BGTSCC - SERVER RULES
Updated November 2023
Updated November 2023
Baldur's Gate: the Sword Coast Chronicles (BGTSCC) is a NWN2 Persistent World Roleplay server, that many players share as a community. In order to keep things running smoothly, members of this community are expected to be aware of the rules and abide by them.
Circumstances that fall outside these rules but that Server Staff understands to be against the server and its vision may still be dealt with accordingly, through the use of proper judgment and discussion, and depending on the situation this post will be rectified to include what the server expects in those situations.
Players that see others breaking these rules and/or are targets of any kind of harassment by another member of the community should contact the DM Team for assistance.
INDEX
What happens if I break a Rule?
When a player breaks a rule and it becomes known to the DM Team/Forum Moderators, the Team discusses the intensity of the rule break, checks if there have been prior rule breaks - and if yes, when was the last one -, asks all the involved parties for their side of the story, and take any other measures prior to punishment to arrive at a fair, informed decision.
Lighter rule breaks without a history will result in a warning to the player and what they can do to avoid breaking that rule in the future. Repeated rule breaks, especially over a small period of time, are likely to result in punitive measures such as bans (that generally span a few weeks), taking exp/lvls, among other measures. Many rule breaks over a small period of time, extensive cheating, harassment, threats, stalking, and overall serious, severe subjects will lead to harsher punishments, such as months-long bans, character/vault wiping, and even permanent banning.
General Rules
1.1 - Exercise Respect
The known "golden rule" found in every RP community. Treat other members of the community with respect; This is a very open-ended rule, and applies to any action a player takes that is seen as purposefully hostile or malicious against another member of the community.
1.2 - IC/OOC Separation
Understand that the Player Characters (PCs) are not the players themselves, be it another or your own. Do not take in-character situations, animosity, or any other interaction as out-of-character offense, nor bring your own out-of-character agenda into the game through your character. In-character conflict is a powerful driving force of RP that benefits everyone, as long as such grievances are kept in-character.
1.3 - Griefing/Trolling
Do not intentionally disrupt or harass other players, either with mechanics or other means. This includes, but is not limited to, stealing from campfires, exploiting summons to bypass PvP rules, or herding enemies to have them attack other players.
1.4 - Content Rating
BGTSCC seeks to shine a light on player's stories, but also aims to be a place where the community can feel comfortable and safe from certain heavier topics. Adapting a Teen content rating to the stories told, which means that all activities in the server may not contain excessive vulgarity, gratuitous violence/torture, graphic/extended sexual situations, explicitly or implicitly sexualizing any characters under the age of 18 or racial equivalent of such, among other more "mature" subjects.
The server does understand that some of that content may actually be part of RP, and chooses to adapt a "Fade-To-Black" policy for situations that may involve inflicted extensive and graphic pain or encounters of sexual and/or sensual nature.
However, Fade-To-Black does NOT apply to any situations where children are involved in a manner that is subjectively or objectively sexual/sensual, those remaining banned from the server and its content without exception.
All characters in the server must also be 18 of age, or racial equivalent; Pregnancies are strictly forbidden unless directly supervised by the DM team and approved in advance. Any pregnancies are a form of "retiring" a PC for the duration, and all children are NOT to be roleplayed in game without DM supervision.
Violations of this rule are taken very seriously, and will result in punitive measures.
In-Character Rules
2.1 - Roleplaying/Play-Your-Sheet
BGTSCC is a roleplaying server set in Forgotten Realms, it is expected of players to understand that any and all actions inside world areas of the server are in-character (IC), and must respect the setting. A player can go out-of-character (OOC) through the use of speech marked by starting it with (( or // when there's need for clarification, but must attempt to keep such conversation to a minimum.
In the spirit of remaining always in-character, the server follows a "Play-Your-Sheet" rule, which means that a player character (PC) must be roleplayed according to what they have on their sheet, be it their race, class, alignment, abilities, skills, etc; This means that if the sheet states your PC is a Human Fighter, they are indeed a human fighter and not a half-fiend wizard, polymorphed dragon, etc, even under the guise of insanity.
