Overview
TDN is not the server to join if your primary intention is to spend most of your time PvPing or Ganking others without regard for story and RP.
Conflict between characters, factions, merchant families, and more is inevitable. We ask that this conflict always remain IC, have sufficient RP to build up to any encounters, and be ROLE PLAYED. There must be ample IC interaction BEFORE any combat occurs. We have put these rules in place in the effort to make a safe and fun environment for everyone. These expectations/explanations are not just to benefit the victims of PvP, but also to ensure that the individual(s) who succeed at the combat understand the potential implications of engaging with this sort of action (ranging anywhere from no response, up to being hunted, imprisoned, or permakilled if the regional law enforcement would take that actions based on the circumstances.)
Roleplaying Death & PvP
The Dragon’s Neck takes the approach that resurrection magic is an almost entirely lost art. Therefore, whenever you mechanically die on the server it will be treated as if you were badly wounded and a mechanical debuff will be applied to you after you ‘respawn’ which symbolises this. Only permadeath will be considered actual, in-character death as far as the server is concerned.
To this end, any time a player assaults another player with the intent of killing and triumphs they will be required to roleplay the ‘killing’ with as ambiguous an ending as possible. This means that you cannot emote severing limbs, the head, or otherwise dealing any kind of unequivocal fatal blow to your opponent unless a DM expressly gives you permission. This is to allow other players to roleplay surviving the attack. You can roleplay that you stabbed the other player or gave them what you believe was a fatal cut, but a degree of believability must be offered to allow for players to explain their survival - this also applies even when you know that you and your victim are both opted in, because you don’t know if that person will make their death roll.
Furthermore, so long as the attack is ICly warranted and has no OOC factors, you have the ability to engage in PvP. Your character is allowed to remember one distinguishing feature about the attacker (clothing / eye colour / skin colour / hair colour), the choice of which is up to you. If you’re found to metagame knowledge of the attackers identity for revenge and this turns into a back-and-forth of revenge attacks then DMs will step in and enforce opt-in for both parties. It should also go without saying that if such situations clearly go beyond IC animosity there may be harsher consequences for the offending player(s).
Finally, you must not - under any circumstance - linger around too long after you win an assault to see if another player has survived unless the other player gives you permission. You can take a few moments to emote moving the defeated enemy or disposing of evidence if need be, but that is the extent. Any players caught griefing other players or repeatedly killing them to ensure they are permadead will be promptly banned from the server, permanently and with no chance of an appeal.
For clarity on how TDN handles Permadeath, Opting-In and more, review: https://www.dragonsneck.com/wiki/Death-Dying
Assassins & Assassin Contracts
Although the characters who take the Assassin Class are not required to opt-in, for those who are looking to hire an assassin to kill another player, the person who hires the assassin will first need to notify the DM team of their intentions. Until they receive a response from the DM team in the form of a discussion about the intent, they will need to wait. There is a strong likelihood for the character hiring the assassin to have to opt in to Permadeath moving forward. This rule applies to any hired slaying and not just those who operate under the label of ‘assassin.’
A note on "Assassin Contracts" -
These are defined as player/character-initiated requests to have another player killed. This would be any kind of transaction that would result in an attempted murder of another character.
Defined as characters who transact murder-for-hire: Please ensure you're familiar with the "Consequences for Murder" explanation in the FAQ below.
DM Events & Realistic Consequences
Regardless of whether a character is opted in or not, these rules apply only to Player vs Player engagements. This does not mean that actions will not have consequences, nor does it mean that a character is unable to potentially permadie in a DM event if the situation calls for it. TDN is striving for realism, and while we are aiming to allow everyone a good end to their journey, it will still to some degree rest on the players shoulders as to the actions they take and the dice rolls they make.
