Question How would you feel if your character had a bounty placed on them?

[Lynch]

When I scroll through posts, I like to take a look and see which characters have the bounty toggle on and which ones do not. It may not seem like a big thing, but it is something that has always stuck out to me. I remember when I first joined Chaos with my character Okkeus Dainlei . When going through the character settings, I saw the small little dropdown menu for bounty toggle. I stared at this for a few minutes while I thought of the story I wanted to write. How would I feel if my character actually had a bounty on them and was hunted? Was that something I wanted to write?

Eventually I decided yes. This small decision made me activate my bounty toggle from there on out with every single one of my characters. The thrill of possibly being hunted was fun. The toggle is labeled with a small description, stating:

Select "yes" if you wish for Bounty Hunters to be able to invade your threads not labeled "private".
​

But this got me thinking, how many people who have the bounty toggle on actively want to be hunted? How many people are having their characters consider their IC actions? I know that a good portion of roleplay is based on OOC communication. I'm not saying that this is bad at all, but it does kind of take away from that excitement of possibly getting hunted. What if your Jedi was in a thread, simply walking around Coruscant, when all of a sudden, a group of bounty hunters were all there trying to collect?

Another question I want to ask, how many people would be willing to have a bounty placed upon them without any OOC communication? Oh, your character happened to kill a nameless NPC who was a pirate. No big deal, right? Turns out he was the son of a powerful crime lord, and now they want you captured. What seemed like simple character building has now turned into a character always looking over their shoulder.

I'm just curious to hear people's thoughts about bounty hunting on Chaos as a whole. How interest can be gained once more for this lightly written side of the board. There are over 130 active bounties between different characters and groups, yet so few are actually being acted upon. It would be so cool to see more people going out and trying to track down those targets, as well as posting bounties on those individuals who have the bounty toggle on.

 

[Thomas Barran]

from the perspective of The Heathen Saint of Rogues and Outlaws, all this criminality feels empty without Bounties on our heads.

it should be one of the site's biggest features tbf
like, obviously dependent on each and every faction's level of input, but something tells me there should be factions making equivalents of each other's bounty systems.

everyone has a price to bring someone to kneel before them, shackled to the spot in fetters or carbonite. some, even, (like me) likely have done so much that the "alive" part is no longer viable.

I've broken out of jail twice, and in the second riot I started, it became a prison uprising from which I've gained many criminal NPCs.

the site needs a greater prominence of the bounty system, it would spice things up to unprecedented magnitudes if we all started taking them a little more seriously

there's a way to quantify power for everyone in the rise and fall of bounties payout-numbers, comparing them with those of other wanted elements elsewhere in the Galaxy.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Don't mind either way, would be cool and would allow the hunt

 

[Balun Dashiell]

Would absolutely entertain the hunt. Another story to be told, another challenge to overcome!

Besides, for those who might be concerned about losing their characters lives, not all bounties have to end in death

 

[Ellie Mors]

I haven't bothered to change that toggle for newer subaccounts, since nobody has ever bothered to try to go after a bounty on any of my characters (or just jump in to antagonize any of my characters at all), but I honestly have always welcomed anything of that nature on any of my characters. Ironically the only time I've ever had anyone try to collect a bounty it was a case of mistaken identity for Amara Zambrano in a first reply thread, nothing in a normal public thread.

 

[Valery Noble]

Bounties are really cool!

You made one for Valery here, and I still love the way that turned out. But the system with the toggle and being able to jump into threads to hunt people isn't something I've really seen happen in the few years I've been on Chaos.

I did have folks who reached out to do bounty-related stories, which is also fun, but it's not as spontaneous as the toggle system if it were used the way it was designed.

 

[Vizion Trozky]

I have the bounty toggle on for a few characters (thanks to this thread reminding me that the option exists, lol), one is actually subject to an active bounty, but the others aren't, and I am open to bounties:

Placing a bounty: I don't need the placing of the bounty to be communicated in advance, but I'm not gonna say no if I am asked.

Being hunted: As much as I would appreciate being DMed beforehand... I slept on it, and y'know what? Ya don't have to say a word to me. In the spirit of the thing. For immersion's sake.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

My characters getting a price on their heads for their actions, and doing threads to pivot from that — oh no! I've been imprisoned for weeks! I'm finally ready to escape! — has brought me great joy in past years.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Also this is very, very much of a piece with the 'learning to lose, loss is the primary motivator of change' thing.

 

[Darth Kentarch]

I mean, does the bounty toggle count as consent, or count as anything at all? Even if the writer's okay with it, am I gonna hear from the faction admins that they don't want bounty invasions on their dom or populate threads?

