Given the absence of a formal list of rules, the immortal staff found that it would be beneficial to create such a list. It should ...
Given the absence of a formal list of rules, the immortal staff found that it would be beneficial to create such a list. It should be noted that the rules below are largely what has been enforced in the past. Although there are some changes below, these are merely proposed rules that have not yet been finalized. Please feel free to comment below or through any other means available to you. After some discussion by the community at large, the immortal staff will review this list and any changes for final approval and implementation.
Rules Governing Knights of Darkness
(Please note that these are PROPOSED rules at this time)
1. Rule Interpretation
These rules will be enforced by the immortal staff and they shall be followed by all players at all times. Failure to follow these rules will result in the prescribed punishment. In the absence of a prescribed punishment, players will be punished at the discretion of the immortal staff. All players should recognize that this is not an exhaustive list of rules, it will continue to grow over time as situations arise. Just because a specific rule is not listed below does not mean that such conduct is necessarily permitted. All players should exercise common sense and good judgment in interpreting these rules or engaging in other conduct that does not necessarily fall within the purview of these rules. If there are any questions, please seek an immortal.
2. Immortals Generally
The immortal staff is a collection of long-standing players that are unpaid for the work that they put into this MUD. This group of individuals manage the game, oversee players, fix bugs, create new areas, and introduce new skills and functionalities into the game. Additionally, they read logs and award roleplaying points. They gain nothing from what they do except for the pure satisfaction of a job well done. As such, please show the utmost respect to the immortal staff. Those who fail to show adequate respect towards the immortal staff will be punished accordingly.
3. Immortal Decisions/Punishment
Generally speaking, the decisions made by immortals are final. Before a punishment of any kind is handed out, however, the punished player shall be informed of his or her violation and the specific punishment that will be applied. Additionally, the player to be punished shall be given an opportunity to discuss the offense or offenses with the enforcing immortal prior to the application of any punishment.
Any players that believe they have been punished unjustly (or are unhappy with another decision) may appeal the decision to a board of immortals. If an appeal board is not immediately available, the player shall undergo punishment prior to the appeal process. To appeal the decision of an immortal, a player may notify either the punishing immortal or another immortal. Once an immortal is notified of the desire for an appeal, he or she shall assemble additional immortals that will constitute a board of appeals to hear the grievance.
4. Immortal Integrity
Immortals are the honorable representatives of Knights of Darkness. As such, they are expected to act with dignity and integrity in carrying out their duties. If there is ever a concern about the conduct of an immortal, please log the concern and report it to another immortal. If warranted, appropriate action will be taken.
5. Impersonating Immortals
It is against the rules to impersonate immortals in any way. This includes, but is not limited to, using the same color text as the immortal staff over OOC channels. A violation of this rule shall result in appropriate punishment.
6. Role-playing
Knights of Darkness is a role-playing (hereinafter “RP”) enforced MUD. Therefore, please act accordingly.
7. Newbies
Newbies may not be killed under any circumstance. Additionally, newbies may never be singled out as targets of thievery or “jacked” of their items. To put it simply, newbies may never be harassed in any manner. If newbies are ever a problem, please notify an immortal to deal with the situation. Failure to comply with this rule will result in hell for a minimum of five days. Habitual violations of this rule will result in more severe consequences.
8. Guards on Coruscant
Posting guards (of any kind) or using reinforcements or special forces on Coruscant is strictly prohibited. This includes clan guards and unclanned mercenaries. Clans include any and all organizations. Any player found posting guards on Coruscant may be subject to some time in hell. Continued violations of this rule will be subject to harsher penalties.
9. Clan Leadership
It is important to remember that Knights of Darkness is a role-playing enforced MUD. Therefore, leaders of clans (governments, businesses, orders, guilds, etc.) are responsible for continually facilitating role-playing. As a corollary to this, a clan leader is essentially responsible for growing their clan. Thus, clan leaders that are not sufficiently active to grow or develop their clan will be removed by the immortal staff (sufficiently active will not be defined by any number of days or hours logged in).