Characters can, of course, lie about and manipulate perceptions about themselves, but the player must understand that it is a lie or manipulation, even if other characters believe it IC.
Additionally, when making a character do stick to in-universe possibilities for their skin, hair and eye colours, as well as any intricacies specific to certain races. Characters that fail to make a character that looks like their race without good IC reason or DM team approval, may be requested to makeover or even RCR. This includes drow with human skin colouration, half-orcs with minotaur heads, etc. For more information, the use of the book "Races of Faerun" is recommended.
2.2 - Naming & Disguises
Be creative, but stick to these rules below!
On Naming:Be sensible! Remember that your character is a real person in their own minds, their name should not be a username or a joke name, and instead should reflect the realistic naming tendencies of Forgotten Realms and the PC's race and place of origin.
- Do not use names of famous people or existing media characters (e.g. Michael Jackson, Robin Hood, Drizzt Do'Urden)
- Do not use descriptions or titles in place of names without DM Approval (e.g. Dame Alice, Bob the Bloody, Legend Killer)
- Do not use vulgar or offensive names or mispellings of them (e.g. Fock Face, Hugh Janus)
- Apostrophes and otherwise special characters are allowed in names, but overuse/misuse may be requested to be changed
On Disguise renaming:
In the use of the renaming function for diguises, the same rules as above are in effect, with the following changes:We would expect players to play whats on their sheet as always, and RP the points into disguise skill in game, or lack of it, honorably. The DM team may approach you and ask to change your name if it breaches any of these rules.
- Do not impersonate known figures (Be it NPC or Players)
- Do not put ranks/titles in your name without DM approval (e.g. Lord John, High Priestess Clara, General Robert)
- Do not change the color or font of the text
- Impersonating server staff will result in disciplinary offence.
- While performing activities as a guild, PCs of that guild are allowed to use pseudonyms that are not specific titles or generic nomenclature/professions (e.g. "Guard", "Mercenary", "Commoner" are NOT allowed. While "Faceless", "Petaldancer" and etc are allowed with the understanding that it's that PC's pseudonym in that guild). When in doubt, make sure to ask the DM team if something is allowed or not.
- It is acceptable for a PC to use the disguise rename to name themselves the race of their character (e.g. "Human", "Elf", "Half-Orc", etc.)
- While shapeshifted/wildshaped/etc into a creature, the PC is allowed to use the disguise rename to name themselves to what they've shaped into (e.g. "Owlbear", "Cat", "Bear", etc.)
Be sure to not log out while using a disguise name, as that can bug the PC's name entirely, at which point DM intervention is necessary.
2.3 - Race/Class Changing
Inside Forgotten Realms, there is precedent for magical changing of race and gender through certain spells, items, curses, etc; But doing such without DM supervision/approval is considered anti-rp and may result in a warning to change back, or further punitive measures.
In the same vein, a striking change of classes is not allowed without DM supervision/approval, and may also result in a warning to change back, or further punitive measures (eg. changing from a wizard to a ranger, a cleric of an evil deity to one of a good deity, a druid into a blackguard, a dragon disciple into a feytouched, etc).
However, the server does understand that a character may progressively learn classes/abilities ICly, and small adjustments to reflect such changes are allowed (eg. adding cleric levels to a character that has spent time leaning the faith, a ranger starting on a druidic path, a blackguard making a pact and starting as a warlock, etc). If there's any need for clarification, do not be afraid to contact the DM team!
2.4 - Roleplay from Other Servers
Understand that other servers do not exist in BGTSCC's Forgotten Realms setting, and thus RP that has happened in other servers is not considered valid in BGTSCC. Only roleplay that occurs in game or on the forum will be regarded as legitimate.
Do note that in some cases you may be able to use RP that happened in other places as inspiration for character backstory, but understand that adjustments may need to be made to abide by the server's lore and FR timeline.
