NWN Player Rules

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Revision as of 15:49, 17 February 2019 by Orth (talk | contribs) (Added muling details)
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This list is subject to change at any time and is not exhaustive. The Layonara Administration control all interpretation and punishment for breaking these rules. We are always willing to discuss infringements and do not wish to come down hard on people unless absolutely necessary. In cases when the rules may not provide all the necessary answers, it is up to the player to exercise their own common sense and do what they feel is correct. If it "feels" wrong, it most likely is. Trust your instincts.

Also see NWN Character Submission Rules and Guidelines.

Summary of Rules

Adult Situations

Role playing sexual encounters between characters is not allowed. Characters may get married and/or have children, however any sexual situations may not be explicitly role played.

Area Level Restrictions

There are, at present, no area level requirements. This means that there will not be any level-based stipulations regarding where a character may travel. After much internal review, the GM Team felt that most, if not all, places in the game world effectively enforce their own sort of level restrictions, both in difficulty and degree of reward, and it is not beneficial to the Community or the GM Team to police or enforce such limits artificially. For some area guidelines see NWN Area Level Guidelines.

Camping

Camping is defined as waiting continuously at a specific area for monsters or CNR to spawn and "farming" the spawns in that area for continual experience/loot/CNR. It is abusing the spawn system and is by no stretch of the imagination considered role playing. Another form of camping is to enter an area, kill the creatures and/or harvest the CNR available, then log out for a time, log back on and repeat the process.

Camping is not allowed in Layonara. It is a bannable offense, but usually only after a few warnings are ignored or if one is trying to work around the system and claims innocense a few times.

Camping CNR materials is acceptable, as long as it does not last over 30 minutes, and you don't weigh yourself down silly, like 300 lbs when you can only carry 150. If you are camping CNR, GM's have the right to drop whatever monster they want at anytime. If you can not run away, or fight it due to being weighted down that is a risk you and your character should consider before getting into a situation that leaves you vulnerable. Think and play smart.

When one is harvesting/gathering items in the world it is not acceptable for one to log out after they have reached the 30 minute mark (or close to it) near the resource(s) and then log back in some time later just to rinse and repeat. This is a person that knows the rules of the server and is trying to work around the rules so that it seems like what they are doing is RP and/or acceptable, it isn't. It is a blantant abuse of the rules as clearly the player knows what they are doing. Keep the spirit of the rules and server in mind please.

Think and play smart. If you think it is pushing the line and/or would be frowned on then simple do not do it.

Crafting Under the Influence

The Crafting system in Layonara is derived from CNR, the crafting system developed by David Bobeck and Gary Corcoran. The difficulty involved in crafting a given item is partially dependent on the crafting character's ability scores. Artificially depressing these scores, whether through intoxication, poisoning, or a curse (self-inflicted or otherwise), in order to make a given item more "challenging," is considered an abuse of the crafting system, and is against the server rules.

A character may, however, remove any and all "buffing" items that provide them with an ability score bonus.

Deity/Character Interactions

Characters may not have direct contact with a Deity anywhere in their history, nor can a player decide at some point that their character had direct contact with a Deity. The only way a character may have contact with a deity is through a GM playing the personification or avatar of a deity.

Of course at times, what characters believe themselves may have little to do with reality. A character may believe that in a drunken haze Vorax visited them and gave them a holy mission. However, the player, not the character, must keep in mind, that unless this is approved by a GM it was only a drunken haze and it did not really happen.

A character praying to a deity or interpreting things as signs from a deity could be considered contact with a deity, and a character may strongly believe that their every prayer is heard and that every odd occurance is a sign. Again, keep in mind that only a GM has the authority to say whether a prayer was heard, and if there was any reaction, and whether any of these occurances are truly signs from a deity.

Keep in mind that a character's perceptions and convictions do not have to be true by any means. Therefore, keep a separation in your mind as a player between what is true and what your character believes. Try to avoid becoming entangled in ooc arguments about what is really true as that can be irrelevant to what a character believes. A good way to head off such issues if they come up is to send a tell reminding the other involved players that what you are saying is your character's beliefs. Something like, "//my character also thinks he's the queen of England" often gets the point across.

Exploiting enemy A.I. and Game Mechanics

While the NWN engine is indeed quite capable of creating interesting worlds to explore and providing a decent translation of the D&D rules into a digital medium, it definitely also has its flaws and drawbacks. Most of these come in the form of engine limitations and gaps in the artificial intelligence itself, and this can often be exploited by players in a way that would be inconsistent within an RP environment.

