Punishment Generator
The basic premise of Arisen Dark: Fort Weyr is that there are implicit and explicit rules that basically regulate how order is kept in the weyr. And unfair rules at that, heavily biased to favour the rankers. The Arolos BoD has graciously allowed us to link to the punishment generator they created, and to use the related information for this generator. This is a system that will allow players to work out what your characters can do without worrying that the might of the BoD will come down upon you. So please feel free to use it!
Please read the following explanation of how this will work, but if you have already done that jump to the Punishment Generator (and remember - there must be at least 1 circumstance selected for the rank of victim and transgressor!)
Please read the following explanation of how this will work, but if you have already done that jump to the Punishment Generator (and remember - there must be at least 1 circumstance selected for the rank of victim and transgressor!)
Overview
In Fort when considering the crimes there are a variety of factors to consider. Who the victim is and their authority level, who the transgressor is and their authority level, what they did and any other circumstances. Fort is not fair, that is the whole point of the place, so the system that has been devised include the ranking bias. The Punishment Generator will do all the hard work for you, but you need to be aware of a few things and the concepts behind it before you get to play with it.
It works on something which we have called the Punishment Authority Level - which appears as a number. We have assigned a number to each character type and to each type of crime, and to each type of punishment.
So a bronzerider has a Punishment Authority Level of 9. This would mean that he has the Authority to deal, without talking to anyone else, crimes up Level 9 and punishments up to that level (More about those later!). Anything beyond that he must take to someone who has a higher authority rank (such as a Wingleader or a Weyrleader). Exceeding your characters authority is a serious crime in itself, so don't get too carried away!
In a Crafter to Dragonrider situation, although the authority levels might allow one to punish the other it is deemed politically correct to go to someone in the Craft or the riders Wing hierarchy to demand a punishment.
So, we mentioned bronzeriders...Well on the other end of the scale a drudge has a Punishment Authority Level of 1, so they basically have no authority at all! It really sucks to be a drudge in Fort Weyr. Seriously.
Seems straightforward enough doesn't it? However in the unfair world of Arisen Dark the privileged have to be able to get away with...well, murder. This is where theCircumstances come in.
The Circumstances selection gives a 'weighting' to the Punishment Level calculation based on random things such as Rank.
There will ALWAYS be at least one circumstance to do with Rank!
So for example if a Ranker commits a crime against a drudge, their Rank weighting will drop the punishment level by three points. And then they can start calling in other circumstances, so even a pretty serious crime, if proven, will end up with a lenient punishment. Conversely if a Drudge commits a crime against a ranker there is an automatic +3 to the punishment levels meaning even a minor crime can have quite severe consequences.
One note here: Unofficial punishments are also included. What we mean by this is arranging to exact a punishment by arranging for the person to be beaten up and not making the punishment official. In these circumstances you do not have to factor in anything except rank. In an Official punishment, other things might be brought into it such as witnesses, etc.
Never fear, the generator will work it out for you - we've tried to make it easy to use at least!
But you do need to be aware of what is there as options and how they compare with other ranks in Punishment Authority Levels and the sort of things are regarded as crimes, and what punishments there are and what circumstances can be used. For this reason we have a static lists you can browse over for each one:
Characters' Punishment Authority Levels: Who can do what!
Transgressions (Crimes and Punishment Levels): The Misdemeanor or crime that has been committed and how 'bad' it is.
Circumstances (Weightings): For example - rank weighting, special favours like turning in people of the Resistance, getting witnesses to speak for them. Things that will make a verdict worse or better. You should always select at least 1 circumstance to account for Rank differences.
Punishments and their Levels: What can be dished out at what level, officially and unofficially.
Punishment Generator: Once you have an idea, go to the Punishment Generator and put in the details. If you prefer you can try calculating it by hand, but it gets a bit complicated.
Once you have put in all the details and pressed calculate you will get a nice colour coded response.
It tells you at the top of the list that Blue is lower than the punishment level, Green is equal to it and Red is beyond it.