2.5 - Metagaming
Any information your character has should be gained from IC sources that are not your alternate characters. Out-of-character information can be helpful to gain context as a player, but by no means should it be used to dictate any aspect of in-character behavior. (Also see 3.5 - Alternate Characters under Mechanics.)
Abusing avenues of communication to facilitate metagaming from others is also prohibited. An example of such an abuse would be your character dying in a zone a long way away, so you set a Scry message or send a Tell for someone to come over to raise you in order to avoid a death penalty.
2.6 - Godmodding
"Godmodding" is a player forcing reactions of another player's character or a non-player-character (NPC). A player can only speak for their own character's actions, not anyone else's, which means you may not dictate the actions and reactions without the consent of the other player or the DM(s) animating the NPC.
As the world is always "alive" in character, NPCs are not souless entities to be disregarded when a DM is not present, and PCs must treat them as if they are able to react to your actions regardless if someone is behind the wheel or not. Do not assume NPCs cannot see your character if they are hiding, invisible, polymorphed or disguised, unless a DM dictates that it is OK to do so.
However, as a PW, the server understands that DMs aren't always online/available, so we understand that minor instances of NPC interactions may be used, as long as they make sense in the context of that NPC's environment, visible profession or other information available. Such interactions may, for example, be: "The merchant said they would spread the rumor I was seeking a special item," or "the bartender takes my order and brings me my drink," or "The local guards gave me directions or information about the laws."
For guilds, it is safe to assume obedience of reasonable orders given to that guild's NPCs, so a guild member may command an NPC more freely, and even send it on more complicated orders. However, the success of more complex commands is something that requires DM supervision/approval.
For summoned creatures/animal companions/familiars or beings under your direct, mechanical command, you may freely roleplay their actions at will, though this may only be done with the expectation that the actions roleplayed are appropriate for that type of creature, their alignment and capabilities.
2.7 - Skill Rolls
Through in-game tools, PCs may roll all kinds of skills rolls, attack rolls, free dice, etc. However, unless a DM is present, no roll made is enforced nor should success be expected. Though between consenting players, they may be used to dictate RP, and in general it is good form to loosely accept rolls if they are made in oportune situations and are not forced upon you/another player.
2.8 - Unusual Characters
Players may desire to make characters considered "unusual" in the setting of Forgotten Realms, and/or may be not well represented by the Play-Your-Sheet rule, exemples of those cases being atypical heritage/background, nobility, contact with lore npcs, prestige classes (PrCs) not represented in game, etc. In order to make such concept valid, the player must send a biography approval request to the DM team, following the guidelines stated HERE.
Note that PCs are allowed to have minor foreign nobility in their backgrounds, contingent on at least one of the following variables:Be honest and as thorough as possible, and respect the stipulations the DM Team set for your character, if any. Omissions or failing to comply to the stipulations can lead to your character's background either being rejected or retroactively revoked. In extreme cases you may be subject to disciplinary action.
- The PC has been expelled from the noble house and cut off by their family.
- The PC's noble house has fallen from grace, rank, and favor.
- The PC is indirectly related to the noble house and has no direct lineage that would give them title within it.
- PCs also may not have Balduran, or Amnian nobility built into their backgrounds. Similarly, Drow cannot use major House names in their backgrounds in any major way.
Mechanical Rules
3.1 - 3b30
For all character building, your character must have at least 3 levels in every class they've taken when they reach character level 30. Prestige classes are included. This means, for example, a Rogue 17/Assassin 10/Fighter 3 is valid, but a Rogue 18/Assassin 10/Fighter 2 would be invalid. Breaking this rule means the invalid PC will not be able to leave the Nexus, and will need to be RCRd into a valid build. Note that this is automatically done through a script, that will be able to tell even before level 30 if your build is invalid, for example a Wizard 25/Archmage 1/Frostmage 1 may be level 27, but the script is capable to tell that the PC will not be able to achieve 3 levels in each class, and will thus bar the PC from leaving the Nexus.