A common example of this would be exploiting gaps and quirks in monster A.I. in order to maximize the amount of experience gained from enemies and thus "farming" exp. For instance, a map could feature a large assortment of enemies that will tend to swarm the players because of their A.I. scripts. Using powerful area of effect spells such as Fireball or Hammer of the Gods after herding all of them together into one concentrated mass would be considered exploiting the enemy A.I. Players should refrain from doing this, and repetition of it in a single area would most definitely be construed as an exploit.

Another example is the use of "chokepoints" to effectively trap monsters and render them helpless. There is a fine line between the use of tactical chokepoints and actually getting monsters stuck, and it should be quite apparent to the players which is which. Using tactical chokepoints is acceptable and often a good idea. Getting monsters stuck on terrain features is not. Getting creatures stuck on terrain to kill them, repeatedly would be considered an exploit.

Invisibility, sanctuary, greater sanctuary and similar spells should also be used appropriately, and never used to exploit creature AI or bypass spawns when it does not make sense to do so. Players should refrain from using these spells to bypass a number of spawns in an area only to engage the last spawn guarding CNR, etc., especially when the creatures in those spawns would have other means of detecting your character (e.g. listen checks, visible footprints, and so on). Players should use common sense, refrain from doing anything that does not "feel right", and ask the GM Team for clarification if they are unsure whether a use of these spells is okay or not.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all possible exploits of the game engine as there are always new ones cropping up from time to time ranging from monster A.I. to such things as item duplication, etc. As before, it is ultimately up to the players and their own common sense. If it feels like an exploit (i.e. too cheap and easy) then it most likely is.

Handling of Loot

There is no rule on this and it is up to individual players. The request though is for each player to have respect for those within the community. Let the character that needs an item roll for an item before those that just want the item due to greed or because they can sell it for a high price and get an item that they want for the character, even if it is 'within character' to have the greed negative attribute to the character. Need before greed is how things should happen but it is not a hard and fast rule.

Just like in pen and paper games players would divide up the treasure at the end and rarely (if ever) would a fighter take an item that could be used by a mage, and vice versa. In PnP games players worked well together because you are face to face in a social setting and because you valued the game and the group as a whole. It should be the same here within the Layonara community. Respect and courtesy should be the rule of thumb.

Leanthar's personal opinion is that people should not compete for items for which they have no use or RP reason to have and the character does not need the item. Now once a party goes through all of the items and it is determined that no character needs an item then it is open to anybody rolling for it via the greed route, nothing wrong with that.

What defines need? That depends on the player and character and is one of the reasons this is not a hard and fast rule. I personally define need as the character would equip the item if the roll is won and would have that item equipped for at least 1-2 full levels and it fits the RP for the character class/race.

This is a game clearly but what if it were real? What if you were in a jungle (as an example) with 3-6 people, climbing the mountains, cutting through the trees, fighting those creatures, healing and protecting each other day after day. We guarantee in that case you would definitely put need before greed and we would bet you a good amount of money that even the 'greedy' ones would do it as it would allow them a better chance to survive in the long run. The party dynamics would be quite different than a 'game' because you would have to put need before greed and we feel that is what you should do in the game.

People should deal with loot, be it gold or items, in a fair and equitable way and have respect for the community as a whole.

Harvesting

The first rule is to use common sense when harvesting; if it seems like it would not be likely or that it is stretching the reality (in Layonara) too much then do not do it. Though there is magic in Layonara, the laws of nature as we know it on earth will take priority when it comes to harvesting.

Only use summons with arms and legs to harvest. Do not use animals and such; it just does not fit well, no matter how far the reality is pushed.

Using spells is okay if it is kept within reason. IE. Do not use fire type spells on trees and plants, it would burn them. Use an appropriate spell for the appropriate harvest is what I am asking for.

Do not have more than one weapon equipped when harvesting. This is an exploit and is punishable with a temporary ban on the second warning and a permanent ban on the third warning. You may dual wield wood axes though, this is the only exception.

Inappropriate Language

The use of inappropriate language is not allowed on Layonara. Using expletives that are appropriate to the setting is acceptable, however using modern offensive vocabulary or using inappropriate language in an out of character setting is not acceptable. Many instances of inappropriate language used out of character also fall under the rules pertaining to griefing.

