Blind PCs while in the stocks.

[Egon the Monkey]

A problem I find with the Stocks system is although it is designed to be an IC humiliation for the captured character, everyone tends to ignore it because they know that if their PC "fruits" a crook, the crook's likely to take enough offence to gank them at the nearest opportunity. This means there's never a mob of PCs participating, and only NPCs, crazies or total badasses throw fruit. This does rather miss the point of the stocks, which is that the victim faces a crowd who are all jeering or hurling missiles, not a single person they can get revenge on.

Therefore, I think it would be good if the DM posessing the Stygian Stock Guard "blindfolded" the PC who was in the stocks, applying the Blind effect for the duration of his sentence.

[Listen in Silence]

[Cheers wildly, then runs along in search of rotten vegetables.]

[derfo]

RUHARHAURHGUHG I CAN'T SEE WHERE'S THE MAN FRUITIN ME FD HIM ON THE SPOT

TBH more things that happen to seperate 'badass' from 'scared to throw fruit or something' sounds more desirable than otherwise

[Letsplayforfun]

I think it's fine that way. If you're going to humiliate people in stocks, it's better if it can bring some story out of it.

Harassing people without risk is "logical" in RL, but it's pointless in RpG. It's like spitting on a poster in the forum: no point to it.

Besides, if this went through, next we'd have people asking for a spot check when they get thrown fruits at.

[Mort]

Never seen this happen. Never heard of a story like that either!

I think, if you get FD'ed, for throwing fruits at someone... You should get a DM.

Nevertheless, the following line of events is acceptable:

You throw fruits at someone.
He threatens you.
You dont take him seriously.
He subdues you.
You still dont take him seriously.
He can FD you.

The subdual and FD part dont have to be separate events, even. The bolded parts are important.

[core]

If people are scared of getting beaten up, don't throw the fruit!

[Egon the Monkey]

Hmm. I wansn't quite clear on that. I was implying by "gank" more "rob a PC a bit or shitkick them" than "FD their ass, fruiting is the ultimate insult, beyond even teabagging your dead cat". I've had direct threats aimed at my PCs for fruitings, on account of being the only guy in a crowd of 10 to bother engaging with the stocks. Never actually been attacked by a character, but the potential was enough for my less tough PCs not to bother taking part. It's easy to threaten one lowish level PC, it's hard to threaten effectively a crowd of 10, some of whom might decide the response is to get their self-defence in first.

The thing is that *because* the sort of PC who gets stocked is often the Criminal Badass du jour, you don't want them looking to get even, so fruiting rarely occurs. Now if the PC was blind, sure *they* wouldn't be able to take immediate response, but maybe they've got mates hanging about to spot prominent fruiters?

Currently there's no difference in the likely consequenses between fruiting someone in the stocks or winding them up outside of it. If you want to deliberately start a rivalry with a PC along the sort of potential progression as Mort describes, you can troll them ICly any time. The stocks historically is meant to serve as a "free shot" at someone, with the RP factor for EFU being the crowd against a currently helpless victim. It would be much more interesting if there was inevitably a crowd, not just the Lone Loony, and in one case I saw (Isildore Olmos) it was only a DM spawned NPC who did anything. Compare it to the large crowds I've seen at Underdark stonings, where the victim isn't going to be doing anything other than decomposing when he gets out.

[Porkolt]

I've seen a PC being threatened from the stocks and then peeing on them from above.

Theres no problem here as far as I can tell.

[Portal Rat]

I have never seen this problem, but I still like the idea of blindfolding them.

[Letsplayforfun]

I've seen a PC being threatened from the stocks and then peeing on them from above.
QUOTE]

LOL, yes, then my dwarf got subdued and that bastard cut off my beard. That's the point of harrassing people: if nothing happens after, it would be boring.