General Rules:
Be Respectful
Just as on the Discord server – don’t be a jerk. We want SWLOR to be a welcoming and cooperative environment as much as possible, so be civil and mature.
Curse words and swearing are allowed, but we will not tolerate slurs or deliberate offensive remarks or behavior towards any real-world race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.
Fair Play Clause:
Any action taken towards a DM or fellow Player is subject to the Fair Play clause. Unwarranted rudeness, attempting to kill non-hostile NPCs, poor gamesmanship (wanton destruction, griefing, exploiting unknown or known bugs, etc) or skirting around the edges of existing rules can be subjected to DM discretion and lead to consequences.
Keep It PG-13:
In the interest of being welcoming to a wide range of players, roleplay and events on this server should be kept to a rough PG-13 level at all times. This means no graphic sexual acts or graphic nudity. ERP / Sex Roleplay should be kept to private chats off the server, our Discord and forums, not even via /tell. We accept that these things will happen between characters, but it is not something everyone is comfortable with. Romantic, flirtatious, or even suggestive roleplay is acceptable, but keep it SFW.
Overly graphic or gruesome depictions of death, violence, and gore should be avoided. This is Star Wars, not Mortal Kombat.
Character Age:
Any and all player characters on the server must be at least 18 years of age at the time of their arrival in the server world.
The roleplay of a character under the age of 18 is deemed inappropriate for our PG-13 setting and is strictly forbidden. We acknowledge that children are present in the Star Wars setting and having them as background characters is considered appropriate. DMs may use child NPCs at their discretion, but it is strongly preferred to keep them out of the game world to avoid any possibility of inappropriate or insensitive subject matter being
broached.
Character Names:
Player-character names must make sense as a person’s name and may not include the following:
- Major Star Wars Lore character names (I.E. Revan, Han Solo, Skywalker, etc.)
- Famous / Copyrighted character names from other series (i.e. Aragorn, Peter Parker, Jean-Luc Picard)
- Real-world famous people’s names (i.e. Madonna, Chris Hemsworth, Kanye West)
- Profanity, slurs, or other offensive material
Nicknames are acceptable if they function as a name on their own, otherwise they should be avoided or put in quotes (example: Jerath “The Claw” Bilzen).
Characters are not required to have a surname.
DMs can have you change your name for any reason.
Separation of IC and OOC:
In-Character and Out-Of-Character matters are to stay separate at all times. Under no circumstances should a player or character ever take a grudge against someone from one dimension to the other, in either direction. This means no lashing out at someone’s character because you don’t like the player, and no lashing out at a player because you don’t like their character. Players and characters are not one and the same. Arguments and debates are one thing, but mixing IC and OOC is a slippery slope to metagaming, griefing, and harassment, all of which are against SWLOR rules.
Death and Respawn:
When a player dies and respawns, they are deemed to have been rescued at near death and taken to the nearest safe point. Cloning technology is not advanced enough for viable sapient cloning during the setting of this server (circa 3957 BBY) and therefore cannot be used to describe how the player in question returned from death. Any other creative and reasonable explanations for returning from mechanical death would also be acceptable.
Metagaming:
Metagaming is downright harmful to server health and will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to the illegitimate (non-roleplayed) transfer of knowledge between characters, using out-of-character information for an in-character advantage, and illegitimate transfer of items between the characters of a single player. Depending on the severity of the case, disciplinary action can range from verbal and official warnings to bans.
Regarding Droid Ownership, Multiple Alts in One Faction, and Interaction between Alt Characters:
Due to the strong likelihood of running up against the Metagaming rule by way of sharing information, resources, or other advantages, having one character “own” or be in a position of direct power or authority over your own alt character is prohibited. Playing two or more characters within the same faction, while not against the rules, is discouraged for this reason as well.
Having your alts be aware of each other’s existence, or even having met in passing or have some kind of backstory connection is completely acceptable – but upon introduction to the game world and onward, they are not to interact directly with one another in any significant or impactful way. Exceptions of circumstance may be granted in rare cases.
Regarding Multiboxing:
Multiboxing in and of itself is not prohibited, but all above rulings must be taken into account.
PvP (Player vs. Player) and Base Raiding:
PvP or base attacks without sufficient, reasonable in-character justification or roleplay beforehand are considered griefing and are forbidden. Fair warning through dialogue and emotes must be given before initiating PvP to grant the other side sufficient reaction time, and use of the in-game ‘Hostile’ function is required for the sake of clarity of intent.
