Posted by Proud Blade on February 23, 2000 at 10:41:52:
In Reply to: I can't help but respond posted by An Arbiter on February 23, 2000 at 09:42:04:
> I've said it once, and I'll say it again - being an Arbiter is not easy.. > This is my first Arbiter - ever - so I can't make comparisons between the old and the new. One thing I can say is that people never cease to bitch and moan. You got caught failing a sleep spell in town, huh? Flagged, huh? Running out of town, getting hunted and killed? Did that mean arbiter just take all your belongings to ensure that you have a harder time committing your next crime? You should bitch and moan that you were innocent, despite the fact that the Arbie watched you do it. Nobody needs Arbiters anyway, right? Just a bunch of morons and assholes. > Remember that the next time you're being chased by a group of four and you're down to gushing after one round and the first thing you think to do is run to Galadon where you'll be safe. Just think about it as you rest at the temple, healing, knowing that if they attack you they sign their own death warrant. > Oh and as for misplaced flags - Are you talking misplaced in YOUR eyes or misplaced according to the law? Because I flagged a trio in New Thalos that went to the grave believing that they were innocent because they were on the river. Two of them bitched and cussed and irritated me and never listened to the argument I gave that they were within town (they lost all their equipment when they fell) and the third tried to simply figure out what she had done wrong. Then she gave herself up and got everything but her weapons back. > Another time, a pair of warriors ran (in town) to find a particularly high-ranked mage falling to a demon. The demon ate the corpse, leaving all his crap on the ground. I stood _right there_ as the two warriors grabbed it all and left. Flagged 'em both for looting and caught them later, returned the equipment to the mage, and removed the flags because of their cooperation and on the basis that they did not think it could be looting if the equipment was not in a corpse. Was this a misflag? No, the corpse was destroyed and the equipment looted within the protected city. > What's the point of all this? Well Arbiters do make mistakes...especially when they are new. There is a learning curve, and before they are officially on duty, Arbiters are required to read and read and reread every law and every detail of every rule of the cabal. Let me tell you, it is a pain in the ASS to get it down. And even after you have a good idea of what's going on, it's still real easy to forget a step or a particular detail. > Also remember, not all Arbiters are as merciful as I am. My character follows the ideals of justice and mercy as well, and as long as the crime is paid for and justice is served..well, he'll be happy. That includes the two unwitting looters from above. Justice was served, and no one had to be killed. > Of course, if you're chaotic in ethos, we may not believe your story. If you've committed some crimes we may not believe your story. If you're an Imperial and you have six (imperial) witnesses to a crime that an Anethema committed, we may not believe your story. If your only witness is an Entropy, we may not believe your story. But it is driven into Arbiter's heads that it is better to let a guilty man go free than to slay an innocent man for crimes he did not commit. > But if we see a yell in town, and it is a true yell, expect to be flagged for your crimes. > A (Verbose) Arbiter