Momentous events swept this thing of ours lately, a highly effective rogue accounted for a number of prominent leaders whilst a ferocious attacked destroyed a series of bustling, profitable families, amongst them the descendants of extremely well known bloodlines.

This begs a question - will the children of the rogue be afforded the same start in life as the children of the slain family heads?

And if not, why not?

Can time absolve and restore any bloodline?  Are any beyond the pale?

John reads the question and feels compelled to comment.

Interesting question.  But it will vary greatly based on ones point of view.  If you were already a well established player with a long bloodline and friendships that are stronger than even your current commitment to game play, I believe you will recover quickly.  Other high ranking, long time players will make room for you regardless of the circumstances leading to your death.  Your place is secure.

If you don't have this this bloodline or the long standing relationships that dominate this game, you are forced to tear up 99% of your past and start over.  The recovery is a much longer, more difficult one.  

I'm impressed you're still joining us out here in the Streets, Rags. Would have thought being so far up Grin's asshole might have slowed you down. Good on you.

The fact is, any particularly effective rogue usually have offspring competent enough to avoid detection. If they make themselves known, it's usually voluntarily. So I'd say whether or not we harbor a "black mark" on the rogue's bloodline is irrelevant. Plus, blacklisting people in Our Thing is pretty tedious and usually backfires. And in the end, we all die. So while I don't think time "heals," I think it shows us how fruitless it is to harbor resentment for someone well after their passing, and even worse to pass that resentment to their children.

TTD takes a swig from his flask.  Then he looks at it, takes another and soon slams the whole thing.  He holds it up until the last drop is gone and then decides he's creative enough to answer.

"TIME HAS NOTHING ON ALCOHOL TO FIX PROBLEMS!!"

TTD clears his throat and sobers for a second.  

"In all seriousness, we watched a rogue terrorize us lately and if we didn't know what that bloodline was capable of before in battle, we most certainly do now."

"So to me, if I am a Crewleader I am going to ask myself if the risk of said bloodline going rogue again is worth the reward of having a guy that can war like we just witnessed.  A guy like that on a hit squad can evidently do a lot of damage.  On the other hand - if the bloodline rogues and just completely fucks it up and shows no intelligence or skill whatsoever - then I would suggest they go into hiding and go incognito.  They haven't proved any worth to anyone.  Finding a home maybe dicey."

"So - that said I guess my final answer is this:

Yes.  The bloodline will be tainted.  Others will (and should) be weary of said bloodline going rogue.  In the end however, I don't believe it will result in a banishing of the bloodline if they can demonstrate some sort of aptitude in being a productive mafioso.  There will be a Crewleader who is willing to take the risk and house the bloodline if they can somehow help the crew."  

TTD decides he's done trying to be intelligent for the day and goes to get wasted in a speakeasy somewhere.

If someone rogues it will undoubtedly leave some sort of stain upon his bloodline, and especially upon his next of kin. Openly talking about forming BG wacking underground groups in the coffeeshops doesn't help with washing that stain off. I think there's always be some sort of black mark, but it might not be visible. 

Ragnarok, i was really hoping you'd put your head up my ass next, you all but promised me..

Regardless of what any of you think, you'd be silly to disregard Credit's bloodline. It cannot be disputed that he is one of the most talented, hard working bloodlines to ever grace this thing of ours, his achievements speak for themselves in that regard. You can black mark him if you like but you won't keep him down or out.

As for time and it's healing qualities? I don't think it's time that heals, it's what a certain bloodline does within that period, what they can achieve and where they place their loyalties. No bloodline is beyond redemption. 

This is another very interesting topic.  Time is an interesting thing.  And healing is so subjective.  Personally, I don't think time heals anything.  Ever.  People never forget.  And in this day and age, it seems, everybody has journals from their ancestors, so nothing is ever completely gone or "forgotten". 

I hear it this way a lot - people will sometimes forgive, but they never forget.  And I agree with Mr. Rourke - it's not necessarily your bloodline that will get you into trouble, but it's what you do with it.  So, while you may have a mark against you, I think you can overcome that by proving your loyalty to your family, your city, etc.    But, you may have to go above and beyond what others have to do because you have that mark against you.  Person A may have to do A and B.  But you, with that black mark, may have to do A, B, C and D in order to prove yourself.   And still, you may not be fully trusted.  It's a challenge.  People may have forgiven your ancestors, but they have not forgotten what your line is capable of doing, and therefore, your road is that much more difficult.

And similarly - your good name can just as easily be tarnished by one bad act. 

A very interesting challenge to overcome.

"Mr. WadeWilson - I couldn't have put my thoughts into words any better than you just did. Thank you, I'll let it be known, that I agree with you 100%"

If I am understanding this correctly, Credits is from the Grin bloodline, and the Grin bloodline has rogued before.

Therefore, his is a bloodline of incorrigible rogues, and those supporting him are supporters of incorrigible rogues.

Am I wrong?

Seeing the commotion, Ullr decided to check It out. Once he knew what was going on, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

     "I for one would like to say that anyone who rogues should be frowned upon. But, all in all, I think people play to much on their bloodlines; every now and again it is always a good idea to try and incognito it out for a little bit. For the most part though, I think everyone gets the same start in the end. Just depends on what city you choose to make your home."

After talking a little bit, Ullr raised his hood up over his head and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Can time heal what a bloodline's reputation has become? Not always. In fact it is very rare that it is not held against them by someone at some point.

I have seen people say that they have forgotten a lines sins only to realize that its exactly what they are holding onto. To think it just vanishes is complete nonsense. What really matters is whose in power at the time and how the person that line is working for feels about their current characters efforts. Some will allow you to move up, others will hold you back. This is why it is important to choose who you work for carefully.

It is like that with anything though. You can't predict whose going to hang onto what, all you can hope for is that you can get the opportunity to be the best that you can be. Maybe it won't be right after, but at some point it will happen and you will get your chance to move up in our community. A little persistence and sticking out the dirt thrown at you is the best thing you can do.

At least it has been for me and my experience.