The Isle of Arran

= The Isle of Arran =

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The Isle of Arran as it exists today is an autonomous territory in the -,+ located between the area of Epicus to the south and the Commonwealth in the north with a large unincorporated zone between each. Isle of Arran is not an island at all, it includes multiple large islands in the high plains region that are largely uninhabited. Arran, the township in the extreme northeastern part of the territory, is the seat of power in that it holds federal sovereignty over the territory to enforce the only real territory-wide law, kindness to innocents, and it serves as a resource to all residents within. Municipalities within the territory are free to enact their own municipal laws, and operate at the pleasure of Isle of Arran's Chancellor, myself, a lifetime self-appoitnment. Two other townships, Nyroc and Rapture, formed but then collapsed during the Dormancy within the territory's borders, and one township, Benderoma, existed previous to the incorporation of Isle of Arran, on the western border.

Map of Arran
External link: http://i.imgur.com/MjIVSJW.jpg

The Very Early Days
Prior to the arrival of brinton, the Arran territory played host to a number of players, including two within the township's current area. Rubberfridge23 lived on an island in the South River just west of the South River Bridge, and ewolfe3 created a home just west of downtown Arran, north of the current wheat auto-harvester. After some initial griefing of his tiny island home, RubberFridge23 moved his home underground south of the river. Though these two players had contact with one another, their properties existed as independent hermitages.

Foundation
The Isle of Arran was founded when brinton moved south from his initial spawn, which is now known as the Isle of Arran Wildlife Conservation Area, to the low plains near what is now the unincorporated external Arran asset of the Southwestern Coastal Area. There he formed a settlement with an unremembered newfriend. Due to differences in aesthetics brinton moved to a nearby taiga biome, finding this unsuitable for XP production he once again moved back to the plains and created a few potato farms. After being contacted by Rubberfridge23, they both decided to form an informal town, Isle of Arran, named after a mostly uninhabited island on the west coast of Scotland, that being because brinton's home was in the highland plains.

Alliance with Lio
When out looking for a trading partner brinton happened on Hobbiton and Lio, and found a market newly established In Lio next to the bridge which begins the road to the Commonwealth. He bought a few market spaces (at a rate of 1d for perpetuity, though eventually he was asked to give them back for a renovation) and started trading regularly with the populace. brinton was in town when a few griefers and raiders came by, and there was one memorable trip early on when he and about a dozen citizens of Lio, Vector, and Hobbiton had to round up boats in a hurry and scatter in every direction trying to catch a few misfits who disappeared over the horizon. In return for brinton's service, the Lionites and their friends occasionally came to Isle of Arran to help with raiders there. This was no small feat since it was about twelve to fifteen minutes overland and by boat. Most of Arran's international trade went through Lio, and on from there to various nearby kingdoms. Naturally Arran's transportation systems followed suit.

Canal Building Days
Back when boats worked, they were the easiest way to get around, since no one had yet constructed the huge rail system Arran has in place now. As such, a series of three canals were constructed, the first connected the ocean between Arran and the sub-Lio desert with the bay in the large part of the territory. This allowed Arran traders to bypass the Northport Dock and dock instead at a beach adjacent to the township. This was then replaced by a series of two canals that allowed nearly straight north-south boat traffic from Lio all the way to Arran's South River. Canalside Shops were built adjacent to the southern canal, directly below the township. As a shopping experience it was quite nice, moodily lit by glowstone with the large canal running by, but after rails came business at Canalside dried up quickly.

Rail Building
The Intra-Arran Rail System was initially built after RubberFridge23 was forced to abandon his subterranean home after it was thoroughly griefed during a vacation. He moved to the desert in northeast Arran. It was a bit of rough travel being at two vastly different elevations, so brinton dug a tunnel to near RubberFridge23's new home and surprised him with it. It allowed the territory's founders to stay connected as a nation. From there, it's been expanded to the taiga station in the southern part of the territory, which was brinton's original passageway when moving to the Arran township. That particular rail line has largely been replaced by the International Rail Extension to Epicus, though each end remains intact. It was also expanded to various interests close to the township, as well as two major extensions outside the territory, the Southwestern Coastal Area (now split with a line to the SWC and one to Arran Glass in the desert nearby), extended from the taiga station, and the Ice Mountain Railway, extended from the desert.

