There are some good points in this thread.
I think most of us agree that the current jail system is not working.
The sentencing for jail time is bad, especially for new evil players. If you keep the jail, those punishments need to scale with the crime. Both time and gold.
I really do hesitate when confronted with the idea of removing the jail completely. I feel that it's really a difficult problem to solve, given the situation we find ourselves in.
I personally believe that the current system is broken. And we are debating over systems that don't even exist, but are required to exist to get a clear picture of the problem. So a lot of us are left in the dark.
I have a serious dislike for the good/evil alignment system being toggled. This is a personal opinion. I agree with Nekrage about criminals being able to gain positive karma to reduce sentencing time and bail cost. But I also believe that all players should be able to gain and/or lose karma based on their own personal actions over time.
Thinking out loud here.
I'm trying to wrap my head around how this would work. And I'm also trying to see it from both sides. The purpose of this test is to try and find flaws in the crime system and the siege system. Will we even get to the siege system?
Do I listen to the PvP'er crowd, saying it's too harsh?
Do I listen to the PvE'er crowd, saying it's not enough?
Does that mean the punishment is just right? Probably not.
I don't believe that it's a valid point to suggest large swaths of the player base will quit the game due to being jailed. Let's assume that the developers will properly adjust the punishment to fit the crime. They also have to make it absolutely clear that if they die as an evil player, there will be harsh punishments. And this needs to be done long before the player gets to that point. See my dislike for the toggled good/evil system.
The Sheriff system that Nekrage suggests is a miss for me, to be honest. Evil groups will just adjust. They will flow through an area, and then leave. The Sheriffs will show up and no one will be there. So a dynamic system, like Legends, won't really do much. It's a waste of development time. Cool gimmick? Sure. A solution to our problem? Not in my opinion.
I'd do something like.. First, separate the criminal system and karma system. I think they fundamentally oppose each other as one system.
You'd still have a karma system from -10,000 to +10,000, or whatever arbitrary amount you'd like it to be. But it has nothing to do with what color represents your status in the game world. It may affect the deity system though, I fully expect.
Beastmen start at +10,000
At -1 karma, can toggle Abomination
If so, loses access to Arboreus permanently
Demons start at -10,000
At +1 karma, can toggle Angel
If so, loses access to Tartaros permenently
Humans start at 0
At -10,000 karma, can toggle Lich
Loses access to Arboreus
We all know Liches are evil. Let's not play games.
But Liches can, through the power of magic, REVERT!
Yay! Or let's say, extend their life and regain human appearance to please the RP crowd.
Can't lower karma on Arboreus
Can raise/lower karma on Syndesia
Can't raise karma on Tartaros, unless you are positively aligned.
All non-criminals and non-murderers are BLUE
Implement a criminal status, ala Ultima Online.
Add a list of petty crimes. If you commit these crimes, you'll be a 'criminal' (GREY) for a short period of time. For instance, stealing a cart, looting a player corpse, or attacking someone. It does not apply to Arboreus or Tartaros. There would be no repercussion for killing a criminal. Safe zones no longer apply to you when you have the criminal status.
Add a murder system, ala Ultima Online. Allow for murderers to reduce their murder count by playing the game. And possibly even allowing them to lower their count by giving gifts to gods, such as gold. If you are a murderer, you can be attacked anywhere. Safe zones no longer apply to you in Syndesia. Not a city. Not your plot. If you want to play as a true RED, then you need to respect the decision that you made to kill other players, repeatedly.
For reference, Ultima Online had a system where if you kill a player, you become a criminal. Your murder count is now 1. You can work that off over a certain amount of time, say 8 hours in-game. If you kill again before the time was up, your murder count is now 2, and your in-game time to work it off is now higher. Say 12 hours. If you reach 5, you become RED.
Edit - Forgot to mention that once you work off your murder counts, you become GREY for a short period of time, before returning to BLUE (innocent). Not super relevant, but figured I'd mention it anyways.
Also Edit - Knocking out a player would be a crime. You can loot their INVENTORY and be a criminal. If you want their equipped gear, you must kill them and you'll be awarded a murder count for doing so. Here is the partial loot system that a lot of you are advocating for.
The jail system now kicks in. Sheriffs get to have fun. I like the idea being pushed around to limit them. Sounds fine. Punishments scale appropriately to the crimes. You might be able to keep them on the light side, considering the nature of being a true murderer. You are never safe.
A few adjustments may need to be made to city governance.
Sieges should be done by waging war on another city, or another guild. It shouldn't involve 'good' or 'evil'. Karma loss/gain should be suspended in a siege or raid.
We've fixed new players accidentally serving huge penalties by pushing the murderer game play to end-game. We've eliminated 'evil' player zergs to a degree. Though they will always exist. We've allowed for truly neutral, opportunistic combat situations with the criminal system, by making petty crimes common, but with light penalties. We've allowed all players to raise and lower their karma based on their actions, within their race restrictions. The evil/neutral/good world structure remains intact. This will not affect the player economy in a serious way. At least I don't think so.
The PvP crowd will HATE it. But if they want to be a true badass, then they either need to deal with it, or go to Tartaros and allow the design of the developers to work properly.
What Syndesia needs, is a full Tartaros. We need the demons to make their weekly incursions impactful. Which means we need the majority of you fighting each other, rather than fighting us.
One of the greatest games I've played from a PvP standpoint was Dark Age of Camelot. The factions did not interact with each other often. Not only that, but the races are unique, so fighting completely unique and alien players created a sense of fear and awe. The player staring back at you from across the battlefield did not look like you. They didn't play like you. That created a sense of rivalry.
I think the reality is, that whatever the solution is, it has to include players of all rulesets. All playing within their own environments. Occasionally mixing.
I also am entirely aware that the system I propose is highly unlikely, as it requires a pretty lengthy rework. So keep that in mind when responding.
Also, I purposely didn't go into any of those ideas in depth. Nor did I really think about them in depth. They may not work either. I have no idea.