Rules

A player found breaking a rule to stop another player from breaking a different rule will be punished as well. (For example, Killing a thief that resists capture after he had already been killed. This is wrong since the thief cannot attack or be attacked for a set amount of time, and the thief should comply with the capture as they have been bested.)

Roleplaying

This is a roleplaying shard and as such you are expected to maintain a certain standard of interaction. Failure to acknowledge roleplaying or to interact in an in character manner will result in disciplinary action.

Hiding

The hiding skill is not a magical act; it is representative of your ability to remain unnoticed as such hiding when clearly observable is poor RP indeed. The spell Invisibility is magical however and those under its effect are as the spell’s name indicates: invisible.

Roleplay on mounts

No riding mounts inside houses, no exceptions! Please use your common sense in considering where it would or would not be appropriate to be roughly 5 foot taller than you typically are.

Guild Titles and Tags

Their has always been an OOC issue with the displaying, and hiding of guild tags. If you are within a guild, beside your character’s name (that is visible to everyone else) there shows a slang for your guild, and if toggled on, your guild’s name, and your rank title within said guild. Now, while you are within the guild your character, Roleplay-wise, has some sort of insignia showing on their person. Typically a guild already has some sort of insignia in mind when they create their guild, and you are free to add that to your profile. Characters that see your player are ABLE, repeat ABLE, to see the insignia on your person. They may not know what it means, but they can still see some sort of symbol on your person; be it a necklace, bracelet, patch on your sleeve, etc. The only conditions for a player to not be able to see this insignia is if you have DIRECT GM-permission at that time (which you should be able to prove, and is best that the GM is there with you at the time), that it is hidden. You are not to go around saying your insignia is hidden all the time, as it is not. If you wish to hide your insignia, such as a secret occult, or an underground thieves guild, why do you have a guild stone? A guild stone’s entire purpose is so that members of the same guild are able to recognize each other by simply seeing the other person. You can still be a guild, without a fancy guild stone; you can use real insignias, code words, phrases, meeting houses, etc.

Naming

Naming a character after an existing character, within the shard or in other works of fiction is impermissible. Neither will names with reference to RL concepts or inappropriate joke names be allowed. Your character was born, and he was named, names that do not reflect that fact will be changed. Example: A barbarian known as Khurno “Bear Crusher” Enhrits is permissible with request to the staff, however simply naming yourself Bear Crusher guarantees that your name will be changed by a GM, more than likely without your input on it.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

References to real world people, places, things, or events either in speech or in emotes will not be tolerated. “Breaking the Fourth Wall” so to speak or any actions in which the character acknowledges the mechanics of the game engine will not either. This includes referencing character level, class, alignment, feats, perks, or any other property which is not directly observable by the character. Example: “Pardon me sir, might you help me slay the orcs of the forest? I need only 5,500 more exp to hit level 13”

Age

Adult subject matter including high levels of profanity, vulgarity, or explicit sexual acts will not be tolerated. We understand that romance is a strong character motivation and has a place in storytelling however this is not a dime store romance novel and depiction of graphic sexual acts are absolutely prohibited. The content of the shard shall be considered to have an R rating, any activities which would be considered too graphic or explicit to make it into an R rated film will be considered inappropriate to take place on the server

Special Roleplay

The roleplaying of anything not explicitly outlined in racial or class description or ones requiring other players to treat you in a special way is considered Special RP” and is only permissible with your Racial GMs consent. This includes half-races, non-existent classes, minors, or non-existent cultures. Playing underaged characters counts as special RP, since the minimum age for a char is maturity (example: 18 for humans). This also includes any sort of scarring or disfigurement to your player; whether you approve of it or not. (For example: Your character has been captured by Orcs and tortured for months, they decide to let you go but only after taking one of your hands for trying to steal from them. This is up to the GM to approve and carry out; players from both sides should contact their appropriate GMs to have it approved.)

Logging out

Logging out in order to avoid a disadvantageous roleplaying situation is absolutely forbidden and will be met with jail time and returning of any items that were part of the roleplaying situation. (Example: Logging out to avoid a battle or being captured; to avoid being caught in the next 7 days after you steal from someone)

Force Roleplay

Dictating another characters actions through your own, known as Force RP, will not be tolerated. You may only dictate your own actions and not anothers. (This does not include PvPing your character when you RP him as immortal)

Ignoring

Conversely, ignoring another character’s actions through unrealistic emotes or simply not responding in a way appropriate for your character demonstrates a fundamental inability to role play and will be dealt with accordingly.

