|
Okay guys.
Seriously, what the hell happened?
Back in the day, Era used to have (Era Police). We had jailors. That was it. We could request bans. That too, but that's it.
We didn't get warp abilities, staff recognition, or any of the other pomp and frills the current GPs enjoy. We didn't get :hide or anything like that. We had to know how to ACT street. We had to blend in with the crowd, actually take the time to fashion a disguise, etc.
Anyways, I'm rambling on. GPs are unbalanced. There's no battle amongst the GPs anymore, they can just hide, warp, summon, and ban with reckless abandon. There's no work involved!
Here is my proposition:
Change GP to PI. No, not Panther International. Private Investigator. Yes, make GPs into a business. For a hefty fee, you can hire a Private Investigator to go out on a case, such as the Case of Maverick's Missing Piano. Prices would vary depending on the scope of the case, and would be charged at an hourly rate. This would discourage people from lying about losing items and such, because they'd be losing money. And if they can't afford to hire a PI to help them out, chances are they'd be better off quitting anyways.
The Private Investigator gets the following items: Access to logs, and a car that can follow other cars at safe distances to as not to arouse suspicion. If they're self-respecting, they would also be smoking a cigar/cigarette at all times. But that's making this sound like this is a joke, which I can certainly assure you:
It's not.
They'd have to use their wits, their senses. Collect data, analyze evidence, formulate conclusions. It'd be great. They'd also get paid, so they wouldn't have the temptation to spawn items with reckless abandon. They'd also bond with the players faster, because their livelihood DEPENDS on the player. They wouldn't be disconnected machines floating up on their lofty Staff section of the player list. They'd learn street terms, know prices, and learn which players are easily manipulated.
Anyways. The PI could of course choose to help the client or reject their case. They also could lie about anything in the case such as "I just can't your piano anywhere, I need my fee now..." or "No, your wife actually is just going to DD, stop being so paranoid." Any good PI knows that making money is more important than solving cases.
It'd make the system dynamic, and keep players guessing. Moderate RPing would be required for this to work, but I think we could ask that of the population.
It needs a bit of work, but right now GPs are unbalanced and there's no fun left in the game for rule-breakers and criminal scum (Which we're all supposed to technically be on Era.) when they can hide, warp, summon, spy, etc.
Feel free to leave feedback and add any additional ideas you might have, this idea still has a long way to go. Thanks! |