Goonhub
10-24-2025, 07:24 AM
Jailbird is one of those things which, like so many other traits and mechanics, presents a unique opportunity for roleplay that I simply do not see being capitalised upon or engaged with frequently enough. This is the kind of change that I, personally, would like to see; there's a lot that could be said about it from a purely mechanical perspective, but I feel as though the problem lies more in the roleplaying aspect than anything else.
Players who pick Jailbird do so because they are (hopefully) aware of its implications. To simply see their listed crimes and refusing to engage with them in an even remotely meaningful way — such as by simply removing their arrest flag or handing them a vague, non-descript ticket for 'off-station crimes' — is, speaking bluntly, lazy. It would be nice to see more engagement between Security players and those who have picked the Jailbird trait on the specifics of the crime, to foster some interesting and potentially amusing moments, and to play in to the trait a little bit more when time allows.
That last part is one of the key parts, I feel. It isn't always feasible to go after those with the Jailbird trait, particularly on highpop, when there are more pressing matters. Being able to prioritise which tasks and cases need to be dealt with first is one of the core components of playing Security, but that doesn't mean that the lesser of two evils gets outright ignored or forgotten about once things calm down; unfortunately, Jailbird often does. This is the kind of change of approach that I would like to see.
I do think that some of the confusion comes from the severity of some of the crimes generated from Jailbird, and that can make it difficult. 'Riding a segway into the Captain' is an opportunity for some goofing around and light-hearted roleplay. 'Murder', however? Not so much. In that way, I don't think that much meaningful cultural change within the bounds of roleplay will happen without some slight mechanical change. Maybe just keep the trait exclusively to petty crimes?
Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but if something is there that offers an opportunity for roleplay, on a roleplay server no less, it shouldn't just be dismissively hand-waved away. Jailbird can be fun, and I don't think it's the trait itself that makes it boring or frustrating to deal with; it's the approach that players take.
Players who pick Jailbird do so because they are (hopefully) aware of its implications. To simply see their listed crimes and refusing to engage with them in an even remotely meaningful way — such as by simply removing their arrest flag or handing them a vague, non-descript ticket for 'off-station crimes' — is, speaking bluntly, lazy. It would be nice to see more engagement between Security players and those who have picked the Jailbird trait on the specifics of the crime, to foster some interesting and potentially amusing moments, and to play in to the trait a little bit more when time allows.
That last part is one of the key parts, I feel. It isn't always feasible to go after those with the Jailbird trait, particularly on highpop, when there are more pressing matters. Being able to prioritise which tasks and cases need to be dealt with first is one of the core components of playing Security, but that doesn't mean that the lesser of two evils gets outright ignored or forgotten about once things calm down; unfortunately, Jailbird often does. This is the kind of change of approach that I would like to see.
I do think that some of the confusion comes from the severity of some of the crimes generated from Jailbird, and that can make it difficult. 'Riding a segway into the Captain' is an opportunity for some goofing around and light-hearted roleplay. 'Murder', however? Not so much. In that way, I don't think that much meaningful cultural change within the bounds of roleplay will happen without some slight mechanical change. Maybe just keep the trait exclusively to petty crimes?
Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but if something is there that offers an opportunity for roleplay, on a roleplay server no less, it shouldn't just be dismissively hand-waved away. Jailbird can be fun, and I don't think it's the trait itself that makes it boring or frustrating to deal with; it's the approach that players take.