top of page

COMMUNITY RULES

By being a member of our community, which includes playing on our server and using our forums and discord, then you agree to the terms and rules listed bellow.

General Game Rules

  • You must be at least 18 years old to participate in this server.

  • External overrides on the player side are not allowed to be used. This includes the use of an override to use custom colors on a character since it is considered making it a custom race.

  • Abusing exploits in the game to give yourself a mechanical or RP advantage will not be tolerated and is a punishable offense. All players are requested to report any bugs/exploits they find at the forum or to a DM in-game.

Communication Rules

  • Stay In Character (IC) at all times. The Talk channel is not to be used for Out of Character (OOC) discussion, commentary, etc.; use the Tell channel for this. Requesting OOC clarification from a group of players is an acceptable use of the Talk channel.

  • Do not use the Party channel unless requested to do so by a DM during an event, and then it is only to be used IC.

  • This is an 18+ server: Erotic Roleplay (ERP) is permitted, but requires consent of both parties, and must be conducted in a private area (eg. an inn room) and limited to the Tell channel.

  • Do not use colored fonts as they are disruptive.

Character Rules

  • Do not give famous names to your characters, such as ancient famous persons and names from pop culture, books or games. Names that are adjectives or nouns are also non-permissible.

  • Underage characters are prohibited.

  • Some monster races such as Drow, Orcs, Goblinoids and Kobolds are available, but please understand that if you choose to play one of these races, most of the server's Player Characters and NPC's will be hostile to you.

Character Build Rules

  • Characters can reach a maximum level of 30 and have up to 4 classes, of which 3 may be Prestige Classes.

  • Each character must have at least 3 levels in each class they've chosen by level 20. This is commonly referred to as a 3 by 20 or 3x20 rule.

  • Players may not use overrides to give their characters a skin or hair color outside the normal racial selection.

  • Clerics must select two Domains

  • Warlocks must choose from the following pacts: Abyssal, Fey, Infernal, and Star.

General Player vs. Player Rules

  • All PvP must take place for an In Character reason, and must be preceded by roleplay by both parties. "I'm a dick" or "I randomly kill people" is not a valid reason.

  • Targets must be set to Hostile.

  • Fleeing an area (or logging out) counts as having lost the PvP; do not flee and then return.

  • PvP (especially repeated PvP) may result in IC consequences, including but not limited to bounties and imprisonment.

Post Player vs. Player Rules

  • The victor of a PvP may decide the outcome of the loser, within reasonable limits. This is not consent to enslave the character, ERP, or to destroy it, etc.  The victor of a PvP may torture the losing character without their consent, but this is not to be acted out and is referred to as a "Fade to Black".

  • Loss of PvP is never grounds for Permadeath (unless the loser desires it); permadeaths can only be meted out by a Dungeon Master.

  • A character killed in PvP cannot remember the events leading up to and including the their death.

  • Both parties to a PvP must avoid each other for a period of 24 real life hours, unless agreed upon by both parties. Do not switch characters and then seek the other party out; this is considered griefing.

Assassination Player vs. Player Rules

  • Have the Assassin PrC.

  • Submit a request to the DM team (incl screenshots) for why the target should be assassinated. This can be your RP or that of someone else: in the case of someone else, include screenshots of a contract being made.

  • If the DM team approves, then the screenshotted RP submitted in step 2 will be considered as the RP required before PvP, and the Assassin may thus attack their target on sight.

  • Assassinations:  Apps for multiple characters may be submitted and approved, but not for entire groups. Eg. "I hate all drow" is not considered sufficient RP.

  • RP Outs (a former rule) are not required, nor is consent to PvP.

  • You're less likely to piss off another player if you use the Knock Out mode rather than sending them to the fugue plane.

Role Play Rules

      ​Roleplay Your Character Sheet

  • You are not allowed to RP any powers, abilities or physical traits that are not part of your in game Character sheet.

  • This includes the use of any PnP spell or abilites of classes (or Races) not listed on your sheet or Templates which are generally not available on DB for starting characters (i.e. Half Fey, Devil, Dragon etc..). No tails, claws, wings, gills or other unsupported character traits either. No Player is allowed to use PnP spells/abilities without DM consent. We also do not allow characters to RP that they are possessed, controlled, or granted special RP circumstances from forces other than themselves without DM permission.

    Metagaming

  • Metagaming is the use of OOC information or resources to affect one's in-game decisions. Metagaming is strictly forbidden and is a punishable offense, and can include:

  • Using knowledge that your character should not know ICly.

  • Acting differently due to OOCly knowing that a person is higher level than you or being set to Hostile.

  • Discerning the true identity of a disguised character by reading the name over their head.

  • Asking another character OOCly to come find your dead body or to come help you out in PvP when the character would have no IC knowledge of your character's whereabouts.

    Godmodding

  • Godmodding is the action of deciding oneself things which are not theirs to decide.  Examples include:

  • Deciding the outcomes of hostile emoted actions oneself.

