The issue with the lack of criminal/bandit/... type characters in PS has been rattling around in my head for quite a while now, and I've come to the conclusion that in order for banditry and other nefarious RP to be able to leave the city walls, it needs one (only one!) mechanic to support it: interdiction.
Such a mechanic would allow a player character to build a non-lethal trap in a certain area that would hinder the movements of everyone that passed through that part of the world (i.e. slow them down to 10% of walking speed, or prevent them from moving for say two to five minutes), but not do any damage on its own. It would use the existing (albeit unimplemented) "Set Traps" skill, and such traps would require materials to construct as well (say Arangma silk for an entangling trap, or alchemist's glue for something adhesive).
The non-lethal nature of this mechanic -- in other words having it only affect the mobility of victims instead of inflicting damage through falls, poisons, spikes, or explosions -- is needed to prevent an unattended or abandoned trap from being fatal (or at least catastrophically RP-altering) to a character whose player has had no opportunity to consent to the RP that the trap was created for. Of course, one could RP injurious traps atop this basic mechanic (all you'd need to do is put a book there describing what the trap does RPwise).
These traps would also "wear out" under this proposal, either after a set span has passed, or after a certain number of people have fallen into it.
Thoughts? Further suggestions? Questions? Flames?
* Kaerli_Stronwylle puts on the bunker gear...