The International Rail came to Arran through the efforts of brinton and GordonFreemanQ of Ravenport. GordonFreemanQ dug most of the north-south section, and brinton dug the diagonal section and laid about fifty percent of the rail. It was the beginning of a new era.

Relationship with Delivero
The new rail connections helped Arran to gather diverse resources quickly, as well as convert them to useful goods and get them to market. Delivero happened to be starting up at about the same time, and the occupants of Arran were staying sufficiently busy that running their own deliveries was becoming a nightmare. Arran gave Delivero a lot of business, and enjoyed a close working relationship with them. They were very sorry to see Lord_Pericorp exit the business.

Conflict with Arym
Not facing any serious competition from surrounding towns, Arran started advertising access to every biome except swamp. The only problem with this was that their closest forest biome was on the other side of the western desert biome, and sometime between visits a brand new city started up and claimed the entire forest biome as its own. The rise and fall of Arym was surprisingly brief in its duration, due to the shady doings of some of the princpals, and the withdrawal of its lead industrialist, L0stman. brinton had considered L0stman a close friend in Civcraft from dealing with him during his Lio days, and had been informed by L0stman that Lio was going to fall weeks in advance of the actual collapse. After Arym moved into the forest, brinton requested that a section be ceded off to Arran to use to produce oak and birch logs. Arym refused, on grounds that the entire island was going to be built into a defensive super-structure. In the meantime, Arym had crossed a significant amount of Arran territory to start a cocoa farm, practically at the Arran Township's doorstep. There were several rounds of negotiation, various threats made, and finally a list of permissions and concessions. Most of these were never utilized or executed, as Arym soon collapsed.

Expansion and the Olympics Debacle
In the very early part of 2014, Arran had established enough wealth that brinton sought to host the Olympic Games, especially since there seemed to be a serious vacuum in regards to cities wanting to host it. He announced that Arran would host the Olympics on or about the first year anniversary of the server. It was viewed as a long-term project that Arran could prepare for as over a period of months, shape to their liking, and offer something a little different than the usual events. Almost as soon as the bid was announced, two things happened. First, brinton had recently converted Arran to a welfare state, essentially providing free food and tools to all new settlers. A lot of inexperienced people started showing up to help, along with offers to complete construction of various things, often not to my standards. Also, a representative from the Olympic Committee wanted to accelerate the time line of the preparations. brinton became disenamored of the situation, and became frustrated by constant interaction with all the new people whose building designs were much at odds with his own ideas. Arran's population was at its peak, around twelve active citizens.

The Dormancy
One day, brinton just quit. He announced he was taking a week or two away from Civcraft, to relax and re-gain his energy. After about three or four weeks the Olympic Committee stripped Arran's rights to host the Olympic Games in May, and the decision went uncontested.

Thanks to some of Arran's infrastructure, Arran was valuable to some peaceful fellows from Xiphias as well as to a couple of her own die-hard residents, so the city remained occupied during the time brinton was away, albeit without its public face. Most of the new people drifted off. The city for all public appearances was abandoned. Various criminals stole the diamond blocks out of the flag. Arran was fotunate that it appeared shuttered during the dormancy, as Recharge started their River's End city just outside Arran's southwest border. If the city had been more active during that time, there's an excellent chance Arran's citizens would have suffered greatly during the ensuing war.