Intentionally Logging Off at Inappropriate Times

While an occasional NWN crash is to be expected, logging of with the intention of avoiding a dangerous situation is not acceptable. Example: It is not acceptable to log off right when you are about to be beaten to a pulp by a horde of angry trolls/ogres/demons etc.

Internet Lingo and "l33tspeak"

Layonara is a world all about RP, and players should remember to refrain from using what has come to be known as "l33tspeak". Use of such lingo detracts from the immersion of the environment for all players involved. For instance, it would be quite jarring to be in the middle of an epic quest and return to town to see someone using l33t. The effect is more often than not annoying to most players, but for many it can be downright offensive. Take the time to play your character and immerse yourself in the world.

This is, by no means, asking all players to speak using "thee" and "thou", but everyone should remember that no one would use language such as "plz" and "ph4t lewt" even in modern day life.

Looping

Looping is defined as going through the same few areas in a short period of time in order to keep continually harvesting CNR, reaping XP and loot from killing the creatures there, etc., and then repeating this sort of thing over and over in a given span of time.

We ask the community to limit any looping behavior through a small number of areas to sixty (60) minutes. We ask the community to limit any camping behavior in a single area to thirty (30) minutes. In the case of logging in, harvesting and logging out, we ask that you simply do not do this more than three (3) times in a row over a twenty-four (24) hour period.

The GM Team understands that not everyone has a lot of play time. Sometimes there is only a small amount of time to log in, take care of a few things and then log back out, and we do not wish for people with limited time to feel like criminals. However, we also believe that players should exercise some degree of self-restraint when doing such things. While we will not be actively policing for camping and looping behavior, if we observe such in excess of the stated guidelines, we reserve the right to intervene and inform the party that they have pushed the boundaries of what we would like to see.

Unless taken to the extreme, the GM Team will not be applying in-character or out-of-character punishments to any groups caught looping or camping in excess, however we may remove the group from the situation if our requests are not respected.

Min/Maxing Character Stats

Characters may not have more than one ability score below an 8 and no more than two ability scores that are 8. No ability may be lower than 6. This includes subrace adjustments, so keep that in mind when creating your character.

Allowed Examples:

  • Two 8's and all others higher than 8.
  • One 6, One 8 and all others higher than eight.


Disallowed Examples:

  • Any combination including 6, 8, and 8
  • Any combination including 8, 6, and 6
  • Any combination including three 8's
  • Any combination including 6, 7, and 8

Muling

Muling is when you have items (in the bank, in your inventory, in your house, etc. that you have earned or fairly traded for), and then you give those items to a newly created character of your own for free. This also applies to having a character you control gather CNR or other items for another character you control. It is fine to RP a 'sales person' or whatever you may want to call it but from this point forward please do not let that 'other person' be another character under your control.

To put more plainly, it is muling to give items, gold or any other assets from one character under your direct control to another, whether you have multiple Bioware accounts or not. You, as a player, are the common factor between them, and giving one character an advantage that another has earned is not something we tolerate.

If you must transfer goods between two characters under your control, then do so through a third-party and conduct the exchange like a business transaction, meaning exchange goods or coins in trade. This applies as much to unassociated characters as it does to characters who are directly related (i.e. parent/child relationships).

We believe all characters deserve to accumulate equipment and wealth in line with their own accomplishments, and it is unfair to the rest of our Community if some take it upon themselves to give benefits to one of their characters by the work of another. We ask everyone to respect this philosophy for the good of everyone in the Community.

Credit

While offering "credit" to a character is not against the server rules it can easily be pushed over the line and can quickly be classified as muling. Be VERY CAREFUL about the way you credit/loan items or True/Gold.

For example, a level 12 character who has been active for several months (or longer) borrows a little bit (but fully intends to pay it back) in order to buy a diamond amulet. This would be acceptable as it is not muling and indeed can pass for RP.

However, a level 5 character gaining a full set of good gear or a large amount of True/Gold through credit or association (such as a guild) is not acceptable in any way. A level 5 character is "new" to adventuring and thus will take a long time to find/make friends (via RP). Most certainly "guilds" would not loan a lot of True/Gold to the character because he/she is not proven and/or is not well known.

Guilds

Guilds should not be fully (or even mostly) equipping people without some sort of valid return, be it CNR collected, crafting for the guild, or whatever the guild needs, so long as it is realistic. Guilds also shouldn't be willing to extend lucrative amounts of credit to "strangers," nor should they push the boundries of what may be acceptable on the muling front.

