It should be noted that the server is listed as a "PG-13" type rating. This type of rating is generally used for movies and television.
Rating breakdowns for movies & TV:
*G - General Audiences - All ages admitted.
There is no content that would be objectionable to most parents. These films may contain beyond polite language but no swearing. As with violence it must be mild, if any, without any blood or gore. Nudity must be natural and non-sexual. This is one of only two ratings dating back to 1968 that still exists today. Examples includes Rio, Horton Hears a Who!, Winnie the Pooh and most of Pixar Studios' movies, including the Toy Story trilogy, Cars, Ratatouille and WALL-E.
* PG - Parental Guidance Suggested - Some material may not be suitable for children under 10.
These films may contain milder swear words, brief smoking, crude/suggestive humor, natural non-sexual nudity, short and infrequent horror moments and/or mild violence. Usually no drug use is acceptable in this category. Topless men may be present but topless woman are not usually acceptable unless in an educational or scientific context. A few racial insults may also be heard. Before the creation of PG-13, many "PG" films (e.g. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins) included explict violence. Content such as this helped lead to the creation of the "PG-13" rating. Examples includes Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, and The Incredibles.
* PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
These films may contain sex references, up to four uses of explicit language, drug innuendo, strong crude/suggestive humor, mature/political themes, moderately long horror moments and/or moderate action violence. There are usually no restrictions on non-sexual nudity. However, bloodshed is rarely present. This is the minimum rating at which drug content is present; with the exception of Austin Powers and Click. Marijuana smoking is the only illegal drug use that can be depicted in a PG-13 film, with the exception of Forrest Gump, in which a brief scene depicts an actress snorting cocaine. While PG-13 films usually have more profanity than PG films, this is not necessarily the case. A film that is given a PG-13 rating due to profane language and/or racial insults is given this rating because it contains more of these elements than a PG rating would permit, or the film contains uses of stronger profanities than a PG would permit. A film rated PG-13 for "intense violence" is given this rating if blood is present in a violent way. The films Gremlins and Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom are well known as the movies that PG-13 was created for. In recent years, this rating has been used for the majority of American films released. Some films that have received a PG-13 rating have a director's cut with an R rating. Daredevil is just an example of this practice.[14] Examples include The Simpsons Movie, Eat Pray Love and Casino Royale.
* R - Restricted - Under 17 requires accompanying adult over the age of 18.
The person is required to stay with the child under 17 through the entire movie, even if the parent gives the child/teenager permission to see the film alone. These films may contain mild or implied sex scenes, prolonged nudity, strong violence often with blood and gore, strong horror scenes and explicit/illegal/prolonged drug use. A movie rated R for profanity often has more severe or frequent swearing than the PG-13 rating would permit. An R-rated movie may have more blood, gore, drug use, nudity, or graphic sexuality than a PG-13 movie would permit. Some R-rated films have an "unrated" DVD release with scenes of violence, sexual material, or profanity that have been edited from the original cut. At its inception, the R certificate permitted patrons aged 16 and older to attend unaccompanied, but this was raised to 17 in the 1970s. Examples include Scarface, Scream, and The Godfather.
* NC-17 - No one 17 or Under Admitted
These films contain strong graphic violence with loads of blood and gore, sex scenes, depraved, abhorrent behavior, sexual nudity, or any other elements which, at present, most parents would consider too strong and therefore off-limits for viewing by their children and teenagers. It is rare for a movie to get rated NC-17 due to swearing or drug use. NC-17 does not necessarily mean obscene or pornographic in the oft-accepted or legal meaning of those words. For example, the movie Robocop had to delete a few exceptionally violent scenes to avoid receiving a then-X rating. The Board does not and cannot mark films with those words. These terms are legally ambiguous, and their interpretation varies from case to case. The NC-17 designation implies that the Ratings Board has determined that due to the content of the film, it should be intended for adults only. NC-17 replaced the X rating in 1990. Many films which received X-ratings prior to the 1990 change received a re-rating of NC-17. Many theater companies and local operators will not play NC-17 titles and some newspapers and magazines will not run ads for these films. Most NC-17 titles have limited theatrical release, usually in smaller theaters, or are released directly to video or DVD. Most NC-17 titles also have an edited versions released on video and/or DVD that are either unrated or R-rated. Examples include Showgirls and The Evil Dead.