Explicit OOC consent is not required on both sides to engage PvP in and of itself, only justifiable and reasonable roleplay as listed above. By engaging in RP that is likely to or could reasonably be expected to result in a violent response, you are giving implied consent.
Explicit OOC consent is required to inflict permanent injuries, death, or any similar effects on another character as noted in the Permadeath and Loss of Limbs rule below.
PvP and base raiding must involve interactive roleplay between the two parties before mechanical action is allowed. If you believe that there is a player purposely avoiding roleplay or using out-of-character means to dodge in-character consequences, please submit a report to the DM team through a Discord ticket or the forums (using “@DungeonMasters”) with detailed information and as much evidence as you can provide.
After a PvP incident has concluded, there is a 24-hour “cooldown” period where both sides are not to engage the other in PvP again unless with express mutual agreement.
At any point, players may voluntarily agree to engage in PvP via alternative means such as through pure roleplay. In these cases it is best to use opposing dice rolls via the “/dice” chat command, but if both parties wish to conduct a fight through emotes and dialogue only then they may do so at their discretion.
JOINING PVP that has ALREADY BEGUN:
If two or more player-characters are engaged in PvP and additional characters arrive on the scene to assist one or both sides, only the use of the Hostile function is required for the reinforcing players to join the combat. It is strongly encouraged that after this point, emotes be made as soon as reasonably possible.
COMMS CHAT, TRAVEL, & NPCs:
Players should not be using the Comms chat to request assistance with a view towards engaging in PvP or in the midst of a PvP. Players should not be using the shuttle system for instantaneous travel to another planet to engage in PvP. The shuttle system is a convenience that does away with the OOC travel time; it is inappropriate for, say, a player on Tatooine to request for assistance through the Comms chat, and a player on Viscara to instantaneously teleport to Tatooine to engage in PvP. Players should not be using Discord or other channels to exhort other allied players to log on to assist with PvP as well if they were otherwise offline.
Players should seek DM oversight before engaging in PvP where there are NPCs in the vicinity or in locations where there is likely to be NPC involvement. For example, in the Jedi Temple, or in Anchorhead. If a PvP should move from a location without NPCs to a location with NPCs, such as if one party is fleeing the other party, the PvP should stop unless a DM is present and providing oversight. This is to ensure that the NPCs are reacting accordingly to the PvP situation IC-ly.
NOTE: A player deliberately taking advantage of this rule to be immune from consequences would be dealt with at a later time. For example, if a Sith characters waltzes into the Jedi Temple and starts insulting or harassing Jedi characters, and a DM is not present to oversee PvP, take screenshots and log it in a ticket; the Sith character can and will be dealt with at a later date.
Permadeath and Loss of Limbs:
For a longer-form explanation of our stance on Permadeath, see this thread.
Under most circumstances, a player character cannot be permanently killed or maimed without explicitly stated OOC consent from the player. However, in extreme scenarios such as high-risk events (in which case the DMs running such an event will give advance warning of such possibility) or repeated IC behavior that should obviously invite strong consequences, player characters may permanently die or receive a permanent injury such as the loss of a limb without the player’s consent. These decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and require a consensus of the DM team or approval from the Head DM.
Torture and Maiming:
Torturing and maiming roleplay is allowed in limited capacity assuming it follows the PG-13 rule of the server, however it is strongly preferred that mutual OOC consent be given first by all players involved. This means nothing of extreme gore, description or cruelty is permitted.
Those caught being too graphic will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If a player either does not give consent or retracts their consent by asking for the scene to stop, the best course of action is to either halt the depicted acts entirely or leave them undescribed.
Griefing & Harassment:
Players should refrain from excessively bothering, trolling, griefing, or harassing fellow players or DMs. This includes but is not limited to RP-disruptive behavior, unreasonable IC actions (especially hostile ones), OOCly aggressive or hostile behavior towards players, OOC theft of items or gear, and other such things of similar nature.
Players wishing to report someone for any of the above may contact the DM team privately via Discord or forum messages (using “@DungeonMasters”) to do so, and should provide screenshots or chat log evidence of the behavior in question.
Rebuild Tokens:
Characters are either Force Sensitive or they are not, and this is decided at the time of character creation. Players intending to use a rebuild token to switch their characters between Standard and Force Sensitive or vice versa must obtain DM approval (by way of a ticket) before doing so.
NOTE: An exception exists for Legacy characters who were made prior to the revamp and are automatically forced to rebuild with the revamp.
