Rules

Table of Contents:

1. Community Pillars Summary
2. Forms of Repercussion
3. Staff Discretion
4. Community Rules
   1. Minecraft Server Rules
   2. Discord Rules
   3. Forum Rules
   4. Crime & Theft Rules
   5. Combat Rules
   6. Capture Rules
5. Staff Guidelines

Realms of Echoes (hereinafter RoE) is a Minecraft and forum-based roleplaying community. The sections below outline the behavioral restrictions we impose and enforce on our playerbase to ensure a safe and equitable experience for all of our members. This document begins with a list of values, which are presented to express our opinions on the culture of this community and our desire for the merits of all of our members.

Community Pillars Summary:

• Safety: The safety of our community members is of the utmost importance. We strive to maintain an inviting, creative, and collaborative community of storytellers and gamers who enjoy Minecraft roleplay and forum-roleplay. We have zero-tolerance for illegal, dangerous, or extremely disruptive behavior.
• Transparency: Clear communication and the open discussion of plans, projects, and details helps establish a mutual sense of trust and appreciation. Everyone should feel as though they are a part of the journey that is this shared space and experience.
• Inclusivity: Our community is open and welcoming to all people, forms of expression, opinions, and pursuits that are law abiding and respectful of our rules and policies.
• Respect: Treat others as you’d want to be treated. Everyone’s time is valuable. Everyone has a voice and the right to have and express opinions. Conflict can and should be resolved peacefully so we can compromise and move forward together.
• Integrity: Be responsible for your own actions. Admit when you have made a mistake, apologize, and move on. If you have the opportunity to make a wrong right, do so. Actions should always align with words.
• Collaboration: The power of working together creates great things. Players forward a story, staff support them with a framework, and we collectively enjoy this game across our mediums as a community.

The rules are enforced by our Moderators and Administrators. In the event that a rule violation has occurred and the staff member handling the situation decides to take action, they have three punishment options available to them. Warnings and Bans may occur in-game, on the forums, and in Discord.

Forms of Repercussion:

1. Permanent Ban: You are banned and it will never be lifted. You cannot appeal a Permanent Ban. This form of punishment is reserved for severe or repeated offenses.
2. Temporary Ban: You are banned for an amount of time that expires automatically. You cannot appeal a Temporary Ban. This form of punishment is reserved for most offenses with the duration of the ban modified in accordance with the severity.
3. Warning: A written and recorded warning. You cannot appeal a Warning. This is a formal request to stop rule-breaking behavior given most often to new players and for insignificant offenses.

Staff Discretion

1. Discretion: Moderators and Administrators may interpret these rules through the lens of their personal discretion. Leniency is provided to allow for case-by-case review of situations and to prioritize a dialogue to correct rule violations before a ban is issued.
   1. This may result in a slight inconsistency of repercussions or a lack thereof for perceived violations of the rules. If you believe a Moderator or Administrator is abusing or neglecting their authority, please file a Staff Report here.
   2. To protect the community from harm, Administration reserves the right to remove anyone determined to be dangerous or unfit to be here.

The below listed rulesets are divided into categories based on which part of the community they apply to, starting with our Community Rules which generally apply everywhere. Crime & Theft, Combat, and Capture rules all apply to the Minecraft server despite being categorized separately. Please employ your common sense when considering whether an action you are about to take is permissible, and if you are confused or have a question, reach out to a Moderator.

Community Rules:

