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Job (quest) ideas for Prisonscape

PekkaK

Heaviest Matter
Developer
Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Messages
255
In this topic you can give us job ideas for Prisonscape, and if they're good, we'll just steal them and put them in the game (giving you credit for it, of course). I did this long time ago on /v/ and we got some great ideas which we ended up implementing. We do have quite a lot of jobs already, but since the game area is quite limited there is always room for more.
 

Ninjerk

Arcane
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
14,323
It would help if we could avoid obvious ones like attacking someone on the inside for some kind of reward from someone on the outside (I don't even know what the actual reward is, $ on your account for commisary or w/e it's called).
 

WhiteGuts

Arcane
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
2,382
Why ? Those are standard prison jobs. I mean, it's not like there are thousands of possibilities to make money behind bars...

You could for example, run a poker game. But first, gotta get rid of the guards. This is where your reputation with them could matter : if they like you they could just look the other way, if they are "neutral" towards you, offer them a small bribe. If they hate you, they'll ask for taste of your gains (and they could still bust you).

Of course, some factions may not like that you're running a game without their consent, especially the italian mob since it's their thing.
 

GarlandExCon

Arcane
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
6,957
I'll see what I can come up with, but here's some for now somewhat based on real things I witnessed:

1. Someone has a messed up charge (i.e. a sex offense). Up until now they have kept a cover story intact that they are in for investment bank fraud, but they filed an appeal and that means their appeal can now be looked up on the law library computers and everyone will find out while they're there. A couple of people find out about the appeal and are on their way to the law library to print copies of it to spread around the compound and put that person out there! You're hired to put a stop to them before they get a chance to do just that.

2. Follow-up to mission #1: It was just a matter of time, but someone found the appeal on the law library computers and have spread it around. The person from mission #1 tells you and asks for your protection -- protect him by keeping upset inmates from shanking him in his cell.

3. The Native Americans and Asatru (Norse God worshipers who are often also Aryan) are beefing over what started as being over the use of the outdoor worship area. In the last week one Asatru member who is also part of the Aryan Nation went to the SHU after being jumped by the Natives. The Native Americans want to be able to have their sweat lodge ceremony together without fear of being run up on by the Asatru. They hire you to stand guard.

4. Later, after gaining the trust of the Natives, the Aryans hire you to setup the Pipe carrier member of the Natives when you're invited to attend their sweat lodge ceremony as thanks for your help. They give you a little PCP to plant in the pipe tobacco they use and have paid off a CO to ensure that he'll be called for a drug test and get sent to the SHU where the Aryan member they jumped will be waiting to get revenue in the rec cage with the help of other bribed COs.

5. Oh no! Someone's cell is being shook down and he has a gallon of hooch hiding under his bunk! Thankfully, it's a rookie CO who will be easy to fool. You have to use batteries and a piece of wire to light a piece of paper on fire in order to set off the fire alarm to distract the CO so he'll leave the cell and then run in and grab the hooch before he comes back!

6. Someone from your block has a job for you. He has got some fresh new color porn magazines in from the outside and wants to make copies so he can sell them. He'll even cut you in by giving you a percentage. Only problem is that he's been beefing with someone on the compound so he needs someone to watch his back in the library while he makes the copies. He'll need you to watch out for noisy COs too...

7. Ticket runner or debt collector: This could be a prolonged job and it does exist as a real hustle/job in prison. A runner is someone who gets the tickets and bets from point A to Point B during a controlled movement. In other words, if there's three housing units in a prison (Units A, B, and C) and the bookie for Unit A needs to get bets to the person who runs the ticket ("the ticket man") in Unit C a runner is how it's done. He usually gets a cut of the bets made for the risky job of getting the bets (and copies of tickets) across the compound and passed all the COs who might shake him down and find it. A debt collector is simple enough... it's someone who collects when someone places a bet, loses and bets aren't paid. Keep in mind a ticket is used for gambling. For more info and a scanned copy of an actual gambling ticket, see my "Ask an Excon" thread.

