improving the game via prison

[Kai]

Making high level positions have punitive sentences just increases the incentive to put puppets in those positions with the realm being run by a council of a normal knights. If I were to be imprisoned for more than 2 weeks I would just pause and make a new character.

[pcw27]

How about turning prison into "the prison game".

There could be a "listen to rumors" feature that lets you learn about who else has spent time in the prison, why and under what circumstances they were released. It could also carry the possibility of learning who was tortured after a torture session and by what means. Alternatively your time could be spent solely listening for rumors that will increase your chances of making an escape attempt or finding guards who will accept a bribe.

Unfortunately any hours you spend listening to rumors are also hours you could spend contacting your realm mates to organize a prison transfer. Thus there's a trade off between negotiating for your release, trying to escape, gathering information which will be useful on the outside, and gathering information which will be useful on the inside.

[Eduardo Almighty]

I've played with Judges most of my time in BM and I must say that the experience is no longer as enjoyable as it used to be when we had more players. Many realms - most of them - have a system of gold distribution... the fines are now purely to lead by example and has no real monetary impact. On the other hand, most of times a ban has a disproportional effect to the "crime" and even so, it's the the only option. My suggestion, and it was always something I had in mind for a long time, would be the option to arrest someone of my own realm. Two days is more than enough. And while you can improve the "prison game", that would be good. People will have more reasons to protest your decision and that will bring much more intra-realm disputes.

About the exile, you can allow a new kind of exile agreed among Judges. If two Judges agree, you can force a prisoner from realm A to join realm B (where he's imprisoned) and once he's released, he can have a chance to start a new life in his "prison", after all, you're a noble arrested in battle, not a poor criminal. It can be good for Dukes, Lords and Rulers, for example. The new realm will be his prison, but you can grow there... this way you don't punish someone excluding him from the game itself, because most of times, this is what happens when you're in prison.

For many old realms, gold is not a problem anymore. Nor it is for old families with a lot of gold to avoid a situation where you will stay in prison for 40 days... instead, you can allow Judges and Ambassadors to use the new treaty system to release a prison after some agreement is fulfilled.

But there is some problems with the idea. You must realize that old people will avoid battles even more... and maybe anyone in a power position will avoid it too. If there is a lack of battles and wars, this new system can be another reason for old/powerful people avoid battles and wars. I have two Dukes... if for some reason I get locked for 30 days with two chars... what do you think will happen!? People will just leave the game... and what the problem with old people? I know realms that without them, the entire realm will crumble and I doubt it will be good for the young people. You also must realize that we don't have realms with 100 people engaged in grow up like we had in the past. In some realms we don't have people even to be our Marshals.

[pcw27]

The thing that people keep forgetting is 30 days is the suggested maximum time in prison. Ideally you wont really be there for that long because the prisoner might escape or be ransomed.

Is it possible to turn down a ransom or does a ransom need to be set and need to be accepted if paid? If prison terms are longer the rule should be the later rather then the former if it isn't already.

[Jaden]

I am pretty sure ransoms are automatically set, and then the amount goes down after each day.

[Ketchum]

Ransom already been set and lower down each day. Prisoner can pledge ransom from their family gold or gold on their hands for early release. If we intend for prisoner to stay long in prison, we need something interesting to occupy their times spent there. I like pcw27 idea on how to occupy their times below.

How about turning prison into "the prison game".

There could be a "listen to rumors" feature that lets you learn about who else has spent time in the prison, why and under what circumstances they were released. It could also carry the possibility of learning who was tortured after a torture session and by what means. Alternatively your time could be spent solely listening for rumors that will increase your chances of making an escape attempt or finding guards who will accept a bribe.

Unfortunately any hours you spend listening to rumors are also hours you could spend contacting your realm mates to organize a prison transfer. Thus there's a trade off between negotiating for your release, trying to escape, gathering information which will be useful on the outside, and gathering information which will be useful on the inside.

[pcw27]

As long as our nobles are doing hard time lets think about some other things:

-Getting into fights while in prison.

-Starting prison riots, an option available to heroes or infiltrators. Breaking out via riot gives you a small unit of random soldiers from your realm with really high cohesion.

-Limited training options. Not as good as an academy but maybe you can find a tutor who's willing to show you a few things count of Monte Cristo style.

With stuff like this I'd almost want to get captured.

[Jaden]

woah, calm down there, it still needs to be a punishment of some sort 

Isnt getting into fights more of a rp thing? Or do you mean it would be a duel of some sort?

[Tom]

As long as our nobles are doing hard time lets think about some other things:

-Getting into fights while in prison.

-Starting prison riots,

Uh, you've got a totally wrong image of what prison meant for medieval nobles. Played too much Prison Architect lately?


Prison for a noble would mean one of two things. Either: A damp, dark cell where someone throws food through the door once a day. Or having to stay at the luxury home of your enemy with a promise that you won't attempt to run away.


It's a modern USA thing that you put half your population into essentially cities-behind-bars.

[pcw27]

Well we've pointed out many times that the game is inconsistent with respect to historical accuracy.

A breakout with soldiers isn't all that hard to conceive of. Suppose in the same dungeon complex they have common enemy soldiers who've been captured. They'd most likely be awaiting execution. The best they can hope for is a lifetime of forced labor. Now if you've bribed the guards well enough maybe they'll let you stretch your legs once in a while. Maybe you get to see where the soldiers are kept. Maybe you slip them a spoon you sharpened or a set of keys you've lifted off the guards.

But I'll admit those ideas were getting a little out there anyway. I was only half serious. The rumors options however I almost feel ready to put down as a feature request.

By the way while I'm a major critic of my country's prison industrial complex what you've said is false on many counts. The most obvious is that the prison population isn't anywhere close to half the total population. More importantly the thing that's so troubling about the prison industrial complex is how it increasingly resembles penal systems which were the norm centuries ago. It's not a new invention at all nor is it unique to the USA.