1. Terms of Service: You may not violate the Terms of Service or any United States law.
2. Age Requirement: The minimum age to join RoE is 18.
3. Language: RoE is an English language based community.
4. Sexual Content: You may not distribute sexual content in any form on any medium on RoE.
5. Plagiarism: You may not distribute literary, image, video, skin, or other content that is not your original work (or that is not Free-to-Use) unless you receive explicit written permission from the owner.
   1. You may be asked to demonstrate proof of permission.
   2. AI content must be labeled as AI-generated.
6. Discriminatory Content: You may not distribute discriminatory/racist content in any form on any medium on RoE.
7. Abhorrent Content: You may not distribute abhorrently grotesque (e.g., vivid descriptions of gore), extremely violent, or other exceedingly harmful content on any medium on RoE.
8. Privacy: You may not distribute another person’s personal information (image, name, age, location, employment status, et cetera) without their explicit written consent on any medium on RoE.
   1. You may be asked to demonstrate proof of permission.
9. Mod Shopping: A decision made by a Moderator or Administrator is final. You may not ask a different Moderator or Administrator to countermand a given decision. Instead, file a report here.
10. Mandatory Reporting: You are required to report violations of the Terms of Service or any action that violates the law or endangers someone’s well-being. Please report violations to a Moderator or Administrator, but in an emergency you may report to any staff member.
11. Harassment: You may not persistently bother, annoy, disrupt, or offend any person or group. You may not take actions or make statements towards another person or group with the intent to harm, frighten, distress, or render them uncomfortable.
12. Spam: You may not distribute irrelevant or inappropriate messages en masse or in an attempt to cause disruption.
13. Advertisement: You may not distribute advertisements for other Minecraft communities on any medium on RoE.
14. Link Distribution: Do not distribute links to inappropriate, abhorrent/disgusting, discriminatory/racist, jump-scare, or other offensive sites or content.
15. Loopholing: Do not make bad-faith attempts to subvert the rules as written. Moderator and Administrator discretion allows for issuance of repercussions even in the event of an omission, conflict, or a lack of specificity.

Minecraft Server Rules:

1. Community Rules: All Community Rules also apply to the Minecraft Server.
   1. Characters roleplayed on the server can hold and act on discriminatory opinions insofar as they are strictly within the scope of the server lore and setting, and insofar as the roleplay is neither excessive nor the character’s primary or sole purpose (see 8. Trolling Clause).
2. Modified Client: You may not use client modifications that provide a mechanical advantage or enable the abuse of glitches, bugs, exploits, or plugins.
3. Roleplay forum posts, Discord roleplay announcements, and information on the wiki lore sections reasonably construed as common or applicable to your character do not constitute violations of this rule.
4. Use of #ask-for-roleplay in Discord is not considered metagaming insofar as use of the channel and ping is as a vague and general invitation to everyone to log-on and roleplay.
5. This rule also prohibits godmoding (playing an invincible character, refusing to acknowledge or roleplay injuries or ailments).
6. This rule also prohibits playing a master jack-of-all-trades or know-it-all with no flaws.
7. This includes abusing mechanical features such as boats or horses to enter areas otherwise unreachable.
8. Exploit: You may not abuse glitches, bugs, or exploits to gain a mechanical advantage. Please report discovered exploits to [Development].
9. Skin Quality: You may not use a skin that is a meme, features offensive elements, features lore-breaking elements, or is owned by another person and is not Free-to-Use.
10. Powergaming: You may not conduct roleplay that is extremely unrealistic or impossible for your character to perform, including the use of magic (without Story approval), use of specialty items (without an approved CIT), and lore-breaking actions (e.g., using modern technology).
11. Metagaming: You may not conduct roleplay based on information acquired on mediums outside of roleplaying on the Minecraft server (such as logging on to save your ally in response to a Discord DM).
12. No-Value-Life: Characters must value their own survival and act accordingly. You may not roleplay a character who makes decisions that recklessly endanger their life without clear justification or narrative purpose. Actions taken should reflect a reasonable desire for self-preservation unless there is an established, roleplay-driven reason for self-sacrifice.
    1. Story approval may allow for an exception to this clause.
13. Trolling: You may not conduct roleplay or create characters that constitute memes or exist exclusively (or almost exclusively) to harass or disrupt another player or group.
14. Build Quality: You may not create landscars or builds of an extremely low quality. Quality is regulated by Design and Administration. You may seek help from Design if you are struggling to meet quality standards.
15. Griefing: You may not destroy or alter a build or landscape without explicit permission from the Primary Region Owner.
16. Romance Roleplay: The minimum character age is 18. 18 is the age of adulthood and it is the minimum age at which romance roleplay is permissible.
    1. Romance roleplay requires consent at all times. Consent can be withdrawn both in-character and out-of-character by the player at any time.
    2. Sexual roleplay (also referred to as ERP) is strictly prohibited.
17. Multiple Characters: You may have multiple characters as regulated by the server mechanics. The current limit is two. If you choose to have multiple characters, their items may not be shared and they cannot interact with one another in any way.
    1. Multiple characters can, however, be aware of each other and hold opinions about each other as is reasonable in roleplay (e.g., playing two members of the same family).
18. Voiding: You may void trivial mistakes in roleplay (e.g., mistyping), however to void any actions or major events you must either (a.) acquire explicit written consent from all players involved or (b.) ask an Administrator to intervene and void what occurred.
    1. Voided actions or major events without Administrator intervention must be reported to a Moderator or Administrator after the fact.
19. In-Character: When you are logged on the server, you are considered to be in-character at all times.
    1. A Moderator, Administrator, or Story member may exempt you from this rule based on their discretion.
    2. Staff members conducting staff work are exempt from this rule.
20. Character Death: Character death is permanent (i.e., constitutes a Permanent Kill [PK]). However, character death also requires consent from the player of the character.
    1. Alternative to PK’ing someone, you may consider maiming or an extended capture roleplay sequence.
    2. Only an Administrator or certain Story events with forewarning may override this rule and force a PK.
    3. You may not attempt to force, coerce, or trick a player into PK’ing.
21. Character Maiming: Character maiming is permanent disfigurement (e.g., loss of an eye, facial damage) or permanent loss-of-limb (e.g., removal of a hand, removal of a leg). You may maim a character without the player’s consent, but you must refrain from grotesque torture roleplay or grossly vivid descriptions.
    1. You may not repeatedly maim a character in retaliation for the player’s refusal to be PK’d.
22. Chat Channels: You must use chat channels for their intended purpose. Do not use out-of-character chat channels to have arguments unrelated to the game or to verbally abuse any member of the community.
    1. /q /w /s and /rp are for roleplay only.
    2. /ooc /looc /qooc /wooc and /sooc are for out-of-character discussions only.
    3. Environment and Event are for roleplay only.
23. Revenge Characters: You cannot create a new character with the sole or majority intent to avenge roleplay that has occurred previously.