3.2 - Cleric Domains
Clerics must pick domains valid to their deity of choice (Check the list HERE), and failing to do such will mean the PC is unable to leave the nexus, requiring an RCR into valid domains.
3.3 - Exploits & Cheating
If an exploit is known, don't do it, and if it is not known, report it in a private message to the Dev team and refrain from doing so again. If you're unsure, chances are that it might be an exploit, so report it to the Dev team for confirmation.
Don't use custom .hak files or other third party programs. Evidence of cheating or using these programs will result in your account being banned and your character vault wiped clean.
3.4 - AFK Grinding / Botting
Punitive measures, up to account wipe, may be applied to any player who's characters are found AFK grinding or using automated scripts for fishing, loot runs, emotes for RP exp, or in general any activity that help the character generate exp/loot with minimal or no input from the player.
Aliases and macros are permitted, but under no circumstances should your character perform any actions without your involvement at the keyboard.
3.5 - Alternate Characters
BGTSCC imposes no limitation on the amount of Alternate Characters (Alts) you may have, though under certain conditions:
Alts can know of each other, but may never, under no circumstances, exchange information between each other, nor can they be related unless one has been officially retired. This includes "off-screen" interactions, or in general any interaction that involves only you as a player. Alice may know Bob is a Blood Mage, but if the player behind Alice is also playing Charlie, that player cannot have Alice tell Charlie by any means that Bob is a Blood Mage.
3.6 - Loot Camping
Parking a character in a boss room/treasure room and logging in solely to loot chests or kill the boss, or in general any other type of "loot camping", is prohibited. Furthermore, when entering a dungeon that already has players inside, it is prohibited to sneak past them just to get the loot. It's your responsibility to communicate with the players to see if it's okay for you to participate and get the spoils, or wait until they deal with the big bads and leave before taking the opportunity to loot.
3.7 - OOC Areas
Unless stated, all areas of the server are considered IC, with the exception of The Nexus, and any areas directly connected to it, and The Fugue. Those areas are there for mechanical reasons (spawning/respawning), and characters may never ICly remember any interaction they've had while in one of those areas.
DM Rulings
4.1 - AD&D / Server Lore
BGTSCC's lore is based on AD&D and 3.5e sources that are specific to Forgotten Realms, though other sources or homebrew may be used when there isn't a clear outline of a specific part of lore. Still, as a Persistent World, changes have happened overtime to the local lands, NPCs, and other aspects of the location.
For a player that wishes to know if something is allowed as canon lore in BGTSCC, it is a recommendation by the DM team to seek AD&D sources, and be wary of using the FRWiki as it contains information from all editions and may have misleading information. When in doubt, the DM team is always available to answer lore questions through a forum PM or even in discord, where other members of the community may also help.
4.2 - P&P/Lore Spells
Spells that exist in lore but not ingame do exist and may be referenced, but not used without DM supervision. Cantrips (level 0 spells) and low level spells that do not affect another player and/or are minimal in effect may be used narratively without supervision, with the expectation that such spell use would make sense for the character and situation.
4.3 - IC/OOC Quests
Quests may have intrinsic limitations based on their design, location or other cirumstances, however, players are allowed to treat individual quests as something IC that their character undertakes, or something OOC depending on the situation (eg. the character would never do such quest ICly, or their race isn't allowed inside the location where the quest is). If a player must enter a settlement they're not ICly allowed to for a quest(Drow in Baldur's Gate, for example), they must use the AFK tag through the >afk command, and not interact ICly with the settlement, keeping their time spent there to a minimum.
4.4 - Slavery
BGTSCC understands that lorewise, many cultures in Forgotten Realms have slavery as a day-to-day presence. However, slavery is not allowed among PCs in BGTSCC, though players are free to pursue NPC slaves.
