14.4 AVENGER JUSTICE

For the Vengeance arena game, see HELP VENGEANCEGAME

Syntax:

o PK STATUS
 Shows whether you are careful or not and lists suspects and those upon whom you can claim vengeance. Also shows whose lists you are on as a suspect.
 
o PK CAREFUL [ON/OFF]
 Sets your PK carefulness. If you turn on being careful then Avechna will warn you when you try to attack someone who lists you as a suspect, telling you to stay your hand. In other words, it will make it impossible for you to initiate an attack that would cause the target to gain vengeance against you. Having it off, of course, means you can initiate an attack with anyone, regardless of the consequences.

o VENGEANCE UPON <target>
 Calls an Avatar of Avechna to claim vengeance.

Lusternia operates with a PvP (player vs. player) policy with an innovative twist, which is called the Avenger Justice System. Avechna the Avenger has been charged with protecting the prime material plane against oppressors. An oppressor is someone who repeatedly kills or attacks another. What this means is that if you were killed on the prime material plane, you will be under the protection of the Avenger against that person for one RL month. That person is now considered a "suspect." The FIRST hostile action against you by a suspect will allow you to call the Avenger once. If you do not respond with any hostile action and die to that person, you may call the Avenger a second time. If you initiate a hostile action against a suspect (except in "open PK zones;" see below), the Avenger will assume you are taking matters in your own hands and remove that person as a suspect. Note that the Avenger will attempt to detect if a team has cooperated to slay someone and will treat all of them the same as it treats the individual killer.

To claim vengeance, you must travel to the top of Avenger Peak and invoke VENGEANCE UPON <oppressor>. The Avenger will then, at some point in the near future, surprise that person by descending on him and killing him. Further, the Avenger will award you approximately the amount of experience you lost by the oppressor. Your oppressor will be pacified for at least a day, but potentially longer depending on how many people have suspect status on him. 

Examples:
o If Galt kills Chade, then Galt is placed on Chade's Suspect list. After 30 days, Galt is taken off Chade's Suspect list.

o If Galt makes any hostile attack on Chade while on Chade's Suspect list, Galt is then placed on Chade's Vengeance list. Chade may now invoke the Avenger at his leisure (Chade must travel to the Avenger and invoke "VENGEANCE UPON GALT").

NOTE: Galt remains on Chade's Suspect list but subsequent hostile actions (that don't kill Chade) won't allow Chade to *stack* Galt's name more than once until Chade invokes vengeance (after which Galt can again be placed on Chade's Vengeance list by making yet another hostile action against Chade).

o If Galt kills Chade, then Chade can invoke the Avenger twice against Galt, once for a hostile action and once for the death.

NOTE: Galt remains on Chade's Suspect list so long as Chade has not made any hostile action in return.

o The only way Galt's name can be taken off Chade's Suspect list is if Chade makes any hostile action against Galt. If Chade is first attacked by Galt and then attacks Galt in self-defense (instead of running away), Galt will be placed once on Chade's vengeance list but taken off Chade's Suspect list. If Chade attacks Galt first, Galt is taken off Chade's Suspect list and may kill Chade again at any time without fear of Chade taking vengeance.

In sum, the Avenger Justice automates a very tough system of controlling PK (player killing). Potentially, an oppressor who kills someone will find himself dying twice each time he subsequently kills that victim within a 30 day period (assuming the victim never makes a hostile action in return). If that person attacks a victim unprovoked but fails to kill that victim, he will still find himself dying to the Avenger (even if the victim turns the tables and kills the oppressor, the oppressor will die twice, once to the victim and once to the Avenger). Invoking the Avenger is optional and a name on the Vengeance list will be deleted from the list if not invoked after the 30 day limit on the name expires.

EXCEPTIONS:

o The Avenger will NOT protect you if you die on another plane. Travel to other planes at your own risk. Also, the Avenger will NOT protect you if you enter territory where you've been declared an enemy. These are "open PK" zones. As stated above, suspect status will not be dropped when you attack suspects in open PK zones.

o If you get yourself on the suspect list of 15 or more people then each additional time you get on a suspect list, your victim will also get an immediate chance of vengeance.

o During events of crisis and conflict, the Avenger recognises the need to let combat unfold without interference. Whenever this is the case, you will be notified upon login, and surveying in an area will tell you if the Avenger is not protecting that area.

NOTES:

o Resurrecting an enemy in combat to kill them again is prohibited and is a punishable offence. There should never be a reason to resurrect an enemy in combat.