Search the Community

I know there's another thread on this topic here, but I have an alternative suggestion for this rule, and I feel like my post in that thread is being buried over a similar but separate topic. So, to preface the points as concisely as I can, with full explanations for each point below, here is what I suggest: Make 14 the minimum age (remove 12 and 13 year olds) Remove the Illegal Faction requirement for under 16s Require all (M) characters have a legal guardian played by another player (No more NPC parents) Introduce a foster program, that has both IC and OOC utility for finding legal guardians for minors Introduce the same real world curfew laws that LA has, including truancy and bar restrictions Maybe also adjust the timezone to be between US and UK Increase minimum age The two main reasons I think this should be increased is because its difficult to really make someone look younger than 14 with the character editor, and there aren't any middle schools on the map. I know gangs like to recruit at a young age, but in my experience high school is when that really peaks. Plus, if truancy laws were added, having an actual school to go to is important. Playing under 14 (under high school age) can get weird, from a consistency/believability standpoint. Since I know this is an EU server, I should mention that the US public school system is divided across Elementary (K-6th grade), Middle School (7th and 8th grades), and High School (9th-12th grades, aka Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior). Remove IF Requirements Honestly this rule has always confused me. Its a very weird requirement to enforce, and makes metagaming unavoidable since everyone would know that under 16s are involved in a gang. It'd probably be more immersive for police factions if they didn't know every kid they ran into was a criminal, but it also forces you to play a specific route if you go the (M) route. It just doesn't make sense any way I try to break it down. I think kids have an important part to play in both stories, and a sandbox world that seeks to replicate how a real city runs, but requiring they're in gangs isn't necessary IMO. Require Guardians for (M)s. This is mostly to challenge complaints a lot of people have against people who play Ms, one I agree with too. All too often people will run into poor quality RPers as (M)s, who basically just cause hell with zero consequences. Having an actual player fill the role would help keep the RP more realistic. You could have your uncle be your guardian, and the same guy that inducts you into a gang (based on a real story), or just an actual parent that would try to keep you out of trouble. It would help filter out trolls, r9 breakers, or just general bad RPers. I actually started RPing here with a minor character, specifically because I thought it would be a more immersive way to learn how to play the game, with my friend who played my character's canonical uncle. I had other characters to play when the uncle wasn't online, and the shenanigans I got into gave me a good backstory to work with when I decide to reintroduce the aged up version of this character. Foster Program If requiring a player guardian is enforced, having a foster program would also be a good idea. It could help players find a guardian for their characters in various situations where they don't have one (new character, previous guardian became inactive or killed, or was found unfit to be a guardian, etc), but also help build realistic backstories with kids who are bounced between a dozen (often abusive) foster parents. Its a system I've dealt with a lot IRL, and tbh I would love to see this played out in roleplay. There would also be incentives to take on foster kids too, like bonus cash from the government. I can totally see players taking on a bunch of kids for the money, which to be honest is something that people do IRL too. Thing is, the guardians are responsible for their kids, and often times kids bounce foster parents every few months for various reasons ranging from neglect, abuse, or simply because the parent decides it. Curfew and Truancy So, IRL L.A. has a law that forbids minors to be out after 10pm till sunrise unless said minor is with an adult, traveling to work/school, or is on their way to a family member's. Just like IRL, its very easy to get around this law simply by having an older sibling (or family friend) with you, and its also only enforced in the city. Country cops historically give few shits outside of major crimes. Truancy is also a thing, when school is in session kids should be there. Finally, minors (21) aren't allowed in certain bars in LA (although in other states, there either is no law, a law requiring parents, or a law only disallowing after a certain time). Having more realistic laws in place could also help with keeping (M) characters in line with reality, in terms of behavior. PS: I did also want to point out, it is legal for people as young as 14 to work a job in the US, and LA/CA. From 14-15, you're required to be under full time hours, and from 14-17 you're not allowed to handle dangerous objects such as weapons, alcohol, or kitchens, but you are allowed to work. Timezone? However, I do see an issue with the time difference. For some US players, logging on at 5pm could mean midnight server time. That basically locks Pacific players out of playing minors unless they want to deal with constant curfew laws. Again, these laws could be easy bypassed with exceptions (such as having a legal guardian with you), or a more radical solution would be to shift server time to UTC-3 (AMST), the midway between UK and US's furthest timezone. Conclusion What I suggest is more restrictive than what we have now with a few restrictions lightened up. This is all to better simulate a living breathing city and how it handles its population of teenagers, and to help ensure that those choosing to play as minors upkeep a standard of roleplay that's been lacking with some edge cases. Being a kid comes with a different set of freedoms than adults, as well as restrictions, and I feel like a lot of people misunderstand these. Teens have every right to explore the city as everyone else, they aren't just supposed to be sheltered and can often get out of legal trouble a lot easier, but there are laws and systems in place to ensure they don't have free reign to do whatever they want (even though a lot of kids act like they do IRL). I know a lot of people simply want a ban for (M)inor characters all together, for reasons ranging from the adult setting of GTAW to the weird creeps who break r19, but kids are a part of the population IRL, so they should be here too. This server has an entirely player ran ecosystem that does an amazing job of replicating a (slightly exaggerated) Los Angeles from its crime and justice systems to political and economical. Kids have been used as political tokens, drug mules, ransom targets, and indoctrination victims, and the roleplay potential for all of that is great. Don't let the few bad RPers you've ran into ruin your opinion of the rest, cuz they aren't exclusive to minor characters/players either.

Crackers Crumble, White Boys Rumble documents the life and development of Roman Dempsey. Juvenility Roman grew up in foster care. He was adopted by a dentist and his wife and grew up in Dogtown. He's a somewhat sheltered kid but growing up knowing he was adopted has given him some issues that he's still working out. He dropped out of High School following a situation where he set fire to school property, luckily the High School did not press charges after intervention from his foster father and his influence within the community. Living as a High School drop-out, Roman is wasting his days away on the boardwalk. Hanging out with other delinquents and locals within the Dogtown community. He uses recreational drugs habitually and works at Toxic Haze, a record store along the boardwalk.