In the event that a leader is removed from his or her position, leadership shall proceed to the first officer of that clan upon his or her express acceptance of the position. If there is no first officer, or if the first officer declines leadership, leadership shall proceed to the second officer of that clan upon his or her express acceptance of the position. If neither the first officer nor second officer desire leadership, or if there are no such officers, then the immortal staff will accept applications for the leadership position. Additionally, if the first and second officers are not sufficiently active, the immortal staff will accept applications for the leadership position. In weighing applications for leadership, those characters presently in the clan with a long-standing history of role-playing and commitment to that clan shall be given preference.
10. Recovery of Equipment
Upon any “in character” death via a player kill (hereinafter “PK”), no player may return to his or her place of death to retrieve his or her old items. This not only applies to clones, but to alternate characters belonging to that individual (i.e., if character A is murdered, one may not log on alternate character B and retrieve the items that belonged to character A). This rule may not be circumvented by enlisting others to retrieve the items for you or by engaging in any other method of “out of character” retrieval. This rule does not prevent the killer from returning the items to the clone of the deceased. Additionally, this rule does not apply to any deaths that occur “out of character,” such as those by mobs. A violation of this rule shall be punishable by at least one day in hell. Repeat offenses will be subject to harsher penalties.
11. Transfer of Equipment, Items, and Credits
It is against the rules to transfer equipment, items, and credits between alternate characters. Additionally, it is against the rules to circumvent this by handing equipment, items, or credits to another person’s character with the intent that they will transfer them to one of your alternates. A violation of this rule shall result in the slaying of all characters involved in the illegal conduct. Habitual violations may result in more severe punishment.
12. Multiplaying
Persons may not have more than one character logged in at a time. All characters involved in violating this rule shall be subject to a slay. Depending on the circumstances, additional consequences may be appropriate.
13. CorpTech Engineering Immunity
This rule is hereby repealed. Members of CorpTech Engineering are no longer immune from being killed.
14. Channels
“Out of Character” Channels
All players should use the proper channels for their respective discussions. The OOC channel should be used for general “out of character” chatting. This means that “in character” requests, such as requests for help, must never take place over the OOC channel. OSAY is the equivalent of OOC, but the message is only transmitted to those in the same room as you. Those caught making in character requests over any OOC channel will be punished accordingly. Although swearing is by no means prohibited on OOC channels, especially foul language is reserved for the FLAME channel. Those using especially foul language on channels other than FLAME will be punished accordingly. The AVATAR channel is an OOC channel that can be used by all players at level 100 or above. BEEP is a private OOC command that allows one to communicate directly with another player. Other “out of character” channel restrictions include the following: singing shall take place over the MUSIC channel, political discussions shall take place over the POLITICS channel, and religious discussions shall take place over the RELIGION channel. Again, those who fail to abide by these rules will be punished accordingly.
“In Character” Channels
There is a fairly extensive list of “in character” channels. As the title suggests, these channels are restricted to in character conversations. These channels include CHAT, SAY, ASK, SHOUT, YELL, WHISPER, TELL, QUEST, WARTALK, GOVTALK, BUSTALK, CRIME, GUILD, and ORDER. If any “out of character” conversation takes place over such a channel, the communication shall be preceded by OOC.
15. Verbal abuse and offensive slurs
No channel may ever be used to verbally abuse or harass other players. Additionally, they may not be used to display or transmit offensive slurs or phrases of any kind towards any person, including oneself. Even offensive slurs and phrases used in jest will be punished. Any such verbal abuse, slurs, or phrases shall be examined from an objective perspective rather than a subjective perspective. Individuals in violation of the rule shall be subject to a minimum of three days in hell. Furthermore, any misuse of these channels must be reported to the immortal staff immediately.
16. Government Multiclanning
To prevent the abuse of government privileges, no person may have characters in more than one government. A violation of this rule shall result in hell and removal from the clan. One who violates this rule for the express purpose of abusing government privileges (such as letting a member of your other clan on a capital ship) will be subject to an immediate slay, hell, and removal from the clan. The only exception for this rule applies to those who are undercover spies in a clan. To comply with the rules of that exception, please see the rule regarding Undercover Spies.
17. Spy Registration
Those who are registered spies may be in more than one government. The following are instructions for spy registration: 1) the character that will become a spy must post a note on the spy registration board indicating the government he will infiltrate, the government he will report to, the objective for serving as a spy, and the approximate length of the assignment; and 2) the leader of the clan that the spy will be reporting to must also post a note on the spy registration board with the same information as in part (1). Spies may not start their duties until they have received explicit approval from an immortal.