Discord Rules:

1. Community Rules: All Community Rules also apply to Discord.
2. Discord Community Guidelines: You must adhere to the Discord Community Guidelines.
3. Civil Discussions: You must refrain from discussing abhorrent or disgusting topics; politically, socially, or religiously sensitive topics; or discriminatory or offensive topics. You must refrain from engaging in aggressive arguments. If you cannot settle a dispute diplomatically, drop the issue or ask a Moderator to mediate.
4. Server Profile: Your profile picture, username, nickname, description, banner, and other profile elements must be generally appropriate for most audiences and must not include discriminatory/racist, abhorrent/disgusting, or other offensive imagery or writing.
5. Discord Advertisement: You may advertise that you make skins, character art, or other artistic endeavors explicitly related to the scope of our community. You may not advertise other topics and you may not conduct scams.
6. Tag Use: Do not excessively @ any person or group, or abuse @everyone or @here.

Forum Rules:

1. Community Rules: All Community Rules also apply to the Forums.
   1. Characters roleplayed on the server can hold and act on discriminatory opinions insofar as they are strictly within the scope of the server lore and setting, and insofar as the roleplay is neither excessive nor the character’s primary or sole purpose (see 8. Trolling Clause).
2. Post Relevance: You must format posts to be either out-of-character or in-character respective of the forum section you are posting in.
   1. Announcements, Guides, Media, Character Sheets, Staff Applications, Reports, and Whitelisting are all out-of-character.
   2. Lore, General Roleplay, City of Vaelyn, and Roleplay are all in-character.
3. In-Character Post Restrictions: You may not include memes or lore-breaking content in in-character forum posts. You may not use forum posts as a medium for metagaming or powergaming.
4. Forum Profile: Your profile picture, wallpaper, username, bio, signature, unique title, and other profile elements must be generally appropriate for most audiences and must not include discriminatory/racist, abhorrent/disgusting, or other offensive imagery or writing.

Crime and Theft Rules:

1. Lockpicking and Theft: You may lockpick through doors using game mechanics or roleplay with Story oversight to enter areas you cannot otherwise access. You may not steal from locked containers randomly or with minimum roleplay. To steal from locked containers you must coordinate with the Story to conduct a heist with a strong roleplay backing, or you must be participating in an event with Story approval for theft.
2. Villainy Clause: Villainy roleplay must be effortful and tasteful, and must be done in the interest of forwarding the story and collective roleplay enjoyment of the community.
   1. Criminal characters that exist exclusively (or almost exclusively) to disrupt, offend, or annoy another person or group are not allowed.