Furthermore, there may be situations where DMs deem that character engagements are leading towards a point where a character’s closure may be inevitable. While we expect to intervene like this very rarely, if a situation becomes so volatile that it proves disruptive to the integrity of the server not to have some final resolution, we may need to enforce an opt-in scenario for both (or all) player characters involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
The TDN team has seen conflict done both well and poorly, and the respective outcomes of both. We treat a player's approach to PvP and conflict very seriously for those reasons.
Guidelines for PvP Engagement
TDN is not the server to join if your primary intention is to spend most of your time PvPing or Ganking others without regard for story and RP.
Conflict between characters, factions, merchant families, and more is inevitable. We ask that this conflict always remain IC, have sufficient RP to build up to any encounters, and be ROLE PLAYED. There must be ample IC interaction BEFORE any combat occurs. We have put these rules in place in the effort to make a safe and fun environment for everyone. These expectations/explanations are not just to benefit the victims of PvP, but also to ensure that the individual(s) who succeed at the combat understand the potential implications of engaging with this sort of action (ranging anywhere from no response, up to being hunted, imprisoned, or permakilled if the regional law enforcement would take that actions based on the circumstances.)
Roleplaying Death & PvP
The Dragon’s Neck takes the approach that resurrection magic is an almost entirely lost art. Therefore, whenever you mechanically die on the server it will be treated as if you were badly wounded and a mechanical debuff will be applied to you after you ‘respawn’ which symbolises this. Only permadeath will be considered actual, in-character death as far as the server is concerned.
To this end, any time a player assaults another player with the intent of killing and triumphs they will be required to roleplay the ‘killing’ with as ambiguous an ending as possible. This means that you cannot emote severing limbs, the head, or otherwise dealing any kind of unequivocal fatal blow to your opponent unless a DM expressly gives you permission. This is to allow other players to roleplay surviving the attack. You can roleplay that you stabbed the other player or gave them what you believe was a fatal cut, but a degree of believability must be offered to allow for players to explain their survival - this also applies even when you know that you and your victim are both opted in, because you don’t know if that person will make their death roll.
Furthermore, so long as the attack is ICly warranted and has no OOC factors, you have the ability to engage in PvP. Your character is allowed to remember one distinguishing feature about the attacker (clothing / eye colour / skin colour / hair colour), the choice of which is up to you. If you’re found to metagame knowledge of the attackers identity for revenge and this turns into a back-and-forth of revenge attacks then DMs will step in and enforce opt-in for both parties. It should also go without saying that if such situations clearly go beyond IC animosity there may be harsher consequences for the offending player(s).
Finally, you must not - under any circumstance - linger around too long after you win an assault to see if another player has survived unless the other player gives you permission. You can take a few moments to emote moving the defeated enemy or disposing of evidence if need be, but that is the extent. Any players caught griefing other players or repeatedly killing them to ensure they are permadead will be promptly banned from the server, permanently and with no chance of an appeal.
PermadeathFor clarity on how TDN handles Permadeath, Opting-In and more, review: https://www.dragonsneck.com/wiki/Death-Dying
Assassins & Assassin Contracts
Although the characters who take the Assassin Class are not required to opt-in, for those who are looking to hire an assassin to kill another player, the person who hires the assassin will first need to notify the DM team of their intentions. Until they receive a response from the DM team in the form of a discussion about the intent, they will need to wait. There is a strong likelihood for the character hiring the assassin to have to opt in to Permadeath moving forward. This rule applies to any hired slaying and not just those who operate under the label of ‘assassin.’
A note on "Assassin Contracts" -
These are defined as player/character-initiated requests to have another player killed. This would be any kind of transaction that would result in an attempted murder of another character.
- If there is/are active bounties initiated by the local government (by the staff/DM team for example to hunt a criminal/outlaw), these would not be considered assassin contracts.
Defined as characters who transact murder-for-hire: Please ensure you're familiar with the "Consequences for Murder" explanation in the FAQ below.
