"Assassins" Interest Thread-Idea for free-form

[Raiden]

Yes... Excellent. *Spoken like Mr. Burns.*

Well, since there seems to be enough interest, here's a more in-depth part of the story. I won't tell the stats yet, since I'm still trying to decide on some things.

The RP takes place in our world, but just a little bit in the future. Not far enough for any super advancements in technology, but just enough for there to be new political people in charge. (Because I am NOT going to go search these guys up on the internet.)

Now, unknown to the rest of the world, there is a secret guild called the Guild of Assassins. Now, some people simply think of assassins as people that kill for money. But, any assassin you've ever heard about is not an assassin. Simply a paid killer. Assassins never leave anyone who knows their identity alive. Assassins have rules. Rules which must be followed.

Rule 1) An assassin MUST be paid for their contract. They cannot do any charity jobs, or do it simply for the challenge. If you do so, you are considered a low-class killer, and will be eliminated. This is the most important rule.

Rule 2) If you are hired for a job, you must notify the target and give him a chance to give you a better offer. You must then take the contract with the person with the best offer. If you do not do so, you are playing favorites, and will be eliminated.

Rule 3) Under no circumstances is one assassin allowed to interfere with the contract of another assassin. If you do, you will be considered a simple thug, and will be eliminated.

Rule 4) An assassin will NEVER align itself with a specific country, factor, or religion. By joining the guild, you have given up your past. By playing favorites, you are interfering with the nature of the Assassins, and will be eliminated.

Rule 5) In order to leave the Guild, you must have your memory wiped of all evidence of the Guild's existance. If you do not allow it, you will be considered a security risk, and will be eliminated.

These rules have been around for as long as the Guild has been around, which is several centuries. While times, tactics, and technology may have changed, the rules have not. However, the rules have been broken by four people. They left the Guild, and called themselves the Crimson Blades. They are as follows:

Slash: The leader of the Crimson Blades. He broke Rule #1. He would take contracts just for the challenge of a good kill. He was apprehended by the Assassin's guild and dealt with, so he's not a target.

Rose: The second-in-command of the Crimson Blades. Her specialty weapon is a long strip of razor wire. She broke rule #2. She would take contracts, but enjoyed having the target not suspect that they were about to die. Was last seen in China.

Red Eye: The sniper of the Crimson Blades. His 'red eye' is really a cyber implant that helps him aim over long distances. He broke rule #3. He would take contracts to eliminated assassins before they could eliminate their target. Was last seen in the US.

Ballistic: The demolitions expert of the Crimson Blades. He broke rule #4 by aligning himself with a specific country, which would be Russia. He would take all contracts sent out by the Russians, and ignore any that went against it. Was last seen hiding out in Russa.

These ex-assassins have each broken a rule. And now, to hunt them down, the Guild is sending out a team of Assassins to eliminate them.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

Hmm, if we are to eliminate these ex-assassins, would we need to follow the rules? Or are we exempt from rules 2,3 and 4?

[Sprinkle_Death]

I also think the rule of letting them know that they are about to die is kind of...weird. It's like walking up to someone and saying, "Hey, you're going to die sometime soon. I'm warning you, and if I don't kill you before you flee, I'm screwed! Have a nice day."

But otherwise, they're good.

[Dante]

It's like Discworld's Assassin Guild, which isn't meant to be very efficient, just to make business safer for everyone.

[Sprinkle_Death]

Safer for everyone, yes. Including the people that are about to get assassinated. It's comparable to a tiger roaring before it pounces on its prey. It doesn't and shouldn't happen!

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

Well, actually, it's very efficient. Think about it. You have just been notified of a very official-looking guy, who comes up and says "Hello, I'm Fred, and I'll be your assassin of your lifetime. You are going to die within a few days, and unless you have a better offer than the other guy who wants to kill you, you're screwed! Have a nice day!"

I mean... no matter how far you run and hide, the assassin will get to you in the end...

[Sprinkle_Death]

Good point, but what happens when they can't provide a better offer and flee the next day? In a couple of hours, they can go from coastal California, to somewhere in the Indonesian archipelago. How would you find the target then?

Or, said target would go all out to keep countering the offers and delay (and possibly prevent) his own death. Heck, if I was warned, I would counter offer as fast as a heartbeat.

[Dante]

I'd coutner offer at somewhere around $1 more than the asking price, and the assassin would waste time going abck and forth between both parties.

Also, if you WARN someone you're going to kill him, you're not declaring how badass you are, you're queering the pitch for your own efforts.

I mean... no matter how far you run and hide, the assassin will get to you in the end...

This assumes the assassin has infinite resources and an intell network which stretches so far, and really, if he HAD all of those, why be an assassin? Go play the stock market and run Enron. :p

[PyrosNine]

For some reason I get the feeling that a characters will break one or all the rules sometime during this rp.

And go for something simple for the stats, will ya? It'd be my first foray into that area.

I call dibs on the knife throwing guy

[Raiden]

The rules are there to make it more like what Dante was saying. To true assassins, a paid kill is their work. If you simply take money and kill someone, you're a paid thug. Assassins take more honor in their work.

The rule that you must contact the target for the better offer is for the betterment of the guild, also. The guild gets a small cut from every contract. So, the higher the assassin is paid, the more the guild is given.

And normally, targets don't flee. As said above, the guild's resources are great enough to locate three rogue assassins, who are all very skilled in hiding. If the guild has you noted down as a target, you can't run. They'll know where you're going almost before YOU do. What this does, though, is either let you pay them more, or let you beef up defenses. As in, hiring more guards, setting in traps and alarms, etc. Making it harder for the assassin to get you.

And yes, our group is basically breaking every rule except rule #1, which is the most important rule. The group is getting paid for killing these assassins, so not every rule is broken.

And as for stats, they're basically there so that people can more easily plan and point out what a character can and cannot do. So far, I've decided that there will be a list of traits, and they will be numbered 1-10, depending on your skill in that trait. So, let's say you're up on top of a building with a sniper rifle, and you see your target a small distance away. Depending on what your skill with the sniper rifle is will decide what you hit:

0=Put the rifle down. You'll end up shooting yourself.
1-4= You'll miss, and he'll hear the sound of a bullet ricocheting off a nearby object.
5-7= You'll hit him in a non-lethal area, like an arm or a leg.
8-9= You'll hit him in the chest.
10= Pick a body part. Any body part.

That's the basics of the stats idea. Now, in the stats, the ONLY way you can have a 10 in any stat is by having a cyber implant. Like the assassin Red Eye with his cyber eye, he has a sniper stat of 10. However, having a cyber implant will greatly reduce the stat of others. With his new eye, he has greater difficulty focusing on things that are close up to him. Hence, any close-combat skill is dropped down to below 4. So, unless you're willing to give up stats in other areas, don't choose a cyber implant.