Wait -- what?

[Frumple]

I'm decidedly curious here. I'm walking over from an abandonded mine to Cayley Rock's port place with a near fresh character -- it's been to the first level of winter's mine and few steps in said abandonded mine -- to heal up from the whooping an armored fungus laid on me, when I get contacted at random.

Turns out it's someone wanting to beat me up; no real prob, I've got the base piloting stuff, right? I just started, so I should at least have a chance of winning, I think to myself. Haihos aren't that bad, and this char's got some mecha fighting stuff going for it. Should be alright.

No such luck. My lovely foe shows up in a themed Vadel of all bloody things. I walk over the mountain to see what I'm up against, get nailed with some blast weapon, followed by a line weapon of some sort. I full-up die trying vainly to turn around and run. Then, honestly, I reload a time or two to see if I've got some vague chance of winning -- 4 for 4, losing my mech 3 times and dying that first one. Finally I scummed a last time and just bloody ran, but I gotta' ask...what just happened? How did my first mecha fight end up against something massively out weighing me?

Oh, and a final scum check shows that... the thing had allies. I know things are kinda' stacked against some critters (The character was a pirate, after all, and criminal mission pickings are... slim, from what I've seen.), but that's a little silly.

===

In a more general questioning, what is there to do for a bad guy main chara? Any way to join up with the Red Masks or Aegis? Where are the Crihna folks centered at, anyway?

[Joseph Hewitt]

Your character must have made enemies- did you take a mission against the Silver Knights, the Privateers, or L5Law? A near-fresh character shouldn't have been given the opportunity to do any of that, but that's the only thing I can figure out...

Argh. Let me guess, your character was a member of the Blades of Crihna? I added them as a joinable faction for Cayley Rock so I could debug some things and didn't remove them afterwards. That would start you out as an enemy of the Privateers, the Knights, and L5Law.

When traveling in "enemy territory", the defense encounters don't scale to your level. You need to either avoid them, run away from them, or get to a sufficient level that you can take any of the defenders. They aren't meant to be fair fights, which is why the Blades shouldn't be a starting faction for Cayley (or, if they are, they should have to be unlocked).

Edit- The Blades have been removed from Crihna.

Edit2- I need to add some criminal missions. I'll do that.

[Frumple]

Quoting: Joseph Hewitt

Argh. Let me guess, your character was a member of the Blades of Crihna?

Bingo. That's actually what I figured was the issue, but I wanted to check. Those defense encounters are freaking nasty for a starting character, though -- you can't see 'em untill they contact you and if you're unlucky, there's a good chance you can't run (Them being in a mecha that can over take you before you can turn around and flee. I've had it happen a few times, bleh.), which is just vile.

Still, with Crihna off the starting roster, is it now impossible to join up with a 'bad guy' faction? I know there's a Crihna ship floating around one of the spinners, usually, but the time or two I managed to actually find it and pull off a mission for them, I didn't get anywhere else with the thing. I'd really like to join up with the Masks, too...

[EuchreJack]

Besides, just because the PC is a criminal, doesn't mean they're evil.  I could see joining up with the Crihna Blades to avenge the destruction of Crihna Spinner.  That's what I'd like to do.

[Jafet]

I can envision this being done in a style reminiscent of Lucky Number Slevin, where the player carefully plots and carries out the deaths of crats who ordered the bombardment. (After Luna gets added to the ganeworld?) And when you encounter the (retired?) mastermind and subdue him, you get to go "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Name yourself Inigo Montoya.

[Daemonward]

Quoting: Jafet

And when you encounter the (retired?) mastermind and subdue him, you get to go "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Name yourself Inigo Montoya.

And then the mastermind reveals that he is your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.

[Matrix]

"What's that make us?"
"Absolutely nothing - which is what you are about to become."

*ahem*

[Jafet]

Unless you are named Luke and also wielding a beam sword, in which case your nemesis will be generated with a beam sword and special black gothic combat armor. Makes called shots on arms.

[alias]

That's it... I'd better get out my GH1 plasma cannons, screw on gas vents and start burning down the ewok forest before this gets out of hand.