Admittedly, yes, it does disrupt the flow, but it also saves on a lot of potential OOC hassle/drama, especially where character death or anything that may make a player upset about it is involved.
Vixi raises some good points in that some people seem to treat conflict as a means to ‘win’ rather than to create a good story line, and that is an unfortunate issue, as it can in itself cause tensions and make people upset or feel inadequate when their character loses a situation, when in actual fact ‘losing’ as it is can make for some amazing story. Whilst jail time in real life may be for months or even years we also need to keep in mind that as Vixi said… nobody wants their characters, their mains, shelfed for that long, and Orgrimmar/Stormwind laws are very different to real life ones anyway. Keeping a character/player constantly in the loop and informed and giving them RP whilst in a jail cell keeps it fresh and ultimately allows them to know when they’ll be free (or even executed) to end the plotline.
I’d honestly keep jail time only as long as the evening/rp session honestly. Then when one party needs to log, just decide that they’ve served their time or a quick ooc message how long they were in for IC for future refferences if needed.
Im against the idea of keeping it going beyond a session/after someone needs to log, unless both parties have agreed to it beforehand.
Back in my earliest days in AD, I think I did like 4-5 hours with the city watch or some other guild at the time. But it was also roleplay through it all and nice.
But I had and have friends who had the dreadful archetype of getting shoved into a “cell” underneath the SI:7 tower and told not to leave before the guard logged. And then when seen two days later out in the streets got angry whispers for not being in the cell like they were “supposed to be” for another 2 weeks OOC etc.
Yes you’re right, and I should clarify that by “asking for permission via whisper” I mean to take initiative on stuff like the first attack or pickpocketing. I don’t mean whispering someone every time during a fight or conflict to ask if this or that is okay, because then yeah that is tedious and completely unnecessary, which is why I also just emote “tries to, attempts to” or something along those lines.
I’ll give an example in that Tremiere once attended a masquerade party and I would whisper those who I wanted to steal shiny treasures from only once, to make sure that they were okay with that, and then everything else just naturally happened throughout rp.
I don’t think ‘accepting’ consequences is the way forward, it’s more, roleplaying -for- the consequences of your character’s actions. If you ‘have to accept’ things in a roleplaying concept, that concept is flawed, and will be less fun for it.
Just like guards, the very first step should be that you do not own the community anything. Guards don’t -have- to catch criminals and be effective doing so, and criminals don’t -have- to be caught by everyone who plays a guard.
Play a criminal to interact with guards in the first place, and second only for the interactions with the victims. That might seem strange, but you’ll have a more solid experience that way.
Consider getting to know one of the many guard guilds around, and setting up your first experience as a criminal with the captain of the guild. He’ll likely be very happy to get in contact with someone who wants to play a solid criminal concept, giving him a chance to organize small events with you, without his guild ever knowing he’s organizing it behind the scenes. So basically, choose the people you feel comfortable roleplaying with.
In line with the previous point, don’t try to catch the attention with your first crimes. Pickpocket someone, sell snuffweed or imitation rat kabob, and so forth. Once you get a connection with the guard guild of your choice, and the guards in that guild get to know your character, they’ll be much more willing to set up a long lasting relationship. You could start your own criminal guild, and enjoy certain immunities because of your connections with the guard guild (cfr. The Stormwind City Watch and the Legitimate Business Club had a long lasting relationship, and some people of the LBC were part of the SCW’s OOC channel)
Anyway, tldr; Play for the consequences of your actions, get in contact with a guard guild and set up situations at the beginning, and don’t go for the big scores right from the start.
Remember the 3 Cs of criminal RP: Communication, Communication, Communication.
My personal biggest tip is to get friendly OOC with the guards. I have a lot of good guard friends, more than I have criminal friends tbh - it makes the whole “getting caught” thing so much more enjoyable. If you RP in Stormwind, it might be worth aquainting yourself with the King’s Law, with Constabulary and CRW both use, and can give you an idea of what consequences your character might face if caught.
I’m firmly on team “ask first”. I would probably not ask for pickpocketing, but anything violent e.g. a mugging I would ask beforehand to make sure the other person is okay with it. I’ve had experiences with both and although it can be fun to keep it organic and not whisper first, it does get quite annoying after being loldodged for the fourth time that night by another person who doesn’t want to let you touch their character. (I think my favourite was when Brandi’s friend grabbed a gnome to shake him upside down to make his coins fall out after he was refusing to hand over his money, and he started shouting that a theft ward had been activated and teleported away. Props for creativity, my dude!)
I can’t speak for Horde RP, however as I think someone else said, think about why you want to RP a criminal. Is it for the interraction with law enforcement and the possibility of getting caught? Or is it for the interraction with IC victims? Or another reason?
To add a perspective from guard RP. Criminal RP is better done subtle. If guards suspect your character is up to something they need to prove it. However if your character goes round stabbing and shooting people, don’t complain if they get locked in the cells all night.
Guards get pressure from both sides. For example, guards let a criminal out the same night they stabbed someone because the person complains OOC they don’t want their RP disrupted. Then the people who were victims start to ask why they are loose and call the guards incompetent.
There’s give or take, if your toon is a danger expect them to be locked up and stay in a cell, it is hard to keep the RP up, but that is where you log an alt, similar to if your character is injured, if they are too dangerous to get out. However if its a minor offence, then expect to get out. There’s also a level of OOC communication. If you want your character to escape, then plan it with the guards, but also assume your character will become wanted and the bounty hunters will come looking. The guards also offer full on legal trials if that is the kind of RP the person wants. If your character is smart enough they can play the system and possibly get away with it.
Too many people take it OOC before agreeing anything. A lot of the older guard RPers have had a lot of experience in dealing with people and helping create bestoke storylines and occasionally the criminal can win. I know in my guild I encourage that if you RP power over others, you need to be held accountable and be responsible IC and OOC. So much work goes into ensuring guards are fair IC, it is always appreciated when a criminal roleplayer plays fair.
I would rather that all involved get some good development than get a quick win.
Bounty hunting and criminal investigations used to be far more interesting with plot twists and narrow escapes galore. Now both parties need to apparently agree, sign, and notarize a 12 page document before even thinking about hunting down a criminal.