This means if it is in blue, you could select anything within that range to inflict as a punishment (you do NOT have to punish harshly if your character does not want to. On the other hand if they are a nasty piece of work, then they might pitch for the top punishment). Green is the top level punishment you could pass on, and Red means that your character cannot use those punishments for that crime.
And once you have decided all this, your character CAN have that punishment inflicted on another character without referring to the BoD. We're giving you all a lot of freedom with this, possibly unprecedented in most Weyrs so please, be responsible with it. And let us know of any problems or issues with it!
For fun, here are a few examples worked through manually so you can see what happens, or can happen.
Example 1 and its reverse:
A'nother is a bronzerider of no additional rank. A drudge MariSue accidentally spills wine over him. This would be incompetence which has a rating level of 3 as a standard. Looking at the Circumstantial factors you get... oops, Drudge commits crime against a Ranker? That ups the punishment level by 3.
This means that the bronzerider could select a punishment up to a level six, which he has the rating to do, as he has a Punishment authority of a 9.
And to see how it works in reverse. A'nother rapes MariSue. If she has the audacity to report him (gasp!) the standard punishment level for rape is 14. However, we look at the mitigating circumstances. As a ranker committing the crime against a Drudge we get to -3 punishment levels. That takes us to 11. Also as a dragonrider, he can used the Flight-Lust/my dragon was proddy defense. That's a - 6. Already we are down to a level 5! And if the rider can bribe, or get a witness to speak to him and is of good reputation, he might get away with it scot free, and heaven help the poor MariSue!
Example 2:
Also, the ever so tolerant A'lias- a blurider- discovers an Apprentice Harper stealing from him. He has the authority to punish, to assign a judgement, BUT because the Apprentice is a Harper then he has to chose his path. If he goes to a Master Harper, then he is far enough down in status that the Master Harper might override him. But if he goes to a journeyman in the same craft who he ranks, then he could get a definite punishment up to a level five. Therein would lie the choice and the game play!
Example 3:
Lastly, A'nother, that touchy bronze rider, decides to use Fallguy, a male candidate, to administer an unofficial punishment to a female candidate. Fallguy doesn't have the authority to perform the punishment but A'nother does so Fallguy can go ahead. What happens if Fallguy gets caught? Well for a start, the bronzer could take over his punishment responsibility and let him off with a verbal warning. Or the bronzer could speak up for him, dropping his punishment level down to very little, and if he does get punished then the odds are that the bronzer will be willing to speak up on his behalf in the future. He may gain that valuable favour for future issues. And the bronzers hands are clean.
It works on something which we have called the Punishment Authority Level - which appears as a number. We have assigned a number to each character type and to each type of crime, and to each type of punishment.
So a bronzerider has a Punishment Authority Level of 9. This would mean that he has the Authority to deal, without talking to anyone else, crimes up Level 9 and punishments up to that level (More about those later!). Anything beyond that he must take to someone who has a higher authority rank (such as a Wingleader or a Weyrleader). Exceeding your characters authority is a serious crime in itself, so don't get too carried away!
In a Crafter to Dragonrider situation, although the authority levels might allow one to punish the other it is deemed politically correct to go to someone in the Craft or the riders Wing hierarchy to demand a punishment.
So, we mentioned bronzeriders...Well on the other end of the scale a drudge has a Punishment Authority Level of 1, so they basically have no authority at all! It really sucks to be a drudge in Fort Weyr. Seriously.
Seems straightforward enough doesn't it? However in the unfair world of Arisen Dark the privileged have to be able to get away with...well, murder. This is where theCircumstances come in.
The Circumstances selection gives a 'weighting' to the Punishment Level calculation based on random things such as Rank.
There will ALWAYS be at least one circumstance to do with Rank!
So for example if a Ranker commits a crime against a drudge, their Rank weighting will drop the punishment level by three points. And then they can start calling in other circumstances, so even a pretty serious crime, if proven, will end up with a lenient punishment. Conversely if a Drudge commits a crime against a ranker there is an automatic +3 to the punishment levels meaning even a minor crime can have quite severe consequences.
