(03-14-2014, 11:55 AM)FreelanceWizard Wrote: From an "art of RP" standpoint, this is another example of why it's just not a good idea to play law enforcement, nobility, Hearers, or anyone who has any societal authority over other PCs in an MMO. Regardless of the situation, the fact of the matter is that such characters don't have any real authority; they can say they're arresting me all they want, but they have no ability to enforce that. That lack of enforcement power is what leads to situations like this one. It also complicates RP, because one player is asserting authority over another without their consent. In such a situation, you have only two options: accept it, or ignore it. There's no real way to RP around it unless you accept the assertion whole cloth. This causes real problems in situations like this one, where both characters are asserting what amounts to conflicting authority.Ultimately, to me, it all comes down to agency. This is normally important in any RP, but it's especially important in RP that involves characters with authority over others.
On the topic at hand, I don't really see a good way out of this. If nothing else, the two characters have conflicting authority and the two players have differing opinions on the legal rights that authority provides, so the only really viable option seems for them to just ignore each other.
I've done a lot of RP involving my character (a crook) and cops. In general, it's all been extremely rewarding RP and I've enjoyed it a great deal. The key, in my opinion, is that I've taken the time to discuss things OOCly with the other players, setting out things like personal limits for outcomes and the like. In essence, doing this turns a situation where someone is claiming authority over someone else into one where both people agree.