4.5 - Animal Language/Speaking in Polymorph
Animal language acts as a stand-in for Animal empathy in PnP. It allows the issue of simple commands and exchange of simple ideas through whistles, clicks, body language, tone, etc, and is not in any way a language that can form full sentences or be used to communicate complex ideas/commands.
Furthermore, players in a polymorphed shape are limited to the speech capabilities of that shape.
If a shape can speak common, it is capable of speaking any vocal language the PC knows in their own shape.
Mouth/snout structure, vocal chords, word complexity should be taken into account when RPing speech in a different shape than your own. A character doesn't learn a language when they assume another shape, but if they already share a language in common with one spoken by that shape, they may freely use it.
4.6 - Divine Roleplay
When picking a divine-based class in BGTSCC, it is expected that the player understands that such choice entails in certain responsibilities for the character. They must understand and follow that deity's Dogma as expressed in lore, and risk Falling from Grace (losing divine capabilities) if they stray from it. Of course, a character that has Fallen has paths to choose, including repenting, changing deity or abandoning priesthood altogether, and a DM that falls you must ensure that you are presented with such choices.
The classes that are understood to be divine-based are the following: Clerics, Rangers (Except Hunter kit), Favoured Souls, Druids, Spirit Shamans, Paladins, Blackguards, Shadow Adepts, Divine Seekers, Darkfire Disciples, Hierophants, Storm Lords and other deity-specific PRCs.
You may read more about these expectations HERE.
4.7 - Appraise System
Unfortunately, the Appraise mechanic in BGTSCC can be faulty and unclear, so, until further notice, players may not use the Appraise mechanic in game to determine the race of another PC if they are fully masked or concealing their nature in other ways. When unmasked or otherwise not concealing in any way, the appraise mechanic may be used to confirm that PC's race, and when unsure if a PC is attempting to conceal in any way, approaching the player out-of-character for confirmation is advised.
For a disguise to protect one's identity, it must be complete and concise visibly. 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.
Forum Rules
These are the Baldur’s Gate: The Sword Coast Chronicles' Forums! The rules below are important guidelines to follow before posting on the forums. The staff appreciates it if you would take your time to read and understand these rules and to help us to maintain the forums as a place for sharing ideas and opinions in a friendly and respectful environment.
5.1 - Stay on Topic
Please keep your posts relevant and do not make off-topic posts. If a subject is brought up in a thread which you believe merits a discussion, start a new topic in an appropriate forums section instead of derailing a current one.
5.2 - Personal Attacks
"Flaming", personal attacks, disrespectful, derogatory, threatening, insulting or negative comments directed towards or about another member of the community will not be tolared and will likely result in moderation. This encompasses "trolling", or posts purposely intended in instigate a member of the community in order to create any of the mentioned disruptions.
Another member of the community that notices a post that may break one of these guidelines may use the "Report" button ( ! ) on the top right of the post to report directly to the Forum Moderators.
If you have an issue with players/staff out of character or in character, do not post about it on the forums, instead use personal messages to solve it.
5.3 - Politics/Religion
Though BGTSCC understands that religion and politics are an important part of our daily lives, it is also understood that such discussions are prone to derail, and as such, refrain from discussing politics or religions in BGTSCC forums.
5.4 - Languages
Though the server welcomes members of any country or origin, it is understood that this community is moderated and maintained in English. All out-of-character posts must be in English or provide translation, so that Moderators can properly take care of the forums. For in-character posts, in-universe languages may be used, though it is heavily recommended to post along a translation of such piece.
Avoid the use of profanity/swearing out of character, though lore appropriate profanity is allowed for in-character posts. Modern day racial/social/political slurs are strictly prohibited. Images that include profanity/nudity must be edited to exclude the profanity/nudity, or they will be deleted.
You can find more about "lore appropriate profanity" in this thread.
5.5 - Private Information
Do not share or disclose other people's personal/private information without their consent, either through public forums or private messages.
Details such as real names or e-mail addresses can be used by those with ill intent for malicious purposes. More information can be found here: User Agreement.
