PVP Rules and Guidelines (MUST READ)
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:01 pm
[ original post by all_distorted ]
PVP Rules and Guidelines
PvP stands for "player-versus-player" and refers to combat between player characters (PCs). RP stands for "role-playing" and refers to a character's narrative and in-character actions in-game. The rules regarding PvP encounters are described below. Please familiarize yourself with these rules and follow them, and above all, remember that we expect you to be respectful, polite, and excellent to your fellow players.
<< RP Outs, PvP Consent, Toggling Hostile >>
- You must always set your target(s) to hostile before initiating PvP. No exceptions. PvP includes regular attacks, Knockdown, Curse Song, offensive spells (e.g. dispelling spells, debuffs), and any mechanical action that results in a negative mechanical effect on the other character.
- This is a "PvP consent" server, and thus all PvP is done with the consent of all parties involved. Always allow a player to roleplay out of the situation before engaging in PvP unless they have already given clear consent beforehand.
- When initiating PvP, the aggressor has to RP to show clear hostility, or intent to PvP, before attacking. This gives the other player a chance to react in-character to defuse the situation (the "RP out"), if they wish to (or they can simply attack).
- RP "outs" are not determined by the aggressor. Aggressor-determined "outs" include anything that has the aggressor decide the manner of "out" the other party must comply to in order to avoid PvP, such as "X or die" demands. It is the challenged party's role to employ an appropriate RP "out" that does not escalate further hostilities (bargaining, walking away, etc.), and demonstrating hostility or hostile intent in the "out" will render it invalid and the aggressor may engage.
- If PvP has not commenced yet, third parties (e.g. bystanders, friends, bodyguards) are considered to be the aggressor and must clearly RP hostility and accept an "RP out", if any, before attacking. Once PvP starts, third parties already in the same map can engage without preliminaries.
- A character who continuously provokes, slanders, bullies, or offends another character is considered to have consented to PvP with that other character. The offended character is not required to give an RP out before engaging in PvP with the aggressor, as long as the attack occurs during the offending.
- If you commit an IC crime either within city limits or in front of witnesses, you are considered to have consented to PvP for the players who have witnessed or been a victim of the crime, and no RP out is required.
- A participant of a PvP session, or the prelude to a PvP session, who leaves the map where the PvP is/would be taking place is considered to have ended the encounter, and both the leaving participant and the other party are subject to the post-PvP rules (see PvP Aftermath).
<< PvP inside Guild Halls >>
- PvP instances inside Guild Halls, especially those of lore guilds with many guards and members who -would- actively participate in a fight against a criminal or otherwise a person that breaks the rules/laws of the guild are allowed to be conducted by the members of the guild in question.
In an instance that the aggressor is defeated, its fate is in hands of the guild members that have defeated the PC as per standard PVP rules.
In an instance that the aggressor wins, the character has to leave the map as to symbolise the NPC guards getting involved in chasing the PC away.
The aggressor is a single or multiple characters regarded as the offender to the guild, its rules or expected conduct.
- The Guild Halls are defined as the guild map and its interiors. Lore guild halls also include their surrounding settlement (eg, Candlekeep exterior, Doron Amar town, Kraak Helzak exterior, Darkhold Courtyard). A list of lore guilds can be found here.
<< Underdark and Surface PvP >>
- Underdark players on the surface, and surface players within the tunnels of the Underdark, who have been identified are considered to have consented to PvP and may be killed on sight. The exceptions are for the city of Sshamath and the Upperdark, where all involved are still required to follow normal PvP rules.
- Characters outfitted in a way that completely hides their identifying features require the aggressor to apply normal PvP rules, regardless of which side the disguised character is from. The disguise must be complete and hoods by themselves do not count. Patterns of speech, accents, body language, and other distinctive qualities are discerned only through roleplay over time, and details such as "a funny-sounding name" or the size of the character alone do not count for the purposes of identification.
<< Familiars, Companions, Summoning, and Shapeshifting >>
- Familiars and Animal Companions are considered an extension of the player character and normal PvP rules must be followed when attacking them. Beasts of burden, such as pack horses and elemental haulers, are included in this category. Monstrous Humanoid, Hellhound, or Worg companions on the surface are exceptions to this rule and these companions may be attacked on sight.
- Summoned creatures may be attacked on sight, but regular PvP rules must be followed for the aggressor and the owner of the summoned creatures. "Summoned creatures" are defined as any creature that can be summoned or called through a spell or ability, and is not a Familiar, Animal Companion, Dragon Companion, or Telthor Companion.
If your PC has taken the form of a Race/Monster, they are considered to be a creature of that form, in-character. While you remain in this form, it means that you accept that your PC may be set to hostile by the other players who see you, and that you agree to any hostilie Role-played towards you, or even being attacked, for as long as you remain in that form. Remaining in monstrous forms after being shown in-character hostility and being set to hostile, is considered consent to actual PvP attack. Changing into a non-threatening form, or returning to your natural form again, removes this consent.
<< Assassinations >>
- An assassination is a targeted attack on another character in a situation where the normal PvP rules have been suspended; in other words, the aggressor can engage their target without needing to emote hostility or provide an RP "out". The condition for this to be counted as an assassination is that a DM must be present, in-game, for the attack, in order to provide legitimacy, bear witness, and explain the situation to the victim. If a DM is not present at the moment of attack, the aggressor is considered to have violated the PvP rules.
- When hiring someone to assassinate another character, both you and the assassin must inform the DM Team as a whole of the contract in detail.
- If you are the employer, you must indicate who you hired, the target of the assassination, and why your character wants to have the target assassinated.
- If you are the assassin, you must indicate who has hired you, who you are targeting, and how much you are being paid.
<< PVP Aftermath >>
- After any PvP session, or disengaging from the prelude to one, all parties involved in the session must not interact with each other for 24 hours unless they have received permission to be present around each other. This permission is granted only by the players involved in the PvP.
- The victor decides if the victim is subdued or killed, but any actions done to the victim's body are done with the victim's clear consent. Keep any consequences tasteful and PG-13.
- In PvP, a character is considered subdued/killed when they are reduced to 0 or less HP and fall to the ground, making groaning noises. A character who has fallen is considered to be out of the fight for the remainder of the PvP, and HP restoration methods (e.g. Regeneration, the server's post-PvP autohealing mechanic) are not considered valid methods to "bounce back" from being defeated in PvP.
- After being killed in PvP, the losing character is considered to have lost all memory of the preceding 24 hours, including the events leading up to their death and the identity of their killer. Amnesia does not happen if the victor chooses to subdue the victim instead.
- Sometimes a PvP can end in the capture or kidnapping of the victim instead of death. In accordance with the topic covering DM Rulings, no character is to be held captive for longer than 72 hours (3 days) and any RP involved must be completed by then.
- To end the RP, the captor can choose to facilitate the captive's escape, or to execute the captive. If there is no input from the captor by the end of the allotted time, the captive is considered to have escaped.
<< Screenshots >>
- Screenshots sent to the DM Team clearly showing a PC emoting hostility, or initiating PvP, in sight of NPC guards (Baldur's Gate, the Friendly Arm Inn, or any map with an NPC guard/watchman) may result in a hanging and/or perma-strike against the PC. The only exception is when a DM is supervising the conflict, and with guild NPCs in a guildhall (see RP Outs, PvP Consent, and Toggling Hostile).
- If you are caught and brought in to a lawful organization (e.g. Flaming Fist/City Watch, Charnag Maelthra) to answer for your crimes, then you are expected to play the consequences of your actions. If imprisonment, fines, and/or execution are not to your taste, then do not commit crimes within city limits or when witnesses are around.