Chapter 8.8 Trials, Punishment, Escape
Sentencing
Quick Sentence
Players don't have to go through lengthy trials to imprison a criminal player. First step is to bring the criminal player to a jail/prison cell, either willingly, or made unconscious through bounty hunting/PVP and brought in by players or NPC. Each jail/prison is built with a justice statue in the room. Release a bottled riftmist (crime trail), while the accused player is in the cell and then...
If player is innocent:
The riftmist will radiate out of the bottle, and will collect itself at the justice statue for re-collection into the bottle for a time
If the player is guilty:
The riftmist will radiate out of the bottle, to the player, and turn into ethereal chains around their neck, arms and legs
An ethereal chain will be connected to the justice statue
An ethereal lock will appear at the jail door
Players can release more riftmist to increase the sentence
Incorrect riftmist will head to the justice statue and dissipate, and is not lost, it cannot be re-bottled
This ensures that:
Only players who are guilty of a crime are imprisoned
Players are imprisoned by length based on which crimes that been successfully linked to them
Is a quick way to imprison a player without a lengthy trial
Trials
Alternatively, settlements who want to roleplay a grander experience, or perhaps do trials for only high profile players, another option is to go through a trial. Trials are available through an outpost control.
Trials are a type of settlement event. Just like festivals, they need to be activated by an allowed player, and the actions by the participants will determine its completion. Trials determine a player's sentencing. Trials can be set with initial time limits, with allowed players able to extend it either by voting or by bypassing a vote depending on how roles are set.
During a trial:
Items that are evidences (linked to a crime via riftmist) can be presented as evidence
Correctly identifying evidence weights onto the crime stronger based on the settlement's applied culture skills
Items incorrectly used as evidence will lessen the crime length
Evidence used in a trial, will shatter at the end of the trial, and can no longer be reused
Trials gain culture points for your settlement
Bails can be set (amount paid in tinder value for quicker release)
Allows execution if severity matches, or if brutality culture skills/laws are set
Chains will appear on the player as soon as the trial has ended, if any crime was applied to the sentence successfully
Forced Movement as a Prisoner
Once a player has chains on them, they are able to be lead to areas against their control by allowed players. Players can bring criminals to battle arenas to fight NPC, players, or monsters, or be set up a workstations, to work off the crime. Creating crafts in a jail, will place it immediately in linked storages for players or NPC to use or distribute in the settlements. The chains on a player will disappear over time regardless. Bail is the tinder value system used to count towards a player's freedom. Their movement controls over a criminal extend outside of claims/outposts once imprisoned, including logged off.
Logging Off as a Prisoner
Logging off as a convicted criminal will result in your firefly having a runic sphere around it, and chained, in your logged off state. Players that are allowed to move you can move you while logged off as well. You can log back on at any time like normal, and the chains will remain on your regular body. Your crime timer will continue while you are logged off, so you aren't forced to play out your punishment. Criminals can only remove runic braces on a convicted criminal while they are online.
Battle Arenas - Outpost Control
Players will need to have area controls large enough for the chosen monster or other creature to fight in the arena. Players can create creature collecting quests to have these enclosures filled by captured monsters. Optionally, players or NPC can join the fight against a player or NPC criminal. Set at an outpost control the rules for the fallen (can they be killed, can only criminals be killed, or fallen only.) An NPC queue needs to be built attached to the arena for fighting based NPC to queue up. Your sentence will be lessened based on the spirit worth of the monster, creature, player (combat value), or NPC you defeat, but if there is more than one criminal in the area, the bail value is split evenly between them. Getting defeated in the area, will weaken a player from being able to perform crafts and mobility for escape.
Logging Off in Punishment Locations
Logging off in punishment locations will return you to the last jail cell you were in automatically. During a player's log off session, the timer still counts towards bail.
Or No Punishment
Some settlements may opt to not have players do anything at all. In these instances, the timer for prison time will slowly lessen faster. (It is not engaging to be stuck in prison only.)