Violation of forum rules may result in posts being deleted/moved, threads being locked/moved, and/or warnings to authors of posts violating the rules, including potential temporary/permanent loss of posting privileges.
Administrative Rules
6.1 - Real Money Trading
Real Money Trading of any kind using BGTSCC as a platform is expressly forbidden. This includes (but is not limited to) the transfer of accounts, characters, items, currency, or in-game services for real life money as opposed to game currency. This also includes offering to pay developers or DMs directly for items, events, or work on the module. Any players found to have participated in this activity will have any items or accounts removed as a result, and likely will have their character vault wiped clean. Character art commissions are an exception to this rule.
6.2 - Overrides
GUI and texture improvements are permitted. If you are using content that requires files to be in your override folder, remember to clear the folder before logging into the server in order to prevent issues that could corrupt your character.
While using the "Unlimited Colors" override, please be responsible and use colors that are appropriate for your race (and when in doubt, PM the DMs). DMs may request characters abusing the function to change those aspects of the character through the makeover feature.
Other Links of Note
7.1 - PvP Rules & Permadeath
Conflict is a huge part of RP, and some conflicts may turn into shows of force. To better understand Player versus Player (PvP), its rules and expectations, please do take the time to read our guidelines, here: PvP Rules and Guidelines
7.2 - Biography Rewards
In order to encourage deeper character development, the DM team offers an incentive to write character biographies. It is expected that the player shows a good sense of understanding of how the character fits in with the Forgotten Realms setting. This doesn't mean that you can't play something outside of the norm - in fact we are very happy for you to! What it means is that we expect you to show through the biography how and why the character diverges from it and what it means for its history and future, understanding that the server plays on Forgotten Realms lore and respects its core foundations. For further information, please read here: Character Biographies and Rewards
7.3 - Guilds
As a roleplay server, BGTSCC understands that PCs may align themselves with certain factions or even create their own, those factions are commonly referred to as "guilds". To see what guilds are available in the server, the following link will take you to the Guilds section of the forums: HERE.
7.4 - Player Housing
BGTSCC offers players a "Housing" system, allowing a character per player the opportunity to have a space of their own put in game, this may be used to create small taverns, shops, libraries, etc. More on this system, its requirements and limitations, may be read about here: Player Housing System
7.5 - RCRs and Character Rollbacks
Retired Character Rebuilds (RCR) is a system offered by BGTSCC for players to retire an old character and transfer their experience into a new concept. The system can also be used to adjust a character's build based on RPd progress. Note that, according to 2.3 - Race/Class Changing, drastic changes are against the rules. The RCR system does impose an EXP penalty that is able to be stored, based on the character's total level. More about this system and its intricacies can be read on here: XP Transfering.
The server also offers a "Character Rollback" once a year for each player, allowing to recover a character that was mistakenly deleted, or lost items in game due to a crash or bug. For this, a player can PM the Admin group asking for a rollback.
7.6 - JEGs
BGTSCC has made many changes to vanilla systems, along with having many different feats, classes and overall mechanics. In the main servers it is difficult to test a build as the server's many rules prevent class/race switching and in general make it difficult to test a theorycrafted build. Understanding this, the server has a testing environment, referred to as JEGs, that allows players to test a build from levels 1-30. To access it, a player can direct connect to the server IP while using the port :5123, like so: " game.bgtscc.net:5123 "
7.7 - Makeover Feature
BGTSCC has a "Makeover" function, that allows players to change aspects of their character's appearance, whether the player is unhappy with their character's appearance or the character has gone through IC changes that should be reflected in how they look. Information on the system can be found in the link: Makeover System
7.8 - Narrative & Expectations
To better undertand the BGTSCC Environment in regards to approaching the world, expectations, creating stories aided by the DM team, etc, the DM team has made a post that further explains and addresses questions that the community has been faced with in the past. If any question a player has is unanswered, they may certainly feel free to PM the DM team asking about it. To read the Narrative & Expectations post, click HERE.