Consent Rules

Consent​

Consent is always required for the serious injury or death of a character. Players may only refuse to Consent if they believe that the roleplay basis is illegitimate. Illegitimate roleplay includes, but is not limited to, lacking Reasonable Cause or rule breaking such as metagaming, powergaming, or OOC motivation. Engaging in a roleplay which carries a reasonable expectation of serious injury or death, such as entering a Violent Region or partaking in a Violent Event, shall be considered Implied Consent.

General Consent Rules​

What is Consent?​

Consent allows players to protect themselves from unfair circumstances in RP; namely those that would seriously affect the ability to play a character (i.e. death, maiming, etc.). Discussion prior to and throughout combat roleplay should be preferred over invoking Consent, but such remains an option any time staff are not immediately available.

Consent is only applicable to situations which may lead to a character's serious injury or death. Consent should not be a blanket protection from conflict, nor an invitation for wanton violence. Respect and willingness to compromise goes a long way in ensuring a smooth and enjoyable Roleplay experience.

Characters should have a Reasonable Cause to seriously injure or kill that points to a strong, In Character motivation. "My character is in a bad mood and they were there" is not sufficient reasoning by itself to target a specific person.

Attacking another player or entering a situation in which there is a reasonable expectation of serious injury or death will be treated as Implied Consent. Discuss any intent to incite violence with any involved players before engaging in combat roleplay. Failure to discuss your intent beforehand does not excuse your character from the consequences of their actions.

When To Invoke Consent​

Metagaming: If metagaming is suspected in RP, such as improbable appearance or immediate identification of a disguised character, it may be appropriate to invoke Consent to prevent the escalation of violence. If you suspect metagaming or are unsure, request assistance from staff.

Powergaming: Suspected powergaming in a fight may be grounds to invoke consent and alert a staff member.

OOC Motivation: If you suspect motivation for an action stems from a player rather than the character, such as being targeted by several characters of the same player or characters with spontaneous murderous urges, it may be appropriate to invoke consent and alert a staff member.

Consent Ratings for Regions​

Regions are faction grounds, be that a single building or a more established area up to the size of a city. Faction owners have the ability to set a "rating" for their region. This rating specifies the amount of Consent necessary when entering its borders.

Peaceful Region Rating​

No violence or killing is permitted, even if the players consent.

Peaceful regions bar any sort of roleplay that escalates to violence, intentional physical harm, and/or death. Even if players consent or the Consent rules would otherwise allow it, such roleplay is not allowed within that region.

Violators may be warned by the region owner and if violators do not comply staff may become involved. However, it is primarily up to the region owner to moderate these offenses.

Players are not allowed to commit acts of violence and then flee to peaceful regions to avoid apprehension. This is largely seen as avoiding RP consequences and peaceful regions should not be exploited in such a way. Those pursuing the fleeing character should inform the region owner and staff of the situation before pursuing into a peaceful region. The owner of the region may then allow you to enter and make an arrest, but not seriously injure or kill the fugitive, or they may eject the fugitive from the region.

Moderate Region Rating​

Moderate regions follow the general consent rules listed above.

In a moderate region, players have the right to contest and discuss Reasonable Cause for deadly RP if they feel it is unwarranted, rulebreaking, or stemming from some OOC motivation. Consent is always required for the serious injury or death of a character, though some situations may be considered Implied Consent. If your character enters a situation in which a reasonable person would infer that serious injury or death is a likely outcome, your consent is implied. Examples include entering a bear's den or stealing in a region where the punishment is losing a hand. While we encourage players to discuss any intent to incite violence or to engage in roleplay that may result in being seriously injured or killed, failure to discuss does not excuse any character from the consequences of their actions.

Violent Region Rating​

The most dangerous regions where anything goes, so long as it does not break server rules.

By entering a violent region, you are giving your consent to be seriously injured or killed and may attack others without Reasonable Cause. Consent is Implied because violence is an expected danger of entering or remaining in a Violent Region. Players have the right to contest maiming or death only in the event of rule breaking, such as metagaming or powergaming, which should be reported to staff.

Ratings for Events​

Players can host events and set an Event Rating that may differ from the base Region Rating. These Event Ratings will supersede region ratings for the duration of the event. Players that host events in a region owned by someone else must have permission from the region owner to use their region.

There are three ratings, which carry similar meanings as those listed in the region rating:
Peaceful Event: No violence or killing is permitted, even if the players consent.
Moderate Event: General Consent rules apply.
Violent Event: Consent may only be invoked to contest rule breaking, such as metagaming or powergaming.

Because Event Ratings supersede Region Ratings during the course of the event, there may be situations in which ratings conflict. The event runner should give a 10 minute warning before the start and end of the event so players can make informed decisions of where to be during the event.

If you attend a peaceful event with the intent of enacting violence immediately after, it is polite and preferred if you discuss this with the event runner and the region owner, if both are available. Many people stay for the follow-up roleplay that comes immediately after the events and may be caught off guard by the sudden change in Consent Rating. Players who attended the event must be given an opportunity to safely leave the region after the event has concluded.

Consent in Regards to Regions and Region Owners​

As a region owner, we understand how much your regions mean to you. Regions reflect OOC time and a lot of IC history for you and your characters. As such, you have certain rights over what happens within your region and we want to respect that. There are certain things that can and will require your consent as a region owner. However, there are also things that you cannot do in regards to your position as region owner.

As region owner, you may:

• consent to or deny players using your region to host an event;
• choose the level of consent for your region rating;
• set the in-character laws and punishments for your region;
• sell and/or transfer ownership of the region to whomever you choose;
• choose players that get added as members to your region;
• consent to or forbid destruction or changes to your region (setting your town on fire, using any IC means to destroy town features and/or buildings, burning crop fields, etc.); and
• consent or forbid an arc or chain of events that has an effect on your citizens and the region itself (invasions, pillaging, hostile takeover, poisoned waterholes, etc.)

As a region owner, you may not:

• OOCly blacklist/prevent specific players from entering or roleplaying in your region, or
• deny a war if there is reasonable cassus belli (an act or event that either provokes or is used to justify a war).

At any time, consent may be contested by opening a moderation ticket and requesting a review of the situation. This is provided as a check to region owner rights which are not absolute.