So, right now I have 2 ideas. I figured I'd post them here. The first is an idea I bounced around but failed to gather support for at first. After my break I have a better idea, and with the revamp to the Freelancer ID it's MUCH easier to apply an ID to this idea.
Sirius Defense Forces - This faction is not for the RP or politically faint of heart.
A coalition of freelance agents whose loyalty is to each other and who's purpose is the protection of the Sirius citizen before all others. This faction is quasi lawful, started by Joseph Heart. For the most part, the SDF escorts traders and civilians, trades to support the SDF economy, and roams known Sirius enforcing it's own justice. The diplomatic status of the group is on a thin line. Most people joining this faction will have a specific sense of justice and will be expected to become tight knit with their fellows, have a quick trigger, and a quicker wit with words. Talking your way out of a pirate raid is worth more praise in the SDF than bagging kills. You'll still get a pat on the back for wasting an attacker though.
This faction is not high on money. You will be expected to finance yourselves mostly. What this group will provide is good role play opportunities, reason to travel far and wide to RP with many players and characters, friends to back you up, and the possibility of financial support if the group is able render it. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to play a close knit group trying to forge their own path in Sirius. A good fit for those who want to play a character who sees right and wrong rather than lawful and unlawful.
This idea has some complexity in it's Diplomacy, so I have decided to leave some of the specifics (Like the complications surrounding Kusari and the Blood Dragons) out for the moment until interested parties can talk with me about how we'd like the group to go.
Second, and easier to do, is Flyheight LTD. A small freelance trading, mining, and escort venture. This group is lawful and operates similarly to cannon corporations. It is a clean, smooth running operation headed by businessman and silver tongue William Flyheight. In this group, I expect maybe 2 to 4 players aside from myself, with more if the venture proves fruitful and we can hire and equip more ships. For now it's a fund your own freighter deal, but with friends attached and a responsibility to communicate your activities via message dump. This will likewise stress in depth RP. I already RP all 5 members of my ships crew in comms. I'd prefer similar depth from anyone who wants to work with me as a Flyheight ship. A good conversation while trading and a good set of backup when pirates come knocking is what it's about. I also intend to establish in-game trade agreements with player factions, as well as accept PC proposed trips and events, like supply convoys to the liberty front line and food/water/oxygen shipments to distant Zoner outposts.
Ideas stated, I'd like the input of more experienced faction higher-ups in how to put this together and make these ideas thrive as elements in the game community. I already intend to post a recruitment thread for each in the Faction Recruitment section if anyone takes interest here. The beginnings of the SDF and of Flyheight LTD are contained in the stories of the faction leaders.
First of all, only official faction can have recruitment threads, so probably not a good idea to have one of those.
I rather like SDF, though I'm not quite sure how the background will work. I would think most people go into justice related work because they care about their nation more than they care about justice as a whole across Sirius. And I hope you mean the protection of all lawful citizens of Sirius, because Corsairs need protecting too, from Bounty hunters, and everyone in Sirius needs protection from nomads, wilde, phantoms, etc.. (although they seem to ignore the unlawfuls for some reason...). But yeah, still interesting. Might they be doing any awful things for the benefit of society, like the League of Shadows in Batman Begins?
As for Flyheight, generally I am not a big fan of RP'ing multiple people on a ship over the comms. Why would 5 people be on the comms? It seems like this would just confuse everybody listening and I know it is very confusing as a player as well, also I generally find it pretty not fun due to the confusion (trying to keep track of 5 different characters I know nothing about when I first meet a ship, not fun at all). Also it seems like people who do this because they have so many different characters at once, they can pursue much broader RP, and in some ways do whatever they want without having to worry about character restrictions as much, because they can just pick whichever character let's them do what they want. Again, this may be fun for you, but may not be as much for others. Now, if you brought one character other than the captain or whoever was in charge at the time, that would be alright I think, and if that was your plan all along I apologize for the long rant.
Now, as for starting, while working on my faction I have just recruited in space. Of course I put up a good deal of background RP for the faction first(links in sig image). Now, the LPR is based off of an NPC faction (Council) which has perhaps made it easier, but I think you could do it as well. For SDF talk to mercs and freelancers in space, get a sense of their characters and hence if they'd like to join ans a sense of the players RP ability. For Flyheight just do the same but with indie traders or those not in a player faction. Finding indie traders is pretty easy, just camp the high profit routes, perhaps outside stations, as if you are waiting for an escort.
Yep, that's pretty much all I can think of right now. Good Luck.
