Reading Isildur's post about herbs that give you movement made me think of amphetamines, which made me think of the black market.

Anyway, I got to thinking about how a black market might work in cf. OK, you could either have your quest that lets people buy stuff on the black market, but that would be too similar to existing stuff. So, I was thinking, perhaps have some nice stuff on sale (eg, a shield potion perhaps, or an av26 weapon, say) at a high but reasonable price. The downside would be that every time you trade with the black market (only commands buy and sell apply here, rather than list, browse etc) you have a chance to be caught and become wanted. This would be automated and the chance could be cumulative with how often you get caught. Perhaps start the chance of being wanted at 20% per transaction, and let it increase by 1% each time you make a transaction and 5% for each time you have become wanted, up to a maximum of 75%.

This would mean that as a criminal you have certain advantages open to you through your connections (though I'd expect sylvans to steer clear of such a facility). However, you would become more of a career criminal (ie wanted more often) than would be the case if you had to get caught in the act of a pk/theft.

Thoughts? Comments?

I read all the posts below and I really do like this idea.

I think just the fact that something has been stolen and then is up for sale on the black market should make it the concern of Tribunals. After all, buying stolen merchandise encourages crime and thievery to continue.

The potential for adding to roleplay for thieves, tribbies, and even potential customers is great and at the same time also provides another place to get some cool stuff.

I definitely would like to see this idea developed. It sounds really fun. I have no idea what, if anything, it would do to game balance. But it just sounds like a very cool idea.

Smile - It can't hurt and might help.

Sounds okay, though I'm having trouble thinking of any reason why the Spire would outlaw any particular objects, rather than classes of objects. I suppose some "incites people to lawlessness" argument could be concocted. I dunno, somehow the CF legal system seems to be more no-nonsense and all about having a few very clear rules.

I guess what I'm saying is that the black market has to be put in a context, and the laws have to be modified to explain why you can get wanted for shopping there.

you fail the check when you do a deal there, and get an echo like:

A nearby cityguard spots you and shouts "John Smith is dealing in contraband! Arrest him!"

Or perhaps "John Smith is aiding and abetting a criminal. Find him and teach him the error of his ways."

>A nearby cityguard spots you and shouts "John Smith is dealing
>in contraband! Arrest him!"
>
>Or perhaps "John Smith is aiding and abetting a criminal.
>Find him and teach him the error of his ways."
>


Right, that make sense, but I guess what I was saying is that there needs to be some sort of explanation for why anything would be contraband in the first place. Why does the spire want that avg 26 sword you mentioned off the market?

Also, aiding and abetting a criminal isn't presently illegal unless you're actively preventing a tribunal from catching them at the time. That might need to be changed. This is the sort of thing I meant by context, chasing down the loose ends and consequences of what it means IC for there to be a black market.

>Right, that make sense, but I guess what I was saying is that there needs to be some sort of explanation for why anything would be contraband in the first place. Why does the spire want that avg 26 sword you mentioned off the market?

I would think that placing it under the realm of "dealing in stolen goods" would suffice for making it contraband. And the Spire wouldn't want things on the market because it would be financing the theif's way of life.

>I would think that placing it under the realm of "dealing in
>stolen goods" would suffice for making it contraband. And the
>Spire wouldn't want things on the market because it would be
>financing the theif's way of life.

All right, that makes sense to me. I guess it's just that I would think that anything made illegal for NPCs (trafficing in stolen goods) should be made illegal for PCs as well, otherwise it ends up being kind of strange. Although, since as it is, PCs are allowed to rob NPCs, maybe this wouldn't be such a big deal. I guess it isn't that different to just accept the black market thing as one of those gameplay-only decisions.

...throw in cool little stuff like letting thieves sell counterfit stuff on the black market and let counterfit stuff be sold as the "real thing", giving it a very "realistic" appeal. Anytime you are dealing with shady individuals, there is always a chance you'll get ripped off.

CS

*opinions are like assholes, everyone has one*

thieves doing this could receive some sort of penalty. Perhaps each counterfeit they sell should mean a lower buying price for any goods they sell, and a lower selling price for any goods bought.

Therefore if someone is offering you dragonslayer for 1 gold, you know it comes from a very suspect source, hence the cheap price. Yet it could always be genuine. Caveat Emptor. (That probably doesn't mean what I hope it means, but at least it isn't Cave Canem.)

n/t

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

n/t

I'd like someone to champion this idea and make a stab at implementing it.

The implications of getting caught using it as an imperial would make for some cool interactions. Or a Maran, for that matter? I'm thinking risk/reward. Neato.

Instead of the items fenced fading into oblivion it'd be nice to see them available for sale somewhere after being fenced. The rest of the stuff sounds fine.

nt