One note here: Unofficial punishments are also included. What we mean by this is arranging to exact a punishment by arranging for the person to be beaten up and not making the punishment official. In these circumstances you do not have to factor in anything except rank. In an Official punishment, other things might be brought into it such as witnesses, etc.
Never fear, the generator will work it out for you - we've tried to make it easy to use at least!
But you do need to be aware of what is there as options and how they compare with other ranks in Punishment Authority Levels and the sort of things are regarded as crimes, and what punishments there are and what circumstances can be used. For this reason we have a static lists you can browse over for each one:
Characters' Punishment Authority Levels: Who can do what!
Transgressions (Crimes and Punishment Levels): The Misdemeanor or crime that has been committed and how 'bad' it is.
Circumstances (Weightings): For example - rank weighting, special favours like turning in people of the Resistance, getting witnesses to speak for them. Things that will make a verdict worse or better. You should always select at least 1 circumstance to account for Rank differences.
Punishments and their Levels: What can be dished out at what level, officially and unofficially.
Punishment Generator: Once you have an idea, go to the Punishment Generator and put in the details. If you prefer you can try calculating it by hand, but it gets a bit complicated.
Once you have put in all the details and pressed calculate you will get a nice colour coded response.
It tells you at the top of the list that Blue is lower than the punishment level, Green is equal to it and Red is beyond it.
This means if it is in blue, you could select anything within that range to inflict as a punishment (you do NOT have to punish harshly if your character does not want to. On the other hand if they are a nasty piece of work, then they might pitch for the top punishment). Green is the top level punishment you could pass on, and Red means that your character cannot use those punishments for that crime.
And once you have decided all this, your character CAN have that punishment inflicted on another character without referring to the BoD. We're giving you all a lot of freedom with this, possibly unprecedented in most Weyrs so please, be responsible with it. And let us know of any problems or issues with it!
For fun, here are a few examples worked through manually so you can see what happens, or can happen.
Example 1 and its reverse:
A'nother is a bronzerider of no additional rank. A drudge MariSue accidentally spills wine over him. This would be incompetence which has a rating level of 3 as a standard. Looking at the Circumstantial factors you get... oops, Drudge commits crime against a Ranker? That ups the punishment level by 3.
This means that the bronzerider could select a punishment up to a level six, which he has the rating to do, as he has a Punishment authority of a 9.
And to see how it works in reverse. A'nother rapes MariSue. If she has the audacity to report him (gasp!) the standard punishment level for rape is 14. However, we look at the mitigating circumstances. As a ranker committing the crime against a Drudge we get to -3 punishment levels. That takes us to 11. Also as a dragonrider, he can used the Flight-Lust/my dragon was proddy defense. That's a - 6. Already we are down to a level 5! And if the rider can bribe, or get a witness to speak to him and is of good reputation, he might get away with it scot free, and heaven help the poor MariSue!
Example 2:
Also, the ever so tolerant A'lias- a blurider- discovers an Apprentice Harper stealing from him. He has the authority to punish, to assign a judgement, BUT because the Apprentice is a Harper then he has to chose his path. If he goes to a Master Harper, then he is far enough down in status that the Master Harper might override him. But if he goes to a journeyman in the same craft who he ranks, then he could get a definite punishment up to a level five. Therein would lie the choice and the game play!
Example 3:
Lastly, A'nother, that touchy bronze rider, decides to use Fallguy, a male candidate, to administer an unofficial punishment to a female candidate. Fallguy doesn't have the authority to perform the punishment but A'nother does so Fallguy can go ahead. What happens if Fallguy gets caught? Well for a start, the bronzer could take over his punishment responsibility and let him off with a verbal warning. Or the bronzer could speak up for him, dropping his punishment level down to very little, and if he does get punished then the odds are that the bronzer will be willing to speak up on his behalf in the future. He may gain that valuable favour for future issues. And the bronzers hands are clean.