This information will assist the immortal staff in making certain that individuals are not using the spy registration as an excuse to have a character in another government indefinitely. Any unregistered players with characters in two governments that are found acting as spies will be treated as government multiclanning and will be dealt with as such. Spies that have drastically outlived their expected time allowances will be asked to step down or produce valid reasons for their continued employment as a spy.
18. Names of Characters, Ships, and Items
All names of characters, ships, and items must be appropriate for a Star Wars universe. For example, characters should not have common names such as Mary, Tom, Brad, and the like. However, famous Star Wars names such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Han Solo may not be used either. Similarly, ships should not have names such as Ford Explorer, Pumpkin Pies Rock, or ESPN IS COOL. Additionally, items must also be named properly.
Characters with improper names will be asked to select a new name. Owners of ships with improper names will be asked to rename their ship at their own expense. Items with improper names will be confiscated immediately without compensation. Continued failure to disobey these rules will result in punishment.
It should also be noted that the above names are not an exhaustive list of those that are prohibited, they are merely examples. Please use these rules and common sense as guidance.
19. Unmanned Ships
The following unmanned ships may not be destroyed: capital ships, destroyers, frigrates, cruisers, and corvettes. If one desires to destroy any of the listed ships, one must be absolutely certain that it is being controlled by another player. Additionally, there must be valid IC reasons for carrying out the attack in space. Those who attack any of these unmanned ships in violation of this rule will be sent to hell for no less than three days. Repeat offenses will result in harsher action.
20. Space Patrol, Intrusion, and Combat
Governments have a right to protect systems that are under their control. This means that governments may conduct routine patrols, order ships in their space to a halt, and even board ships for inspection of contraband. Ships that are immediately aggressive may be targeted and destroyed. Unresponsive ships that are not aggressive may be targeted and destroyed if there is a failure to comply after three warnings to identify. There must be a delay of thirty seconds between each warning and between the final warning and the initial firing. This only applies to governments acting within systems that are under their control.
Individuals that are not part of governments may only open fire upon other ships when they have a valid IC reason to conduct a PK. Such an individual must also know that their target is on the ship. If the target is on the ship with innocents, the PK of the innocents is considered an illegal PK. However, players acting in concert with the target may be killed.
Targeting another ship in space is considered an aggressive act. Any and all ships that conduct aggressive acts may be immediately engaged and destroyed. No illegal PK will result when a ship is destroyed because it engaged in aggressive acts, regardless of whether the killed players were “innocents.”
When governments are at war with each other, they may fire upon any ship belonging to the clan they are at war with without warning, regardless of what system they are in. However, one must be close enough to such a ship to scan it and confirm that it is indeed owned by the opposing government before firing. It should be noted that for this to apply the ship must be owned by the government, not a player.
ALL PROVISIONS OF THIS RULE ARE SUBJECT TO THE RULE REGARDING “UNMANNED SHIPS.”
21. Bounties
Bounties include both over-the-counter and under-the-counter bounties. A player may not place a bounty of any kind unless he or she has a valid RP reason to do so. Although governments may place bounties, they may not place bounties when at war so as to engage the Bounty Hunger’s Guild or the Assassin’s Guild (or any other organization that is authorized to carry out bounties) against their enemies. Players claiming bounties must seek approval of all bounties by an immortal before any action is taken. Any deaths resulting from bounties that have not been approved by an immortal shall result in the slaying of the player that placed the bounty and the player that claimed the bounty.
22. Removal of Bounties
The following is to clarify a rule that has been in existence, but has likely been overlooked by many:
Individuals that have bounties placed on them may, at the discretion of the leader of either the Hunter's Guild or the Assassin’s Guild, have said bounty removed. It is required that the individual seeking the removal of the bounty conduct a role play with the leader of the guild and submit the log via the website for the wanted flag to be removed. Once the log is received, an immortal will check with the leader of the guild to verify its authenticity and appropriateness. Removal of a bounty is at the discretion of the leader and subject to approval by the immortal staff. Although the leader has an implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing in the consideration of removal, he or she is by no means obligated to remove a bounty. One example of why a leader may consider removal of a bounty is that the current bounty price is insufficient given the reputation and skill of the individual bountied. Of course, such reasons are ample and an exhaustive list will not be repeated here. Other existing rules regarding bounties remain in complete effect (i.e., checking with the immortal staff before claiming a bounty, etc.).
