Post by Crystallis on Jul 15, 2010 17:35:54 GMT -5
The old Hideoutpedia has some articles on the Hideout and New Hideout. If you just start at "The Hideout" from the main page you should be able to navigate to other articles as needed. here I'll provide any new information due to Hideout Club or things that happen through the jobs. I intend on creating new primers for other locations as they become visited.
This is intended to be a discussion, although Video will have the final say. I'm mostly spit balling ideas based on my knowledge of the Hideout and GRP. Feel free to comment on anything you think doesn't sound right.
Hideout History - Hideout Club
After the refugees were evacuated from the Asylum and transferred to New Hideout, Crystallis turned his mind to the Hideout's other problems, most of them tied to the Hideout's weak economy. The Hideout had few natural resources, so he and Ralon decided to capitalize on the one resource the Hideout had in abundance - adventurers. They worked with a few old associates of the Hideout to form the Hideout Club, and marketed it to potential clients as a professional and effective group of adventurers who could solve their problems. With the wide array of talent at their disposal, they proudly boasted that there was no job too big or too small for the Hideout.
They also began marketing the Hideout to additional recruits to expand their pool of adventurers further. The Hideout was already known as a place of refuge, so they continued to sell the idea of the Hideout as a safe haven for adventurers who had overstayed their welcome. They also began to market and build up the Hideout Club as a place for adventurers to relax and socialize between jobs, and as a well-connected agent to clients across the multiverse, so even those with no intention of moving would be interesting in joining the Club.
The Club quickly impacted the Hideout's economy. The Hideout Club itself provided many jobs for residents of the Hideout, and cottage industries sprang up around the Hideout Club HQ. Many entrepreneurs started up business catering to the adventurers of the Hideout Club, and the wealthier merchants hired the adventurers themselves to bring exotic goods from other planes. These industries also provided good-paying jobs for the citizens of the Heartlands, and the middle class flourished.
These economic effects changed the political climate of the Hideout as well. The influence of the nobility shrunk drastically. Now that Crystallis had saved the Hideout's economy, his popularity among the commoners soared to even greater heights than previously enjoyed. With the Hideout Club, the HDF, and the king as the foremost institutions of the Hideout, the nobility took a begrudging back seat. Crystallis has begun making his threats of abolishing the nobility public, and although he hasn't made good on them yet, he continues to aggravate them further with each passing day. Lord Thaddeus Margraf is a notable exception, but his successes are despite his status as a noble, not because of it.
The Underground has had better success with the new economy. While many of the more brutal and open criminals in the Underground were stamped out by the HDF or the Hideout Club, the more clever criminals saw the opportunities that the Hideout Club brought. Many have used legitimate businesses as fronts to hire adventurers, or hire them directly for under the table jobs, in order to smuggle in (or out) goods a little too exotic for the open markets. Thaddeus Margraf, for instance, has been exporting his stocks of Nightmare Mushrooms to other locales. While the Underground as a whole has suffered, the more clever elements are thriving, despite the best efforts of the HDF. Many officials are, of course, bribed to look the other way regarding these black market enterprises.
Hideout Club
The Hideout Club is a corporation which is established separately from the Unified Hideout Government, although it has strong ties to the government. It is run by a board* comprising of several founding members of the Hideout. With the exception of Crystallis, the board pays little attention to the day-to-day affairs of the Hideout Club, so it is run by an extensive staff. Crystallis, Ralon, and the HDF soldiers under him often lend support in recruiting members, negotiating with important and/or difficult clients, and divining information about jobs if the details provided seem sketchy.
* I'm currently thinking Crystallis, Videospirit, pink_lugia, Firehawk, and Chris Asmadi (unless he's still a hermit like in Next Gen) for the board. Open to suggestions on this.
Hideout Club Jobs
The Hideout Club Staff is always working with clients and adventurers to find jobs and get adventurers to complete them. Fifty percent of the profits from jobs are paid to the Hideout, and members also pay annual dues. Members are allowed, however, to keep magical items and other such assets from their quests, and only liquid assets (gold, gems, etc.) need to be split with the Club. While this may seem like a steep referral fee, adventurers still turn quite a profit. Additionally, since membership in the Club provides many amenities, and since many of the more powerful members are independently wealthy anyway, few members complain.
The Hideout Club does have standards in accepting jobs. The Hideout Club does not accept bounties on its own members or citizens of the Hideout. The Hideout Club finds that such requests are often due to petty grudges and are detrimental to working relationships. Genuine issues with citizens of the Hideout are left to the HDF, and the Hideout Club deals with member problems internally.
