COMMUNITY - FORUMS - AGING & DYING
Bounties and getting "caught"

When you commit a crime I wonder what getting "caught " means. Like if I kill a man alone in the woods and a few days later he sees me in a city what happens? Can he report me to a guard nearby or attack me directly. Or will there already be a bounty out for me so I will get caught as soon as I try to get into the city.

And when I do get caught do I have a chance to escape or if a guard catches me will it be like a cut-scene where I am instantly imprisoned.

I'm interested to see how this plays out because I wont be doing a lot of killing but if I see a merchant alone in the woods with rare stuff on him.......... pretty sure the demon on my left shoulder has the louder voice then the angel on my right.

Griefing and killing constantly for sport are obviously kinda lame and that should definitely be incredibly risky, but if I only kill every once in a blue moon I wonder what the risk of getting caught is.

Found out about this game recently and it looks fantastic, and this was the first thing that came to mind so figured I could start a discussion about it.


12/20/2016 11:27:27 AM #1

There will be something of a witness system where players and/or NPCs can report a witnessed crime to authorities (physically going to an NPC or player guard) and certain individuals will gain the ability to hunt you for a bounty, I believe with a token system. It's unclear what exactly happens when you're caught as they've spoken against the ability for players to move others around.


12/20/2016 12:25:26 PM #2

Put simply, there is an entire skill tree dedicated to deviants, aptly named the deviant tree. If you have not trained in any of the skills in it I would imagine you would have a much tougher time getting away with murder and such than someone who has.


2 + 2

12/20/2016 12:26:49 PM #3

Except when you have a bounty on you. Then the person with a token can bind you and haul you off to jail for a trial and punishment. But normally yes, you can't move people.


12/20/2016 2:21:27 PM #4

If you kill a rando in the woods and there are no witnesses, it is going to be hard to catch the killer. Why? Because he is a random, so you haven't interacted with him, therefore seeing a name plate isn't going to happen. You would need to make it back to your body, report the crime then hope a person with good enough forensics goes out and finds the right clues to clue in on the deviant. There will be some background comparisons of the person with forensics vs the deviant skill line of the person committing the crime. We don't know yet exactly what skills will compete with good side of the lot.

My thoughts are, if the player catches you alone, and has a decent amount of deviant skills, it's going to be hard to catch him.

Want to make sure you don't have this happen to you? Don't go into the woods alone. I'll be waiting for you if you do.


Friend code: 172B2A

12/21/2016 6:44:41 AM #5

This system has a lot to do with contracts. Basicly there are written contracts and explicit contract that vary depending where you reside. If caught breaking a explicit contract (Basicly a law) you get a bounty token, Which depending on the laws either the Guards/Sheriff can enforce, Or civilians ETC. http://chroniclesofelyria.gamepedia.com/Crime https://chroniclesofelyria.com/game/contracts-quests


12/25/2016 6:30:33 PM #6

Imo random kill on sights should be a serious crime and have a very high risk. If not you risk collapsing other systems as people will start to KoS just to avoid risk of themselves getting killed. Personally as someone who wants to play a wanderer I'd rather see bandits be more incentivized to rob people rather than outright killing them every time. That's just my opinion.

That said I think a lawless area would also be interesting, a nest of the underworld so to speak.


12/25/2016 7:45:36 PM #7

Posted By Creenshaw at 10:30 AM - Sun Dec 25 2016

Imo random kill on sights should be a serious crime and have a very high risk. If not you risk collapsing other systems as people will start to KoS just to avoid risk of themselves getting killed. Personally as someone who wants to play a wanderer I'd rather see bandits be more incentivized to rob people rather than outright killing them every time. That's just my opinion.

That said I think a lawless area would also be interesting, a nest of the underworld so to speak.

I think you will find that with greater distance from "civilization" and high-walled cities you will be placed precisely in those KoS-or-be-KoS'ed situations. When you're that deep out, theres no one to help you.

My association is going to be in those deeper more remote parts of the world, and I have every intention and expectation that if I or we cross paths with someone we're not expecting, its shoot first, loot second, ask questions later.

I would be very surprised to see the full force of Kingdom law to come barreling into the wilderness that far out to execute justice though.

12/29/2016 4:55:03 PM #8

One problem bandits and others lurking in woods might run into is the fact a one-on-one match is going to be fairly risky to either side, especially if it is a random encounter. There is no guarantee the person you are attacking in the woods is going to be without skill at arms. Likewise, even a two-on-one random encounter in a remote area is going to be a red flag to many a lonely traveler who will probably either flee or act with extreme caution when confronted by strangers. This makes it more difficult to actually fight and disable someone.

I do like the idea of bandits having incentive to rob and not grievously wound their victims, perhaps some reduction in severity of penalty for getting caught. After all, even if a bandit forces a player character to spirit walk, that player is still going to have all the same information about the bandit(s) that they would have if they had just been robbed. The only exception to this might be if the bandits ended up permanently killing a victim, but even then there are things players can do outside the game to communicate with their allies what has happened.

