Hello Swatter and all,
I had a great deal of trouble adjudicating over this case and sought some outside thoughts as well.
Under the fifth player report rule, you may not make a player report for another player if they were the victim of a rulebreak. However, because of your close proximity to the events, that clause is not necessarily as ‘spiritually relevant’, as you were very engaged in the situation. With that said, the fact that you were not the one being assailed is a consideration being made.
Ultimately, while this player does fire upon a body, potentially driving it to permadeath, that does not satisfy the conditions for Rule 10: Lethal Force. Other potential rulebreaks, Rule 2: Roleplay, Rule 3: Community Expectations (Don’t be a dick), and Rule 4: No Griefing, could all be considered within the scope of this player report, however, the player was acting under legitimate roleplay initiative. The roleplay of the party in question certainly could have been higher, but their behavior is not so outlandish as to warrant staff action. Furthermore, the two players did reconcile in deadchat, suggesting that the directly victimized party did not wish to seek out staff action.
Finally, the player’s actions against you may be considered a rulebreak under the same rules, because they prevented your own capacity to perform your role. However, once again, there was sufficient roleplay justification for the actions performed.
While this situation is nuanced, and I think there was certainly grounds for complaints and reports to be made, the actions taken by the accused player do not sufficiently meet any criteria for a rulebreak. This player report is denied.