  • Deciding the actions of an NPC or group of NPCs without a DM's approval.  This includes ignoring the presence or possible reactions of NPC guards, such as entering a town from which you are banned or committing a crime in front of them, or casting Shadow Simalcrum on them.  It also includes going through dungeons invisibly or talking while HIPS'd.

  • RPing an action/actions that are impossible to defend against, or how the other character is affected by an action, thus leaving the player unable to RP his/her own character.

    Torture and Slavery

  • Torture and slavery are permitted forms of Roleplay, but require the consent of the party to be tortured or enslaved.  The victor of a PvP may torture the losing character without their consent, but this is not to be acted out and is referred to as a "Fade to Black".

    Erotic Roleplay

  • This is an 18+ server: Erotic Roleplay (ERP) is permitted, but requires the consent of both parties, and must be conducted in a private area (eg. inn room) and limited to the Tell channel.

    Profanity

  • Is acceptable within good taste.  A player must respect another player's request to refrain from using excessively vulgar terms in their presence.

    HIPS, Stealth, and Invisibility

  • Players using the stealth skill are expected to roleplay hiding behind some form of cover.  The Hide in Plain Sight feat It has come to the attention of the staff that some players are using HiPS/Stealth without using some form of cover. Unless you have taken Shadowdancer or Assassin (they use shadows) as a class in your build, you MUST USE COVER. No exceptions.

  • Standing out in the middle of a camp with a bright fire near you, or standing right in front of someone while stealth would allow you to be seen. If you are behind some crates, in some bushes, or hiding behind somewhere that people might not be able to directly see you, you are safe.

  • Shadowdancers and Assassins have a version of HiPS that is supernatural. So long as there is a shadow within 10 feet of them, they are considered to be behind cover and thus satisfy the Must Use Cover rule regarding hiding. That said, Both classes must take at least 8 levels in their PrC in order to benefit from using a shadow as cover. A 3 level dip into the Shadowdancer class does not cover the amount of time and training required to master hiding within the shadows. Also, it should be noted that because their ability to HiPS is magical, they can not use their supernatural means of using HiPS in Dead Magic Zones, such as the Ironhouse Halls, nor can they use shadows as cover. They can still use mundane versions of HiPS and seek cover, like any other stealthier.

  • Non-Shadowdancer HiPS using classes use more mundane means to achieve being hidden in plain sight. For them, the use of HiPS is more of a distraction, or sleight of hand, to appear as if they had vanished from sight when in fact all they did was break eye-contact with their viewer long enough to hide and they are very good at it. Think Ninjas with their smoke powder bombs in this case.

  • If you are invisible, that is different. Invisibility is a completely magical means of rendering one unseen and thus cover is not required. A True-Seeing or See Invisibility spell will counter this effect immediately as will a successful listen check as invisibility does nothing to hide sound. Etherealism renders one both unseen and silent, but since they are out of phase with the Material Plane, they cannot hear what's going on around them.

  • Any character with HiPS can disappear from sight, but must immediately move to cover to remain hidden. Shadowdancers and Assassins of 8th level may use an actual shadow as their cover. Anyone attempting to stealth who is not using one of the above methods will be considered metagaming and will be subject to our metagaming rules.

  • In PvP, the use of HiPS Dancing can still be employed, as the HiPSter is quickly moving to be behind the target. This can be RPed in a variety of ways, so long as it is understood that only those with Shadowdancer or Assassins levels use HiPS in a supernatural way. All others must have some method to break eye contact, be it chemical, psychological, or just being really good at distraction tactics. How you chose to roleplay this is completely up to you, but for good RP PvP, something should be roleplayed out.

  • In all other PvP and RP cases, the rules apply as stated above.

Forum and Discord Rules

All aspects of the General Rules for the server will also apply to the forums and discord chat. These rules are more specific to the forums/discord and are here to help keep a civil and enjoyable feel to the interactions on the forums.

​

  • Don't post images or depictions of explicitly violent or sexual activity.

  • Excessively vulgar language is prohibited.  Some will be filtered out by the forum, but not being filtered does not mean you can say it.

  • Disagreement is welcomed, but keep posts constructive and civil; don't shitpost.

  • Don't lie or misrepresent.

  • Only staff members may call votes.  Staff may ask to keep these threads free of discussion; discuss them in another thread.

  • Don't discuss real-world politics or religion; people come here to escape all that.


      Penalties
The below represents the typical progression of penalties a player will experience when in repeated violation of the forum rules. All players can expect to receive due process, but severity of violation, "gaming the rules", or finding ways around a ban may result in the process being fast-tracked, and may potentially lead to loss of server access as well.
 

  • First Warning

  • Second Warning

  • One Week Forum Ban

  • One Month Forum Ban

  • Permanent Forum Ban​


​      Appeals

  • Those who have been banned from the forum and/or server may appeal their ban at a later time by writing a letter to the staff email account. There is no set process for appeals: timing and decisions are the sole discretion of the administrators. Those who have been unbanned are no longer entitled to the process described above.

bottom of page