What Are Rules and Laws of Solace?

Laws are different from Rules, and may be broken at will by non-lawful players. Players in the Guardian Clan enforce the City Laws and bring lawbreakers to justice. Although if Laws are broken by lawful players or by members of the Guardian Clan , the Gods will intervene.

Rules, on the other hand, are not optional. All Rules must be followed.

The Immortals of Solace reserve the right to change any Rule and at any time without notice to the players. This may be contested by typing delete twice. The Immortals of Solace should be treated with respect if they ask something of you. Remember Solace is provided as a free service, and a lot of time has gone into making it.

Laws of Solace lie within the realm of roleplay. As such, don't pray to the Immortals about being slain in a protected area. The Guardians deal with broken Laws, while Gods deal with broken Rules.

Player-Killing, perhaps the most exciting part of this gaming world, is subject to a set of Rules you should be familiar with.

It is you who chooses the style of your character's behaviour and you should be responsible for it.

There is a set of Clan Rules by which all Clans of Solace, no matter which, must abide by. Failure to do so may result in removal from the Clan, loss of certain Clan powers, or even worse.

Rules of Solace

1) Do not bust up with Immortals.

You should obey any and all orders from the Immortals of Solace and you will be fine. Deletion does not require a reason. Appeals are to be sent to the Implementers.

2) Role-playing is required.

We are a role-playing adventure MUD with player-killing (see Player-Killing Rules).

To make the experience enjoyable for all, each player should act in a manner that is consistent with such a world at all times. We expect each player to stay 'in-character' as much as possible in the game and to refrain from references and actions that would be out of place in this world. We require that you act appropriately for your class and alignment. This means we don't want to see knights grouping with necromancers to kill others, or goods aiding evils just because they are friends. However, people who just log in to PK will be punished.

Those who consistently go against the role of their class/alignment may lose spells and/or skills.

Good aligned characters should expect to be killed or attacked by evils, and evils should expect to be attacked by good aligned players. People who are neutral should balance their PKs on interaction and are expected to PK for a *reason* (not just for items or for very loose race/class reasons). Use your imagination. If you cannot prove that you knew someone's alignment without using OOC information, than it is best that you do not kill them.

Yes, there are times where you may roleplay your character "differently", for example, you may begin a knight and choose to have your knight not wanting to be enemies with evil, just trying to create peace between them. This is fine, but it does not mean that you can use your knight to *help* evil characters. In other words no matter the situation a good character cannot assist an evil character in any way (there is an exception to this when considering clans and returning looted equipment).

In general, open PKing is for *clan* players. ALL clan players are encouraged to kill enemy clan players, and non-clanned players who group and affiliate with clan players can help. But RP for non-clanned players interacting in this way is not optional, and players who take sides in clan fights should expect to be killed by the clans they opposed. They should also not be seen travelling in groups with the clans that they opposed.

3) Multi-charring is not allowed.

This means you may have multiple characters, but you may not have them on at the same time, nor transfer items between them, aid yourself with leveling, or give items to friends so they can hand it to another one of your characters. You cannot play one character and roll another at the same time, as we consider it to be multicharring. This includes using OOC knowledge or using knowledge gained from another character.

If anything you do as one character is done to benefit another one of your characters, that is multi-charring and all characters involved will be deleted.

Also, using OOC knowledge gained from another player OOC is against the rules and both players will be punished.

If you are playing under proxy/NAT, and thus have one IP address, then you must not group/join one clan/aid each other.

4) Harassment is not tolerated.

If you make a remark that someone does not like and they ask you to stop, then stop! If you are caught harassing someone, you will be punished. If repeated harassment comes from your site, then your site will be banned. Also, vulgar language will not be tolerated for any reason.

5) Cheating is not allowed.

This includes any exploitation of bugs. If you find a bug, report it instead of using it.

6) Storage characters are not allowed.