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

I'd be surprised if they didn't.

 

[Fenn Stag]

Bounty toggle means bounty toggle, right? You’re not safe and you shouldn’t be if you wanna play into it

 

[Rannan Kol]

Go ham. If any of my characters have a Bounty placed on them I kind of expect that someone will try to collect. No ooc communication necessary.

 

[Kitter Bitters]

Do we have a central place to put bounties? Seems like if we had that it might be easier than factions or characters all posting their own.

 

[Prowler II]

I mean, does the bounty toggle count as consent, or count as anything at all? Even if the writer's okay with it, am I gonna hear from the faction admins that they don't want bounty invasions on their dom or populate threads?

I mean I have before. This is often the aspect that writers dont think about and miscommunication occurs. Im speaking personally. In the past the toggle represented consent, but that consent doesnt mean anything when the other writer changes their mind.

Edit add-on:
Part of the fun of bounties is being able to "invade" those public/faction threads and change the dynamic of roleplay for the collaborative story. When writers toggle the bounty tag, that is part of what can happen and if writers dont want that then they can turn it off as a signal to others. Or atleast thats how it was supposed to work back in the day.

 

[Vizion Trozky]

Edited, because... lightbulb moment? I'm already beyond okay with an invasion announcement being dropped with no prior collab. This is more or less the same idea, so why should it be any different?

I'm a bit of an idiot, ya?

am I gonna hear from the faction admins that they don't want bounty invasions on their dom or populate threads?

Further thought... if bounties can be pursued in any non-private thread, but the rules stipulate that factions (major or minor) have to gain another faction's permission before entering that faction's threads... Huh.

One lone bounty hunter does not a faction make. There's nothing which says that one lone bounty hunter can't enter a faction thread without perms, is there?

Might be some clarification or roadblock reduction is needed. Really, this should solely be between the hunter and the target.

 

[Azurine Varek]

My thought on it personally is that I welcome the idea of getting to fight off someone who's come after me, with the stipulation that I get to defend against it. Like It doesn't matter to me if they just randomly show up in one of my threads to fight me, what I'm not here for is getting no say in the matter of what happens after the arrival of the hunter, you know? I love the toggle, I would like mine to remain on! In the event I happen to get too many people who pop in with a single post or two to do damage or take then exit without so much as letting me get a word in, I'll probably sadly have to turn it off.

So, as long as the unannounced pop ins don't cause others in the same thread issues or derail an entire groups faction thing (basically, if the character you're hunting is in a group for a dominion or something, then you should really make sure the rest of the group don't have an issue with it as well because they may be working with people who don't have the toggle on and such), and people get to defend against it however they see fit, then I say happy hunting and have fun! <3

 

[Nameless]

My opinion on this has flip flopped. I used to default on, just to encourage interaction. But I've learned that even with the toggle on I'd like to I'd like the ability to say "not right now" without having to retcon or ignore someone's post to continue a beat in a public thread.

I am skeptical of treating the bounty toggle as an all or nothing switch replacing the general agreement of OOC consent etiquette before intiating PvP.

The idea of managing to get a public thread going/joining one and actually getting responses only to have it derailed by bounty hunters no longer sounds appealing to me, no longer the target audience for the feature.

Anyway, that's just my answer to the title of the thread, It has been a reminder for me to re-evaluate and switch off the bounty toggle.

 

[Lynch]

Thank you all for the responses so far! I will do my best through work through them all and reply to your questions/comments.

the site needs a greater prominence of the bounty system, it would spice things up to unprecedented magnitudes if we all started taking them a little more seriously.

Thomas Barran We had a great conversation last night on Discord about the bounty system and what changes could be made. The ideas of bounty coins, flair for hunters, and other awards/recognition might boost interest quite a bit. I also like how you brought up how your character can escape from a prison a few weeks later, or you can write them as having served their sentence. Capture, in the end, is not a big deal. Someone can write how they want to serve their sentence however they would like.

Bounties are really cool!

You made one for Valery here, and I still love the way that turned out.

Valery Noble Thank you! I plan on making more of these bounty notices in the future to help encourage more hunting across threads.

Also this is very, very much of a piece with the 'learning to lose, loss is the primary motivator of change' thing.

Jerec Asyr That "learning to lose" is something that I have been trying to focus on in my writing lately. It makes for very organic storytelling. Also I appreciate you posting that bounty on all Jedi! That should make for some really fun threads.

