(01-31-2014, 01:57 PM)Ashscarred Wrote: I would implore you to consider what playing a member of law enforcement really means and why it should be handled with care.
When you Role play, for example, a Flames officer, you are not simply playing that one individual. You are playing The Flames.Â
When you make a threat it comes with the full martial and bureaucratic might of the entire law enforcement machine. You carry in your hand the ability to met out consequences, small and dire, that other players MUST respect or be forced to break character.
To use a real world example, what happens when a police officer tries to make an arrest and things go awry? What happens if the officer is injured or even killed? Congrats, you now have to deal not with that individual, but with the entire law enforcement apparatus. That one officer is a cog in a machine that no one individual can effectively stand against.
Bringing this back to FF14, even in the realm of high fantasy, the above example still stands. Even if the officer in question was *wrong*, even if they were actively evil and corrupt, you CANNOT simply get away with crossing them. That's why, when misused, playing an officer can rise to the level of manipulating a scene. Almost no other type of character can simply walk in and create real consequences for all involved.
As for being a fugitive, if that's the logical path for a particular story to take, fine. It's not something I'd want arbitrarily imposed upon my character by someone else.
It's important to note that this is a false analogy. Contrary to popular belief, the Immortal Flames are not a law enforcement branch. They're Ul'dah's military, and the Brass Blades are law enforcement. In your example, it would be as if an off duty US Army officer showed up and tried to act in the place of the police, rather than calling the police to deal with it. Yes, harming the officer would cause a good bit of trouble in its own right, but you're under no obligation to regard an Army officer as you would a police officer. And he'd have no right to arrest you. The Army fights our enemies, whereas the police protect and serve the people.
Just the same, the Immortal Flames don't patrol the city and make arrests. They fight the enemies of Ul'dah without. The Brass Blades take care of Ul'dah itself, policing its streets and Thanalan's roads (of course, they're often corrupt, but so are the police, on occasion). The Sultansworn are way off in Secret Service land, with authority that trumps both, but only when specifically serving the Sultanate.
Of course, the root of the problem here doesn't have too much to do with all this, but it's worth clarifying. The problem might not have existed at all if the Flames roleplayer was aware of this. Then again, maybe they were, and their character is just shady and corrupt, trying to take advantage of their position. There are certainly examples of military sorts doing that in real life.
Either way, there's plenty more at work here that others are addressing nicely.