Return from the Ashes
brinton eventually returned to Arran and made contact with the few die-hard residents still around. Since his return, Arran has expanded the International Rail to Epicus, and several more projects are complete or underway, including the new Railside Shops, the new stadium under construction, and expansion of the town's buildable area. The rail station is also under renovation, to eventually achieve full super-cart compatibility. The territory has been re-imagined as source for advice, education, and entertainment of anyone who'd like to come, as well as offering myriad ways to make a Civcraft living.

CGSW
Arran has recently decidede to join with Epicus and Rainmark to form the Coalition of the Grand Southwest. The coalition's goals are to share and build infrastructure, provide sub-market pricing for trade, and to assist with mutual defense. Each nation will retain its autonomy.

Arran Legal Code
The Arran Legal Code

Township Rights and Privileges
Townships within Arran's border have special rights and privileges. * A township has a right to restrict access to their sub-territory from any person or group excepting the Chancellor and any Vice-Chancellor of Arran. This includes assigning fines for trespass as long as the territory is well and conspicuously marked. Any public railway system that completely crosses a township's territory is excluded. * A township has the right to assess taxes to properties, transactions, production, or individuals within their territory. Ten percent of any tax collected must be submitted to Arran to promote the public good. * A township has the right to create statutes to define criminal actions within the township, and may levy punishment for violation of those statutes not to exceed seven days imprisonment and/or 25d fine. Detainment outside the township of a person accused of a local violation within the township must be at the consent of the Chancellor.

After the first township, Arran, subsequent townships may be created within Arran's territorial borders through the following means: * At least one player who is a resident of Arran must declare to the Chancellor of Arran that a new township exists. * The township must be named. * The township must have a center point, consisting of an x and z coordinate. The center point must not be within 400 meters of the center point of an existing township. The boundary of the new township will be a cylinder existing to bedrock and to the sky limit with its center at the township center point, and its edge 150 meters from the center point.

Time and Date
The official time in Arran is that of the prevailing time in the eastern United States, and therefore the end of the day will be midnight in New York. The calendar used will be the standard calendar adopted by the United States. For official business with the state, all Arran residents are obligated to use the official date and time, but may also list their own date and time per local custom.

Arran Criminal Code
In order to assure the productivity of its residents Arran must punish perpetrators of criminal acts, both as a deterrent to criminal behavior, and in order to compensate the victim.

Crimes and Offenses
The following crimes and offenses will be adjudicated by the Arran legal system.

Murder
– without loss of property – Misdemeanor - 3 days imprisonment, 5d fine.

Murder
– with loss of property – Felony - 7 days imprisonment, 10d fine plus the cost of capture up to 25d, full compensation to the victim for property lost.

Elements of murder

 * The actions of the offending individual cause the death of a second player.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.


 * Murder may be the result of assault of one player by another, or it may be the result of vandalism to infrastructure causing a player to die.


 * The victim must not be complicit in his own death, for instance, intentionally walking into lava or requesting a player to kill him in order to facilitate a re-spawn.

Assault
– Misdemeanor - 5d fine, compensation for damage to armor.

Elements of assault

 * One individual intentionally strikes another. Intent is to be established by the court.

Burglary
– Misdemeanor - 5d

Elements of burglary

 * One individual intentionally enters the private abode or facility of another individual with the intent to commit a crime. This charge may be merged with vandalism or theft at the discretion of the court.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Theft 0
– Any theft of property less than one iron ingot in value is not considered a criminal act, but may be considered as part of activity constituting a pattern of behavior under the Harassment statute.