Abuse of this privilege by any and all parties will result in severe punishment as determined by the Knights of Darkness immortal staff. Any concerns regarding abuse of this privilege should be reported to an immortal as soon as possible for consideration.
23. War
War may only be declared when appropriate RP reasons exist. Additionally, it may only be declared when the leader of the other government is available to reciprocate the declaration of war. When two governments are in a state of war, they may freely PK one another. However, in pursuing the PK of members belonging to an opposing government, one must know with certainty through IC means that the targeted player is a member of the warring government. Those who PK others in the absence of such IC knowledge will be punished accordingly. Additionally, those who PK others that are not members of the warring government shall be subject to an immediate slay.
To supplement this rule, please kindly refer to “bounties” and the restrictions that are placed on bounties in times of war.
24. Clan Funds
Clan funds are exactly that, clan funds. Now that leaders receive the same paycheck as any other level five member, there is no longer any reason to dip into clan funds for personal compensation. Any such time that one uses clan funds, they must be used for the purpose of the clan (i.e., purchasing supplies, equipment, brokering deals, etc.). Any individual found violating this rule shall be subject to removal of the clan funds empowerment. If the individual found violating the rule is the leader of the organization, then that person shall be removed from the clan.
25. RP Point Awards
Given that this is an RP enforced MUD, those who RP will be awarded RP points if they submit logs of their roleplays. Logs may be submitted through our website, www.swkod.com. An account will be required to submit a log via the website. If you do not yet have an account, create one and wait for it to be approved. Once your log is submitted, it will be read in the order it was received. Please contain at the beginning of your log the names of all players involved. Additionally, remove all irrelevant lines from the log, otherwise it will be returned. After it is read, points will be awarded. Although we cannot guarantee immediate reading and awarding of points, our immortals will attempt to read all logs as soon as reasonably possible. Please note that only one of the individuals involved in the RP needs to submit the log.
We often receive questions as to how an immortal determines the amount of points that are awarded. Generally speaking, there is no simple system for making this determination. Although we strive to make it as objective as possible, this is inherently a subjective task. As a guideline, anywhere from 1-6 RP points may be awarded for any particular RP. Immortals will take into consideration the overall quality of the log, the extent of character development, and the impact it has on the MUD as a whole.
26. RP Point Transfers
RP points that have not been spent may be transferred between any characters belonging to that person. However, RP points may not be transferred between characters belonging to different persons. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
27. RP Point Refunds
Generally speaking, there will be a very narrow category of RP point purchases subject to refunds. As a general rule, anything that requires a modification of a player’s file or anything custom built will not refunded. Although not exhaustive, a list of nonrefundable RP point purchases include the following: 1) force (including transferring to a new character); 2) tertiary classes (including transferring to a new character; 3) rooms for houses or ships (including houses or ships as a whole); and 4) other additions to houses or ships (such as hidden spaces, bacta tanks, and special room flags).
NEVER ASSUME THAT ANY RP POINT PURCHASES ARE REFUNDABLE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK AN IMMORTAL. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RULE IS BOTH RETROACTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RULE MAY NOT BE CIRCUMVENTED BY “PURCHASING” A REFUND.
28. Quest Points
Quest points may not be transferred between any character. Additionally, quest points are not refundable, except in extraordinary circumstances.
29. Complaints
The immortal staff is here to make your playing experience as enjoyable as possible. However, as nice as it would be to have a staff member here at all times of the day, it simply is not possible. As such, there may be times where there is nobody present to enforce rules that are being broken by players. If there is ever a time where you witness rules being broken, or if you wish to report harassment of any kind, please create of log of the incident and inform an immortal as soon as possible. You may notify the immortal staff by sending them a mud mail message, by talking to them personally within the MUD, or sending an email to swreality@gmail.com. If violations and harassment are not logged and reported, the immortal staff is very limited in the actions it can take. Therefore, please be proactive in logging and reporting violations of any kind.
30. Website
Please visit the website for Knights of Darkness at www.swkod.com.
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We have a lot of exciting changes on the way, but we will be in need of some more builders to help speed things up ...
