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There is the '''Social contract''', and '''Government Rules'''. The Social contract is a summary of all of rules players follow, detailing acceptable behaviour for a good game play environment. It is broken into a few parts, each of which are discussed at length below the summary of each concept. The Government rules are meant for those that take a Dukeship, or a Council position (Ruler, General, Judge, Banker) in the game, and are related to certain expectations and buttons associated with those positions. | There is the '''Social contract''', and '''Government Rules'''. The Social contract is a summary of all of rules players follow, detailing acceptable behaviour for a good game play environment. It is broken into a few parts, each of which are discussed at length below the summary of each concept. The Government rules are meant for those that take a Dukeship, or a Council position (Ruler, General, Judge, Banker) in the game, and are related to certain expectations and buttons associated with those positions. | ||
When someone | When someone is suspected of breaking the rules, the '''Titans''' are called to discuss guilt, and pass punishment on the player in question if required. To report potential violations, go to Messages, and on the far right there is a link to "Contact the Titans." Should you have any questions about a rule, please bring it up politely on the forum (Case Archives > Questions and Answers), on Discord (!titans <message>), or in an email to admins (mailto:community@battlemaster.org). More information on the Titans can be found here: [[Titans_and_Magistrates]]. | ||
==How this document works:== | ==How this document works:== |
Revision as of 18:12, 15 September 2021
The Rules
Like any game, BattleMaster has a few rules to it. (Make Delvin write this paragraph).
There is the Social contract, and Government Rules. The Social contract is a summary of all of rules players follow, detailing acceptable behaviour for a good game play environment. It is broken into a few parts, each of which are discussed at length below the summary of each concept. The Government rules are meant for those that take a Dukeship, or a Council position (Ruler, General, Judge, Banker) in the game, and are related to certain expectations and buttons associated with those positions.
When someone is suspected of breaking the rules, the Titans are called to discuss guilt, and pass punishment on the player in question if required. To report potential violations, go to Messages, and on the far right there is a link to "Contact the Titans." Should you have any questions about a rule, please bring it up politely on the forum (Case Archives > Questions and Answers), on Discord (!titans <message>), or in an email to admins (mailto:community@battlemaster.org). More information on the Titans can be found here: Titans_and_Magistrates.
How this document works:
This document is set up in layers for your convenience. When you begin play, the only thing you really need to read is the headers to each expandable box. Each header has further, expanded information below it, as bold text, and then that bold text is further expanded below each statement. As time goes on, and especially as you gain more responsibility within the game, we do expect you to read and understand the bold text, but the information below that text is really only for clarification, edge cases, and explanation of a rule's purpose. Should you need further explanation, the Titans can answer questions via the formats outlined above. Sometimes a question will be a new edge case for them to discuss, so it may take a little time to get a response.
The Social contract
There are seven tenets of the Social contract. These rules have been put in place as OOC fun preserving tools, and they serve to ensure that everyone can play the game the way they like without having to worry about things that are OOC fun destructive. Each point is laid out in detail below.
1. Activity is the #1 right of every player.
All players have an absolute right to log in as frequently or as rarely as suits them, and stay online as little or as much as they wish. |
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1.1 Players have an absolute right to pause their characters, temporarily or permanently.
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1.2 This does not exempt characters from expectations to fulfil basic duties when the player is still active: It does not protect players who do not actually interact or play, and only log in enough to avoid auto-pausing/auto-abdication. Egregious negligence of the duties of a title holder is not only There are still many in-game consequences of not interacting.