8. It's Ramadan and members of the Nation of Islam want to pray. The only problem is they're beefing with another gang and are worried when they're praying they could get jumped so they hire you to protect them. As long as they don't get interrupted while praying, they're willing to pay big money.

9. A fellow inmate has an estranged wife who he believes is less than faithful. In what I think could be a longer story line with intrigue and surprised, he hires you to write his wife pretending to be someone who found her address in a letter in the trash. She writes back and under the inmate that hires you (the husband)'s watch, you exchange letters that he reads and both develop eventually develop a relationship that, because you're helping lead her on, develops into something more. Eventually, she visits and at the visit you extract more information. You also find out interesting information about her and the inmate. My idea is what will start out as a job will evolve into something more... love even? Eventually, she's visiting and you're not telling the husband/other inmate and lying about it. Saying she stopping writing and she won't answer the phone when you call. But then one day he gets a surprise visit from his mom and BOOM, catches you read handed with her in the visiting room. You get the idea.

10. This last idea is similar to #1 and #2, but I think it would make a cool, surprising and dynamic storyline. You are hired by someone who is a minor sex offender to protect them. It starts as a job, but slowly this person shows you care and kindness (maybe they make you a cake for your birthday or something) and it evolves into a surprising friendship as you develop a deep, personal friendship with this person. You also discover this person isn't a bad person at all like everyone thinks and is far from prison material. He's not a hardened criminal, down to Earth, educated, sensible, polite, kind, well-spoken, etc. -- qualities not typically associated with cons. Perhaps this friendship causes personal growth for your character. This relationship, however, causes problems for you. People speculate everything from questioning why you're there (is he a sex offender too!?) to thinking something more is going on ("are they fags!?"), so your character must deal with those issues while it becomes increasingly difficult to protect this person. The storyline could end in a tragic way or by the person going home (last mission could be you making sure they make it to R&D alive to leave) and then possibly becoming an asset on the outside for information...
 

PekkaK

Heaviest Matter
Developer
Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Messages
255
It would help if we could avoid obvious ones like attacking someone on the inside for some kind of reward from someone on the outside (I don't even know what the actual reward is, $ on your account for commisary or w/e it's called).

There will be this sort of missions, too, but to avoid repetition and overuse of clichés, we want to come up with some fresh ideas, too. Like WhiteGuts said, these are part of the prison experience people expect to have.

You could for example, run a poker game. But first, gotta get rid of the guards. This is where your reputation with them could matter : if they like you they could just look the other way, if they are "neutral" towards you, offer them a small bribe. If they hate you, they'll ask for taste of your gains (and they could still bust you).

Of course, some factions may not like that you're running a game without their consent, especially the italian mob since it's their thing.

Great idea, I will look into implementing this.

1. Someone has a messed up charge (i.e. a sex offense). Up until now they have kept a cover story intact that they are in for investment bank fraud, but they filed an appeal and that means their appeal can now be looked up on the law library computers and everyone will find out while they're there. A couple of people find out about the appeal and are on their way to the law library to print copies of it to spread around the compound and put that person out there! You're hired to put a stop to them before they get a chance to do just that.


2. Follow-up to mission #1: It was just a matter of time, but someone found the appeal on the law library computers and have spread it around. The person from mission #1 tells you and asks for your protection -- protect him by keeping upset inmates from shanking him in his cell.[/quote]

With small changes this is perfectly doable. And the setting is very interesting - the person who's being exposed could be someone holding the resources you need, and get them as a reward for helping.

3. The Native Americans and Asatru (Norse God worshipers who are often also Aryan) are beefing over what started as being over the use of the outdoor worship area. In the last week one Asatru member who is also part of the Aryan Nation went to the SHU after being jumped by the Natives. The Native Americans want to be able to have their sweat lodge ceremony together without fear of being run up on by the Asatru. They hire you to stand guard.