If people make characters and transfer limited equipment onto them for the sole purpose of hoarding items, all of the characters involved will be purged. Items are limited here, and storing them away so others can't use them is not tolerated.

7) Descriptions are mandatory for roleplaying a character.

Everyone is expected to have a full description before reaching level 5. Your description should inform others about what they see when they look at you, and a clue as to what they can expect from you.

8) Correct names are required.

Names of an unacceptable nature, i.e.: common words (Wolf), two or more common words linked together (Night Walker), insulting (Duh), common names of other languages (Lobo or Chizh) or vulgar names will not be tolerated. We ask that you roleplay, and that your name is in accordance with our name rules. If it is not, you will be asked to rename.

9) Leaving your character on his own is not allowed.

Sitting around idle with a client is hazardous to your health. If you are caught doing it, you will be punished. Triggers where you can leave your mortal alone while it practices spells are included.

10) Equipment transferring is not allowed.

Do not give out equipment to people of lower levels who are unable to obtain the equipment for themselves. This not only makes them stronger than their level dictates, but takes away from those who are able to earn it. This does not include fellow members of your clan. Anyone caught doing this will lose equipment.

If you wish to help someone of a lower level, help them only within their own means. Any newbies with limited equipment will be stripped of it.

Do not try to transfer equipment from one of your characters to another: even it is done in a complex way through a chain of other characters, Immortals will notice such actions easily.

11) No spam of any kind will be tolerated.

This means repeatedly sending tells, yells, prays etc. repeatedly for no reason. If you send someone a tell asking to group and they don't answer, send just one more. If they don't answer still, don't bother them anymore. Anyone caught spamming any channel, including notes, will have their channel privileges removed, and if it keeps getting abused, you will be punished.

12) Looting wedding rings is not allowed.

If you make PK against someone who is married, you must return their wedding rings to them. Failure to do so will result in punishment. If you are married, please put your wedding ring into your description to ensure the ring's safety.

Laws of Solace

Ignorance of the Laws is no excuse and will not save you from punishment if you break a Law. Whichever path you decide to take, you must follow the Laws. They are different for various alignments (good, evil and neutral) and for various ethoses.

Laws were given to mortals, by mortals, and therefore enforcement of them is handled by mortals, including punishment and protection. The Guardians of Law were established to uphold the Laws and to punish the criminals of the land, to ensure that citizens remain safe within the protected areas and that these Laws are followed. The Guardians of Law are merciless and unrelenting in their pursuit of criminals.

Breaking any Law is punishable by death.

Aggressive and Law Breaking Actions

The following actions are considered aggressive and are disapproved by Laws:

1) Attacking player in a protected area.

Attacking player or provoking the attack in a protected area is punishable. The only exception is waking a non-criminal group member who has become the victim of blackjack, sleep, etc., which must be confirmed by the victim to a Guardian of Law.

2) Stealing from player in a protected area.

3) Casting aggressive spell in a protected area.

Casting a spell that provokes attack or would provoke attack within a protected area is punishable. This includes:

Casting any spell on Heretic

Casting an aggressive spell on a player's pet or charmie

4) Looting player's belongings in a protected area.

Looting (procuring something from a players corpse and/or getting something of the players from the pit when player is waiting for his equipment) in a protected area is punishable.

5) Helping criminals in a protected area.

Helping criminals (healing, casting invisibility, attacking tracking guards, etc.) in a protected area is punishable.

6) Attacking Guardians when they fight criminals.

Attacking a Guardian or his/her special guards when a Guardian is fighting a criminal is punishable. This also includes a case when special guards are fighting with a criminal.

7) Attacking guild guards.

Only Guardians may attack a guild guard when criminal is hiding in the guild.

8) Summoning murderous mobs into a protected area.

9) Killing the Royal Guardian of Law.

Killing the Royal Guardian of Law, inner Guard of the Clan Hall of Guardians means being punishable. It does not include attacking or killing of the outer clan guard, though.