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1.3 This rule applies across all platforms that are Battlemaster related: In everything from Facebook to Discord, 'badgering' people or expecting 'activity' either in the game or on the platform is still considered a violation of these rules. While 'pinging' someone is not an issue, expecting someone to instantly reply to that notification is just as bad as assuming they will do so in the BattleMaster interface itself. Any issues on other platforms between players that are related to the game can be screenshot and reported to the titans via a link pasted in the titan message interface (uploading directly is not currently possible), privately via email(mailto:community@battlemaster.org) or sending a private message to an admin on Discord. |
2. Play as with friends (Or: Be nice with OOC actions)
Treat others as you would want to be treated. The general idea is act like you are sitting a a table with your friends for DnD or a board game night. |
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2.1 Treat other players personally with respect out of game: While this should be something that shouldn't have to be said, treat other players like you would like to be treated. BattleMaster is a community that includes people of all ages, and from countries and cultures around the world, so being nice to each other is a must. |
2.2 Accurately tag all graphic roleplays: Please remember that what is fun and thrilling to you may be gruesome and horrific to someone else. Thus, BattleMaster now includes a system for tagging of roleplays of a graphic nature. If you include any sort of explicit violence, sexual scenes, or other disturbing content in your roleplay, you must use the appropriate tags to mark it. This allows people who do not wish to read such roleplays to have them automatically hidden from their messages. |
2.3 Do not threaten Titan reports: If you have reason to believe another player has broken or may be breaking one or more of the rules, it is fine to inform them of this, referencing the rule(s) in question. However, never say that you will report someone to the Titans if they do or do not do something. If you feel that they deserve to be reported, just report them and let the Titans determine if they deserve punishment. |
2.4 Do not publicly accuse anyone of rule breaking. In the same vein as the above, if you believe someone has broken a rule, do not make a public accusation of such, either in-game or in any other medium. Report them to the Titans and let them make the determination—and remember, you do not always have the whole story. It is permissible to reference past publicly-stated Titan verdicts against a player, but please only do so if it is directly relevant to a current conversation.
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2.5 Do not insult or complain about the volunteers running this game (Admins, Developers, Game Masters, Discord Moderators, or any other volunteer team) in any in-game messages. If you object to any of their decisions, please bring it up politely on the forum, on Discord, or in an email to admins (mailto:community@battlemaster.org). Constructive criticism is welcome, but thoughtlessly spreading negative attitudes toward those who volunteer their time for the game will not be tolerated. If your complaint is regarding the Titans, the only place they should be directed to is the Admins, via either a private message on discord, or an email (mailto:community@battlemaster.org). |
3. BattleMaster is not a game to be "won."(Or: Be nice with IC actions)
BattleMaster is a game where you are building a cooperative story. It is about the journey, and not the destination. Always consider your fellow player behind the screen when making in character choices. |
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3.1 Treat other players personally with respect in game: treat their fun as being as important as your own. Every player has their own way to play BattleMaster, and we want to foster that. Under this idea, there are a few specifically called out rules:
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3.2 You can't win BattleMaster. Don't try: |
3.3 Don't take conflicts personally: Please remember that all roleplays are entirely about the characters, not the players behind them. That means you should try not to feel upset if someone's character is attacking your character, because it's not about you, the player. That also means that you should never take out your frustration with an in-character conflict on a player. |
3.4 Always give newcomers the benefit of the doubt: BattleMaster is an exceptionally difficult game to learn, and this covers everything from wrong line settings, to accidentally looting a region. New players are to be welcomed, not treated as suspicious or stupid.
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3.5 Base your opinions and decisions about characters on their actions not previous allegiances: Having, or having had, a character in an enemy realm is *never*, on its own, sufficient grounds for a ban. |
3.6 Creating chaos in character is fine, but do so with 'Play with Friends' in mind: It is fine to enjoy creating chaos in-character. Having a trouble-making character is a great way to spur activity in a realm, and can make wonderful stories. However, there are some players in the past that have abused the previous two rules to try to only troll a certain realm/faith or family.
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4. Don't cheat.
One account per person. Play through bugs that effect you, report bugs you can cause. |
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4.1 Report bugs: When you encounter behaviour in the game that seems to be unintended, please report it at https://bugs.battlemaster.org at your earliest opportunity.
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4.2 No player is permitted more than a single account: This is called 'multi-cheating' and always results in permanent locks to all accounts involved.
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5. Do not intentionally 'skirt' or 'go around' mechanical limitations.
This includes 'clanning,' 'placeholders,' 'strategic capital moves,' and 'field gold trading,' to name a few examples. |
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5.1 Strategic capital moves are prohibited: This means moving one's capital for the purpose of closer refitting times in a war. Moving a capital to a central region of the realm or for roleplay reasons (historical, realm named based on capital name, removing a rival duke's power base, keeping a rival duke close by to be watched etc.) are acceptable.
