15.5 PLAYER KILLING
Player killing is an acceptable and necessary avenue for conflict
resolution in Aetolia. Contract enforcement, vengeance, or yes,
roleplay, can be Acceptable reasons to attack another player. The
visceral exercise of combat affords an unmatchable level of drama and
challenge that help make Aetolia an exciting and memorable world.
Player killing almost never occurs without consequences, however - a
fact of which every potential combatant needs to be acutely aware. Most
commonly, consequences of player killing can involve reciprocal attack
from other players or being declared the enemy of an organization.
Consequences of irresponsible and egregious player killing may also
include direct Divine retribution, Administrative punishment, or even
the total loss of one's character.
There is no rule book, so please don't ask the administration to
enumerate or hypothesize about specific situations where you may or may
not kill another player. We recognize that no two conflicts are alike,
and we evaluate -each complaint individually-.
That said, there are certain tips and easily-avoided mistakes that we
can point out from experience. What follows is a short list of
guidelines for player vs. player aggression. It is by no means
all-inclusive; it is provided merely to assist in making intelligent
choices:
NO/SINGLE DEATH issues
----------------------
- Any issue filed purely over an attack where NO DEATH or a SINGLE DEATH
occurred will generally BE DISMISSED outright. Death is a part of
Aetolia, and there are numerous avenues to deal with the repercussions
of player killing without the Administration stepping in. These avenues
should always be taken, and issues that concern player killing of any
sort should only be filed where they constitute serious breaches of
conduct and may constitute harassment. This does not mean that Admin
will never act if it is a single or no death involved. However, it is
more likely to be dismissed.
ROLEPLAY-BASED deaths
---------------------
- While a roleplayed motive can be a reason to attack another player, it
is not carte blanche to kill whomever you want with impunity. EVERYONE
is presumed to be playing a role in Aetolia, and those who violently
inflict their roleplaying on others are subjected to a much higher
standard.
- Your role defines your motives, not the other way around. If it's not
clear to others that you are immersed in a role, then you effectively
aren't. The burden is on you to demonstrate that your aggression is
in-character, not only at the time of a fight, but constantly through
your character's everyday behavior, habits and speech. See HELP
ROLEPLAYING for more information.
- Hurt feelings only go so far as an excuse for player killing. Failure
to apologize is not a good reason to continue killing someone
repeatedly.
TEAMING, ASSASSINATION and EXCESSIVE PK
---------------------------------------
- Repeatedly killing the same person for the same reason is rarely
acceptable behavior. Killing someone over and over, and other attempts
to demoralize someone to the point of wanting to quit playing are good
ways to attract the ire of immortals.
- Any time you assist another player, or group of players, in slaying
someone - you are expected to have a strong reason to help kill them.
- Being hired to kill someone, by itself, is not enough of a motive. If
you are claiming a bounty, make sure you are aware of the motive to
begin with. Just killing them because there is a bounty is not enough.
- If you use assistance to slay someone, and do not land the killing
blow, you generally _can not_ use the same reason and attempt to kill
the person again.
RAIDING and BOUNTIES
--------------------
- If you enter an enemy city/council of your own volition or attack one
of their guards, you are assumed to be launching an assault on that
city/council and should expect to be attacked accordingly by its
citizens.
During a raid:
- You cannot kill whoever you want in a raid. In particular, this
Includes random citizens. You can kill those that are defending the city
while you're raiding, and not later. Non-citizen defenders of a city are
fully protected by this provision.
- If you are participating in a raid, regardless of if you died during
it, the defenders can set a bounty on your head and have someone claim
it as retaliation for your raid later. This stands even if you were
just participating in the raid by healing attackers and never
hitting anyone.
- Forcing someone to kick guards is illegal unless the person is A.
Already an enemy and B. Their enemy status hasn't kicked in yet.
- If your reason for killing a player is a bounty placed on their heads,
you have to claim said bounty. If it is not claimed, it is no longer
valid as a reason.
HOLY WARS
----------------
- During a Holy War, only those members of the Congregations and Orders of the involved Gods are able to take part in any battles. Those who are of neither are prohibited from engaging them while they are in the process of defiling shrines.
- Regardless of VALID PK CAUSE, attacking someone who is in the process of defiling a shrine, or fighting enemy Order members during a Holy War is prohibited as you are DIRECTLY aiding in the Holy War by this action.
- This prohibition does NOT extend to those individuals who are in either Order, but are not actively helping to defile shrines or fighting enemy Order members.
REFINING
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- Those who participate in the refining of ylem from the foci and ley lines will be enshrouded in an aura. Being within FIVE (5) ROOMS of an active extraction grants an aura. These individuals are now OPEN PK until their aura fades.
-- Rooms that will give auras to any individuals standing within them are
marked in bright red room messages.
- When major foci spawn, they will make the entire area they are in an open PK zone. Bear this in mind and avoid the area if you do not wish to partake.
- Attacking an individual who wears an aura will also impart an aura unto you, making you OPEN PK as well.
- Auras fade upon death, or two minutes after your last refining action or attack upon an individual bearing an aura.
- Much like Ciem, this operates under the rules of no revenge; deaths suffered whilst bearing an aura do not allow the victim to exact revenge at a later date unless the target is also wearing an aura. Conflict tied around the auras is to be immediately dropped once auras dissipate.
HUNTING GROUNDS
----------------
- Entering the Hunting Grounds immediately opens one up to attack by any and all other individuals within the Hunting Grounds. This is an OPEN PK zone.
- Holding one of the artifacts retrieved from the Hunting Grounds opens one up to attack by any and all other individuals who wish to seize the items for themselves. This means, in effect, you are OPEN PK so long as you have one in your possession.
-- If you no longer wish to participate in this fashion, RELINQUISH <item>
- Any conflict initiated within the Hunting Grounds will not be carried outside of it, in similar fashion to Ciem. Likewise, revenge cannot be enacted for deaths received in the Hunting Grounds while your target is outside of the Grounds.
IERNIAN FRACTURE
----------------
- Entering the Iernian Fracture immediately opens one up to attack by any and all other individuals within the Iernian Fracture. This is an OPEN PK zone.
- All rules that apply to the conflict of focus points and leylines (as seen above in Refining) apply to the Iernian Fracture, as you will gain an aura in this hostile environment.
OTHER GUIDELINES
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- Free-For-Alls are consequence-free battles, and thus anything that
happens inside an arena should be forgotten once outside. Attacking
someone for something that occurred inside an arena would be foolish.
- If you have an issue with another player and can imagine some way to
solve it yourself, please do so. Remember that nearly every player
answers to other players, an organization, or a deity - so diplomatic
solutions can sometimes be even more effective than a counterattack. The
more spurious issues get filed, the less the administration is able to
focus on developing and enhancing the world. Those who file issues
deemed spurious may be subject to administrative punishment.
Again, these points are merely here to assist you with making
responsible decisions and are not a list of rules. The Administrators
are not stupid, and attempts to play semantic games with them over words
in this document will not work to your advantage.