New cards suggestion: Imprison / Torture / Execute

[Sir Henry Morgan]

After much thought, I don't like the direction these types of voodoo cards take the game. Another new voodoo card to solve a problem. The issue is now that pirates have resources to make gains by attacking large players, primarily through buried treasure that protects their swag while they endure the onslaught of retaliation.

As traders, we are trying to solve our problems with voodoo cards, and not exploring all the avenues to combat the situation. When anyone with one level 10 brig of war and a level 1 cutter can take out 50 to 100 fleets of level 1-3 large merchantmen vessels, I say a trader may need to consider re-engineering his trade fleets so it takes a bit more than that to succeed. He may have fewer fleets, but it will take much more heft to defeat them in battle. Heft means more capital outlay for a pirate, thus more risk and less profit.

Traders have been given tools - the Potato Party/Rum Festival, etc., and the War and Flag Galleons - to combat this issue. Outlandish profits can be made even with fewer ships. Warehouses have become more than a place to build ships and store one's war chest.

Most pirates know what they need to get the job done... For a long time we traders simply built the cheapest, fastest ships with as few crew members as possible, stayed just over an hour and ran. Our protection was the power of retaliation. Not so much anymore. In the golden age, piracy was always a threat and considered part of business, and it seems the same in Avonmora.

The nations feature may be the venue for addressing these issues - counties issuing bounties, embargoes against individuals, guilds and nations, etc.

The game is still evolving, growing, changing. I would hope that some other mechanisms besides another powerful debilitating voodoo card can be implemented, thus making the game more of a challenge that requires ingenuity and craft rather than 'fire another voodoo curse.'

[Raz Al Ghul]

I agree with Captain Redbone it is the job of a pirate to make gold off the routes of others even more so if they fly the flag of another nation such as Wales or Barbados , it was always a way to drive business to the people that got raided by pirates less and a way to ensure that the nation who held a pirate in a contract would be prosperous, a form of corporate and national warfare and sabotage in economic terms is what it was, that is until the pirates went in for themselves and attacked any and all ships of trade regardless of nation, so to needlessly create a discouraging voodoo that is clearly in favor of the super rich traders is a bad play and bad form, there are many other ways to take a pirate down even if for a short time, because in the end there is always another to replace him or her.

[Rolando]

I agree with most of the ideas of Raz and Captain Redbone, however when a pirate loots every coin and ship from a trader ultimately despite massive voodoo or gold, they are effectively only left with the option of rebuilding and perhaps enduring the same fate. I have made my every coin plundering, I am perhaps among the few pure raiders, however, if we are allowed to endless run amok, if no one ever ultimately pays and is destroyed, nothing can stop us. In the end if we allow just the plunders to do as they will, many will destroy most of the traders or force them into agreements that equate to financial servitude, that to me is not strategic, its merely simple intimidation, and not much fun. Take for instance myself or Ghent, while we both are nefarious in some circles, our primary goal is profit, it is not malicious, if we are defeated we as reasonable men retreat, we do not attempt to use new players or force guilds to obey us. We do not need to, the wise know, the unwise eventually learn. However some take this business personally, some take it to real life and beyond. These trolls do not play for enjoyment,they do not play to expand the game, they play to ruin the game if it is not going the way they wish. They send letters to characters and attack them because they are allowed to skulk with their last ship and cast without retribution. These cards are not perfect, they definitely need to be debated and discussed, but to rule them out for traders, when we plunderers benefited so much from new cards like Ambush, Ravage, Advanced Piracy Tactics,and others seems in humble opinion unfair. The trade empire takes years to build, and moments to destroy.

Perhaps as Shaydo suggested but longer term, if not permanent destruction name it cripple and they are out for a month, all wealth, fame, and voodoo lost. Seems like a reasonable compromise.

[MAjesty]

After much thought, I don't like the direction these types of voodoo cards take the game. Another new voodoo card to solve a problem. The issue is now that pirates have resources to make gains by attacking large players, primarily through buried treasure that protects their swag while they endure the onslaught of retaliation.

As traders, we are trying to solve our problems with voodoo cards, and not exploring all the avenues to combat the situation. When anyone with one level 10 brig of war and a level 1 cutter can take out 50 to 100 fleets of level 1-3 large merchantmen vessels, I say a trader may need to consider re-engineering his trade fleets so it takes a bit more than that to succeed. He may have fewer fleets, but it will take much more heft to defeat them in battle. Heft means more capital outlay for a pirate, thus more risk and less profit.