I would also like to see addressed the issue of fighting outside of city limits. For example, if I am attacked on the road or about to be attacked, will I be flagged as the offender if I land the first hit? It is a certainty there will be those who goad others to fight, taking the first hit so the other person is flagged as the offender, and doing as they please (even having others from out of sight join the fray). Perhaps if the rendering unconscious was a much less grievous offense but the robbing of the purse was the more grievous offense with coup de grace being the greatest offense.


12/29/2016 5:09:38 PM #9

@Rhapthorn, I agree that "griefing" in general is pretty lame and there's clearly a difference between griefing and "victimizing". The way I see it based upon what I've absorbed thus far, there are secure measures in place to "discourage" griefing. Now, as to whether or not those measures will "prevent" griefing is another story.

In my opinion, if you're afraid of being mugged and/or murdered, don't leave your city walls during the day without protection/witnesses or confidence in your abilities/team. If you're not street smart or the warrior type, never leave your city walls past nightfall if ever.

On the other hand if you're an individual involved with the "underworld" such as myself, it would be best to commit your crimes discreetly and do your dirt by your lonesome. If you deem yourself the "Underlord" him/her self then establish your headquarters/kingdom and get to work, Either way, see you soon =D.


" OH NO RUN!!!!! DOM'S COMING!!!!!!" - Everyone

12/29/2016 6:23:16 PM #10

I think it's quite easy to not only disincentivize killing one's victims, but even encouraging peaceful negotiations about transfers of ownership by adding exponentially increasing item wear during combat, when being incapacitated and ultimately coup de grâce'ed. Add a multiplier for looters and there should be a high risk of only finding things broken, spoiled, stained and thus unusable and unsaleable, the more you've beaten up your unwilling trade partner.

Combine this with a general 'no harm no crime' rule under which parting with your goods without a fight would fall - you're missing the scars and bruises to prove any force used against you after all and the law would just assume the trade was done by mutual agreement - and robbers could get their hands on pristine items without actually breaking the law.

Pissing off the merchants would still lead to an aggressive reaction at some point, but I'd wager it would be more of an organized kind of event and just keeping a suitable toll instead of robbing everyone clean might be the better option for a sustainable underworld business. At the very least it should be easier to cover one's tracks afterwards. Just remember to wear masks and not address anyone by their names.


12/29/2016 6:30:55 PM #11

@Sagart Good ideas, although I disagree with the "durability multiplier" aspect of it. If I understand you correctly, if you are physically "assaulted/battered" and incapacitated/murdered there should be increased "wear and tear" on your items as a result? Would that be both parties or just the victims items?


" OH NO RUN!!!!! DOM'S COMING!!!!!!" - Everyone

12/29/2016 6:45:56 PM #12

Not sure I like the durability multiplier. Just have an appropriate multiplier for game time and skill loss when caught for a crime, and add in the ability for bounty hunters and the representative of the law to sieze assets of the offending party (if they can find them) and it should balance itself out so your response wouldn't default to shoot first because shooting first would potentially mean the loss of all of your gear and gold and a good chunk of skill and play time. If people go the alt route to avoid that loss just make supplying known criminals with goods a crime and sieze the assets of the supplier.


12/29/2016 6:57:27 PM #13

Posted By Kaynadin at 12:45 PM - Thu Dec 29 2016

Not sure I like the durability multiplier. Just have an appropriate multiplier for game time and skill loss when caught for a crime, and add in the ability for bounty hunters and the representative of the law to sieze assets of the offending party (if they can find them) and it should balance itself out so your response wouldn't default to shoot first because shooting first would potentially mean the loss of all of your gear and gold and a good chunk of skill and play time. If people go the alt route to avoid that loss just make supplying known criminals with goods a crime and sieze the assets of the supplier.

It won't be exactly how you want it but possible.. Taking other players stuff would be done with the mechanics for a KO blow (unless they chose to kill the criminal.) So you would be limited to what you could take off the person. That wouldn't stop a town/county to basically rob a player who is a known killer. They could of course take it further by breaking into the home and seizing all the goods. If the local authorities are supporting the Mayor/Count's orders, you would have no one to cry to and get a bounty token on them. This also could lead to corruption within the city. You get rich? The mayor and sheriff want your stuff? Now they set you up to fall for a crime and use your idea to rob you blind.. I'd pass on a city who invokes this type of penalty.


Friend code: 172B2A

1/12/2017 2:44:07 PM #14

I hope I'm totally wrong. But this sounds like one of those ideas that is great on paper, but requires many patches to get to a working state. By working I don't mean the code, I mean something that isn't the source of constant complaints from either PKs or everybody else.

It will be interesting to see what the idea is now, compared to what it is at launch, compared to what it is a year later.

Again. Hope I'm wrong. And this isn't intended as an insult to the devs, it's just part of a games life cycle. This is one of the hardest questions to tackle and it will be fun to see what these guys do with it.


The Adventurer's Guild of Vornair