Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Beat Criminal is a death sentence  (Read 1234 times)

Pleads

  • Escaped Lunatic
    • View Profile
Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« on: August 20, 2010, 11:00:30 pm »

It seems that even if you assign the weakest dwarf you have to Captain of the Guard, there is a 50/50 chance they will beat a criminal to death when fulfilling the Beat Criminal punishment. Would it be possible to build in some kind of injury limit on the punishment, so the Captain doesn't just wail away until the victim is a mushed pulp? It's nearly impossible to maintain good justice in the event your old captain dies (say, in an attack) and civilians begin to tantrum, as it's impossible to have enough useful cages for them all, meaning a lot end up with a beating, meaning you risk losing even more dwarfs and thus continuing the spiral.

Besides, since when have police been allowed to murder petty thieves without repercussion?
Logged

andfhe

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2010, 04:22:17 am »

You could break the chiefs arms and legs, then he wouldn't kill anyone. An upright spear trap could mess him up pretty bad.
Logged
Well if you remove the [MULTIPLE_LITTER_RARE] tag from dwarves I think they have like 2-4 children each time they give birth. And if you get enough mothers up on the pillars you can probably get a good waterfall going.

Pilsu

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2010, 08:03:47 am »

Weren't unarmed strikes rendered fairly ineffective in the new version?
Logged

Funk

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2010, 09:55:16 am »

no a GOOD blow will shater bone or bruse the lungs.

 
Logged
Agree, plus that's about the LAST thing *I* want to see from this kind of game - author spending valuable development time on useless graphics.

Unofficial slogan of Bay 12 Games.  

Death to the false emperor a warhammer40k SG

Chthonic

  • Bay Watcher
  • Whispers subterrene.
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2010, 11:14:41 am »

I give my guardsmen featherwood training swords (although, maybe featherwood maces would work better).
Logged

Neonivek

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2010, 11:23:04 am »

Actually the method of punishment is quite older then you think

basically the concept is that the person would recieve a number of blows were he/she would either have a good chance to die or a nearly guarenteed chance to die.

The point to being hammered in Dwarven Justice isn't to punish the dwarf with injury (unless it is very few hits); it is to KILL the dwarf.

An example of this practice in another society would be Australian native culture (one of them) where the death sentence was to have three spears chucked at you (or more). If you lived you would go free however.
Logged

NW_Kohaku

  • Bay Watcher
  • [ETHIC:SCIENCE_FOR_FUN: REQUIRED]
    • View Profile
Logged
Personally, I like [DF] because after climbing the damned learning cliff, I'm too elitist to consider not liking it.
"And no Frankenstein-esque body part stitching?"
"Not yet"

Improved Farming
Class Warfare

Shade-o

  • Bay Watcher
  • It's my greatest creation yet!
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2010, 07:57:20 pm »

I theorise that the executions aren't for punishing dwarves, it's for punishing the player.
Logged
Apparently having a redundant creature entry causes the game to say, "Oh, look, it's crazy world now. Nothing makes sense! Alligators live in houses!"

TheyTarget

  • Bay Watcher
  • Memento Mori
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2010, 08:18:30 pm »

I theorise that the executions aren't for punishing dwarves, it's for punishing the player.

Probably both. I can see beating people to death over crime. I mean, in japan they used to test new swords out on criminals.
Logged
Code: [Select]
This is a platinum warhammer. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. it menaces with spikes of platinum.
there is an image of the goblin Utes Gozrusrozsnus and dwarves in elf bone. The goblin is making a plaintive gesture. the dwarves are striking a menacing pose.
this image relates to the slaying of Utes Gozrusroz

Devonus

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2010, 01:18:28 am »

is it me or did it seem like many of those above executions are utlilized by half of our players (probably more) to deal with various things? Crushing aka collapse, snake pits and Bestari= any pit with something dangerous, Buried alive= Lock thing in room and watch slowly go insane then die, Crucifiction=Chained to wall till death (maybe not quite the same, but close enough), columbian necktie= letting a noble/something get seriously wounded (sometimes in the neck) and watch them die (if toady see's this i would not be surprised if you soon will be able to grab tongues, possibly through throat wounds XD), blood eagle=... ok maybe we dont have something QUITE that bad, however throwing wounded creatures in lava (as if the wound was not bad enough now we burn them alive) might simulate the burning of the salt.
Logged

RavingManiac

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Beat Criminal is a death sentence
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2010, 06:17:06 am »

Weren't unarmed strikes rendered fairly ineffective in the new version?

Not really. It is still a fairly common occurrence for a dwarf to hammer a creature's skull into its brain, resulting in instant death.

Arrests/beatings could probably be made non-lethal by the officer only targeting limbs or using joint locks. The only time justice is truly useful is during a tantrum spiral, and tantruming dwarves just need to be disabled enough to have to be hospitalized.
Logged
Thief:"Quiet kitty, Qui-"
Cat:"THIEF! Protect the hoard from the skulking filth!"
The resulting party killed 20 dwarves, crippled 2 more and the remaining 9 managed to get along and have a nice party.