Server rules & PG-13 Material:
PG-13 Content
All players
must be 13 years of age or older to play on
Baldur's Gate: The Sword Coast Chronicles.
This server, the forums, and any interactions within them should be the equivalent of PG-13/
Teen at
most.
No violations of this rule, not even within the privacy of an inn room or guild hall. This includes, but is not limited to, excessive vulgarity, gratuitous violence/torture, graphic/extended sexual situations, and explicitly or implicitly sexualizing any characters under the age of 18 or racial equivalent in age.
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 resulting children are NOT to be roleplayed or represented in game.
The minimum age for any PC is at least 18 years old or racial equivalent for all characters made. There will be a one strike policy (a one time warning) and you're out on the next violation (permanent ban from the forums and the game and the community) for any player that implicitly or explicitly violates this rule twice. We encourage all players to report vigilantly any violations as such to the DM Team.
PG-13 RATING GUIDELINES TO APPLY TO THE SERVER:
BLOOD: Bloodshed is not extensively portrayed. It may be there, but not graphically shown or emoted. As in "The man is dead and the killer stood over him triumphantly." Not "The man lays lifeless, hacked into small pieces (etc) as the killer stood over the body lapping at the blood (etc)." An environment rated PG-13 for "intense violence" is given this rating if blood is present in a violent way. Such as mass murders, decapitation, and etc.
DRUG USE: Drug use can be hinted at, emoted, and discussed. In other words, trade and use can be discussed, buying and selling can occur, effects of use can be emoted or portrayed. It should be kept as lore consistent as possible. The creation, mixing, or ect. of "Real Life" illegal substances is to be avoided.
LANGUAGE: A PG-13 rating due to profane language and/or racial insults is given this rating because it contains more of these elements than a PG rating would permit, or the environment contains uses of stronger profanities than a PG would permit. Swearing is still not every other word heard. Words such as "F***" and its variants are not often used. Racial prejudice does exist, but it should be kept lore consistent. Modern slang is highly frowned upon.
SEXUAL CONTENT: PG-13 ratings of environments due to sexual content are limited to very brief nudity. For example: changing clothes. In such things, it's implied the one changing was briefly naked, but the nakedness is not described, emoted ect. Kissing is permissible. "Fade to Black" scenes where it's assumed, but not discussed, explained or RP'd is permissible. Sexual encounters, graphic or extended nudity, ERP (Erotic Role Play) and rape are strictly prohibited.
While there is no way to shelter everyone from everything reasonable, staff would like to remind that children as young as 13 years play here.
The point of rules regarding "PG-13" is to protect the player base, and the server as much as possible. This server is
not listed as an 'Adult or 18+' server. If rule PG-13 isn't followed, and content kept reasonable, we could be lacking a server. This is due to the way that laws are written regarding the internet and children where the server host resides. The server has a legal liability to uphold these laws. As a general rule of thumb, and within the bounds of common sense, if you don't want a grandmother or a 10 year old kid to see it, you probably shouldn't do it. Even evil RP and the ‘less than pleasant’ aspects of the game, such as death and battle, can be done in a tasteful manner.
If you question whether your role play is within the bounds of this guideline, then you probably should either:
- Tone it down.
- Wait on the RP.
- Ask a DM.
- Any combination of the three.
If you, as a player find something objectionable, you have options:
- You can bring it to the attention of those you are RPing with (politely and in a civil manner).
- You may remove yourself from the role play.
- You may ask a DM to intervene (politely and in a civil manner).
As always, if you feel rules are being violated, take screenshots (if possible) and PM the DM Team politely and civilly.
*
[Special shout out to LeslieMS, who originally created a PG-13 Content Guide, before it was adopted by staff officially.]