Roleplay Rulings:
Unsupported Species:
With all colors unlocked for customization, players are allowed to choose to have their character be a separate near-human or “hybrid” race, such as Pantorans, half-Twi’lek, and other similar races that can be easily represented in such a way. However, under no circumstances will any such races be granted any mechanical or roleplay capabilities above and beyond what the mechanically supported races possess to gain advantage over other players.
Force Powers and Training:
For more detailed information on how we like to handle training and non-mechanical abilities, see the RP Training Guide on the wiki.
While there are a number of Force abilities represented mechanically via the Skills and Perks system of SWLOR, there are many more that are not coded in even if we would like them to be. Any of these available powers in the perk system may be taken freely and are generally considered acceptable for a character to either learn on their own or to have some experience with from their background. However, it is still preferred for characters to receive training in such things on-server and in-character from another character or NPC.
Any Force power that is not mechanically represented in the server’s system must be learned and taught in-character or otherwise approved by a DM in order to be considered viable for a player-character to use to any degree of success or proficiency. The DM team must be able to verify that a character has been trained in such abilities, and even then success or failure of such abilities is up to the discretion of present DMs. If no DM is present, any player being targeted by such a Force Power may choose whether to allow it, to ask for an opposed dice roll (using the “/dice” command), or to not to consent to it succeeding against them at all.
Example:
Player 1 has been taught Force Choke by a DM NPC.
Player 2 is fighting Player 1.
Player 1 uses Force Choke and Player 2 declares that they resist it.
Player 2’s ruling on how or if it effects them is FINAL, unless supervising DMs rule otherwise.
Furthermore, player characters cannot be assumed to be receiving training “off-screen” beyond simple practice or reinforcement of what they already know. Force training not done on-server must be otherwise documented somehow, preferably via roleplay or logs on the forums.
Lightsabers
“True” lightsabers (as opposed to training foils) can only be acquired through roleplay and are granted by DMs. To be able to create one, your character must receive training on-server about how to do so from a character who already has the knowledge.
The standard available colors that anyone can choose freely when constructing a lightsaber are Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. The colors Cyan, Orange, and Purple are also possible, but will require additional roleplay in the form of a DM-guided event or quest chain. Your character’s history on the server may be considered when determining whether or not they can acquire these colors; characters who have been around longer (to Knight or Master level or their equivalent) are much more likely to get them.
The colors listed above are the only ones available in the module, and as such no other colors are possible at this time.
Note: PvP or theft of a lightsaber just to take it for its color will be considered Griefing or Harassment, and is not allowed.
Unrepresented or Rare Equipment, Items, & Materials:
Similarly to the way Force Powers are handled above, any item or material that is either not mechanically represented on the server or not available to players through normal play must be given DM approval before it may be acquired, made, or used. This includes things such as old crafting materials from the server’s history, large-scale explosives (Baradium for example), jetpacks or jump-jets, night-vision or thermal imaging systems, cortosis, pure beskar (mandalorian iron), stealth field generators, and so on. Depending on the impact such items might have, some might be harder to get approved for use than others, and some might only be allowed for limited usage within a single event or even a single attempt. Any items or equipment approved for a character to have will be logged for the DM team to keep track of.
Certain common tech items such as macrobinoculars, simple thermal cloaks or environmental suits, or anything with similarly minor or simple impacts do not require DM approval to have, but DMs always have the authority to declare whether or not something is helpful.
Betraying or Leaving a Faction:
Players should inform the DMs first if their characters intend to betray or leave an NPC faction they are in (e.g. the Jedi Order, the Sith Empire, the Revanites, etc.). There may be consequences to this, which could amount to permanent death or bounties permitting other PCs to permanently kill the traitor PC. Players are gently reminded that having their characters join a faction is to potentially have access to either powers or trainings that non-affiliated characters do not have, but the corollary of it is that factions have the right to exact consequences on characters who join, learn what they want, and then leave. Furthermore, factions such as the Jedi Order may forcefully confiscate lightsabers or similar items from a character that is leaving the faction. Nevertheless, this will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and is not retroactively applicable from the date of this rule’s addition.
Note: Consequences are tailored to circumstances. For example, a PC who leaves the Jedi Order to pursue his own things might just have his lightsaber confiscated. A PC who betrays the Jedi Order by killing another Jedi and joining the Malakites may be subject to the possibility of permanent death if later captured.
Shuttle Use:
Players should seek DM permission first if they intend to use the shuttle system to attend a DM event that is happening on another planet. For example, if a DM shout indicates that there is an attack on Viscara, a player on Tatooine should first seek DM permission before taking the instantaneous shuttle to Viscara. The shuttle system is a convenience that does away with the OOC travel time, but it is inappropriate to assume that there is no IC travel time.