Meta gaming

Actions motivated solely by out of character information are utterly impermissible. Giving information to your character simply based on your player knowledge is referred to as “Meta Gaming”. The only information that it is permissible for your character to act upon is information the character has personally acquired.

Racial/(Class) Lore

Failure to comply with established race/(class) lore will result in disciplinary actions up to and including your ejection from that race/(class). When in doubt, consult with your racial GM or the appropriate racial IRC channel or Forum prior to the act in question. After several offenses, this may lead to your character being PDed. (Examples: an orc loving elves and praying to Talathas, or a Druid consorting with known Necros and attempting to destroy the world.)

Combat

Combat, including that with NPC and with Players is an important part of Teiravon and PVP combat is permissible. However no action is permissible without Roleplaying. A serial killer stalking the streets for a victim is allowed, however a character riding through town and simply cutting down anyone he happens upon is not. There are alternatives to killing provided, and it is encouraged that you explore those alternatives, not all combat ends in someone as a ghost.

If However combat is indeed “going down” it is mandatory that your RP reflect this prior to engagement. The fact that you had been conversing pleasently or indeed rudely with the person for hours prior to that point does not satisfy the requirement. Prior to engaging in PVP you must first RP your intention to fight. This could include drawing your sword and leveling it at them, announcing it outright, or any action that makes plain that a fight is about to go down.
This goes for all parties involved in the conflict, If a man raises his sword at you, this does not indicate you are now free to attack him, he issued a challenge, respond to it.

PVP combat should be a conflict between characters, not between players, there should be a consensus that a conflict is imminent. This may well disadvantage you as you would be much more likely to win a fight by simply turning and killing him before he has any idea that you intended him any harm, and that is how we keep the peace among players, by the understanding that yes, he did forgo an advantage, be courteous in return.

Understand that refusal is not a defense to PVP. What is required by the rules is notice, not consent. (Notice means giving him time to react and give Notice in return of acknowledgement, emoting that you draw your sword to stab him as you stab him is not notice.)

Looting

Looting is limited solely to those characters you have personally killed or had a significant role in killing. Scavengers are not allowed. The list of lootable items is as follows; Keys, weapons, gold, food, bandages, potions, gems, jewelry, magic or enchanted items, Relics, Artifacts, and other items whose value are primary for RP (messages and scrolls, books, etc). Any looted item that is not a consumable (Artifacts, Jewlery, Magic Items, Weapons, Relics, Armors as defined above and Racials) must be able to be obtained by the person stolen from. Meaning, that it cannot be placed into a player bank or a house; it can be sold or given to another player, but it has to be obtainable. Looting items other than those outlined will be met with punitive repercussions. Stealing things out of people’s homes is still stealing, it still conforms to loot/stealing rules. Just because you are mechanically capable of taking it doesn’t mean you are entitled to it. Ignoring house looting rules will result in jail time and loss of items.

Vendors

Player operated vendors are there for players that wish to sell goods to other players. These entities must be in accessible and appropriate locations and have a stock that is geared and priced for selling to other players to further the community-driven economy.

Anyone exploiting player operated vendors in any fashion (stealing from, killing, or using as extended storage, etc) will face corrective actions.

Vendors are not transferable and remain in the service of the original owner with two exceptions:
*The prospective owner and the original owner are together in game requesting a GM to transfer the vendor to the prospective owner.
*The vendor is no longer deemed appropriate for a location and moving it is not an option for some reason (Moving it would be the preferred choice.) In this case the vendor is removed from the world despite how much it may have been paid through for, but the contents it holds are placed in its player owner’s bank box. If the original owner no longer exists as a character on an account, the vendor may be moved to a staff area for longer-term storage or removed from play.

At no point can the items or gold on a vendor be seized by another player.

House Repossession

City leaders and others with the right circumstances have the ability to request a GM to transfer eligible homes that players own to their possession for a myriad of reasons – Taxes unpaid, player inactivity, a battle took place and cities changed hands – just to name a few.

When a GM housing transfer occurs, the staff member performing the transfer reserves the right to withhold access to the items within a home and instead move them to the original owner’s bank box regardless of the city’s protocol for housing reclamation.

