Bigshot Bounty Bulletin (FT, OOC) [OPEN]

[Asfaltum]

Howdy Pardners!

This here thread is meant to function as an informal (FT) RP group centered around Bounty Hunting Scenarios, and thus RPs geared towards relatively simple, short-ish (and hopefully regular) posting. The character-based format of bounty hunters versus criminals-on-the-lam is intended to cater to those of us who want to get our writing fix despite a busy schedule, for example, and don't have the time/motivation to spend on intricate posts in ambitious space operas that may eventually fall into disuse anyway.

Concerning rules/guidelines, I'd say "less is more". This is primarily meant to be nothing other than a platform where people can garner and coordinate interest relating to bounties/scenarios that are made public. This initial post is going to list the Bounties registered in this thread, as well as any Ongoing RPs resulting from said bounties.


That being said, here's some recommendations I'd like to make:

• I encourage Discord users to join the BBB server for the added benefit of easy RP coordination.
• IC threads are meant to be character/interaction driven. A shortcut for achieving this is to have participants share a ship i.e. instead of 5 lone hunters chasing a bounty, reach out to other participants and group up into two ships.
• For posting Bounties, I suggest posting them in the format of a "bounty premise", containing these blocks (if applicable): Background, Intro, Clue, Interaction, Showdown.

Here's an example of what that last part could look like:

Backround: Some relevant info about conditions in the local galactic area. Aftermath of refugee crisis has left large portions of a planet/trade route's population living in squalor, as what was supposed to be temporary housing solutions soon became a permanent local feature, for example. A local semi-religious cult has taken root, led by a shadowy figure (target of bounty in question) who advocates the transference of consciousness to an electronic dimension of his own alleged devising. Whatever the actual case, evidence suggests that cult members are turned into mindless drones and sold to neighbouring galactic crime syndicates, where they are employed as expendable fodder for various criminal activities.
Intro: Starting conditions, if applicable. Bounty hunters would start their investigations at the local space port, due to the insistence of local authorities that bounty hunters pursuing local bounties must register themselves at that particular precinct.
Clue: A local tavern by the name of XYZ is considered to be a front for various illegal activities, including cultist meetings.
Clue: Local individual is said to be in close relationship with target.
Clue: #3
Clue: #4
Interaction: Cultist ambush may take place, either at space port, at hotel hunters are staying at, or in transit (subway, alley).
Clue: Interrogation of particular member of local police force reveals that the enforced registration of bounty hunters was actually put in place by corrupt officials at the behest of Shadow figure. Location of target revealed.
Showdown: Final confrontation between hunters and target, or first between rival hunters and then target.

This gives everyone involved a good idea of where the thread is headed, providing a supportive structure for the creative writing process, which can then be focused on the "travelling" between the established milestones of the narrative, a river flowing between optional Clues that can be hunted down or Interactions that can take place, until the final Showdown takes place. Think of it as listing the various milestones in a Cowboy Bebop episode. Just a suggestion. YMMV.


Also, here's an IC thread for crew maintenance purposes, for IC events that happen unrelated to any particular RP/bounty: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=470267
(Clarification: While some people have personal "maintenance threads" for their own nations, where they can write IC stuff and develop backstories even when they're not involved in any active RPs, this the same thing, except specifically for bounty hunters, and shared among all of us who have a bounty hunter/team we're planning to use for stuff.)

[Kendari]

Interesting idea, and I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it. Might have some good opportunities for my old character Gorteth Mallorak. He's been known to take mercenary and bounty hunting jobs, if the mission is interesting and the pay is good, and he's happy to team up with other hunters for an equal cut of the bounty. His other line of work is running one of the biggest pirate fleets that operates in the Kendaryn border zones, so there might well be people around willing to put a price on his head, too. I've got a couple of other groups I might bring in if something comes up that's more suited to a larger team.

[Lotrabme]

Thanks for this thread! Dropping a tag for now but will be brainstorming applicable characters.

[Asfaltum]

Aye, cheers.

I think there's plenty of interesting characters out there floating about.

Guess the "bottleneck" is formulating actual Premises that bring said characters together and facilitate interaction.

If there was a map of established trade routes, for instance, that'd be helpful too...

[Kazar-Tiyon]

Heh. I was just thinking that some time I'll want to try organizing an RP to use Deathless Priestess Elisa Narekova, the Djeri Empire's most skilled assassin, and that it would be more fun to have rivals going after the same target, gather a small team of allies, or both. If this idea takes off, I can probably use it when I'm ready to set things up - or just keep an eye out for missions that Kazar-Tiyon would approve of, with proof of death acceptable.

Were you planning to keep this focused purely on legitimate bounties for serious criminals, or will it also include more dubious jobs, possibly coming from the other side of the law?

