I'll keep this short and sweet.

Let the forts be forts.

When a CL is offline and in his home city. Make it to where the CL cannot be shot until the forts have been diminished. I think it would change the way wars are done. Instead of a massive sweep and the city being wiped out  within minutes. Let's make it more challenging. Even if the forts are wiped within minutes. Maybe someone catches a WS about their forts being attacked and can give a heads up to their CL. CL gets online and the war gets interesting.

+1 

I think this would actually help the game a bit, I'd go as far to even say you can't shoot a CL period until his forts are diminished if he is within his home city. His hands as well, I think it could bring back actual wars to MR making CL's and Hands protected when home behind his forts. It just makes sense.

You could tweak it slightly and just say that the Forts defence bonus is applied to everyone offline in their home district regardless of BG level. So an IWP crew member or leader would get the bonus instead of just those with no protection or low protection.

I am a minus 1 on the original suggestion. In my opinion if a CL cannot be wacked until the forts are gone we will likely see take downs resulting in scorched earth rather than the current associates can live if they behave situation.

Hypothetically if I am going to take down a CL who I can't hit until his forts are gone I would be clearing out any potential threats as well as potential pro wackers before I even start touching the forts.

Kill all members > Get my big guns proed > Small guys on Forts > CL shot when forts are gone.

I would be a +1 for Duggee's suggestion of all members receive the forts bonus when offline in home district regardless of BG Equiv. It's not a big enough change to make anyone impossible to hit but adds something to defence which in my opinion is needed, given how quick the building a gun cycle is now.

Just to chime in again, I would be a +1 for Made Man plus not being able to be wacked until the forts being gone. Not so much associates because in a realistic situation the associates would be the ones manning the forts. It makes sense for associates dying in a war they are the lowest on the totem pole, I've always thought that not many of a family should survive from the losing side. Too many times we see the leader hands and closest Made Men die, while the associates move on to the next family.

Which in reality if someone attacks a families headquarters the associates would be manning towers and fighting while the bosses coordinate attacks and find where to hit back while the associates keep the opposition busy.

+1 for me

-1 

Pros are annoying enough to work around let alone forts. You also fuck over future rogues. Cl can repair forts ez.

Be cool if you guys put more thought into these before you rush to +1 it.

Well seeing as this is only for their home district anytime you catch a CL outside his home he is still free game, as well LEGEND I think the admins could easily code something preventing fort repairs until X amount of hours since the last attack. 

I think this addition just adds another feature to the forts that would've been cool from the start.

Which in reality if someone attacks a families headquarters the associates would be manning towers and fighting while the bosses coordinate attacks and find where to hit back while the associates keep the opposition busy.

Dean in reality the associates wouldn't be much involved. Mademen are the grunts and soldiers in a mafia family. Associates are simply street thugs and criminals who have come to the notice of the local mob boss. they pay tribute and do the odd job for the family, in the hope that perhaps some day they might actually become a mobster themselves. To be honest if a war broke out between two families, most associates wouldn't be allowed into the HQ as they hadn't taken the oath of loyalty and couldn't be trusted 100%.

However, I think associates get screwed over enough without being excluded from any potential defence bonus.

Well that's what I said the associates wouldn't be allowed in the HQ because they would be outside manning the gates, if you think a Made member of a family would be outside on the front line without his sub crew or associates you're dead wrong. 

I think this is a good incentive to keep people from sitting at Wise Guy for 130 days, which is such a stupid loophole people use but anything people can weasel around they will.