If the building in question is a player operated shop with many resources in it, it is far more likely that the one seizing the property will only receive the structure and not receive any of the items within it. Those items may be treated instead much like the stock a player vendor has and handled as the above ruling on vendors.

Stealing

Stealing is as aggressive an act as swinging a sword and as such falls under the same accepted guidelines for PVP actions. The only items which are permissible to steal are those which are legal to loot.

Ghosts

A character that has lost all his hit points and becomes a ghost is not considered unconscious, rather, they have died. Death is a very real part of the world, as is resurrection. A dead character that resurrects is under no duress to return to their fallen corpse or indeed to behave in any way other than they were returned to life by divine intervention.

Resurrection

Resurrection is an extremely draining physical, psychological, and metaphysical process and the result of which leaves a character feeling highly lethargic and feeble. Act accordingly. It is impermissible to engage in PVP combat immediately following resurrection by either party. You should neither attack a character who has just resurrected nor should you attack someone immediately following your own resurrection. This is in effect for 15 minutes (real time) following your characters death.

Permanent Death

A player does not have the authority to dictate another player is “Perma-dead” (unable to resurrect) Perma-death is reserved for agreements between players or GM fiat only.

Name/Race/Class Changes

If you are planning on having any of these changes, it must be consulted with a GM firstly to approve it. If you are trying to expand your character’s class, but changing class for OOC reasons that is acceptable, but you will need to provide RP support and have the support of the racial GM. Name changes, such as marriages/divorces/hiding, will need the GM as well. Race changes must be consulted with the current racial GM and the new racial GM and would require a great deal of RP; these are the exceptions. If you are found to have performed any of the following by yourself, with the intent to keep the same ‘character’ you will face deletion of that character. (For example, I have a Drow named Drali who I want to play as a fighter, but I am currently a thief. I should NOT re-create the character as a thief, but work with my racial GM for the transition)

Battles

A battle occurs when 6 or more characters intend to go to a city/outpost with a specific goal to cause harm to the target faction’s structures, leaders and/or goals. All battles must be approved by staff and posted upon the defenders forum at least one week in advance.

Battles – Rules Apply for All Participants

* 0. Only during battles it is allowed for personal property to be destroyed, animals and livestock killed, vandalism, statues destroyed and burning structures and bridges, bank robbing and larger scale damage to the city.
* 1. Battles can take place at any time, but must be posted on the forums in advance and approved by a GM. You must beforehand speak to a staff member to keep your back-end destruction updated with cinematic effects.
* 2. You must have a valid reason/objective for starting a battle.
* 3. Participants must continue fighting until they die, yield or retreat.
* 4. Once you have been slain, you can no longer participate and must remain dead at your body. You aren’t allowed to resurrect and watch, confusing others. This has the potential for you to be captured after the battle. If you do not wish for this to happen you must leave the designated battle area before the battle has begun. If the target of the battle is the city leader you must remain in the battle area. (For example: A battle against the Drow to capture the Queen).
* 5. Should you choose to retreat, you can no longer participate. This is permanent retreat from the battle for your character, not falling back to heal or re-group; you have made it clear that you are retreating from the battle.
* 6. PvP ends when one side can no longer continue fighting or has given up.
* 7. The winning side may take prisoners from the fallen dead, or take prisoners from those that chose not to fight during the battle.
* 8. NPC guards are allowed only on the defending side should the battle be in a city.
* 9. 6 players minimum must participate on the attacking side.
* 10. One target per battle.

LOOTING: Looting will not be allowed during a battle.

Raids

A raid occurs when 3 or more characters intend to go to any groups land with a specific goal to capture a player, loot a specific item relevant to RP, setup a blockade or simply to cause harm to the races inhabitants. All raids must be approved by staff, so that the defending side can be given a 15 minute warning, before the attackers depart to the defending sides territory.