The Hideout Club also will not accept jobs deemed not to "meet the moral and ethical standards of the Unified Hideout," as stated in official documents, or to put it bluntly, the Hideout doesn't take jobs which are clearly evil. Some clients will try to "trick" the Hideout Club, but since the Hideout has many wizards skilled in divining magic, this rarely succeeds, and even those who do are discovered eventually and blackballed from the Club's client list. This does not mean that all jobs must be sunshine and rainbows. Many jobs of a mercenary or mercantile nature are accepted. But would-be tyrants and conquerors should look elsewhere for their hired muscle.
To maintain its position as an independent and neutral party, the Hideout generally also avoids staying out of wars, although it will happily lends its services as a mediator to resolve such conflicts. Military conflicts, however noble the cause, are normally refused. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the board, and since the Hideout's founders don't really care much for the intricacies of interplanar politics, and tend to be cocky (largely justifiably) about the Hideout's might, they are known to say "Screw it" to this rule on occasion, which is a large source of migraines for Ralon and the staff in the Client Relations and Public Relations departments of the Hideout Club.
Job Ranks
Due to the wide disparity of power on the Hideout, jobs are classified according to their difficulty. New members begin at Copper Class and must prove themselves to the Club to advance. It seems to be intended that our main characters will be on the low end (Copper Class) at first. Additionally, the vast majority of jobs in the Multiverse are probably Copper Class, with the higher levels becoming exponentially more rare (and more expensive), so this shouldn't be a concern for some time.
Copper Class: Corresponds to Tiers 8-9. (Tier 8 - Power comparable to experienced adventurers; Tier 9 - Power comparable to starting low level adventurers to somewhat competent adventurers.) Examples: Zane, Ralon
Silver Class: Corresponds to Tiers 6-7. (Tier 6 - Power Comparable to Gandalf from lord of the rings, super mortal; Tier 7: Power comparable to very skilled adventurers, the limits of a human warrior with no magical abilities or sci fi/magical items.) Examples: White Inferno, Sean
Gold Class: Corresponds to Tiers 4-5. (Tier 4: These guys could destroy a city in less than a day at a quarter of their full power;
Tier 5: Prime physical condition, access to awesome powers, world changing power.) Examples: Anathorion, Magus
Platinum Class: Corresponds to Tiers 2-3. (Tier 2: As strong as the gods themselves; Tier 3: Can take on entire armies of low level warriors by themselves and have a good chance of winning.) Examples: Crystallis, Trent
Diamond Class: Corresponds to Tier 1. (Tier 1: Even above the gods, only the most powerful of gods are this rank, and most mortal magicians can never become this powerful.) Examples: Videospirit, pink
This is intended to be a discussion, although Video will have the final say. I'm mostly spit balling ideas based on my knowledge of the Hideout and GRP. Feel free to comment on anything you think doesn't sound right.
Hideout History - Hideout Club
After the refugees were evacuated from the Asylum and transferred to New Hideout, Crystallis turned his mind to the Hideout's other problems, most of them tied to the Hideout's weak economy. The Hideout had few natural resources, so he and Ralon decided to capitalize on the one resource the Hideout had in abundance - adventurers. They worked with a few old associates of the Hideout to form the Hideout Club, and marketed it to potential clients as a professional and effective group of adventurers who could solve their problems. With the wide array of talent at their disposal, they proudly boasted that there was no job too big or too small for the Hideout.
They also began marketing the Hideout to additional recruits to expand their pool of adventurers further. The Hideout was already known as a place of refuge, so they continued to sell the idea of the Hideout as a safe haven for adventurers who had overstayed their welcome. They also began to market and build up the Hideout Club as a place for adventurers to relax and socialize between jobs, and as a well-connected agent to clients across the multiverse, so even those with no intention of moving would be interesting in joining the Club.
The Club quickly impacted the Hideout's economy. The Hideout Club itself provided many jobs for residents of the Hideout, and cottage industries sprang up around the Hideout Club HQ. Many entrepreneurs started up business catering to the adventurers of the Hideout Club, and the wealthier merchants hired the adventurers themselves to bring exotic goods from other planes. These industries also provided good-paying jobs for the citizens of the Heartlands, and the middle class flourished.
These economic effects changed the political climate of the Hideout as well. The influence of the nobility shrunk drastically. Now that Crystallis had saved the Hideout's economy, his popularity among the commoners soared to even greater heights than previously enjoyed. With the Hideout Club, the HDF, and the king as the foremost institutions of the Hideout, the nobility took a begrudging back seat. Crystallis has begun making his threats of abolishing the nobility public, and although he hasn't made good on them yet, he continues to aggravate them further with each passing day. Lord Thaddeus Margraf is a notable exception, but his successes are despite his status as a noble, not because of it.