SOS Quests
SOS Quests are disabled for your logged off state, except for criminals that contain the skill to. This is due to the runic chains on your logged off state.
Paying Bail
Some settlements will allow you to pay bail in full, or partial depending on the settings, and the trial sentence. Or they will disallow it. You can pay this in local currency or tinder value. You will lose all protections and ownership as a criminal, allowing players to dismantle your properties to be turned in as bail, or just removed from the claim/outpost.
Escaping
Escaping a Prison Cell
Criminals who are not imprisoned can help a criminal escape jail. Criminals can pick jail locks and jail chains separately. This will leave riftmist (crime trail). As usual, witnesses, property owners, and allowed players such as lawmen, can attack a player who has attempted to commit a crime. Attackers will be immune to the criminal's attacks back. Lawmen can immediately jail a criminal, with the riftmist drawing itself into the jail cell automatically if there is space. Players who successfully escape a jail, still have the ethereal chains still on them, for all to see until they pay off their debts.
Escaping the Settlement
When players escape the settlement they were sentenced in, players from the settlement you were sentenced in, can treat you as a bounty while your chains are active. Except now, the chains will not allow you to attack them back. This allows specific outpost players to attack you, and collect you from other areas even if protections are in place. Lawmen can create wanted posters again for escapees from the lawmen jail/prison service counter.
Falsemana Chain Pull
Some prisons powered by falsemana can toggle their usage on pull strength to draw a logged off player back slowly to their jail. This is a straight location pull, and can cause some dangerous log back in situations for the criminal.
Escape via Destruction
Monsters can destroy buildings and resources. Protect and repair your jails to avoid criminal players breaking free.
Multiple Convictions and Jail Transfers
Players who have convictions in multiple settlements, will either need to complete their punishment in each settlement, or a settlement can draft a sentence letter to give to another jail, to allow them to complete their sentence there. Conviction letters allow lawmen to transfer sentences to another prison. Moving convicts also allows for opportunity for escapes if they are not careful.
Festival Punishments
Banishment and Executions
Trials unlock the ability to banish or execute players if the final linked crime total is high enough, or if brutality culture is in effect. Banishments are events similar to trials and festivals that can be set up.
Banishments
Will turn a player into a firefly and kick them out of an outpost
Will glow red slightly in the settlement they were banished in, and any member of the affected claim/outpost can attack the criminal with protections
Killing the criminal is based on settlement settings, players can either finish them off, or be forced to leave as fallen for recapture again, lawmen can take them in again, no trial is needed, the red glow is proof enough for any further punishment
Final execution will kill that player and leave a corpse.
Execution
Outposts may have different execution methods unlocked, some quick, some slow, but can share their execution control constructions via blueprints to give outposts more options
Executions kills a player and starts their history legacy arc
Prison with or without Equipment
Lawmen stations, just like any guild setup, can apply uniforms. Lawmen stations will have a special set of uniforms for convicted criminals. However, it is up to the local setup on if they are applied or not. Since criminals can't attack in areas where they are not allowed to, when forced into a uniform, your equipment will return into a spitbox (not all loadouts are affected). You can revert back to your original outfit, items and all, in an instant from any spitbox. Lawmen may bring you to a spitbox to allow you don your equipment in a battle area setting, or perhaps, they won't enforce uniforms at all, to showcase their catch.
Criminal Death
Criminal players that die will leave behind relics, just like a any regular player, except they will also leave behind their ethereal chains as separate relic items. The chains will maintain their criminal legend, as well as any jail/prison uniform worn. Particularly during an execution, the executioner and other lawmen can pick up the chains and items left behind, before the festival fades to an end. However, if they decide to leave it, it is first come first serve for loot collection.
Criminal Relics
Characters being readied for a final execution may be offered the ability to reach a spitbox so that their items can become relics. It would be up to the player if that's the kind of farewell they want. Even if players choose not to, crime imps will pull them back into the world as loot eventually, this is also to help aid if players were not given the option. If crime imps are not available in the entire world, the loot will follow starbound traits, and will fall from the sky at random areas of the map.