Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:47 AM
Karazor
I'm creating a faction for a post-apocalyptic setting I want your opinion on one of their little rituals

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:48 AM
Sure

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:49 AM
So you've got your law enforcing faction who work in two groups, the ones who operate an outpost in a town that they police and keep law in, and your rangers who behave much as you'd expect, going out and taking care of problems
I'm looking for a post-apocalyptic paladin feel where they're hardened men doing good, and they don't have a stick up their ass, but they don't take skeevy shit lying down.

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:50 AM
Right, so a combination of the Regulators and the NCR Rangers

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:50 AM
Regulators?
THe name is familiar but I can't place it

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:51 AM
They were from Fallout... 1 I think? Basically a band of mercenary cops, you brought them in to your town and paid them and they'd keep the place orderly for you.

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:52 AM
one quick wiki walk later

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:52 AM
lol

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:52 AM
Sure that works, but as much as they're mercenary they don't truck with people who break contracts and they're picky over who they make contracts with

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:53 AM
Sure. Good mercs are like that, Wolf's Dragoons in BattleTech will actually rate employers and if you get downrated by them it gets way harder to hire reputable mercs.

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:54 AM
Anyway, the outpost types who do local law enforcement can be broken down into two groups. Your veteran leadership who, to a one, are former rangers, and their trainee street cop types who are learning everything they need to be a ranger.
You identify a ranger because they carry a custom .45 automatic pistol.
You identify rank because as a ranger accomplishes stuff those guns get embellished.
They do something with the grips when they make them so anyone using a ranger's pistol that isn't the original owner will find it uncomfortable and unwieldy(edited)
The three general ranks you see in rangers are engraved, silver, and gold.
The way it works, and this is a company secret type thing, is that every time a ranger gets a good report from someone outside the organisation, they'll get their pistol embellished
Only leadership know this detail so rangers don't even bother asking people to write them a good review
You start as a ranger by getting your gun engraved.
usually with something about what you did that got good reviews
When the gun doesn't have room for more engraving they start filling in those lines with silver

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:57 AM
Do they use ideograms, or is it just pictures?

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:58 AM
ideograms unless the thing they did was particularly patently ridiculous, like killing a giant firebreathing lizard mutant

Karazor - Yesterday at 11:58 AM
That's just a Fire Gecko
:V

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 11:58 AM
I said giant. not dog-sized
When those lines are filled, they start in engraving new stuff on top of the silver. When the gun is completely engraved again they start over with gold.
When your gun is completely covered in silver and gold you're expected to retire and train the next generation.
Except for the absolutely scary motherfuckers
Who turn in their gun for a black one and start over from scratch
Black rangers are the SCARIEST motherfuckers to cross. Period

Karazor - Yesterday at 12:00 PM
<nod>

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 12:00 PM
The local mythology has it that if someone else even picks up their gun with intent to use it it'll burn their god damn hand off(edited)

Karazor - Yesterday at 12:01 PM
Lol, sounds like someone may have had a Lawgiver at some point

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 12:01 PM
The company is very grateful if you bring back a gun that was lost
That was roughly the idea. Black guns come from their headquarters which are so haredened that the rumors say that if the world had military bases before the Last War on that level then there'd be no post-apocalypse
They've got a lot of Last Tech in there including the stuff they make black guns with. Which do have biometric locks.

Karazor - Yesterday at 12:03 PM
Lol so they are Lawgivers

Lambsritt - Yesterday at 12:03 PM
More or less
The top guys in outposts and bases rarely have retired black rangers.
HQ has a bunch. Their head, the guy at the tippy top, has two black guns fully engraved. Which means he went out and did everything a black ranger does twice.
ANd black rangers have to do some serious shit to advance because only HQ can embellish their weapons
If you meet a black ranger with one embellished gun and one not, you know his name, and that if you're a bad guy you're either going to give yourself up or die
So what do you think?
Nothing super original but I liked the gun marking angle