Sigil: City of Doors

In light of some recent conflicts, it seems like a good time to remind everyone of the PvP rules, and take some time to clarify a few points.

The official server rule can be found here and is as follows:
1.3) Player versus Player (PvP)

- Consent is required for PvP. If consent is not given, the decliner need to move elsewhere and cease whatever antagonistic activity was taking place, if any. (Insults, threats, etc)

Please note the following:
1) The consent must be clear and OOC. You should NEVER set another PC to hostile unless you have first discussed whether everyone involved is alright with PvP out of character. Likewise, if you are asked OOCly about the possibility of PvP, then you should respond before taking any actions which could be viewed as hostile or as giving a mechanical advantage (like spellcasting). There are no circumstances in which the above rule does not apply, and the admin team takes a very dim view of those who PvP without consent.

2) PvP covers any sort of mechanically hostile action taken against another PC. There are certain supernatural abilities and spells which have "negative" effects, but can be cast on another PC and take effect even if that PC is not currently hostile. In order to avoid confusion, consent for PvP should be obtained before casting any spell upon the character with whom your character is in conflict.

Since the last clarification, a few other things have been brought to our attention that we'd like to address - specifically, this part of the PvP rules:

. . . if consent is not given, the decliner need to move elsewhere and cease whatever antagonistic activity was taking place if any

Now, the purpose of this rule is to provide a definitive end to a tense situation. It must always be taken in context with the other rules, specifically this Rule of Being:

- Griefing is forbidden. (Killing/stealing/otherwise picking on others for no reason)

Thus, it is almost never acceptable to use the PvP rule to interrupt and chase another PC away from normal activities. Consider the following scenarios (submitted by a player for clarification):

"Situation 1: PC A: Enters an area and say, wants to set up what ever operation in a nearby stall but its occupied, so he threatens the PC already using the stall, the player declines pvp so he suddenly has to pack up and move?

Situation 2: PC A enters a hunting ground, sees a party who was there first and treatens to attack them if they dont leave, the group of players doenst feel like engaging in pvp and they decline, so they should have to leave first?"

The DM team considers the actions of PC A in both of the above scenarios to be griefing.

The bottom line is that we expect players to treat each other with a measure of consideration. While SCoD is open to most playstyles and permits PvP on our server, we are not a PvP dedicated server. If PvP happens during the course of RP, it can be enjoyable and a tool to advance the story. However if a player is here specifically to elicit and participate in PvP, we suggest that player look elsewhere.

Just to expand a little here to include one other issue that may be viewed as skirting the rules:

The purpose of our server is to allow people a place to come to enjoy themselves and relieve some of the stress of our real lives. If you're doing anything intentionally to lessen someone else's enjoyment or to cause them stress, you are griefing. This could be something as severe as hunting them down and PvPing them, or as innocuous as insulting their character.

That's why, even for a server that I've always felt was full of great RPers, OOC becomes a very useful tool for both sides. I'd chalk up the majority of issues people have had with one another as something that could be solved by simple communication, and this applies to both sides. If you're getting stressed out or bothered by something someone else is doing, don't hesitate to let them know; in the same vein, if you think that someone is being stressed out by the actions of your character, it doesn't hurt to check in and let them know that there's a difference between your demon-worshipping sociopath or stick-up-the-butt paladin and the player behind the keyboard.

In almost ten years of playing this game, I've never found myself in a situation where I hated someone so much that I was unwilling to send a quick tell if something was making me feel uncomfortable, and I've also never taken offense to being told that something I was doing (and yes, usually one of my evil characters or an evil NPC in an event I was running) was doing the same to someone else.

And this doesn't just apply to "confrontational" RP. Sexual connotations, graphic violence and/or torture, or unnecessary profanity could create discomfort, and an attempt at reconciliation (and let me point out here, pointing out how you are right and the other person is wrong is not reconciliation) can go a long way from keeping things from escalating into a bad situation.

Just remember that we're all here to have fun. Make sure you're having fun, yes, but also don't ruin the fun of those around you.