Combat Rules:

1. Posted Character Sheet: You must have a posted character sheet on the forums meeting minimum content requirements before being allowed to participate in events or combat roleplay in-game.
   1. See Character Profile Template for minimum content requirements.
   2. Refusing to submit a posted character sheet over time in order to continuously avoid combat roleplay may be considered disruptive behavior and result in repercussions.
2. Combat Mechanics: You must properly utilize Character Card Stats in-game before participating in combat roleplay scenarios. When rolling, you must add proper modifiers respective of your set stats. You may not preemptively alter your character’s stats before a scenario in order to provide you with a mechanical advantage.
   1. Your Character Card Stats must match your posted character sheet stats.
3. Combat Techniques: You must restrict your use of combat techniques to the techniques listed on your posted character sheet, and you may not preemptively alter your character’s techniques before a scenario in order to provide you with a mechanical advantage.
4. Use of Magic or CIs: You must respect the functionality and limitations of magic you are approved to use. You must respect the functionality and use restrictions of speciality items you have an approved CI for.
   1. Magic and specialty items are supervised by Story. Contact them with questions or assistance with an application.
   2. A Story member may issue a temporary exemption to this rule during an event (e.g., you are transformed into a magical monster during an event, enabling you to use spells and special powers).
5. Initiation Roleplay: To initiate a combat roleplay encounter, you must make a minimally sufficient attempt to roleplay properly with the characters being aggressed. Shouting one-word commands or other effortless statements is not allowed.
6. Stalling: You may not intentionally stall or slow down roleplay to draw out a combat encounter unreasonably or for out-of-character purposes.
   1. If you have an emergency or need to log-off for some reason, inform the players you are with before departing. If possible, coordinate a time to meet and resume roleplay.

Capture Rules:

1. Detention: You must make an effort to be actively roleplaying with a captured character. If a captured character is left online and without roleplay for thirty minutes or longer they are allowed to escape via use of /spawn or with the assistance of a Story member, Moderator, or Administrator.
   1. You are encouraged to coordinate roleplay times with the player of a captured character. If roleplay times are set and agreed to in writing they may be enforced by a Moderator or Administrator in the event that the player reneges and leaves via /spawn or other approved methods.

In the interest of transparency and in the spirit of our Community Pillars, we have made our Staff Guidelines publicly available. These guidelines offer suggestions and instructions to our staff team on matters of community engagement and staff responsibilities.

Staff Guidelines:

1. Confidentiality: You must make a constant and deliberate effort to maintain the privacy of all players in our community. Do not discuss or share the details of staff work outside of interactions with other staff members. Do not publicize the details of warnings or bans without Administrator approval.
   1. If a player inquires about their personal warnings or ban history, you may provide basic details to them. Do not copy-paste reports, share evidence, or provide logs.
2. Work-Life Balance: We are all volunteers here. Please be considerate of your health, mental well-being, real-life responsibilities, friendships, and family relationships. Do not prioritize this game over your needs.
   1. If you need to take an extended break, please inform your team and an Administrator of your intentions to take a hiatus and for how long.
3. Example Setting: Set an example for others to follow. Obey the rules, use your staff permissions within reason, do not abuse or neglect your authority, and be a friendly and welcoming member of the community. Contribute to roleplay, participate in events, and be a positive voice in our collective storytelling.
   1. Strive to be approachable and friendly, and to provide clear, concise, and timely responses to inquiries.
4. Staff Unity: Do not publicly contradict a staff policy or decision. If you do not have the ability to properly resolve a situation, ask another staff member for help or pass the issue up to a Manager or Administrator. Make a constant and deliberate effort to support your fellow staff members in their work.
   1. Do not participate in derogatory gossip; Do not slander or engage in personal attacks against another community member; Do not disregard or countermand a decision made by an Administrator.
5. Community Mindset: Treat this place like home. Do the best you can. If you see a problem, try to fix it or report it to someone who can. Do not make decisions rashly, based on fear, or while in an exhausted or intoxicated state of mind.
   1. Staff members are held to a higher standard and may receive severe repercussions for taking harmful actions against the server or community.