Raids, Crime, and Self Defense

I thought the Outcasts were just a bunch of twatty buttmunches till you guys brought me in. I do see how you guys communicate with one another and the faction leader to try and plan something out. So yeh, I get it now and don't hate you guys quite as much.

quite as much.

 

I know that a very large issue that people have with the faction is the seemingly endless pool of resources that the Outcasts seem to have. They're bandits, yet they can afford weapons and armor to equip all their men, and then throw them away like cannon fodder.
Secondly, people have issues with the lack of "real" characters the Outcasts have. Others can testify to this, as I haven't seen it myself, but I've been told numerous times that the outcasts rarely use their actual outcast character in conflict and instead insist that the new character is a legitimate character, and then consent and have the 'legitimate' character die. I know this is forbidden by the recent faction regulations, and like I said earlier, I don't know how true it is.
My last little beef is more of a hunch than anything. Skipi posted a thread saying that Cass (or some other skipi outcast) was going to move to opportunity, and directly after, there was a ramshackle structure on Opportunity which was already claimed by the RA. I don't know if that was the outcasts or not. There's a bit of evidence that points to it, but it definitely isn't enough to make a valid accusation off of. Someone within the Armada may or may not have contacted an outcast and have further information, but I'm not sure. If it was a faction, it was a breach of consent.

 

That's the problem though, no one can defeat the Outcasts because they have no finite number to eliminate.

 

I am not a fan of the outcasts. Even if they have a motivation, most characters have no real way to see that. All they see is a bunch of people running around with guns and blowing stuff up. If they're attempting to destabilize the power structures of local governments, it'd be really helpful for them to be more up front and public about that, so their actions will actually make some sense IC. But even then it's not a very good motivation, because there's not much you can DO with it. What do they have at stake? What does it mean for an outcast to fail or succeed in their plan? WHY are they so motivated to do the things they do? If the sole justification for their actions is 'I am a bandit anarchist scumbag,' that makes them two dimensional characters at best. Also it kinda misrepresents anarchism as inherently violent, but that's a whole different conversation.
Fucking up someone's day just for the sake of having done so, causing shit in order to disrupt society - that doesn't make them feel like real characters. That makes them feel like minecraft trolls. Few trolls are fun to be around for anyone besides other trolls.
But lack of a clearly communicated motivation isn't my biggest source of irritation.
The rate of outcast-related violence - raids, crimes, bombings, and so on - often makes it extremely difficult to maintain any other sort of RP. When characters live with the constant threat of bullet-assisted kneecapping, it tends to dominate the airwaves. I'm all for antagonists who promote growth in other characters. The outcasts are not much good for that. The only growth I consistently see them promote is a hatred of the outcasts and a general fear for one's life.

Edit: Also, there's the OOC problem of character value. You cycle through outcasts because, as you said, they die a lot. This means that the attachment a player has to any one outcast is tempered by their disposable nature. Someone who doesn't want their character to die is then left with this problem: in order to fight the outcasts, they must take a greater risk than for an outcast character to fight their character. It's like gambling, only one person has to bet $10 while the other only has to bet $2.

 

While I agree that antagonists are required to keep the server alive, given the complaints I hear about the Outcasts there must be a problem somewhere with someone (not necessarily the Outcasts, mind you). The biggest complaint I hear is "attacking a colony without permission" - why that was removed from the rules, is beyond me.

 

The Outcasts ARE a unified group of bandits, THE Outcasts. The name itself applies some kind of affiliation, and they're undoubtedly organized. They have a physically represented presence and a base of operations don't they? Or is this pulling the "We are Legion. We are an endless tide." sort of deal?

 

From what I can tell (And this is just from an outside point of view with never having really dealt with the outcasts personally), the infinite numbers of resources, bodies, and other such tools of destruction seem a little... Absurd.

As you say, they're Outcasts, meaning they speak to no one but themselves. As you say they have little to no armor, meaning they probably don't have the resources to get mining equipment set up somewhere and the correct facilities to construct these tools of destruction, all the explosives they use.

The other problem I see is why the Outcasts have so many characters, throwaway or not. Are there really that many people who want to see destruction in the world? What draws them in? You've said in the past (Or someone did) that they're not unified, however they unite under a single name, Outcasts, they all share a similar goal - Destruction of life.

All in all, I don't think the Outcasts will work at this rate. Their IC and OOC goal from my viewpoint is the destruction of any RP hub. At this rate, there won't be a hub for players to go to. And I don't see them making any new colonies either in fear that the Outcasts will find it and destroy it.

But this is just my take. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. Time will tell.

 

My two cents here. (Not sure if this has been covered), but whats up with the plasma guns? Those are expensive, the ammo is expensive, and require specific tools/parts to maintain. Its not exactly easy to keep them working...

 

they are slow to charge single shot plasma cannons, rarely used
courtesy of the SSS from the days when outcasts had planned to fight the wolves
the outcasts only have four in their posession, down from 10
i do not imagine a weapon like this is particularly expensive

 

I have actually experienced a plasma cannon, as well. Kudos to the operator, since they roleplayed it very well, but that does seem like it would be rather on the expensive side for a group of bandits who claim to be unorganized and unaffiliated.

Also on the topic of them being unorganized and unaffiliated bandits, if that's the case, then why have a faction thread at all? From what I can tell, it is still very disorganized in general, but at the same time, it doesn't fit with the "we're just bandits" mentality. People move as a whole, and organize attacks as a whole, making it more of an organization than not. Also, there have been a LOT of complaints about how the outcasts managed to get a nuke. IEDs and other small-scale explosives are by no means difficult to get, but where did the outcasts acquire the means to destroy such a large part of new Chicago?

 

>nuke
please leave this thread you are bullshittering and leave now

 

plasma cannons are dumb weapons

rocket and grenade launchers are perfect weapons

 

To be a bit honest, Badstar giving the Outcasts plasma weaponry seemed very... Out of character for him. Badstar's directives are "justice", however there's nothing of that sort in giving criminals high grade weaponry to defend themselves against other criminals. It's more along the lines of holding a grudge and just giving the side you don't have personal hate for the tools to remove them.

 

"justice"

seems perfectly IC to me

 

there was nothing out of character about it
badstar was not a rigid stereotype
and back then, the outcasts were much more tame
the reason he didnt officially register them as a criminal group was their mutual hatred for the wolves

 

I was using a general term, and I'm sorry about that. It was a very large explosive capable of destroying buildings, that's the point. To be blunt, if you're looking for criticism, being a jerk about it is not going to help you, your group, or its reputation at all.

That goes for both sides, too. I imagine we have all said very mean things about each other in private corners, but we should all show capability of being civil here. For people who have been generally speaking ill of the outcasts, think of this as a very large step forward by them; very few factions in this server's history have publicly asked for suggestions.