The Underground has had better success with the new economy. While many of the more brutal and open criminals in the Underground were stamped out by the HDF or the Hideout Club, the more clever criminals saw the opportunities that the Hideout Club brought. Many have used legitimate businesses as fronts to hire adventurers, or hire them directly for under the table jobs, in order to smuggle in (or out) goods a little too exotic for the open markets. Thaddeus Margraf, for instance, has been exporting his stocks of Nightmare Mushrooms to other locales. While the Underground as a whole has suffered, the more clever elements are thriving, despite the best efforts of the HDF. Many officials are, of course, bribed to look the other way regarding these black market enterprises.
Hideout Club
The Hideout Club is a corporation which is established separately from the Unified Hideout Government, although it has strong ties to the government. It is run by a board* comprising of several founding members of the Hideout. With the exception of Crystallis, the board pays little attention to the day-to-day affairs of the Hideout Club, so it is run by an extensive staff. Crystallis, Ralon, and the HDF soldiers under him often lend support in recruiting members, negotiating with important and/or difficult clients, and divining information about jobs if the details provided seem sketchy.
* I'm currently thinking Crystallis, Videospirit, pink_lugia, Firehawk, and Chris Asmadi (unless he's still a hermit like in Next Gen) for the board. Open to suggestions on this.
Hideout Club Jobs
The Hideout Club Staff is always working with clients and adventurers to find jobs and get adventurers to complete them. Fifty percent of the profits from jobs are paid to the Hideout, and members also pay annual dues. Members are allowed, however, to keep magical items and other such assets from their quests, and only liquid assets (gold, gems, etc.) need to be split with the Club. While this may seem like a steep referral fee, adventurers still turn quite a profit. Additionally, since membership in the Club provides many amenities, and since many of the more powerful members are independently wealthy anyway, few members complain.
The Hideout Club does have standards in accepting jobs. The Hideout Club does not accept bounties on its own members or citizens of the Hideout. The Hideout Club finds that such requests are often due to petty grudges and are detrimental to working relationships. Genuine issues with citizens of the Hideout are left to the HDF, and the Hideout Club deals with member problems internally.
The Hideout Club also will not accept jobs deemed not to "meet the moral and ethical standards of the Unified Hideout," as stated in official documents, or to put it bluntly, the Hideout doesn't take jobs which are clearly evil. Some clients will try to "trick" the Hideout Club, but since the Hideout has many wizards skilled in divining magic, this rarely succeeds, and even those who do are discovered eventually and blackballed from the Club's client list. This does not mean that all jobs must be sunshine and rainbows. Many jobs of a mercenary or mercantile nature are accepted. But would-be tyrants and conquerors should look elsewhere for their hired muscle.
To maintain its position as an independent and neutral party, the Hideout generally also avoids staying out of wars, although it will happily lends its services as a mediator to resolve such conflicts. Military conflicts, however noble the cause, are normally refused. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the board, and since the Hideout's founders don't really care much for the intricacies of interplanar politics, and tend to be cocky (largely justifiably) about the Hideout's might, they are known to say "Screw it" to this rule on occasion, which is a large source of migraines for Ralon and the staff in the Client Relations and Public Relations departments of the Hideout Club.
Job Ranks
Due to the wide disparity of power on the Hideout, jobs are classified according to their difficulty. New members begin at Copper Class and must prove themselves to the Club to advance. It seems to be intended that our main characters will be on the low end (Copper Class) at first. Additionally, the vast majority of jobs in the Multiverse are probably Copper Class, with the higher levels becoming exponentially more rare (and more expensive), so this shouldn't be a concern for some time.
Copper Class: Corresponds to Tiers 8-9. (Tier 8 - Power comparable to experienced adventurers; Tier 9 - Power comparable to starting low level adventurers to somewhat competent adventurers.) Examples: Zane, Ralon
Silver Class: Corresponds to Tiers 6-7. (Tier 6 - Power Comparable to Gandalf from lord of the rings, super mortal; Tier 7: Power comparable to very skilled adventurers, the limits of a human warrior with no magical abilities or sci fi/magical items.) Examples: White Inferno, Sean
Gold Class: Corresponds to Tiers 4-5. (Tier 4: These guys could destroy a city in less than a day at a quarter of their full power;
Tier 5: Prime physical condition, access to awesome powers, world changing power.) Examples: Anathorion, Magus
Platinum Class: Corresponds to Tiers 2-3. (Tier 2: As strong as the gods themselves; Tier 3: Can take on entire armies of low level warriors by themselves and have a good chance of winning.) Examples: Crystallis, Trent
Diamond Class: Corresponds to Tier 1. (Tier 1: Even above the gods, only the most powerful of gods are this rank, and most mortal magicians can never become this powerful.) Examples: Videospirit, pink