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5.2 Transfers of gold (not bonds) outside of cities, guildhouses, or temples is prohibited: It upsets the balance of the game, allowing long-distance wars due to providing gold in the field. There's a reason there's a difference between gold and bonds. This includes trading unique items specifically to transfer gold. |
5.3 Trading items from your adventurer to your noble is also prohibited. The game stops you from doing it yourself, so do not try to "go around" this mechanic. This includes passing an item to a different player character as a mule between your noble character and adventurer character. |
5.4 No placeholders: Lordships, Dukeships, and government positions are all positions of the utmost importance and not mere jobs to be shuffled around. If someone holds one of these positions, they are to be considered its rightful holder. Never appoint or elect someone purely to hold the position until "the real holder" returns. This also helps to ensure that new people get a chance to hold these positions more than once in a blue moon. |
5.5 Exclusive OOC clans are forbidden:
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6. Be polite with personal information
Don't share other players' personal information without their consent. |
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6.1 Keep other peoples' personal information to yourself: BattleMaster is played over years, and people tend to make friends with each other over time. As such, some more personal information is occasionally shared to each other, or over small groups. If you learn private information about another player such as their name, location, or age, that is expected to be kept confidential unless they have explicitly consented to have it shared, or they have done so publicly themselves. |
6.2 The personal information you enter will be kept on the game server and not given to any third parties: If you choose to make your information public, it will be published on this site. You agree to not give the personal information of other players to any third parties. |
7. Roleplay within the setting.
BattleMaster is a medieval low fantasy game. Every player character is human. No, there are not guns or spaceships. |
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7.1 Game mechanics define reality: Anything that is stated in game is truth. If there is a battle between Kelperstan and Evilstan, and Evilstan wins, there is no amount of roleplay that changes that. While you can certainly play a character that thinks Kelperstan won that battle, you must make it clear in your roleplay that that is not the case. This includes being factual in OOC conversations.
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7.2 Never play other people's characters: Just as you cannot control my thoughts and actions, neither you nor your character can control the thoughts and actions of other players' characters. This doesn't mean you can never include their thoughts or actions in your roleplays, it just means that anything you roleplay them as doing must be with their consent. This also extends, though to a lesser extent, to NPCs created by other players—you can roleplay their basic actions and words when they're present for a roleplay of yours, but they must always act in accordance to what has been established by the player that created them. In particular, they must not be roleplayed to act against that player's characters' interests unless they have already been established doing so.
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7.3 Humans only: All player characters and player-controlled NPCs in BattleMaster are humans. |
7.4 No wizards: Player characters and player-controlled NPCs cannot use innate magic. |
7.5 Use appropriate names for the setting: Character, unit, realm, etc names should be something that could believably be a name in that context.
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7.6 Explicit Atheism is not permitted for any character in BattleMaster: While not unknown during the Middle Ages, Atheism was not accepted, and would in many times and places have been considered a capital crime. Because the cultural bias against it is not present among any but the most dedicated modern roleplayers, we explicitly include it here to protect those that wish to play the priest game, and to maintain a proper milieu. |
7.7 Treat duels with the grave seriousness they deserve: Duels are serious affairs meant to be used to defend one's honour, and may result in character death. They are not for sport or fun.
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7.8 Treat adventurers as peasants: Nobles are expected to treat commoners as their social inferiors, and vice versa. Treating commoners with abject disgust or abuse is certainly not necessary, but deference to a noble from an adventurer is required. Each realm culture handles this differently, from treating them to all but cattle, to treating them like useful pets. Just remember, as a noble, you are better then them, and as an adventurer, the nobles are better then you. |
Government Rules
Furthermore, after the Social Contract, there are several rules that really only apply to those that are charged with the responsibility of the realm, or have the buttons to break these rules. While we recommend all players read these rules, they are only relevant to Rulers, Generals, Judges, Bankers, and Dukes. Dukes do need to read this section as well, since they have buttons and some responsibilities that are referenced in this section.
Mechanical limitations |
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Fair Play |
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Leadership Expectations |
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