Game Rules

The following rules must be observed during play on The Domains of Dread.

1. All messages not in character must be demarcated with "// [text]", allowing highlight as an out of character message. Out of character messages are to be used in moderation; any discussion held this way longer than for a handful of replies should be on the Discord, instead.
2. Everyone has the right to request that you do not send them [Tells]. You must observe their request and discontinue sending any [Tells] if this happens. This includes badgering anyone who are deafened to [Tells] to turn the feature back on. Game Masters may always send [Tells] to any player.
3. If you know you are going to be away from the keyboard longer than for five minutes, please log out or bring yourself to the out of character experience. There is no automatic log out for inactivity. You may be logged out by staff should you be away from the keyboard and obstructing an important non player character or resource.
4. All interactions on server and in game outside of the out of character experience are canon unless instructed otherwise by a Game Master. Actions cannot be performed by a character, out of character. Accidental interactions harmless to the roleplay may be voided with the consent of observing parties.
5. By being logged in and active, your character is expected to react in a matter appropriate to themselves in response to whatever happens within that world. Exceptions are made only where there is sincere, player discomfort with the theme(s) of a scene to allow any affected player(s) an opportunity to recuse themselves and/or log out. You should not punish these characters after the fact for not being present if it is known that they were not present for this reason.
6. You may not use, either the above or some other reason, as an excuse to subvert consequences. It is unacceptable to log out to avoid conflict or refuse to roleplay the fallout of in character actions. Retaliatory log outs are considered hostile logging and are forbidden.
7. While The Domains of Dread is intended for mature audiences where every participant is at least 18 years of age, we are not nor ever will be an erotic roleplay server. Erotic in this context is to mean any scene which is explicit regardless if that scene includes physical contact. You may have your character participate in sexual relations, but it is expected any content on server—including [Tells]—will go no further than insinuation. Put another way, scenes must be "fade to black". They must also be in private settings, such as behind locked rooms or property.
8. The following scenes are not allowed to be roleplayed in any capacity:
   1. Sexual assault, battery or rape;
   2. Overly detailed and graphic depiction of torture;
   3. Overly detailed and graphic depiction of gore, dismemberment or murder;
   4. Themes intended to "bait", segue into or incite sexual gratification even if consensual and without physical relations.
9. You may not knowingly exploit bugs or unintended behavior to benefit yourself in a manner against the spirit of the server. The following examples are non exhaustive:
   1. Performing actions that reliably crash the server;
   2. Sidestepping while encumbered;
   3. Performing actions or taking positions that prevent enemies from moving, casting or attacking your character when they should be able to;
   4. Benefiting from an incorrectly implemented item, feat or spell.
10. If an oubliette is entered with intent of reward—item, currency or experience—you must attempt to finish the oubliette, including killing hostile inhabitants. Attempting to reach the end of an oubliette or pilfering containers without engaging hostile inhabitants is forbidden. Shadowing parties who are killing hostile inhabitants while in stealth or invisibility is an applicable opt in should you be discovered.
11. Logging out while inside oubliettes should be done only for circumstances of real life or lack of time, otherwise it will be considered hostile logging. You will be returned to a safe area once you have been logged out inside an oubliette after fifteen minutes.
12. Other instances which may be considered hostile logging:
    1. Logging out during a player versus player engagement;
    2. Logging out during an event where a hostile entity, player or non player, is present;
    3. Logging out after escaping a hostile engagement but before the fifteen minute grace period has expired;
    4. Logging out when engaged by a Dread Figure, hostile or otherwise.
13. While not expected that everyone playing on The Domains of Dread will exercise perfect mastery over the English language, all scenes must be in English. Full sentences in another language should be written in English using the language toggles for ease of parsing. See this link also for information regarding highlight styles and how the chat system autoformats for punctuation and capitalization.
14. Do not "corner" roleplay. Should a character prompt your character, assuming no reason to ignore them, do not ignore them even if only to emote silence or your character's deference. This is all to help ensure that the setting remains alive and willing to respond to effort put forth by other players.
15. Any "no contact" request cannot be enforced. It will however be taken with a dim view by Game Masters should you continually seek interactions with characters of players you have known trouble with out of character, and may be used as evidence in a case about harassment.
16. Characters are expected to develop, change or change their minds. However these slides must be in degrees, not snap heel turns. A character you portray as suddenly "another character" or alignment may be grounds for a talk with Game Masters.
17. It is not required for a character to be a Dread Figure in order to be an antagonist, but they must observe all player versus player rules and won't enjoy Dread Figure specific exceptions.
18. You may not mule between characters. Muling includes the gift or sale of items to another player in full cognizance that they will in turn gift or sell you the items back on a different character of yours. You may purchase items which you have sold to a vendor on a different character so long as 24 real-world hours have passed and the items are still present on the vendor.
19. You may use [Tells] to organize in-character meetings. Do note that no roleplay conducted through [Tells] will ever be canon. You should not use [Tells] as a false pretext to meet someone for the purposes of player versus player.
20. Amendments to these rules will be announced on the announcements channel on the Discord.