Posted by Jason Woodcock on Sep 3, 2016

Some notes about the Agency and the SPITE law system; know your rights!

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Greetings Contractors!

We’re now a week out from game, and I wanted to discuss some overall basics of the SPITE law system as well as a few changes that have been made recently. To begin, here are the updated handbooks for reference:

Updated Agency handbook: http://bit.ly/2bKpmMf
Updated UEF Arbitration handbook: http://bit.ly/2c1Jg9c

The most important section for all players to be familiar with from the Agency handbook is below:

Recognized criminal activity within Quarantine Zones is as follows:

 

  • Murder – Killing another individual.
  • Assault – Causing physical harm to an individual outside of the bounds of CG contracts.
  • Grand Theft – Seizing physical or digital property belonging to another individual.
  • Destruction of Property – Destroying or damaging the property of another individual.
  • Gross Negligence – Action or inaction that directly results in harm to other individuals.
  • Conspiracy – Plotting against other individuals with the intent of harm.
  • Sabotage/Cyberinfiltration – Unlawful accessing or alteration of other’s digital property.
  • Inhumane Acts – A broad category of obscene, unethical, or grotesque actions.
  • Extortion – Obtaining a good, service, or favor through force or threats.
  • Bribery – The offering of currency, goods, or services to avoid punishment.
  • Aiding Wanted Criminals – Assisting an individual in avoiding a court summons or arrest.
  • Drug trafficking – Distribution of illicit or unprescribed drugs within a Quarantine Zone.
  • Illegal commerce – Sale or purchase of goods or services within a Quarantine Zone by or from non-contracted or non-UEF personnel.

When an arrest has been made, or a case is being built against an individual for the committal of one of the above acts, is necessary to gather testimony from all involved parties, sort through available information, and bring your findings to the attention of a UEF Arbiter through the use of a Formal Accusation Form. Others may also present these cases to you, and it will be your duty to ensure that the information is acted on accordingly.

When making an arrest, Agency members may take any measures necessary to detain an unwilling subject. This may involve the use of special abilities or force; the latter option often bringing subjects to dangerous health levels. In situations where force is utilized to subdue a subject for detainment, it is the responsibility of the Agency official to ensure any subdued CG member is returned to a minimum level of healthy function.

Note on arrests: If an Agency member is found to be making questionable arrests, particularly where they significantly impact the health and well-being of those detained; they may be placed on administrative leave, or in the worst case, lose their Agency badge and contract. Agency members are expected to exercise sound judgment, and their Agency status may come into review if they are found to be in violation of this.

QUESTIONING

The UEF has also mandated that Agency officials have the right to stop and question Contracting Group members in any recognized Quarantine Zone, and that CG members remain cooperative in these questionings. That being said, Agency members do not have the right to demand surrender of any and all information; information that CG members are expected to remain cooperative regarding are as follows:

  • Providing identification.
  • Providing a brief description of their activities within a given timeframe.
  • Providing answers to very basic questions surrounding the circumstances of a known or suspected crime.

ARRESTS AND DETAINMENT

If an immediate arrest has been made on grounds of suspicion or as a result of stopping and questioning a CG member (before the filing of and issued warrant from a Formal Accusation Form), the arresting officer must bring the detained individual to UEF HQ and immediately fill out a form. The trial will take place no more than an hour later. In cases where an immediate arrest has not been made, the process must be followed as outlined in the UEF Arbitration guidelines (http://bit.ly/1S4j781).

We have been working very carefully to develop the basic law system of SPITE to become one that is interesting to players while avoiding the creation of a system that would largely function to take characters out of play for long periods of time with little precedent. That being said, unlawful activity inside of Quarantine Zones is a very intriguing aspect of the game that we do want to see characters interact with.

Here is a shorthand list of the law system basics:

  • If you are a witness or victim to an illegal act, you can speak with another member of your CG or the Agency to submit a Formal Accusation Form against the offending contractor.
  • If you are an Agency member, you can stop and question individuals, ask for identification, and make a few basic inquiries. This does not mean that you can effectively interrogate anyone as you choose, make hasty arrests if an individual does not answer every question to your desire, or order people around. In the most basic gameplay sense, this emulates a basic encounter with an officer that is pursuing leads on a criminal case, or is actively working security detail in an area. If Agency players are found abusing their powers in this domain, IG action will be taken against them.
  • Agency members can make immediate arrests without a warrant or a signed Formal Accusation Form, but must have a very good reason for doing so (severity of crime, flight risk, etc). If they do so, they must detain the individual themselves until a Formal Accusation Form can be filled out, and there will be someone available to evaluate the charges and determine if they are valid in addition to whether the offending individual need to remain detained leading up to the trial.

There are many potential consequences as the outcome of a trial, however, the largest thing to keep in mind is that the process is indeed arbitration. The decisions only take into consideration the offending individual’s ability to hold a contract and continue operating within the Quarantine Zone, and the system is designed with enough flexibility that multiple factors can be taken into account for any crime bozv7ek. We don’t want players to have to become experts in SPITE law and tirelessly chain players up with litigation. The law as it exists in the world is very martial and pragmatic in nature: if the actions of an individual are found to be threatening to UEF operations or contractors inside of a Quarantine Zone, they will be judged as such. On the other hand, if an individual’s actions fall in more of a grey area but are ultimately harmless, any allegations will likely be tossed outright.

So while we do not wish to force the heavy hand of law into the game, we also believe that consequences for actions should exist, and there should be a system in place for this. Keep in mind that only the most severe of cases will lead to an individual losing their contract (and effectively the ability to play their character); more often than not, arbitration will likely lead to fines or other small punishments. Given the faction based nature of SPITE, this system serves as a way of taking action against illicit action from contractors if a suitable case can be built against them, which we believe positively adds to the gameplay dynamics that exist between CG’s.

After reading this post, it is my hope that you come away with a better understanding of the law system and what we wish to accomplish with it. If you have specific questions regarding this, feel free to email me at jasonw@spitelarp.com; I’ll be happy to address them!

– Jason W.