[Lotrabme]

https://www.deviantart.com/alphapodphoe ... -757713049

This link is to Alexzonya's Non-Canon but still very well detailed map of the trade routes in the mainstream NSFT Galaxy. Now, considering that, there could be other trade routes, but I feel as with anything this would be a good reference point.

[Asfaltum]

Were you planning to keep this focused purely on legitimate bounties for serious criminals, or will it also include more dubious jobs, possibly coming from the other side of the law?

Oh I think pretty much anything goes really, as long as it's bounty related and somewhat easygoing (doesn't require intricate space-opera style posts from people).

https://www.deviantart.com/alphapodphoenix/art/Alexzonyian-Starfleet-Projection-MWG-Map-v2-757713049

Well, whadayaknow... Cheers!

[Lotrabme]

Here are two modest proposals for Bounty Targets:

-----Freeman Dice: Haman, Male, Age 110-----
BACKGROUND: Dice was a leading smuggler of Contraband Heptol Black* on the Twin Eagles trade corridor. For thirty six years he was the leading organizer of rogue Noah's** and black market trading captains based out of the Dominion of Kang. Recently his ring was busted in a Majestine Order raid on his base on the Colony of Artemys, and while his leading capos were captured he escaped. The Grand Pensionary and the Procurator of Chamber of Commerce, the co chairs of the organization that maintains government regulated items like Heptol Black, demands his capture and offers a high price for his arrest and extradition to Hame for trial.
INTRO: Bounty Hunters must contact the Procurator of the Chamber of Commerce for reward details and resources they have access to. They must also seek out informants in the extensive Lotrabmeit black market, many of which are in the destination system.
CLUE 1: Insider reports from the black market point to the 23 Velorum System*** as his most likely whereabouts. The system is refugee friendly and Dice may be operating under an assumed name.
CLUE 2:Considering a stash of his Heptol Black and seeds for the plant which Heptol is harvested from were missing from the raid, it is possible he is operating a dispensary with the appearance of a legal business.

*: Heptol Black is a geriatric and psychic-stimulant drug, and is therefore regulated by the IRDaC chamber of commerce. Any sellers not monitored and registered by IRDaC are considered dealing contraband.
**: Noahs are specialized Navigators essential for the type of faster than light interstellar travel used by residents of the Mind Empire.
***: This system is detailed in this maintenance thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=456011 for any details TG me or message on Discord

-----Renyada: Malluman Iyn (Female) Age 39-----
BACKGROUND: The culture of personal vendettas and house rivalries is strong among both Hamans and Mallumans in the Mind Empire. For this reason, skilled assassins and warriors in the shadows can be hired. The vendettas in the colonies are fierce, and one rivalry between Malluman clans Watan and Objey on Corovan has escalated to open war. Objey's Werox (Chief) hired Renyada to assassinate the Werox of the Watan clan and following the completion of the task and the killing of her concubines the new Watan Werox put out a high bounty on the assassins head, leading Renyada to flee to the Ombroj Badlands for her own safety. Clan Watan's call includes payment for capture and return or for the killing of Renyada. Renyada is one of the most skilled Malluman huntresses and assassins in the modern era and any seeking to kill her must tread carefully.
INTRO: Bounty Hunters will speak to Clan Watan's Werox on Corovan about the bounty, they may also choose to visit Clan Objey for information. Other bounty hunters may be on this case for the money.
CLUE 1: Renyada was last seen on Zaarne (the Ombroj Homeworld) and is believed to have gone to Ulzaak's Star, a place where Ombroj of Allied, Neutral, and Enemy alignment to the Empire live. This is a site of high conflict among Ombroj and a natural place for an assassin to look for work. Renyada may have Ombroj allies and this may complicate the search for her.
CLUE 2: She is believed to be travelling with a Ar (male) concubine. They are both unmarked as to their Clan affiliation.

[A m e n r i a]

This sounds like something I can get behind. Especially since I've been concepting alien villains lately.

[Lotrabme]

My bounty hunter is a Haman man named Akon Numeerian.

Haman's are close to baseline humans, but Akon himself has some cybernetic upgrades (a replacement eye and metalic arms). He is also a mild psychic, he cant read minds but can sense presences and receive psychically transmitted messages.

Akon is 79 standard years old (close to beginning of middle aged for Hamans). He is used to bounty hunting from being on the Vendetta Syndicate's payroll for targeting hunters, assassins, and local public officials. He may also have some ties to the smuggling Black Market.

He is charismatic but logical.

[A m e n r i a]

Wait, is there any place for actual law enforcement here?

[New Dornalia]

Putting my people here for reference, for the RP Asfaltum and I, etc., are doing.

