Investigation Pertaining to Accusations versus Rhodri

[Wooster Redwood]

I have received contacts from both parties and here is what I have assembled to be the events that happened that are not disputed by either party:

• 1) Battle happens. (Details of these I am uncertain. Please see appendix 1
  2) Zaleos dies.
  3) Rhodri assumes control of Zaleos' gear.
  4) Outsiders are involved and force Rhodri to destroy all the gear in his possession, rather than to hand it over to enemies after his likely defeat.
  5) Yelling to both ways.
  6) Zaelos disrespecting chain of command, and arguing with Rhodri leading to Rhodri commanding Zaleos to "shut up" and later on to "Shut the Fuck up."
  7) Criminal charges by Zaleos

Appendix 1:
Apparently there was a situation where Rhodri ends up Killing Zaleos during combat by accident (by his behalf) and attempted to save his gear, during a combat involving outsiders. Details on this are scetchy.

In my estimate, Rhodri has acted according to his status during all this, and I have no reason to suspect his loyalty to the Duke. He, is among the few whose faith has been unwavered during the past two rebellious acts and has decided, for good or for ill, stay with Wessex.

I have no doubts on where his loyalties lie, but he has the unfourtunate effect of rubbings some people the wrong way. This causes some schisms, especially amongst our enemies. And occasionally inside our own rule.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

Question on #4.

Did Rhodri die? If not, then that makes it his responsibility to replace in my opinion. If he died then the act of deleting becomes a non-factor. Too often folks become wrapped up in the concept of "denying the enemy any assets", which is silly since these are games we are playing.

[Wooster Redwood]

In my opinion it is irrelevant. He made a tactical call to destroy the items, which is very well in his purview to do as the commanding officer. (Especially since my research shows that there is not an idiot who would attack armed Rhodri alone in the game.) And facing superior numbers, one would bet that is the safe and condonable tactical decision to do.

However, my research has no notes on whether or not Rhodri survived the encounter. But the decision to destroy the gear was made before the combat would enter full bloom, as the game un-enables item destruction after damage has been received for a minute. Thus, the outcome of the combat was not to be known by this point.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

Not to be an ass, but how well did that work out for everyone?

The accusations seem to boil down to
a) Rhodri killed Zaleos, which Rhodri confirms.
b) Rhodri took the items that Zaleos was carrying, and did not return them, which Rhodri confirms.

Anyone in any combat situation could make the claims that the killing was accidental, and the items "deleted" to keep them out of the hands of the enemy. I'm not trying to put Rhodri through a "Guilty until proven innocent" type of trial, and I will not pretend to know what the judicial standard is within this Kingdom, put that is the viewpoint of Zaleos.

What ever the standard of proving guilt or innocense, it is clear to me that this entire episode demonstrates a complete lack of leadership on Rhodri's part. It seems that if those items would have been left on Zaleos's corpse then there would be no issue, even if that corpse was then looted by the enemy.

Yelling at the victim regardless of what the victim said only escalated the situation. Having the blood running hot during tense combat is understandable, but dealing with it in the way that Rhodri did is not. The behavior of an individual is based on their rank, and while it would have been entirely appropriate for Rhodri to boot Zaleos from TeamSpeak for being a disruption in the middle of a fight, having the assigned leader of the guild yelling profanity at a serf is not.

The bottom line is that he drove away a large chuck of the player base in MO through his decision and his actions, and he has to be held accountable for that.

[Kyrendis Varen]

I have scarce minutes to speak at this point, my time on the internet is limited.

I am still on vacation, I am only here to say that this matter will be dealt with by the set up judicial system when I return, likely this weekend. Regardless of the positions of anyone on this issue, and few can claim to be lacking bias in this situation, the decision has not been made yet, and, unless Manus takes a direct hand, the final decision is mine to make. I have gotten statements from most of those involved so far, with mixed results.

I suspect this trial will begin to write new law as far as how things are handled within the clan goes. As such, it will go forward as planned. When I return I will begin an official trial. Until then I would appreciate that the discussion be tempered by that knowledge, and if it avoided any specific opinions on the final outcome, with or without the proviso of personal opinion.

This forum is open to all members, by the way, if you were not aware.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

Yes - I knew Rhodri had access to this area, I believe I granted him the access. I would assume that it would not be open to general membership, but if it is, so be it. I know what I wrote is harsh, but I stand by what I wrote.

Whether you are guilty of actual crimes Rhodri is up to the Lord Justiciar and His Majesty. My view is focused solely on how you handled this particular situation.

I have also stated that I thought you had done a great job in building the Duchy of Wessex up in Mortal Online as a viable force, and I stand by that as well. I am glad you did not leave Wessex and I hope you don't.