Raids – Rules Apply for All Participants

* 0. During a raid, no damage may be done to a city, outpost, goal or leader.
* 1. Raids can take place at any time a GM is available to approve and oversee one.
* 2. You must clearly state your reason and whom it is you are raiding.
* 3. Participants must continue fighting until they die, yield or retreat.
* 4. Once you have been slain, you can no longer participate and must remain dead at your body. You aren’t allowed to resurrect and watch, confusing others. This has the potential for you to be captured after the raid. If you do not wish for this to happen you must leave the designated raid area before the raid has begun. If you are the target of a raid, you must remain in the raid area. (For example: A raid against Edana in order to secure an escaped slave).
* 5. Should you choose to retreat, you can no longer participate. This is permanent retreat from the raid for your character, not falling back to heal or re-group; you have made it clear that you are retreating from the raid.
* 6. PvP ends when one side can no longer continue fighting or has given up.
* 7. The winning side may take prisoners from the fallen dead, or take prisoners from those that chose not to fight during the raid.
* 8. NPC guards are allowed only on the defending side should the raid be in a city.
* 9. 3 players minimum must participate on the attacking side.
* 10. One target per raid.

LOOTING: Objective; if it applies. (For example: Attacking for a magical relic the Elves have found. Otherwise no looting will occur.)

Bugs, Exploits, and General Mechanics

Even as long as the UO engine has been around there are still significant bugs and exploits within the system. It is the responsibility of mature players to report bugs via the paging system as they are found. The willful exploitation of bugs will result in jail time and possible banning from the shard. Do not discuss bugs in open chat as this may lead to exploitation by other players.

Overweight dragging

Leapfrogging, the process of dragging an item that is too heavy to carry within your backpack is impermissible. Simply put, if you can’t lift it, you can’t move it. Failure to abide this rule will result in the item in question being deleted.

Muling

Transferring items between your characters is known as “Muling” and will result in the loss of the items and jail time, regardless of the means of transportation. The only caveat to this rule is if you are the sole crafter for an area and it is unreasonable to expect another source for the item in question. Please note, you must contact your GM in regards to this transfer first.

Private housing

The use of private housing, bans, or other inexplicable restrictions is impermissible; there is no magical force which dictates that a player may not enter your house. Failure to comply will result in GM intervention.

Exploits

Exploits are not to be discussed in any forum or channel; they should be reported immediately to a GM or Admin. If you discover an exploit or if something seems strangely amiss, report it to the staff; abusing the exploit will result in jail time and loss of any gains through the exploit.

Multiple accounts

Multiple accounts are not permitted, accounts which share and IP address should be reported to Admins immediately or they risk deletion and banning for multiple account use.

Stupidity

As a player you are expected to act with a certain level of maturity, failure to demonstrate that maturity will result in disciplinary actions. Bring a little common sense with you when you play and don’t be intentionally disruptive to other players.

The Ghost Stupidity Syndrome

The same standards of conduct apply to you when dead or alive; simply because your character is a ghost does not afford you the right to behave in a ludicrous fashion such as spinning in circles, blinking in and out of war mode, passing through gates you couldn’t pass through alive or any other general forms of idiocy. Any information you obtained during ghosting is lost upon resurrection.

Harassment

Harassment or disruptive behavior which is aimed solely at interfering with the enjoyment of others will be deemed Griefing and dealt with accordingly.

Dumbness

Acting in a way which is utterly uncharacteristic is just plain bad role playing and is not tolerated.

Respect

Poor OOC sportsmanship including smack talk, defamation, or other discourteous acts is severely frowned upon. We’re all playing a game together, being gracious in your victories of defeats reflects better on you as a person. Actions with motivation of causing distress to the player behind the character rather than to within the setting are considered griefing and will not be tolerated. The game is supposed to be fun for everyone and players who bring fun to all those who interact with them are actually rewarded; do not bring IC to OOC or OOC to IC. This respect goes for both player to player and player to staff. Some staff may be lenient on venting towards them while others are not; treat others as you would like be treated yourself.

AFK

Remaining logged into the game while AFK or unresponsive will result in you being disconnected.

Unattended Macroing

Unattended macroing or “AFK” macroing, it is sometimes called, is when you are found to be unresponsive to in game prompts. Doing such is impressible and will result in consequences to both your character and player account. Simply do not do it. Should you find you need to step away from the computer, it is advisable to just turn off your macro.

Macro Roleplaying

Attaching a clever RP phrase to your spell macros is not considered good RP. It is strongly recommended that any speech macros be separate and not attached to another function. No one wants to hear you continually spam the same phrase as you cast.

]nod

]nod is system intended to reward a player for roleplay. It is not to be used simply upon encountering another player nor should it be expected you receive a ]nod for giving a ]nod.

Administrators reserve the right to remove anyone determined to have a negative impact on the shard.