However, a line per line, coin by coin accounting of items or gold is not needed. Guilds should be responsible and aware--nothing more, nothing less. Guilds do exist for the good of the many. Guilds having a combined resources/items pool is expected, and can be maintained without having to charge members for every item. Guild members should be granted access to the pool as long as each member contributes to the whole in their own way.

Loans

It is okay to "loan" (True and/or items) but use some common sense and keep it reasonable. Since "loaning" is a two way street (it takes two or more players) all players involved need to be aware of the situation and the character and loan in question. Loans can (and do) quickly become a way to mule. Both sides will be held accountable. Please keep that in mind.

Quest Completion Items

A quest completion item is any item that is turned in to an NPC in order to complete a quest (so heads, ears, or other items that are turned in to get a reward or completion). Do not store quest completion items in chests. If you have these items in a chest, remove them and finish off the quest within the next few days. If you have already finished the quest[s] (which begs the question of why are you storing the item[s] at all) then please trash the items ASAP.

True/Gold

Do not store gold in chests. Banks can be accessed from any server. Please use them. If your bank account has a few thousand gold but you have hundreds of thousands (or millions) of gold stored in chests it raises red flags with the team and the community. Gold may be placed in chests for use with guild transactions, but use it for those purposes only (not as a long term storage unit).

Operation usage is fine (and supported), storage is not.

Party Level Spread

We have removed the level spread restriction on parties due to the damaging nature it has had on roleplay and in the relationships GMs and the Community.

Special note on the lifting of area and party level restrictions:

While we are effectively removing all restrictions regarding character levels, we are hoping to encourage better grouping, better roleplay, a greater sense of adventure and an environment where roleplay is not unduly bounded by out-of-character issues such as level and arbitrary lines on a map. Having said that, the GM Team maintains a single request that can be summed up briefly as: "Don't drag, and don't kite."

It is possible for a low-level character in a group of higher-level characters to contribute in some form, whether by flinging spells, tossing potions, firing arrows or any number of other contributing things, even if they're not terribly effective. The important part is that they attempt to contribute. Similarly, a high-level character can escort a group of lower-level characters without doing all the work for them. So, in this spirit, we ask for the Community to respect this and to keep these things in mind when going out and about. We're not going to break up a party on Dregar that contains a 5th level character just for that fact alone, nor will we go on hunts when we see a wide party level spread.

However, if we see little or no roleplay among the party, if we see non-contributing lower-level characters or we see a high-level character being the primary application of force among a group of otherwise lower-level characters, we may request a modification to the party's behavior. If the behavior persists, we reserve the right to disband the party.

We want everyone to have fun, to adventure and explore, and we no longer feel it appropriate to keep these restrictions in place. We ask only that the Community enjoy this expanded freedom and request that it be used responsibly.

PvP, Pking and Griefing

PvP is defined as the act of a player attacking another player in any form, or as some like to call it CvC (character versus character).

PvP is allowed on Layonara but in restricted form and it is heavily logged and watched closely by the GM Team and community as a whole. At no time is one allowed to grief or PvP without an RP reason and all RP should be exhausted before PvP has been initiated and agreed upon.

Stealing from Other Player Characters

Stealing from other Player Characters is not allowed on Layonara. This includes but is not limited to taking items or gold from unlocked chests in houses, unattended oxen bags and pick pocketing. Like PvP, the only time stealing will ever be condoned is if all parties involved are aware and agree to the situation and it is monitored by a GM.

Telepathy

Players may not role play that they have the ability to communicate telepathically. The only situation in which it is allowed is during a GM run quest if the GM rules that a situation exists that would allow such communication. In this case it will be handled through the GM, with each player communicating through the GM not between each other.

XP Storing

Characters must level up as soon as it is reasonably feasible to do so. In other words, at the point at which your character accumulates enough XP to reach the next level, you must go through the level-up process. Gathering XP while the level up option is available is known as XP Storing, and is against the server rules.

"Reasonably feasible" means that you do not need to stop in the middle of combat to level your character, nor do you have to interrupt a quest to do so. However, as soon as there are no pressing demands on your character, you must complete the level up process.

For those characters who wish to stay beneath a given level (seeking to avoid rapid levelling, or waiting on the outcome of a CDQ), GMs will remove XP from characters upon request.