Posted by Imbrogno on July 7, 2000 at 11:58:19:
In Reply to: Heh posted by Tracker of the Wicked on July 7, 2000 at 11:45:04:
If you think the Arbiters are intentionally corrupt, then you've never played an arbiter. Yes, there are certain Arbiters that are generally corrupt. These are usually evil Arbiters, but that's to be expected. I believe that the Arbiter cabal, or at least some way of keeping enforcement of the laws in mortal hands, is a necessary part of the Theran World. Policing the major cities IS necessary for roleplaying/balance. How realistic is it that there would be a city without some form of policing? How likely is it that numerous merchants, home-owners, and guilds would come together to form a community without some form of protection? Yes, there are some pretty major cities out there in Thera that aren't protected and some that are protected that shouldn't be. That's an immortal affair. If you remove the Arbiters you either have to come up with suitable mortal involved replacement, or you have to beef up security and make flagging automatic. Any community since the Dawn of time has had some sort of punishment system for those that broke the norms, mores, or values of said community. It might be a lynch-mob, it might be a sheriff and a couple deputies, it might be A Women's Circle like in WoT's Three-Rivers, but there's always something. If you think you'd enjoy automatic flags, beefed up cityguards, and some sort of stalker-like mob that would be sent for you if you escaped the confines of the city in which you committed the crime, I say you're a stone fool.