4. Later, after gaining the trust of the Natives, the Aryans hire you to setup the Pipe carrier member of the Natives when you're invited to attend their sweat lodge ceremony as thanks for your help. They give you a little PCP to plant in the pipe tobacco they use and have paid off a CO to ensure that he'll be called for a drug test and get sent to the SHU where the Aryan member they jumped will be waiting to get revenue in the rec cage with the help of other bribed COs.

Also a very intriguing setup. We don't have any native Americans in the game at the moment, but this rivalry would probably also work between any two gangs. I like how the player can play on both sides in this one.

5. Oh no! Someone's cell is being shook down and he has a gallon of hooch hiding under his bunk! Thankfully, it's a rookie CO who will be easy to fool. You have to use batteries and a piece of wire to light a piece of paper on fire in order to set off the fire alarm to distract the CO so he'll leave the cell and then run in and grab the hooch before he comes back!

This is great, distraction quests are a great idea.

7. Ticket runner or debt collector: This could be a prolonged job and it does exist as a real hustle/job in prison. A runner is someone who gets the tickets and bets from point A to Point B during a controlled movement. In other words, if there's three housing units in a prison (Units A, B, and C) and the bookie for Unit A needs to get bets to the person who runs the ticket ("the ticket man") in Unit C a runner is how it's done. He usually gets a cut of the bets made for the risky job of getting the bets (and copies of tickets) across the compound and passed all the COs who might shake him down and find it. A debt collector is simple enough... it's someone who collects when someone places a bet, loses and bets aren't paid. Keep in mind a ticket is used for gambling. For more info and a scanned copy of an actual gambling ticket, see my "Ask an Excon" thread.

The gambling/ticket system might be too time consuming task for the current development. We already have plenty of 'torpedo' quests where you beat up inmates for not paying their debts, for being sex offenders, etc.

8. It's Ramadan and members of the Nation of Islam want to pray. The only problem is they're beefing with another gang and are worried when they're praying they could get jumped so they hire you to protect them. As long as they don't get interrupted while praying, they're willing to pay big money.

I still haven't fully planned the Nation of Islam group, but there will be some quests you can do for them.

9. A fellow inmate has an estranged wife who he believes is less than faithful. In what I think could be a longer story line with intrigue and surprised, he hires you to write his wife pretending to be someone who found her address in a letter in the trash. She writes back and under the inmate that hires you (the husband)'s watch, you exchange letters that he reads and both develop eventually develop a relationship that, because you're helping lead her on, develops into something more. Eventually, she visits and at the visit you extract more information. You also find out interesting information about her and the inmate. My idea is what will start out as a job will evolve into something more... love even? Eventually, she's visiting and you're not telling the husband/other inmate and lying about it. Saying she stopping writing and she won't answer the phone when you call. But then one day he gets a surprise visit from his mom and BOOM, catches you read handed with her in the visiting room. You get the idea.

Mechanics-wise this is too complex for the game (visitations especially). We have something similar between inmates (romance, jealousy, etc.)

10. This last idea is similar to #1 and #2, but I think it would make a cool, surprising and dynamic storyline. You are hired by someone who is a minor sex offender to protect them. It starts as a job, but slowly this person shows you care and kindness (maybe they make you a cake for your birthday or something) and it evolves into a surprising friendship as you develop a deep, personal friendship with this person. You also discover this person isn't a bad person at all like everyone thinks and is far from prison material. He's not a hardened criminal, down to Earth, educated, sensible, polite, kind, well-spoken, etc. -- qualities not typically associated with cons. Perhaps this friendship causes personal growth for your character. This relationship, however, causes problems for you. People speculate everything from questioning why you're there (is he a sex offender too!?) to thinking something more is going on ("are they fags!?"), so your character must deal with those issues while it becomes increasingly difficult to protect this person. The storyline could end in a tragic way or by the person going home (last mission could be you making sure they make it to R&D alive to leave) and then possibly becoming an asset on the outside for information...

There is a storyline similar to this already in the game.
 