Theft I
– Misdemeanor - 10d fine, full compensation to the victim

Elements of Theft I

 * One player takes from or otherwise deprives a second player or players, or the state or lower institution of government, of property with a value of at least one iron ingot and less than 5 diamonds.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Theft II
– Misdemeanor - Three day imprisonment, 25d fine, full compensation to the victim

Elements of Theft II

 * One player takes from or otherwise deprives a second player or players, or the state or lower institution of government, of property with a value of at least 5 diamonds and less than 30 diamonds.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Theft III
- Felony - Fourteen day imprisonment, 100d fine plus the cost of capture up to 250d, full compensation to the victim 50% to be paid prior to release, expulsion from Arran for 180 days

Elements of Theft III

 * One player takes from or otherwise deprives a second player or players, or the state or lower institution of government, of property with a value of at least 30 diamonds and less than 250 diamonds.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Theft IV
– Felony - Thirty day imprisonment, 250d fine plus the cost of capture up to 1000d, full compensation to the victim, fine to be paid prior to release, permanent expulsion from Arran

Elements of Theft IV

 * One player takes from or otherwise deprives a second player or players, or the state or lower institution of government, of property with a value of at least 250 diamonds.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Failure to Pay
– 10d fine plus the cost of capture up to and in addition to the amount outstanding, imprisonment until the outstanding amount is served at the standard rate or paid in full

Elements of Failure to Pay

 * An individual is found guilty of a criminal offense under Arran law and is assessed a value in fines and compensation.


 * The individual does not pay his or her fines and compensation per the schedule under the fines definition

AND/OR the individual does not pay compensation per the schedule under the fines definition or at the schedule mutually agreed by the offender and the victim.

(Explanation of the above: Fines must be paid by the schedule set by statute. Compensation must be paid per the schedule set by statute unless mutually agreed in writing by the offender and the victim.)

False Imprisonment I
– Misdemeanor - 10d plus 50d per day of the victim's imprisonment to be calculated at the end of each day

Elements of False Imprisonment I

 * One player, acting under the authority or bounty of a foreign power, imprisons another player for the purpose of detainment pending trial for an offense committed outside Arran's territories or possessions.


 * The offense for which the victim is detained is not a felony offense under Arran legal code, with no regard to the element of place.


 * The action does not occur with the consent of the Chancellor or Vice-Cancellor OR the offense for which the victim is detained is not a criminal offense under Arran legal code or the legal code of a lower government institution.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran. (Explanation of the above: For misdemeanors or offenses defined by townships, a player may not be detained in Arran without the expressed consent of the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor. A player may be detained by any foreign power to answer a charge that he or she committed an act that would constitute a felony had it occurred within Arran under Arran legal code. The Chancellor further reserves the right to limit the extradition powers of any state or foreign power for just cause, either in whole or in part. Any person detaining an individual in Arran has a duty to abide by this statute and make himself or herself aware of any restrictions on extradition prior to the detention.)

False Imprisonment II
– Felony – 30 day imprisonment, 50d fine plus 100d fine per day of the victim's imprisonment to be calculated at the end of each day, the Murder Statute also applies, ninety day expulsion from Arran, compensation for the cost of capture up to 500d.

Elements of False Imprisonment II

 * One player imprisons another player.


 * No bounty on the detained player is listed on r/civcraft or r/civarran by a third party.


 * The imprisoned player is freed within seventy-two hours.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

False Imprisonment III
– Felony – 90 day imprisonment, 50d fine plus 100d fine per day of the victim's imprisonment to be calculated at the end of each day, the Murder Statute also applies, permanent expulsion from Arran, compensation for the cost of capture up to 1000d.

Elements of False Imprisonment II

 * One player imprisons another player.


 * No bounty on the detained player is listed on r/civcraft or r/civarran by a third party.


 * The imprisoned player is held for longer than seventy-two hours.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Destruction of Property 0
– Non-offense, but may be considered as part of activity constituting a pattern of behavior under the Harassment statute. Activities under Destruction of Property 0 include the placement of entities (i.e. signs, animals) on public or private property that do not hinder travel or use but are designed as a distraction.

Destruction of Property I
– Misdemeanor – 10d fine and full compensation for property lost and full compensation for cleanup at 3d per ten minutes, to be assessed at the end of each ten minutes.

