Rules of Engagement

The shard Rules of Engagement are created in combination with staff and players and are reviewed on a regular basis. The RoE applies to combat between warring guilds on the World Map. Failure to adhere to the rules may result in players being "banished" to Summer Isle for a period of time.

We consider ourselves to be a role-play shard with PvP, we are not a "PvP Shard". PvP is intended to be part of the shard storyline progression. Players are expected to role-play before PvP conflict and followed the documented rules of engagement. For an overview of PvP on Sanctuary please read more ..

Rules of Engagement

It is the expectation of this community that all role-players will:

1. Practice sportsmanship
2. Give others the benefit of the doubt

With that said we have the following guidelines established by house leaders and staff.

Turn on your logs

Please make sure to turn on your Journal logs right now. Please.

PvP Needs a Reason

We assume that those playing on our shard expect that another player has a good role-play reason for wanting to start a PvP fight. We assume those reasons have to do with the shard storyline and have depth to them.

While two guilds being at war is nearly enough justification for PvP, it does not include using the at war status for unmotivated murder without role-play. Two warriors, at war, can face off in the street and fight, but running into the bank and stabbing some random guild member you've never even RP'd with in the back just because your guilds are at war, is not.

Shapechange

Players should not use smaller than human shape changes in PvP, it is considered unsportsmanlike.

Fast Boots

Fast boots will be disabled on the world map when in war mode.

Looting

Guilds at war can loot each other. Looting is restricted to weapons and stackable such as arrows, bandages, potions, reagents, and gold. (Mechanics may be implemented to facilitate this). House keys may not be looted. Houses may not be looted.

No Res-Killing

Once a character has been (game mech) killed they should not be attacked again unless they re-engage in RP. Characters in death robes should be allowed to gather items off their corpse and exit the scene.

AFK or Inactive Players

Do not attack AFK or inactive players. Players who have to go AFK on the world map should really make use of the .AFK option that creates a journal entry.

Honor the death

If you loose you should respect that you have lost and exit the scene quietly without IC or OOC commentary. If you re-engage then you are open to being attacked again.

After Attack Scene

There is excellent role-play to be had in an "after attack scene" as long as the goal is role-play and not another PvP battle. Healers should be allowed to tend to the wounded, and leaders should be allowed to negotiate for the release of prisoners, safe passage, or other realistic role-play options in such situations. (Please note that IC or OOC smack talking will likely get you smacked again.)

(Proposed) Healer Rule

I propose that we have a "white robe safe passage" option for those who are playing priests and healers. These characters would refrain from all actions during a PvP battle. They would be required to stay out of war mode and have no weapons in their hands. These characters would then be allowed to resurrect/revive/heal after the battle so as to allow an "after attack scene" to continue.

This rule does require the community as a whole not to wear white robes on the world map unless they are RPing a healer. If we can agree to that, I think its a good RP addition. We might be able to put in white hooded GM robes for this option as well.

Throws down weapons

If a player actively indicates that they are "throwing down their weapons", has no weapons in their hands and is not in war mode, attackers should take this to mean that the player prefers to RP out a capture and not be killed. Accidents happen but an alternate resolution should be offered immediately.

Recall

It is considered unsportsmanlike to recall out of a scene. When this becomes a community habit, other players feel forced to kill and loot regs instead of engaging. As this is not what we want to happen, players should only recall out after they have left the screen/scene.

Binding/Capture

Only alive characters can be bound or captured, once they have been killed they do not need to honor your attempt to capture. They must have no reasonable method of escape, such as trapped in a room, paralyzed, drained of stamina, or effectively "surrounded". (We may find the need to implement nets or knockouts, for now let's use RP.)

Three lines of text are required for a capture/bind. If you intend to use an item to get out of a role-play bind, the item must be an in game item in your pack, or listed on your .look. No pulling hairpins out of your butt. Players must name the items or locations they search or confiscate specifically.

House Rules

House Ban

The use of banning from your home is considered an OOC action and should not be used to resolve in character conflict.

Detect Hidden in Houses

It is not our intention to provide any zero-check solution. Consequently, houses on RPCSS do not provide an instant success when using detect hidden. Players will need to take the skill.