EVE Fiction

Not that I'm trying to shoot down the idea of suicide ganking. I just want to see if people can find ways to logically fit it into EvE lore. After all, it has been established that even capsuleer ships have crews (though smaller crews than "normal" ships). While an immortal capsuleer, who is assured of escaping into a pod and has clones waiting for them even if that fails may have no reason to fear death, how does one convey that same kind of attitude to their all-too-mortal ship crews?

Logically, in such a situation, one would think that anyone who said "Ok, I'm bored so let's blast that ship over there even though CONCORD will assuredly kill every last one of us except for me. Hop to it!" would soon find themselves facing an armed mutiny before they can even say "Who's with me?" And being that the capsuleer is stuck inside a capsule and not exactly mobile, it would be a very short mutiny indeed.

Now it is perfectly justifiable to say that certain groups would not have this problem - Sansha's Nation comes to mind immediately. Rogue Drones likewise show little sense of self preservation either. Certain fanatical groups like the Blood Raiders or highly indoctrinated elite soldiers in the Amarr or Caldari forces may have that kind of suicidal discipline, if they can be persuaded that the cause of their sacrifice is worthy enough. Even the Minmatar may have fanatics more than willing to die for their cause. But even in these cases, "just for laughs" certainly wouldn't qualify as a potent enough motivator.

In a sense the idea actually has great story/fiction/lore potential, if done in the right dramatic context. In a huge battle, or dealing with an extremist group, for example - in these cases the idea of the suicide gank adds drama to the story. But in the day-to-day life of New Eden... how do we maintain our suspension of disbelief?

I await your ideas.

I have a deal with Minmatar justice system. They give me convicted felons (the kind that you would never want released, ever) and I tell them, "If you can survive on my ship for the duration of its insurance policy, you get a full pardon and 15,000 ISK (*which is apparently a lot of money to non-capsuleers*)."
I give them a crash course in maintenance and repairs, load them up, seal them in, turn all systems to "secure 'me' access only" (so no one can know what I'm doing), and then do my thing.
I save the Minmatar Republic a lot of money in court and housing costs.

Alternatively... get some terminally ill people, make a contract that says their families will be the beneficiaries of whatever income they have earned, train them slightly, and gank.


And if the two above are not an option... tell no one what I'm doing, warp around saying we're going after "war targets," and as soon as I have exited warp and am on top of my victim... give the "abandon ship" order.

Because suicide ganking generally only requires you to have a round or two of ammo loaded and your guns pointed at a target, your crew turns everything on, runs to the escape pods, and ejects when CONCORD comes.

And the circle is complete: Slavers, slaves, slavemasters of the disenfranchised. This is why I am seriously considering renouncing all of my Empire ties and taking up with the Angels.

At least they have the courtesy of asking their people to die in glory - even if there's only one right answer.

And what about suicide ships that are using smart bombs? Escape pod + smart bomb == space dust.

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but I've had thoughts about other player-based entities that make me wonder how their crews would feel about them. Namely, Red vs. Blue (and others like them, I'm sure, but RvB is the most prominent that came to my mind). To explain:

RvB isn't like most other capsuleer entities that engage in fights and wardecs. Their sole explicit reason for existing is to maintain a permanent wardec between their two member corporations to perpetuate fun, pointless violence between capsuleer ships. Brilliant idea from a gaming perspective, but I've kept coming back to the idea that, in the 'world' of New Eden, this would be an even higher-risk proposition than normal for crews. Many RvB pilots use disposable ships that they wouldn't mind losing by the dozen, and then proceed to do just that.

I've sometimes imagined there being this whole subculture among capsuleer vessel crews of those who are willing to accept the added danger of crewing a ship intended for pvp, knowing full well that the pilot intends to fly it to a fiery demise mere minutes after undocking. Perhaps it's a thrill, compared to working for a mission runner. Perhaps it nets them extra prestige or bragging rights. Perhaps crew salary is higher in proportion to the risk they undertake (I expect it would be). One way or the other, I'm sure it's quite the ride for the imaginary crew.

To respond to the original point of the thread, I would absolutely imagine that preserving the crew during a suicide gank is the norm. Given that the attack is responded to by concord and therefore a matter of public record, I expect you'd have a damn hard time keeping your ships crewed if you gain a rep as a pilot who's willing to just slaughter his entire crew on a lark.

Jettisoned as you land from warp, before you start smart bombing. Anyone too slow gets (as you said) turned into space dust.

It makes perfect sense. You're a hitman, a psychotic murderer, a serial killer, a mercenary. And you'll have to do your job in front of the cops. The people who signed up with you are unfortunate and know the degree of danger and how little their lives are worth to the capsuleer.

Meh,

I take the "Pod" concept to the extreme in that there is no crew on 95% of ships. Even larger ships literally being a extension of the pilot with automatons, robots, nanites, etc handling what modern day crews would do. Then the concept of mutiny, pay, and loss of life is moot.

yk

You should consider reading this article, Raven, since crews are needed (and Caldari ships have higher crew requirements than most other races). The pod cuts down the requirement by about 50%, not 100%.