I mean, does the bounty toggle count as consent, or count as anything at all? Even if the writer's okay with it, am I gonna hear from the faction admins that they don't want bounty invasions on their dom or populate threads?

Darth Kentarch I've always seen the bounty toggle as counting as consent to be hunted. If you select it, the description of the dropdown menu says that hunters may your non-private threads. For the faction threads, that is where I feel that the "BYOO" area comes in really handy. Or, if a character is in these threads and has their tag listed as "Open" that is another route too. Unless it is disrupting a major, predetermined story, then I think hunters should be fine.

Again, while I love the threat of possible hunters invading threads to capture targets, there is nothing wrong with sending an OOC message to the person you are after.

Bounty toggle means bounty toggle, right? You’re not safe and you shouldn’t be if you wanna play into it

Fenn Stag This is what I believe as well. But I wanted to see the community's opinion on the matter, and hopefully they feel the same way.

Do we have a central place to put bounties? Seems like if we had that it might be easier than factions or characters all posting their own.

Kitter Bitters I am currently working on building this central place right now. A year ago, I posted the Bounty Board, but my progress on it fizzled out when I returned to college. Now I am working on Google Docs to try and update/streamline it to make it easier for all people who are hunters/being hunted.

Part of the fun of bounties is being able to "invade" those public/faction threads and change the dynamic of roleplay for the collaborative story. When writers toggle the bounty tag, that is part of what can happen and if writers dont want that then they can turn it off as a signal to others. Or atleast thats how it was supposed to work back in the day.

Prowler II The collaborative storytelling is one of the reasons I love bounty hunting so much. It shifts the thread in a new, unpredicted direction. One that might lead your character down an arc that you would have never planned.

Edited, because... lightbulb moment? I'm already beyond okay with an invasion announcement being dropped with no prior collab. This is more or less the same idea, so why should it be any different?



Further thought... if bounties can be pursued in any non-private thread, but the rules stipulate that factions (major or minor) have to gain another faction's permission before entering that faction's threads... Huh.

One lone bounty hunter does not a faction make. There's nothing which says that one lone bounty hunter can't enter a faction thread without perms, is there?

Might be some clarification or roadblock reduction is needed. Really, this should solely be between the hunter and the target.

Vizion Trozky You make some really good points here. If invasion announcements can be spontaneous, why can't bounty hunting be the same? Some could argue that a simple bounty is WAY less impactful than a whole invasion.

I do not think that factions should have to gain other factions' permission to enter their thread ONLY to hunt a target. As you are saying, a singular bounty hunter is not a full faction, even if they do represent the Bounty Hunters' Guild. I wanted to create this thread to hopefully clear up some of that confusion, along with gathering what the community thought in order to help bounty hunting grow.

My thought on it personally is that I welcome the idea of getting to fight off someone who's come after me, with the stipulation that I get to defend against it. Like It doesn't matter to me if they just randomly show up in one of my threads to fight me, what I'm not here for is getting no say in the matter of what happens after the arrival of the hunter, you know?

Azurine Varek I agree completely. The target should always have a chance to defend themselves from a hunter. A just because a bounty hunter targets you in one post doesn't mean that they have automatically captured you. I would LOVE to see a hunter that is tracking a character through multiple different threads to try and claim the prize. That sounds so cool to me.

My opinion on this has flip flopped. I used to default on, just to encourage interaction. But I've learned that even with the toggle on I'd like to I'd like the ability to say "not right now" without having to retcon or ignore someone's post to continue a beat in a public thread.

I am skeptical of treating the bounty toggle as an all or nothing switch replacing the general agreement of OOC consent etiquette before intiating PvP.

The idea of managing to get a public thread going/joining one and actually getting responses only to have it derailed by bounty hunters no longer sounds appealing to me, no longer the target audience for the feature.

Anyway, that's just my answer to the title of the thread, It has been a reminder for me to re-evaluate and switch off the bounty toggle.

Nameless That ability to say "not right now" is totally understandable. I would not want a writer to get into a bounty hunting thread if it is something they are not interested in right now. And it is alright to turn it off and on whenever you want those threads to take place.

I know that OOC communication will always be the best when it comes to roleplaying. Great writing stems from this.

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Allyson Locke Balun Dashiell Ellie Mors Vizion Trozky Rannan Kol

Consider yourselves marked as "Targets of Interest" by the Bounty Hunters' Guild...

 

[Allyson Locke]

Consider yourselves marked as "Targets of Interest" by the Bounty Hunters' Guild...

LOL perfect I knew my spy games would catch up to me one of these days.