Of special note, if two players become married in character, failure to return wedding rings will not only result in punishment by the Guardians but also by the Gods themselves (see Rule 12). Marriage is a sacred thing. This is a case when Rules and Laws mix.

Punishments

Punishment is simple, if you break the Law, you get hunted and killed. Nothing will be returned, absolutely nothing. Don't whine, if you find the power to break the Law, find the power for survive against protectors. Even if naked.

Witnesses

Witnesses are needed in all cases where a Guardian did not personally see the crime. The number of witnesses depends on the ethos of the person attacked:

Lawful ethos - 1 lawful witness or 2 neutral witnesses

Neutral ethos - 1 lawful witnesses or 2 neutral witnesses

Chaotic ethos - 1 lawful witness

Player-Killing Rules

It is quite possibly the most fun, and infuriating, part of mudding.

Our policy on player-killing (PK) is pretty simple. You can attempt to PK any person within 9 levels of you (4 above, 4 below, and your rank) at any time. Anyone that you can attack in PK is marked with a (PK) flag beside their name in the who list. However, there are rules and guidelines:

Player Killing must be role-played appropriately. If you are neutral you can't just wander up to someone and slay them for no apparent reason. The only exception is if you are attempting to portray a homicidal maniac. This would be completely in character for such a persona, but it would also be very in-character for you to be hunted to extermination by the general mortal population and, quite likely, by the Immortal population as well. However, if you wish to roleplay such a character, always pray to gods first to gain permission and a title. Fair warning.

Your characters personality, not your personal like or dislike of another character, should drive your PKs. However, reasons can also be based around your alignment. An evil aligned character may freely slay a good aligned character. However, if you cannot prove that you knew someone's alignment without using OOC information, than it is best that you do not kill them.

PK is not allowed in the out-of-character (OOC) areas such as Realm of the Dead; there will be no exceptions to this rule. If you are caught, expect a harsh punishment to swiftly jump on your head.

Multiple Player Kills will not be tolerated. Unless you are hunting down a homicidal maniac mentioned in Part I. You will be denied for this. Of course in order to qualify as a multikiller you must kill a player/players repeatedly for no apparent reason. The first time can be seen as being roleplayed out, but if you kill the same person twice a short time after you had recently killed them once before, there better be a good reason for you to kill them again.

(ex: the guy you killed recently decided to come back and get some revenge. Then since he provoked the fight, you can enjoy in slaying him once again.) If someone kills you once every OOC day, it is not considered spam killing.

Have fun and don't bite off more than you can chew. All other aspects of Player Killing will be governed by Laws of continents, cities, and Gods.

In short, you better have a dang good reason to Player Kill.

Ethos Rules

You choose your character's style of life deciding what ethos does your character have. You select the ethos when creating the character and cannot change it later.

There are three differents types of ethos in Solace:

Lawful Ethos

Playing a character with a lawful ethos makes you responsible for knowing the laws of the land and sticking by them. This doesn't limit one to which alignment they decide to choose, its just that which ever path you decide to take, you must follow the laws. This also allows you, since you are a law abiding citizen, to report any criminal disturbances to the local authority (see help laws). Remember though, if you step outside of your lawful ways, you will more than likely be punished for playing out of character.

Neutral Ethos

Basically, someone with a neutral ethos is one who neither likes nor dislikes how society is run today. You are just here to live out your life. You might hold traits of a lawful person as well as one who is chaotic. That's what makes you who you are.

Chaotic Ethos

One who is chaotic chooses his own path however he wants to and whenever he wants to. This person basically is out to benefit himself/herself. A chaotic person can at one moment be casually walking through the streets of Palanthas, and the next robbing some citizen who walks too close to him. His actions are made because he wants them to be. A chaotic person has no regard for the laws, whether he be a low-key thief or flamboyant, arrogant warrior running through the town smashing over food stands.