DM Events & Realistic Consequences
Regardless of whether a character is opted in or not, these rules apply only to Player vs Player engagements. This does not mean that actions will not have consequences, nor does it mean that a character is unable to potentially permadie in a DM event if the situation calls for it. TDN is striving for realism, and while we are aiming to allow everyone a good end to their journey, it will still to some degree rest on the players shoulders as to the actions they take and the dice rolls they make.
Furthermore, there may be situations where DMs deem that character engagements are leading towards a point where a character’s closure may be inevitable. While we expect to intervene like this very rarely, if a situation becomes so volatile that it proves disruptive to the integrity of the server not to have some final resolution, we may need to enforce an opt-in scenario for both (or all) player characters involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can a Player log out with a Corpse in their inventory?
- No. The corpse is automatically dropped upon logout.
- Are Corpses Lootable?
- No.
- How does the Law IG view PvP?
- Subdual: Assault resulting in minor jail time and/or a fine.
- PvP (No-Death): Assault up to and including Attempted Murder.
- It could be argued that PC death was not intended in a Subdual fight, so the severity of justice may be lessened compared to Execution-type PvP.
- PvP (Death): Murder.
- Law enforcement may be more likely to investigate (via Dungeon Master) acts of Execution at the request of allies of the killed. Acts of this type that occur within City-grounds are often pursued and usually see resolution. Executions far beyond the town/city limits are less likely to see some form of ICly legal resolution.
- Permadeath Opt-in has no bearing on the legal ramifications of assault/attempted murder.
- Consequences for Murder:
- These tend to vary based on the situation, wealth of the accused, and prior history. If convicted, the most lenient consequences would include significant jail-time and hard labor with some form of mutilation. (Generally, the law would demand that the individual in question is unable to perform this act again in the future. Such mutilation would include removal of hands for martial characters or removal of the tongue for casters, etc.)
- It is critical to note that a single claim by an individual PC would not be heard in an In-Game Court. (Coming to a DM is always acceptable if the Victim believes the Killer ICly or OOCly acted in bad faith). Additional witnesses are required in order to attempt to bring someone before the courts in Murann.
The TDN team has seen conflict done both well and poorly, and the respective outcomes of both. We treat a player's approach to PvP and conflict very seriously for those reasons.
Appendix
Guidelines for PvP Engagement
- PvP is about the overall server story and should support that story as much as possible. PvP without RP is unacceptable.
- Use alternative methods to handle conflict and fighting before engaging in PvP. (I.e. Subdual Mode, Rolls, Emotes, etc.). Players must have a strong reason and evidence that support PvP.
- Always keep the OOC impact of PvP in mind. Do your best to communicate with your fellow players.
- All parties are expected to keep a record of RP build up and the actual PvP that DMs can review. Take screenshots of your combined RP and Combat windows IG as proof or alternatively provide your chat log with time stamps. This is a lot of work. We know. But without proof, DMs cannot review for evidence of foul play. Please protect yourself.
- Do not use OOC motivation to engage in PvP with another player.
- PvPing in front of non-DM-Controlled or approved authority figures (Guards, Factions, etc), is not acceptable. DMs cannot be available for every single PvP event and disregarding the setting in favor of PvP will be replied with OOC action from the staff. PvP in front of player authority figures at your own risk as they will likely intervene.
- Moving a Corpse for OOC reasons is not permitted. Examples of reasonable movement include:
- Into some bushes and off a main road.
- Into another room if play occurs indoors.
- Corpses cannot be placed inside containers.
- Whenever PvP hostilities take place, a notification is sent to DMs both in-game and on the TDN Discord.
- Trapping Transition Points and overlapping traps is not permitted. Stick with a two trap maximum per engagement. Similarly, transition hopping in PvP is not permitted.
- Not all players should have to worry about PvP, but accept that if you take sides or stir up trouble, you may have to engage in PvP.
- If you feel like you were forced into PvP without warning or proper IC reasoning, notify a DM immediately.
- If there is any harassment via tell/Discord/etc., please provide screenshots of this as well.
- If you feel you are being targeted due to experiences or events on different servers, contact a DM or Aschent_ immediately.