Dungeon Masters and You
Rule Enforcement and Punishment:
Dungeon Masters may issue a warning to a player if they are caught breaking server rules. If a player has already been warned for an infraction, a DM may issue up to a 24-hour suspension (temporary ban) and immediately forward the case to support for further investigation. See the Disciplinary Guide for more information on the punishment scale for infractions.
Professionalism and Confidentiality:
DMs represent the face of the server and are expected to deal with players in a professional, polite and unbiased manner while they are speaking as a DM. Unless prior consent is given by the affected player(s) or heads, DMs should not be talking about private cases and matters to outside parties. If any players feel that professionalism or confidentiality has been breached by a DM, they may file their complaint to the Head DM.
Additionally, DM’s are never to use their DM status or powers to give an unfair advantage to their own characters over others, or to engage in favoritism or nepotism. Should a DM make use of DM powers while on player client, it must be in the interest of providing assistance to another player or facilitating engaging and fair roleplay.
Events:
Dungeon Masters are free to interrupt player activity at any point for the purpose of an event on any individual or group of their choice depending on which scenario presents the best opportunity. Players are always welcome to submit a request via the forums with their plot ideas and can expect feedback within 48 hours.
During events, players are expected to accept the ruling of the DM in charge. The DM may choose to run their event in whatever manner they deem appropriate, including judgments of success or failure should a player attempt something in roleplay. Please also be patient and considerate of DMs during events, especially large or complex ones when many player characters are involved. DMs are only human and it is easy to miss an emote or line of dialogue when they have to keep up with several people at once as well as managing NPCs and more.
To ensure the DM running an event is aware of your actions, try to emote or speak in [Comms] (Party chat) to ensure it is visible no matter where the DM is, or else use DM chat (/dm) to message them directly in a way that further stands out. If you feel ignored, it is more likely that the DM is either just busy or missed your message.
If you have complaints about how an event was run, feel free to contact the DM responsible after the event is over to discuss your concerns, or otherwise send a message to the DM team on the forums using “@DungeonMasters”.
XP Rewards:
Dungeon Masters may issue a reward in the form of Roleplay Experience (RP XP) to an individual or group of players after an event or interaction. The amount issued is at the discretion of the DM, and players should not be badgering dungeon masters for an RP XP reward. In these cases, the event itself is the reward, and the RP XP given is a bonus – you are not entitled to receive RP XP.
Canon, Server-Canon, & Use of Canon Characters:
The canonical timeline of events and characters will be mostly adhered to, but are subject to change at the discretion of the Head DM and the DM Team if on-server roleplay and events should lean in a direction suggesting so and the result is considered to offer a good enough story for players. However, please be advised that the use of canon characters in game must be approved by the DM team prior to use. Involvement should be reserved for matters of great importance and should not be for more than brief interludes. We cannot always know how a canon character would act in a certain situation.
In some cases, whether because of limited canonical information on a subject or due to DM fiat, some things may be established as Server-Canon. This can be a replacement of or an addition to official canon, but is always implemented with the intent of enabling further roleplay and maintaining consistency as much as possible. Any and all player characters, DM NPCs, and events on the server are considered Server-Canon as they do not exist officially.
“Off Duty” DMs:
Please avoid repeatedly bothering DMs on their player characters. Although they can still carry out limited DM functions, when a member of the DM team is on their player client they are considered “off duty” and not responsible for such things. The DMs are volunteers, and already devote much of their own free time to run events, provide NPC interaction, and otherwise foster a fun and engaging roleplay environment. As such, they are entitled to time to play on their own characters whenever they wish.
There is nothing wrong with asking an Off-Duty DM questions now and then, or for help with a minor problem if no other DMs are online, but do not expect them to stop their own roleplay to swap clients and run something.
DM-Granted Items:
Dungeon Masters are allowed to issue items to help with story plots and special items as rewards at the end of a quest chain. Mechanical properties of equipment rewards will not exceed what is achievable via the crafting system, but may be equivalent by special means (such as a weapon that deals a non-standard damage type). If approved by the team as a whole, an item can be granted that has unique functions or roleplay capabilities. These will almost always be for characters who have earned the privilege of such an item through quality roleplay and engagement on the server, in the opinion of the DM team or Head DM.
Any item issued by a dungeon master is subject to future removal or alteration at the team’s discretion.