Antjie Malan, 43, Female
Background: Antjie Malan, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Nova Louisiana, is suspected to be the inventor of the infamous Dornalian street drug known as Vitamin Y, the head of a franchised criminal organization specializing in smuggling and producing Vitamin Y, as well as an individual specializing in interfering with investigations against various organized crime groups through the use of alchemical methods. The Dornalian Government’s Republican Marshals agency as well as multiple County law enforcement task forces have been conducting ongoing investigations into Dr. Malan’s activities. However, some victims of Vitamin Y trafficking aren’t willing to wait for Mother Dornalia to gather evidence and strike first. A rather large and publicly announced bounty of $100,000,000.00 New Dornalian Dollars has been placed on Malan’s head by wealthy businessman John Burcher, whose daughter died of a Vitamin Y overdose. The bounty is dead or alive--preferably alive, so Burcher “can teach that fucking snake some manners first.”
Intro: Bounty Hunters pursuing Ms. Malan are advised to make their presence known to Mr. Burcher at his residence in Alvaria City. Contact with law enforcement is not banned, but it is not advised by Mr. Burcher.
Clue: Malan is known to reside in Alvaria City, as part of her day job as a professor of chemical engineering, and is also known to work with a number of graduate students as part of her job.
Clue: Malan is known to travel frequently, both for personal reasons and for business.
Clue: #3
Clue: #4
Interaction: Malan is known to have a large number of compatriots as well as enemies. In this case, members of a sapient smuggling syndicate which smuggled test subjects to Malan that were rejected targeted Malan for retaliation in their own right. In turn, Malan has a friend within the Republican Marshals, the lead agency on the task force hunting her down, who is using his powers to help her escape.
Clue: Malan’s case at the Republican Marshals is moving unusually slowly, raising red flags from other agencies.
Clue: Rival hunters/mob assassins stage an ambush against the Malan Organization, acting on faulty intelligence.
Showdown: Ideally, a three-way fight will ensue between the Hunters, the Rival Hunters/Assassins, and Malan’s Crew will ensue.

Clyde Claremont , 35, male
Background: Claremont is an ex-Marine Commando who got himself a bad conduct discharge and some jail time for running a smuggling ring while in the service. Nowadays, he's an unsavory outlaw who refers to himself as a "sapient recovery specialist"--a fancy way of saying he traffics in sapients for a living to any number of customers, with little remorse and high price tags. Claremont is a smooth talking, folksy sort with his own crew of sapient smugglers (including several Aesirmen from the Commonwealth of the Westfall Realm who have more violence and cunning than working moral compasses) that's remained independent of the big syndicates, even as they hate his guts. However, he's attracted the ire of the Dornalian authorities due to his activities, and the Immigration and Common Border Authority has placed a rather sizable bounty on his head for information and/or his apprehension. He's also managed to start a war with the Malan Organization, due to a failed deal involving a consignment of test subjects.
Intro: Bounty Hunters pursuing Mr. Claremont are advised to inform ICBA and all relevant Federal and County law enforcement authorities before going after Claremont.
Clue: Claremont is highly mobile, but known to Dornalian authorities (and any criminals he's crossed) to use a YT-1300 freighter for his smuggling operations with a constantly changing registry number to evade scrutiny.
Clue: Claremont is known to be adept at tradecraft, but he does have a preference for Lucky Star Cigarettes.
Clue: #3
Clue: #4
Interaction: Claremont will be at odds with the Malan Organization, and will also be trying to recruit other rogues to help him against the organization's leader, Antjie Malan. Although Claremont is focused on the Malans, he will turn his men on the Hunters if they get too close. Likewise, Claremont is under threat from ICBA investigators, who are working in concert with the Republican Marshals to take him down; the presence of Federal and County law enforcement will serve as a wildcard for the Bounty Hunters. That is, while the Feds will collaborate with the Hunters, they also may want to take down Claremont themselves.
Clue: Claremont, acting on faulty intelligence, will try to have goons try and kill Malan in an ambush.
Showdown: As with Malan, but with the Hunters possibly either racing against Law Enforcement or collaborating with them in a shaky alliance to take Claremont down, versus the Malan Organization and the Claremont Gang.

The main Dornalian Bounty Hunter I will be using is Orderman 2nd Class Ted Butler. A seasoned Orderman, he left a job as a detective with the Konoha Constabulary to go into business with his brother, Joe Butler, forming the Butler Bail Bonds Company of Huntleighville, Konoha County. Joe is the money man who keeps the lights on. Ted is the bounty hunter who actually gets the fugitives from justice, using a combination of Empowered abilities and good ol' fashioned combat to take down his quarry dead or alive.

[Mithridatium]

I am certainly interested in this! I'll be sure to post an application soon.