GarlandExCon

Arcane
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
6,957
On Native Americans, in the federal system are a surprising number of Native Americans because most serious crimes on the reservations are automatically federal charges. I've always thought their religious ceremonies were the most interest. They also stick together and most wear beads and headbands.
 

Haba

Harbinger of Decline
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Codex 2012 MCA Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2
10. This last idea is similar to #1 and #2, but I think it would make a cool, surprising and dynamic storyline. You are hired by someone who is a minor sex offender to protect them. It starts as a job, but slowly this person shows you care and kindness (maybe they make you a cake for your birthday or something) and it evolves into a surprising friendship as you develop a deep, personal friendship with this person. You also discover this person isn't a bad person at all like everyone thinks and is far from prison material. He's not a hardened criminal, down to Earth, educated, sensible, polite, kind, well-spoken, etc. -- qualities not typically associated with cons. Perhaps this friendship causes personal growth for your character. This relationship, however, causes problems for you. People speculate everything from questioning why you're there (is he a sex offender too!?) to thinking something more is going on ("are they fags!?"), so your character must deal with those issues while it becomes increasingly difficult to protect this person. The storyline could end in a tragic way or by the person going home (last mission could be you making sure they make it to R&D alive to leave) and then possibly becoming an asset on the outside for information...

There is a storyline similar to this already in the game.

One "twist" to that would be to have this genuinely likeable (but not too obviously perfect) person be revealed to have committed a particularly heinous crime (and not regret it too much).

Another variation of late-game moral/ethical dilemma would be to have law enforcement contact you and present you with the option to fake some evidence against a guy who they want to put away. And the twist being that this person is someone you've been with since the start of the game. Naturally player would need a compelling reason for doing this (extension of own sentence, extreme reason to get out of jail sooner than later).
 

PekkaK

Heaviest Matter
Developer
Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Messages
255
One "twist" to that would be to have this genuinely likeable (but not too obviously perfect) person be revealed to have committed a particularly heinous crime (and not regret it too much).

Another variation of late-game moral/ethical dilemma would be to have law enforcement contact you and present you with the option to fake some evidence against a guy who they want to put away. And the twist being that this person is someone you've been with since the start of the game. Naturally player would need a compelling reason for doing this (extension of own sentence, extreme reason to get out of jail sooner than later).

There will be lots of betrayal and lying in the game, and this kind of scenarios too.
 

GarlandExCon

Arcane
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
6,957
10. This last idea is similar to #1 and #2, but I think it would make a cool, surprising and dynamic storyline. You are hired by someone who is a minor sex offender to protect them. It starts as a job, but slowly this person shows you care and kindness (maybe they make you a cake for your birthday or something) and it evolves into a surprising friendship as you develop a deep, personal friendship with this person. You also discover this person isn't a bad person at all like everyone thinks and is far from prison material. He's not a hardened criminal, down to Earth, educated, sensible, polite, kind, well-spoken, etc. -- qualities not typically associated with cons. Perhaps this friendship causes personal growth for your character. This relationship, however, causes problems for you. People speculate everything from questioning why you're there (is he a sex offender too!?) to thinking something more is going on ("are they fags!?"), so your character must deal with those issues while it becomes increasingly difficult to protect this person. The storyline could end in a tragic way or by the person going home (last mission could be you making sure they make it to R&D alive to leave) and then possibly becoming an asset on the outside for information...

There is a storyline similar to this already in the game.

One "twist" to that would be to have this genuinely likeable (but not too obviously perfect) person be revealed to have committed a particularly heinous crime (and not regret it too much).

Another variation of late-game moral/ethical dilemma would be to have law enforcement contact you and present you with the option to fake some evidence against a guy who they want to put away. And the twist being that this person is someone you've been with since the start of the game. Naturally player would need a compelling reason for doing this (extension of own sentence, extreme reason to get out of jail sooner than later).

Not to mention that if your character got exposed as being a snitch that would be very bad for you.
 

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