Elements of Destruction of Property I

 * One player destroys public property or private property owned by another AND the property is not declared derelict by the state or lower governmental institution or private owner


 * OR One player places one or more blocks and/or entities that hinder the use of public property or private property owned by another.


 * The amount of property loss is less than 5 diamonds in value and the cleanup takes less than 1/2 hour


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Destruction of Property II
– Misdemeanor – Seven day imprisonment, 50d fine and full compensation for property lost and full compensation for cleanup at 3d per ten minutes, to be assessed at the end of each ten minutes.

Elements of Destruction of Property II

 * One player destroys public property or private property owned by another AND the property is not declared derelict by the state or lower governmental institution or private owner


 * OR One player places one or more blocks and/or entities that hinder the use of public property or private property owned by another.


 * The amount of property loss is at least 5 diamonds but less than 30 diamonds in value OR the cleanup takes more than 1/2 hour but less than 1 hour.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Destruction of Property III
– Felony – Thirty day imprisonment, 200d fine and full compensation for property lost and full compensation for cleanup at 3d per ten minutes, to be assessed at the end of each ten minutes and to be paid prior to release, expulsion from Arran for 180 days.

Elements of Destruction of Property III

 * One player destroys public property or private property owned by another AND the property is not declared derelict by the state or lower governmental institution or private owner


 * OR One player places one or more blocks and/or entities that hinder the use of public property or private property owned by another.


 * The amount of property lost is at least 30 diamonds but less than 250 diamonds in value OR the cleanup takes more than 1 hour but less than 12 hours.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Destruction of Property IV
– Felony – One hundred eighty day imprisonment, 200d fine and full compensation for property lost and full compensation for cleanup at 3d per ten minutes, to be assessed at the end of each ten minutes and to be paid prior to release, permanent expulsion from Arran.

Elements of Destruction of Property IV

 * One player destroys public property or private property owned by another AND the property is not declared derelict by the state or lower governmental institution or private owner


 * OR One player places one or more blocks and/or entities that hinder the use of public property or private property owned by another.


 * The amount of property lost is at least 250 diamonds in value OR the cleanup takes more than 12 hours.


 * The action occurs within the territory or possession of Arran.

Terroristic Threatening
– Misdemeanor – 5d fine

Elements of Terroristic Threatening

 * One player causes another to fear for his life or property through violence or vandalism by words spoken or written, or by explicit and obvious actions. The words or actions must be such that a reasonable person would be threatened, to be decided by a Judge.


 * The offender is within Arran's territory or possessions or a resident of Arran when the actions or speech occur OR the victim is within Arran's territory or possessions or a resident of Arran when the actions or speech occur.

Harassment
– Felony – Fourteen day imprisonment, 50d fine.

Elements of Harassment

 * One player engages in a pattern of behavior that causes another player to be deprived of the due pursuit of happiness. Actions may include petty theft, petty destruction of property, or regular and repeated hate speech as defined in the Hate Speech Statute.


 * The offender is within Arran's territory or possessions or a resident of Arran when the actions or speech occur OR the victim is within Arran's territory or possessions or a resident of Arran when the actions or speech occur.

Hate Speech
– Hate speech is not a criminal offense, but may be considered as part of activity constituting a pattern of behavior under the Harassment statute.

Elements of Hate Speech

 * One player makes verbal or written derogatory statements regarding another player's race, religion, class, creed, color, ethnicity, sexual preference, marital practice or gender identity OR makes general verbal or written derogatory statements regarding a race, religion, class, creed, color, ethnicity, sexual preference, marital practice, or gender identity in view of another player.


 * The offender is within Arran's territory or possessions OR the victim is within Arran's territory or possessions or a resident of Arran.

Arraignment
Arraignment for a misdemeanor or an offense defined by a lower governmental institution must occur within 24 hours of detention.

Arraignment for a felony must occur within 7 days of detention.

The charges will be clearly communicated to the offender by a post to r/civarran. Notice will be given through other means when possible. A player who is not arraigned within the defined time limit must be immediately released after requesting release through a post to r/civarran a message to the Chancellor.