I don't know. The Sirius Defence Force just reeks of "Sirius wide police". Just who are you protecting the people of Sirius against? The pirates? Opposing houses? Nomads? Need I remind you there is already the BHG and local law enforcement, as well as a whole mess of Vigilantes, Mercenaries and Freelancers hunting pirates. Sirius is on the brink of sector-wide war. Bretonia vs Kusari, Liberty vs Rhienland, Outcasts vs Corsairs and the civil war in Gallia.
And the Order is already in place to keep Nomads at bay.
So I ask you, where in Sirius is there room for yet another 'peace keeping' faction?
I have no issues with your trading corporation though. But you might have difficulty finding people willing to ship low profit goods like water, food and oxygen. Some might do it for the Roleplay, but at the end tradings' biggest reward is the profit.
SDF fell apart pretty quickly before too. I'm not surprised it doesn't get much support. The idea was that there never seem to be many lawfuls patrolling border and independent systems, or just roaming and enforcing morality over law. One of the prime SDF quirks was going to be it's open defiance against Kusari government and Samura. Being military allies with the Blood Dragons and GC was on the list. This is why I say the diplomacy of the group was in a fine line. Regardless, attracting people to low-pay indi lawful factions is REALLY hard these days.
Flyheight is more likely to gain support. Also, while the occasional low profit RP run is on the table, making money is the idea here. It's just a safer way to do it while also being entertained on those LONG cargo runs and mining missions. It's too bad I can't make a small recruitment thread, but I understand why. It would be unfortunate for our eyes remaining intact if every crackpot indi faction idea got it's own recruitment thread. Flames and endless dead faction ideas would flood this board in no time. So I'll just say if you see this and are interested, PM or Skype me. Otherwise I'll catch people in space for in-game recruitment.
*hopes Del won't light him on fire or anything else scary*
Why the hostility against Kusari factions? You'd get little support from Liberty and Rheinland if you were violently hostile to Kusari lawfuls and Samura. After all, blowing up a Samura transport in Galileo while a Liberty Navy patrol passes by isn't going to look good, is it? You'd be treated as pirates and terrorists.
In any case, the idea has been shot down many times before, and probably will continue to be. Sirius-wide police are frowned upon.
SDF is down for the count. If anything, Joseph Heart's story will either end now, he will be a freelancer solo, or he may attract 1-3 ships to fly with once in a while. As a faction, consider the idea extinct.
Flyheight is taking off nicely though. I have developed some good rapport with several players and my silver tongue seems to be keeping me out of trouble. I don't expect anyone else to RP their whole crews obviously, and the Captain and comms officer are the only regular speakers while I'm playing mine. The idea was that I like involved RP and good conversations, not just "Let's mine." and "Follow me, buy this, go here." Talking like people actually talk is nice, and it keeps boredom down when filling up big cargo holds in asteroid fields. I may actually be able to offer pay soon too, as I have a mining ship now thanks to a sizable investment by an IMG miner. The ship is IMG tagged and IDed, so while Flyheight is using it, it is under IMG contract. Other ships are operated as Flyheight LTD directs. The miner will become Flyheight LTD property once they can buy the rights to the ship and procure independent mining permits and contracts later on, and the ship will be re-IDed and tagged.
Take a look on the Vigilante ID. When you wrote "their own justice", that just emerged in my mind. If you have your own justice, it often crashes with the view of the local law - they don't like civilians to take the law into their hands (or shouldn't, at least). The ID has some severe restrictions, it could clash too much with your other goals. I'm not sure about escorting traders, for example. I'll find the ID text...
Here it is...
Quote:Vigilante ID
Pilot carrying this ID is a Vigilante, who :
*Can demand any non-house police or non-house military ships to drop any contraband
*Can hunt pirates and terrorists anywhere in Sirius except for the Omicron and Omega systems
*Can only use the Startracker, Starblazer, Griffin, Hawk, Falcon, Eagle or Roc Mk II
*Cannot use ANY unlawful equipment or weapons (including Nomad weapons)
*Cannot ally with anyone except other Vigilantes
*Cannot attack any lawful police or lawful military except in self defense
*Cannot demand credits
*Cannot trade or escort traders
*Cannot fulfill bounty contracts
*Can only land on Bounty Hunter, Zoner, IMG, Neutral, and Freelancer bases
Allowed ships: Fighters, Bombers
Carrying unmounted IDs in your ship, as well as not equipping an ID, is a serious crime. Vigilantes are often considered to be unlawful and may be engaged by the lawful house police and house military. Players using the Vigilante ID MUST have a lawful tag and their equipment and area of operation must also reflect their tag.
Really a lot of restrictions, I am afraid. Including the escorting.