Ground rules

## **Basic Rules**

1. This server is strictly 18+. Expect various forms of mature content. This does not include hate, harassment, underage porn, or anything one could find on /b/.
2. Practice common decency and be excellent to each other. Be respectful and patient, and don't harass others, either on-server or privately.
3. Moderation operates on a three-strike basis. Details on our moderation system are below.
	1. NSFW OOC content goes to #sax-and-horns.
	2. Sexual NSFW IC content can be continued in PMs, if both parties wish to continue.
5. Political discussions and arguments go to #shit-on-systems.
6. Advertising rules can be found here.
7. AI-generated content is allowed, but must not be posted in art-related channels.

***Communication is important!***

Talk to the players, DMs or moderators if you're uncomfortable with anything, or simply want to get something off your chest. You can also use the Yellow Card emote (**:yellow\_card:**) in an OOC chat if something is making you uncomfortable. In such cases, the involved should use spoiler tags or move to PMs.

## **Rules of Play**

1. We are here to *cooperate* and *tell stories* with each other; let’s act like it.
2. No metagaming. It is considered *cheating* as it affects game balance and suspension of disbelief
	* Metagaming is defined as using out-of-character knowledge to make a decision in character.
	* Examples include (but are not limited to) using knowledge of an enemy’s stat block when your character does not know the enemy or reacting to events your character has no knowledge of. You can read more about metagaming here.
3. Flesh out your backstory and dramatic events with a DM.
4. All involved players must agree to PvP interaction and checks. Examples include insight vs. deception, playing pranks on others, etc.
5. All involved players must agree to potentially deadly PvP combat, which always requires DM supervision.
	* **Sparring is exempt and non-lethal.** Players can decide whether they end up at 1 HP or at 0 HP, requiring healing.
6. Don't RP in two places at once, unless approved. (retroactive RP/quests).
7. A player can have one active character at a time. If you want to retire a character and swap to another, see Changing Characters. It this facility is used too frequently, you may be temporarily denied replacement until your current character levels up a few times.
8. When Questing, communicate with your DM about being late or not showing up. Failure to show up to quests repeatedly, or frequent non-participation, may result in various penalties up to and including redistribution of rewards, being removed from questlines, and/or strikes.

## **Moderation**

Be aware that below is a **guideline** on how most offenses are handled on Raven's Mark. Mods have the authority and power to enforce the following as they see fit, including multiple strikes or immediate kicks.

### Verbal Warning

This is what happens when a member of the Mod/DM team kindly, but firmly, asks that you correct a behavior of some sort. Verbal warnings do not result in any sort of punishment; however, repeated warnings may cause escalation to the next step.

Please note that being asked to move content to another channel is not a verbal warning, unless otherwise specified.

### Strike One

After repeated warnings, blatant rule breaking, or major offenses you may be muted for 24 hours and a strike will be added to your account. If you disagree, you are welcome to kindly message a moderator and attempt to have it revoked. Strikes are not handed out lightly and we prefer to stick to verbal warnings unless you are egregiously out of line.

### Strike Two

Strike two may result in a 48 hour mute and a second strike added to your account.

### Strike Three

After you have two strikes, we will perform a moderator poll to ban and may institute up to a 72 hour mute while this takes place. If the poll passes with majority vote in favor, you will be banned from the server. If the poll fails, you will be unmuted after the 72 hour period.

Any infractions afterward will result in an immediate ban from the server.

Final disclaimer: the above reasons are examples. Strikes are a **mod team decision** and are handled with votes.