Legal system?

Started by Drakon22, August 21, 2015, 07:36:39 PM

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Boston

This is why "specialization" is for chumps. A "specialized" colony is a dead colony, regardless if your doctor is imprisoned or merely gets injured/starves to death. There is a saying: "don't put all your eggs in one basket"? I never do. I run mods that let me cross-train skills, so that way if my "main" doctor/mechanic gets injured/killed, someone could take over.

....

What is the said "expert" gonna do? Where are they gonna go? They can't exactly leave, no other group is gonna take them.

-Tribals/Outlanders: Hey, this guy from your settlement wanted to join us. He was rather shifty when we asked for a reason. Any ideas as to why?
-Colony: Yeah, he murdered one of our guys, and got all pissy when we called him out on it.
-Tribals/Outlanders: Seems legit. Thanks for the heads up

-or-

-Pirates: hey, you at the gate! Are you blind, or just stupid?
-Outlaw: I want to join you guys! My old group got all pissy when I offed a guy....
-Pirates: Yeah, and? You think we take just anybody? Thanks for offering yourself on a silver platter, by the way. Doctors fetch a hefty price on the slave markets....

Point being: the other groups on-world have no real reason to accept your outlaw, even without an explanation as to why they left. Remember: groups of people often mistrust, if not outright hate strangers to the group. That is, of course, assuming they ran away from your colony at all. Rimworld is a deathworld. Anybody alone in the wilderness is liable to be killed by hostile wildlife, regardless of equipment. There is a reason, after all, why humanity bands together, even back in the Paleolithic.

So, let us assume the intrepid outlaw makes the smart decision, and stays in your colony. What is he gonna do, refuse to work? That will last a long time....

-Murderer: You can't call me a murderer! I ...... refuse to work!
-LEO: Cool. You refuse to work, we refuse to feed you. You will stay in this cell until you agree to our conditions, and any deaths or injuries that result as an outcome of your incarceration will be held accountable to you. So ; stand up and admit to what you did, take some social heat, and get back to work, or stay in here, starve, and be held accountable for whatever happens next?
-Murderer: ......
-LEO: Alright, see you in a week.
-Murderer: You ..... can't do this!
-LEO: Yeah, actually, we can. Your apprentice, while she isn't as good as you, can keep people alive/keep the engines running until you make a choice.  You can either agree to our decision, take a nice long walk out into the (hostile, cold, animal-infested) hinterland, or stay in that cell. Life, death, or death?

Oh, and said "judgement" doesn't necessarily have to take place right away. After all the medical/machinery-related issues are dealt with, or dealt with to a safe extent, call all the colonists in:
LEO: hey everyone. Remember how Jerry got stabbed to death? Well, we figured out who did it. And, while this person is very important to the running of the colony, we still have rules. As such, they will be restricted to basic rations, locked in a cell at night, and receive a sentence of 10 lashes. Remember, everyone; murder is murder, regardless of passion, and the "usual" penalty for this crime is death. Think about that the next time you get angry.

Oh, and humanity has totally had laws and such, even if they weren't written down. In Paleolithic Europe, murderers and thieves would be exiled from the tribe, which meant death. In viking-era Iceland, the Thing would have people specifically trained in literally memorizing the entirety of Nordic law (which was actually rather complex) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawspeaker]  Such "contracts" on acceptable behavior were just remembered through oaths and such, instead of written down. There has never been a point in human history where people have not been bound by limits on social behavior.  The " Code of Hammurabi" is significant not because it is the first code of law, but because it is the first code of law that was written down. Pretty significant distinction.

Toggle

Let's just not, and keep busy fighting those mechanoids and seigers that are trying to burn you down, k? This would indeed be a nightmare to code.

Also, if one of my pawns, say a shitty new one, killed my best colonist I'd had, I would punch whoever made that change.
Selling broken colonist souls for two thousand gold. Accepting cash or credit.

kingtyris

If crime was a mechanic, I think it would really work best as a random popup event:

"Jabear complains to the rest of the colonists that Redfield snuck into his room and stole a potato he was saving for his birthday. Redfield denies any wrongdoing. What should be done?"

Then you could have a few options:

Jail Redfield for 3(or however many) days. If he is innocent, he will carry a serious mood debuff for a long time. If guilty, he will carry the normal imprisonment debuff which will end upon release. There is also the chance that he will become violent and resist arrest.

Do nothing. Jabear will take a serious mood debuff if he wasn't lying about Redfield, and will permanently get a 'Had an unpleasant conversation' debuff whenever he converses with Redfield, the scoundrel.

Or something like that. I don't think a brand new balanced system is needed, when something like that can be handled via the storyteller.

Boston

^ That sounds like it would work

The13thRonin

#19
Quote from: Boston on August 24, 2015, 07:47:32 AM
^ That sounds like it would work

That sounds like it belongs in a choose your own adventure book.

Crime should be a dynamic thing. Occasionally colonists (perhaps motivated by a hidden 'delinquency' stat which varies from pawn to pawn) should get into fist-fights over arguments, attempt to steal from each other, refuse to work (slack off in their room or whatever), set fires (arson), riot (wreck stuff all over the joint), etc.

And when they kick off your guards should swiftly descend on them with less than lethal weapons (truncheons, beanbag shotguns, tasers or fists if nothing else is available), beat the ever-loving crap out of them and imprison them.

This would encourage you to set colonists to guard the colony... As opposed to whatever it is guards do currently... Mostly pick dandelions and roses out in the fields and haul pretty pink dresses around before hulking the crap out like Mel Gibson in The Patriot and machine-gunning down enemy raiders... Then wipe the blood off their faces and go right back to picking spuds... ???

Naturally crime would be more frequent the worse the colonists moods were. Another incentive to make them happy.

Toggle

Quote from: The13thRonin on August 24, 2015, 08:19:25 AM
Quote from: Boston on August 24, 2015, 07:47:32 AM
^ That sounds like it would work

That sounds like it belongs in a choose your own adventure book.

What you just said sounds like an adventure novel.
Selling broken colonist souls for two thousand gold. Accepting cash or credit.

Codexehow

#21
Good discussion :).