7.15 Bounties
Bounties provide a way for players to seek in-game resolution for character deaths. If you have a roleplay reason to attack another character, you can instead choose to place a bounty on them.
Use the BOUNTY command to see syntaxes.
Contracts are then taken by bounty hunters, who will then attempt to fulfill the bounty by killing the target.
Remember - the bounty hunter is considered a tool of the hirer, when you place a bounty, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do, in fact, have a valid reason to attack, the target. The bounty placer should be aware of the rules listed in HELP PK, and follow them. Note that this stipulation mainly applies for any OOC ISSUEs which may come up in response to invalid cause for PK. The bounty hunter is not protected from any IC repercussions of their actions. Not all characters need agree IC with the assessment that bounty hunters are 'tools'.
When you fill a bounty, you are required to include the mark reward for the bounty hunter, as well as the reason for the kill. The mark reward is placed in an escrow, has a minimal amount that is based on the target's level, and is paid to the hunter upon completion of the contract. If the bounty fails, these marks are refunded to you. The reason will be displayed to the target when the bounty is fulfilled.
Upon bounty completion, the INR of the target is automatically transferred to the hirer, and the bounty reward is paid to the hunter.
When you file a bounty, it will at first only be visible to bounty hunters that are in the same faction as you. After 12 RL hours, all bounty hunters will be able to see the bounty. Bounty hunters can't claim a bounty on someone in their own faction.
Optionally, the hirer may specify a percentage of the bounty that the hunter must pay to an escrow when taking on the bounty. When the hunter completes the contract, this escrow is refunded; if the contract fails, the hirer receives the escrow. The purpose of this is to discourage holding on contracts with no intention to complete them.
Once a contract has been accepted, the bounty hunter has 30 RL days to complete it, *OR* 12 hours of active time - the 12 hour timer will tick down if both the hunter and the target are online, not in any factional or instanced area, and not docked to their factional station. The 30-day timer ticks down at all times. When either time reaches zero, the bounty is considered failed.
Becoming a bounty hunter
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You can enroll as a bounty hunter at the Tranquility Deepness station. Costs 20,000 Marks, you need to be level 50 or more.
IMPORTANT: while a bounty hunter, you are considered to be lawless - see HELP LAWLESS for more information. After enrolling, you are not allowed to leave the bounty hunters for one game year (90 RL days). You also cannot place bounties while you are a bounty hunter.
Bounty hunters have two important tools available at their disposal. BOUNTY DECOUPLE <target> allows them to force-undock a docked ship, while BOUNTY LOCATE <target> allows them to seek out the location of their target.
To perform the DECOUPLE action, you need to be at the corresponding docking room, and it costs 1,500 Marks.
To perform the LOCATE action, you must first hack into the relevant databases - the terminal is located at the Tranquility Deepness station, in the room used to join and accept bounties. Once hacked, you will have access for 12 game days (3 RL days).
These abilities are only available use against players that you have an active bounty on.
