Cheating

The line between what is classed as cheating and what isn't is one which has been argued about in different contexts for as long as people have been interacting with each other. Here in the Battlemaster community, the general view is that cheating is doing anything that gives you an unfair advantage and decreases the game's fun for others. This could include acting for out of character reasons, exploiting a bug you've found, or anything similar. If you are unsure that what you are doing could be classified as cheating, please report it. Similarly, if you believe someone else is acting in a manner harmful to the game, please complain to the relevant authority.

The following is what Tom has said in the past concerning the subject of cheating:

What is "multi-cheating"?

Since I do not run background checks on new players, it is trivial to sign up under a different name with a different address and play a second set of characters. This is known as "multi-cheating" and is the most serious offence players can commit in this game. The penalty for multi-cheating is the loss of all accounts. So the creating of a second account to "help out" the main account will result in the loss of that main account as well.

Yeah, but seriously: You think you can catch me cheating?

Wanna bet? The wager on your part is everything you have gained with all your accounts. If you ask me, that's a considerable risk you are taking. I'm sure a very intelligent and dedicated cheater with a good dose of luck could evade both automated and manual checks. However, almost all cheaters are not half as bright as they think they are. Many have been really trivial to catch. You wouldn't believe how easy it is if you control the server and all the data. Not to mention that other players don't like cheaters, too. You wouldn't be the first one to be turned in by a friend. Plus, of course, the longer you keep going, the more you'll eventually lose. And yes, we've caught cheaters after they deleted their secondary account. In fact, we've caught some because of that.

How do you handle suspected cheaters?

Suspected cheaters will find their accounts locked with an explanation and a request to contact a GM if the lock is in error. I would very much like to be nicer about it, but the amount of players and the limits of my time prevent that. I reserve the right to outright delete multi accounts if I am very certain, especially for people with hotmail or yahoo addresses. There have been way too many cheaters and morons from these domains.