Traders have been given tools - the Potato Party/Rum Festival, etc., and the War and Flag Galleons - to combat this issue. Outlandish profits can be made even with fewer ships. Warehouses have become more than a place to build ships and store one's war chest.

Most pirates know what they need to get the job done... For a long time we traders simply built the cheapest, fastest ships with as few crew members as possible, stayed just over an hour and ran. Our protection was the power of retaliation. Not so much anymore. In the golden age, piracy was always a threat and considered part of business, and it seems the same in Avonmora.

The nations feature may be the venue for addressing these issues - counties issuing bounties, embargoes against individuals, guilds and nations, etc.

The game is still evolving, growing, changing. I would hope that some other mechanisms besides another powerful debilitating voodoo card can be implemented, thus making the game more of a challenge that requires ingenuity and craft rather than 'fire another voodoo curse.'

yep what he said... that wasn't petty at all....

[Sertas]

I agree with most of what has been said here before regarding the suggested voodoo. The ability to completely wipe out a player or basically strip them of all their valuables with just a few voodoo is just far too much power in the hands of players. If some of these voodoo were nerfed to some extent then this could become useful voodoo for pirates but still not a god like (or should i say admin like?) powers that could potentially rid the game of some of its best players in a single moment forever. For a game like this to work in a proper and stable way there has to be a stable relation between pirates and merchants. Most pirates would love to loot like 10 million gold or how ever many the person has in an instant using these voodoo but if you think about the long run if a lot of these big merchants were killed off this way there would also after a while be a stark and barren plunder board for the now rich and big pirates. So because of these reasons i think voodoo like this could exist but it should exist in a weaker form and execution should definitely not be on that list, maybe something like imprisonment or dungeon sentence which would be equally rare but they would stop the player from doing any actions or making any money or casting any voodoo of any sort for a set amount of time (say 72hrs), which can be lifted by another player using some other equally rare card called say freedom (i couldn't think of any creative name for this one) which could lift the curse instantly. As a note i am new to the forums but not a new player. That's my two cents.

[Raz Al Ghul]

Yeah I like Sertas idea of like a freedom card, but call it jailbreak that would be a rare card and would get the player it is casted on out for free, while another rare card would be called bail and would cost a fair amount of gold. this way there is a couple ways to get another player out from being imprisoned if you have the voodoo to do it, cost I have no idea what would be fair likely based on how much gold the imprisoned player has? and could also add diplomatic immunity or pardon and kings they should always be immune to such voodoo that imprisons a perk of the position.

[Sir Henry Morgan]

Here is an idea that represents the kind of mechanism I'd like to see rather than another voodoo card. I haven't ironed out all the numbers, I simply use the numbers here as an example.

The Bounty System

Only Nations or Guilds can issue a bounty.
Minimum bounty - 25,000,000 gold
Maximum bounty - 100,000,000 gold
(gold bar conversions to be used later when available as more difficult to gather, etc.)

Nations can issue bounties against their own citizens, but guilds can only issue bounties against those outside the guild.

A proclamation would read as follows:

By order of the Guildmaster (or King/Queen)a reward of 100,000,000 in gold coin has been issued for actions that lead to the capture of one Wiley Pirate for acts of piracy and general mahem committed against Guild (or nation).

This will set into motion the following:

Any time someone takes gold from Wiley Pirate, that amount is matched from the bounty account, I.e., if someone attacks Wiley, wins the battle and wins 100,000 gold coin, another 100,000 gold coin is awarded to the victor from the bounty account. Same with booty master, etc. The account can be replenished, or not - whatever admin would decide is viable for the game.

Once Wiley is down to his last ship, loses the battle and cannot pay the bounty, he will have two choices - escape or submit to capture.

If he submits to capture, the remaining funds in the bounty account are paid to the victor.Wiley will lose his remaining ships (if any are docked) any remaining turns, and for 7 days not be able to cast voodoo, and will lose 75% of his warehouse stores, etc., (The details can be worked out). The bounty proclamation is complete and ended.

If Wiley chooses to escape, he must pay his captor 10% of the total bounty to his captor, and the bounty continues. If he is a citizen of a nation, he loses that as well and becomes a pirate.

This is the gist of the idea - which I feel would be much better for game play than a voodoo card.

[Rolando]

I like it Captain, seems like a reasonable compromise and offers traders and guild defense.

[Raz Al Ghul]

I second this love the Idea had a similar idea but it was a player made bounty and the player who made the bounty had to put the funds up for it.

[Mohammed]

look a weird green smiley face and his relatives