and engagement rules. Who knows.
(10-06-2014, 09:32 AM)Some Blokes RP Alt Wrote: Good catch!
Anyway, I think the rule was put into place for people who had, for example, a Zoner IFFed Pirate. Or, for a more specific example, a Zoner IFFed, OC IDed Corvo.
In this case it is using a neutral, but GENERIC IFF. Now had we used something more specific, such as a Zoner IFF, then sure- it would probably be seen as abuse.
Perhaps we might even get the old Vigilante ID back with a similar set of limitations in ship class, docking and engagement rules. Who knows.
I fully get your point.
But still it seems to be a bit odd, and I wouldn't go for that without having explicit admin approval.
To see the old Vigilante ID brought back, as well as a few more IFF's, like a general "Pirate IFF" etc. would be lovely as well.
Even when the rules say "IFF (color) doesn't mean too much, all that counts is the ID" still many people rate you by the color and they always will. So there is indeed some need for more (specific) IFF's (on my opinion).
But that's now a bit off the Topic - sorry for that.
At first this looks like a pew-only "engagbung all whose nose i dislike" faction, but I'll see how it actually plays out ingame. Nonetheless, I am intrigued what you'll make out of that approach.
Unfortunately, I don't think you'll get around getting adressed as Xeno, since the ID is generally taken as inRP. This can be of advantage at times, and sometimes become a disadvantage (especially regarding infectees).