Time spent imprisoned prior to arraignment will count toward any eventual sentence.

Release Prior to Trial
A player accused of a misdemeanor or a felony the sentence for which is less than 30 days may request release prior to trial.

The player will post a bond equivalent to half the total value of the possible fine and compensation.

The Judge will consider the following when granting or denying parole:


 * Prior convictions.


 * Public statements by the offender.


 * Credibility of the complainant.


 * Prima facie quality of the evidence.

A player accused of a misdemeanor may waive all fines and compensation and choose to instead be expelled permanently from Arran.

Elements of Criminal Trial
Trials in Arran are in two parts and may consist of one or both of the two parts, a written argument form, and a real-time argument form.

The Judge will set a deadline for the presentation of the prosecution's case. That deadline will be within two days of arraignment and in no case shall be so extended as to detain the accused longer than he or she would have served having been found guilty.

The prosecution will present its case to r/civarran in a thread clearly marked with [Trial], the name of the accused, and the charge.

The prosecution's case may consist of evidence and witness testimony.

At any time and up to twelve hours after the deadline, the defense may present rebuttal evidence and witness testimony, as well as questions for the witnesses for the prosecution. No witness is compelled to answer questions. The Judge must consider unanswered questions when determining guilt if the questions were posed in a timely fashion.

At the end of the defense deadline, or earlier if the defense chooses to rest its case, the evidence for the trial will be considered finalized.

The Judge will make his decision within six hours.

Imprisonment
A criminal or alleged criminal in Arran sentenced to imprisonment may be held at any location deemed appropriate by the Jailer so long as it is not within a private homestead.

If a prisoner is held within a township it must be with the consent of the executive governing body of the township. Prisoners may also be held within a foreign territory, at the discretion of the Jailer, unless explicitly denied by the Chancellor.

Costs of imprisonment will be paid from state funds.

Fines
Fines will be collected by the state.

80% of the fine will be distributed to the victim and 20% will be retained by the state. The state's share will be rounded down to the nearest whole diamond. One diamond will be the minimum state share.

Fines will be collected within three days of the offense, or within three days of release, with an additional one day grace period for every ten diamonds of value remaining unpaid over the first ten, but will accumulate 1% interest on any unpaid amount at the end of the fourth day, and at the end of every day thereafter. Failure to pay a minimum of ten diamonds toward the remaining balance, and at least any accrued interest by the end of each day after the third will be punished under the Failure to Pay statute.

Those guilty of a misdemeanor may choose permanent expulsion from Arran's territories and properties in lieu of fines.

Compensation
A value in diamonds paid will be paid by the offender to the victim and an estimate of the true cost of lost items or property at the prevailing rate at the time the offense occurs, and may include the cost of shipping replaced items to the site of the loss.

This is in addition to the share of the fine paid to the victim.

If the property lost is not available on the market, the presiding Judge may include a multiplier up to two times the true cost of the property.

Imprisonment in Lieu of Fines and Compensation
A prisoner who is unable or unwilling to pay may choose to serve out his or her sentence at the rate of 5d per day of detention.

Probation
An offender convicted of a misdemeanor may request parole. The Judge will consider the following when granting or denying parole:


 * The status of compensation paid to victims.


 * Prior convictions.


 * Public statements by the offender.

Parole
A player imprisoned for a felony may appeal to the Chancellor for parole after serving one half his or her sentence, and having paid half his or her accumulated fines. In cases of permanent imprisonment, a player may appeal after serving at least 180 days.

The Chancellor will consider the following when granting or denying parole:


 * The status of compensation paid to victims.


 * Prior convictions.


 * Public statements by the offender, including requests for parole made prior to eligibility.


 * Actions by any party in attempt to illegally free the offender.


 * The Chancellor may consider the public welfare of Arran and its relationships with foreign powers when considering parole.