About the Fuel Rats and Our Ethos

The Fuel Rats are a more or less flatly structured collective of equals. By necessity, there is SOME form of management in the form of the Ops Team and the Overseers, but by and large, the Mischief operates by means of unity towards a common goal. Disagreements are worked out by listening to each other, suggesting solutions, and (hopefully) deciding collectively what to do. Our collective is more like the communes of the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus: they did not need government or leaders because they were basically in agreement about what needed to be done. The “collective” is a team, sharing a common goal. Military units have to resort to hierarchical command-structures in order to get people to do the right thing in a situation where disagreement is fostered by political pressure. In the Fuel Rats we prefer to expect people to do the right thing. If someone doesn’t fit in, they’ll get polite suggestions to find another hobby than Fuel Ratting.

Even though we are leaderless, we are a collective; the actions of each individual reflect on how others perceive the collective. Every one of us makes all the Fuel Rats collective look good. Which also means that if one of us is misbehaving, they make all of us look bad. If one Fuel Rat feels another is making the collective look bad, your starting move should be: “Hey, please think how your behavior reflects on the collective.”

We are The Good Guys and first and foremost our job – our only job – is to save stranded pilots quickly, courteously, and professionally. Some of us are fairly serious role-players. By all means, role-play if you like. Or not. If one of your fellow Rats is role-playing, it’s probably nice if you play along.

Since the game hasn’t got a very good fee-structure or means of exchanging wealth, we talk a lot about charging a 100t of platinum, an arm, or a liver. If you want to work something out or role-play something with a rescuee, have fun.

Please do not mix other game-play with your Fuel Ratting; while you’re out on a rescue, you represent the lot of us. If you decide to get creative, just be thoughtful.

The Fuel Rats are not a war guild. Yes, we’ll equip good shields, fast ships, even guns, but it’s hugely unlikely that a Rat-pack will go to war. After all, many of the Rats are on different sides and factions. When we’re being Fuel Rats, we’re all on one side: The Fuel Rats. Otherwise… it gets complicated.