Advice on playing a criminally minded character (and not getting fired)

[deisal32]

My question is kinda what is says on the box. I want to bring back in a character of mine but I also have an interest in nudging them in the direction of being a hustler and minor ne'er do well. I want to do this in a way that doesn't get them fired and also doesn't seriously hinder the ship or crew. I have a handful of ideas like running betting pools and sneaking legal drugs off ship to sell in ports where they're illegal, but I would be appreciative of any insights and recommendations. Are there good and interesting ways to do this, and if so, what are they? Is it even worth trying this in the current state of Aurora?

(As an afterthought ought to mention this character works in the service department, as I know that can shape what I can do in regards to this.)

[evandorf]

Being a minor criminal isn't against server rules, but the key is that you have to do it in such a way as that it flies under the radar. One of the key considerations on the current ship is that you have to remain employable. There are a lot of other characters who will be willing to keep your secrets so long as they get something out of it without putting their neck out too much. Then again, there are other characters who will snitch on you and get you under the scrutiny of the security department or CCIA. Subtlety and patience will be the name of the game, and you'll have to take time to create relationships you can trust in to include in your schemes.

Consider also running a traitor antag with a low intensity gimmick. You can run more clearly illegal activities to boost your character's overall vibe and practice approaching potential partners or co-criminals from the safety of non-canonicity. Using exploitables can also help you flag potential allies, even if you don't use the information directly.

Off the top of my head I can remember a number of minor criminals in recent history. There has been an IC drug smuggling operation that eventually came to light in a CCIA investigation. Secret shells are a thing, but difficult to pull off. Illicit relationships between IPCs and Dominians ( though on this your mileage may vary ). There's probably many others that I forget or am not aware of. As with everything though, if you have questions or concerns that something might be against server rules, there's nothing wrong with ahelping first.

[Merlin1230]

From the perspective of someone that isnt staff and currently has a runaway synth in my rotation, I think purely hiding is the easy part. People arent gonna probe into your criminal side unless you give them a reason to, so theres a level of hinting you have to do if you want to make things interesting. At least as a runaway synth, that is, I imagine with drug smuggling the smuggling drugs part is enough of something to allow you to be given away. Like evandorf said, theres a lot of patience and carefulness you need to not get caught, but I do feel at the end of the day, if you arent caught and are perfectly hidden and unknown, then youre missing out on all of the fun risk tied to it!

I DO know lore-wise theres a lottt of interesting hooks you can use for something like that (especially Konyang, theres Cheung-5, The Benevolent guilds, and the Golden Deep's Zaibatsu originate from there), and it could always be fun to have your character be unwillingly involved too!

[greenjoe]

Smuggling drugs off ship to sell at a port, if caught, WILL get your character put into prison, most likely. This has happened with someone else's character in the past.