Ah well - my stint as FIerce Prophet lasted a turn. Still, the dust isn't settled yet. I'll leave my platform here for a while in case things, you know, change again.
Combat is good, but not always the best choice under all circumstances - but it should always be a choice to be considered.
I intend to reward captains willing to use their weapons when the time is right. I'll be recording a number of league tables which will offer glory to those willing to attack - or indeed to those who acquit themselves well when attacked. There will be at least one table that a young captain has a chance of ranking well in.
That said, a Fierce captain will be more interested in fighting than in accountancy. I will significantly simplify the basis of the calculation of points, in the hope that this will encourage more captains to submit their battle scores. The final equation is still to be finalised, but is likely to be something like +1 for being in the battle at all, +1 for not retreating, +1 for not hiding or microjumping, +1 if the other ship had a higher power ranking than you. No points at all will be awarded to a ship over 100 turns old who attacks a ship 100 turns old or younger.
Indeed, an older ship (101+) who attacks a younger ship (100-) will be criminalised, except in cases of extreme provocation, such as dybuk releasing, and such cases must have been debated and agreed on the Fierce mailing list in advance.
I will select my Chosen without regard for any affiliation they have, and ignoring any personal history I may have had with the captain involved.
The main criteria for eligibility for chosenhood will be performance on the combat league tables. If you wish to be chosen, don't get too attached to that shiny new paint job. It will get scratched. Regularly.
Not every league table will carry equal weighting - but neither will a single table be the sole criterion for selection. I'll publish more details when I've done some more work with my scoring system. It is likely that recent combat against active players will carry most weighting.
If eligible, a captain will need to request chosenhood if they wish to receive it. I will maintain as many chosen as I can, but it is possible that I will have to unchoose a captain in order to make space for the new one.
Chosen will be expected to praise on average once every three turns, and to participate in dealing with any outbreaks of Evil or in tracking down galactic criminals. Chosen are also expected to act with honour. Failure to comply with these expectations will certainly see captains at risk of being unchosen if I need space for a new captain, may see captains unchosen anyway, and could see captains put on my enemies list.
Chosen will also be expected to act as mentors to junior captains who request assistance in learning about combat.
Honour can mean many things to many people. To me, the most important facet is about keeping your word. If you tell somebody you won't attack them, and then do, that is dishonourable. If you tell somebody to prepare for attack, then don't open fire, that is not dishonourable. There is room for misdirection, but not for outright lies.
There are other actions too that are dishonourable, or just plain Evil. Random terminal purges, acquiring an Evil Ring, using Evil Tech and so on are all generally considered wrong.
Attacking young ships when not young yourself is also wrong, except in a very small number of cases - in general, where the young ship is purging terminals, releasing Dybuk or similar.
I'll be keeping a list of all ships that have acted without honour, in support of evil, or in a criminal manner. Chosen will be expected to assist in bringing such ships to justice. Young ships who appear on this list may be attacked without dishonour.
I'll also be keeping another list of ships. This alternate list, which is completely voluntary on the part of the captains that appear on it, will be of ships who consider combat to be a reasonable choice when meeting another ship. The idea is that captains meeting such a captain should act as if combat is likely, unless an exchange of hails has established that combat will not occur. It'll never be necessary to be on the list - being there is more a statement of attitude than anything else.
The following ships have asked to be registered as hostile. If you meet one of these ships, you should be aware that they may attack (though they may not). If you don't wish combat, you are advised to hail to find their intentions. Silence should be considered a bad sign.
Young ships are the pool from which the next generation of warriors will grow. They should be encouraged and nurtured.
Ships 100 turns old and less are the children. They are still finding their way in the world. They don't necessarily understand the consequences of their actions, and they lack the resources and skills to protect themselves. They need protection and education.
Ships under 200 turns old are the adolescents. They are ready to make their own way in the world, but may still lack resources or experience required to compete with older ships on equal terms.
I will protect ships 100 turns or less in the traditional way - an attack on them by a ship more than 100 turns old is a criminal act unless they release Dybuk, purge a terminal or similar.
I will also offer support to all ships under 200 turns old, to help them grow into the warriors they can become. As well as offering special league tables, I'll be offering a juniors club. Members of the club will get assigned a mentor from among my chosen, who will guide them through a few combats. It won't be a requirement for the mentee to give their mentor their public URL, but it would allow the mentor to offer assistance more easily if it were possible.
Members of the juniors club will be offered assistance in achieving Enlightenment, once they have shown that they understand combat.
I'll also gather together a set of links to various resources around the net containing combat advice, and give captains who wish it access to a forum where combat tips can be exchanged.
Favour trades are a fact of life, and I am willing to facilitate them. However, you must send me an email in advance and make an announcement in the Times if you are not going to risk excommunication.
I have reached out to the other prophets and the president and have some ideas for joint activities with them. More details will be forthcoming as they become available.
You need to know that I consider attacking to be one of many valid strategies when I meet other ships.
That doesn't mean that if we pair, I'll automatically attack you. Just that I always consider attack as an option in a meeting, and you really ought to contact me to determine my intentions. In fact, if I haven't specifically agreed something else, you are probably safe assuming I'll make demands and attack if defied. If you haven't really annoyed me in the past, then selecting to gift any one module (i.e. I'll choose the module) will almost always allow you to avoid combat.
Why not try to contact me at bill-tbg@mics.org.uk and explain why I have nothing to gain by attacking you.
Despite my hostile stance, I am nevertheless honourable. If I tell you I won't attack, then I won't. I'm also strongly opposed to the use of Evil Tech and to random terminal purging. I also consider attacks on ships less than 100 turns old to be inappropriate, unless the younger ship has gone out of their way to annoy the elder ship - and even then, there are usually better alternatives to an outright attack.
I used to be President. I'm willing to fight to protect my votes. Be warned!
I'm also a member of Fist. Annoying my allies is a good way of annoying me.