A more fair risk/reward ratio for Drunken Tradesmen.

[DollarPhil]

Considering how often these are mugged, and the fact that such activity doesn't appear to have any in-game consequences, I think these need a reduced reward, or some mechanism to make them more risky to attack.
For example:

• DMs posting bounties with increasingly accurate descriptions of persistent attackers.
• Occasionally resurrecting and possessing one to report to the Stygians on his attackers or make a sending offering a reward for payback.
• One in 10 randomly will shapeshift into a powerful Wererat or undercover Specialist when attacked, or be bait for a Bandit gang that appears from nowhere ;).

I know someone's bound to say "sort it IC", and yes I suppose someone could make a stealth Stygian, vigilante or Militiaman and stand next to them with a greataxe, but that's a lot of waiting about for some action, and the NPCs can't provide descriptions of attackers. I was recently in a pirate faction where we used to make a ton of money by hitting any of these we saw, to the point where it got ridiculous as they were far more profitable and less dangerous than mugging other PCs for reasonable amounts. I think the concept is brilliant, and it really helps to blur the line between "Red=Kill It" and "Blue=Plot Shield" as well as add more atmosphere to the ruins, but it seems a lot of players quite logically treat them as random freebies rather than something with RP and consequences attached.

[Echigo]

I love this. I've only robbed the Tradesmen once... But I'd love to have some consequences for my actions that may be loads of fun to deal with. ;D

[Ordeal]

I really like idea 1 and 3 especially, although 2 might be a little much. The idea that the "Drunken Tradesman" might be, say, a Drunken Master who whips out 4 unarmed attacks a round, or that he's got a bunch of buddies waiting in the wings. Or that bandit PCs gain notoriety from this sort of thing.

As an addition to this, must it always be assumed that you knock out the Drunken Tradesman? I think these would also be a very interesting target for murderers, Cyricists, and serial killers.

[ExileStrife]

Possibly!  But I think you might be underestimating the risks.  All it takes is one PC Stygian to stealth near one of these guys and just wait for an unsuspecting player to come up and start a beat down.  You get caught, and it's curtains for you!

DMs needed of course.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

I once attacked a person mugging one of these on my Son of sabuth. Good fun!

That said, the undercover stygian option? Amazing.

[Paha]

Indeed. You may often get away with it, but one time caught on it may be all it needs to end your career.

The risk is there, and some vigilante can easily put an ambush near drunken tradesman, and watch over him. It makes very much sense.

[OldPortOutcast]

I've seen DMs possess these and put out city wide bounties on people who mugged them.

The risk is there.

[Yalta]

Undercover Stygian... nice.

[Oskar Maxon]

Possibly!  But I think you might be underestimating the risks.  All it takes is one PC Stygian to stealth near one of these guys and just wait for an unsuspecting player to come up and start a beat down.  You get caught, and it's curtains for you!

DMs needed of course.

Is a dm needed for a stygian to attack someone who attacks a drunken tradesman? That doesn't really make sense...

[ExileStrife]

It's a fickle thing, but I'm saying yes, a DM is needed (based on a condition) for now.

Drunken Tradesmen are special NPCs; they require you (as the 'Mugger') to send a DM message but not have to wait for a response to attack it.  Mugger is not initiating a hostile action on any PC, so that action is all fine (no standard PvP rule is being broken here).

But standard PvP rules do still apply.  And since a Stygian would want to attack or start an arrest, 'Stygian' would actually be the one initiating the hostile action against a PC here.  That requires a DM response.  If you don't get a response, the Stygian could easily 'take note of the attacker' and arrest Mugger later (a perfectly legit IC reason too).  Maybe Stygian decides he just needed backup or something else.

Now the CONDITION is based on whether that Drunken Tradesman NPC is in a populated area or not.  I don't honestly know all of the possible tradesmen areas, but I do seem to recall some being in populated areas.  Remember the PvP guidelines; if it's populated you need a response from a DM to initiate a hostile action, but if it isn't, you only have to send a message and you do not need to wait for a response.

Hopefully the tradesmen only exists in areas where it that is clear.

[Buns in the Oven]

there are  always invisible wizards to phk you

[Howlando]

Drunken Tradesman only spawn in non-populated areas, so Stygian PCs can always arrest people who attack them.

[Jayde Moon]

So spaketh Howlando!

[Echigo]

undercover brother

[DollarPhil]

Yeah, if you look at the NPC descriptions  for the Tower of Mercy quest giver etc, they don't count. They have an OOC note saying "Feel free to pull PHK drivebys in front of this guy, he's apathetic"