1 The Rule of Interesting
Pretend you’re an actor on a stage. Be interesting. The point is not to win, the point is to make an interesting story.
Players are required to build compelling scenarios with motives that justify their actions before committing to mechanical conflict. Mechanics must be proportional to the weight of the situation.
Sometimes, your character will die in mundane and unfair ways that are compliant with the rules. Carefully examine your situation before reporting it.
Careless murder without any kind of escalation, even if justified, is not interesting.
A beggar disrespecting nobility should be treated proportionally. Warn them away from your charge or hurt them if you must. If they push the envelope, teach them why they are at the bottom of the food chain. A man-at-arms should not wordlessly execute an intruder, but respect the laws of the land and/or their standing orders. Take them to the Duke or Marshal for sentencing. An antagonist should focus on causing distress, chaos, and disorder, not mindlessly kill everyone they see.
1.1 Might makes Responsibility
Being in a winning position gives you both the power and responsibility to take the most interesting approach, shaping the overall narrative and driving the plot forward where your adversary cannot.
A knight has cornered an intruder with a group of guards in the keep. They should arrest and question the criminal, not immediately lop their head off. The Duke has had several outlaws brought before him in chains. He should consider their crimes and whether or not they warrant execution. A bandit has ambushed a lone wanderer in the bog. They should not wordlessly cut off every single limb they have and throw them into a river for no reason.
Please see "The Rule of Interesting" for more information about what you should and should not do in a winning situation.
1.2 Ambushes, Escalation, & Combat
Ratwood is a server where mechanics and roleplay are intertwined to create interesting stories, sometimes with dramatic conflict and outcomes.
You should strive to create compelling scenarios with motivations that make sense, and show a clear escalation of force where able.
A direct route to combat through telegraphing and escalation isn't always apparent or possible, however, and may even be detrimental to the story. Therefore:
Players are not required to escalate to combat in every situation.
Motivation Is Everything
Actions require motivation. Your conduct should be explainable to others and you should strive for compelling reasons to take high-stakes actions.
Ensure that your character has enough motivation or build-up before deciding to commit to mechanics. This might include anything from ordering an attack, to initiating grabs with the intent to capture or kill.
Here are some examples of good motivation:
Bandits have gotten together and decided to kidnap someone. They don't have to warn their victim. A noble has paid a hitman to eliminate her rival. She should brief the assassin about the target, and the assassin should usually avoid collateral damage. The assassin doesn't need to warn his target. Note that hiring an assassin makes you responsible for the target's death. The Inquisition has received good evidence linking an individual to heretical acts. They do not have to warn the heretic before black-bagging them. However, they should not conduct random screenings in this fashion. The Duke's men have a lot of power and authority in Rockhill. Senseless execution instead of imprisonment or questioning is not interesting. You should generally seek to obey your superiors and the laws of the land, not pursue a solo vendetta to kill an antagonist. Don't start sniping someone from the balcony with a crossbow because they said mean things to you. Rape on its own is not an interesting motivation. Read the room.
Deathmatching
Despite the freedoms these rules grant players, this is not a server designed for "deathmatch," wordless combat, or over-escalation of force that leads to boring outcomes. Trying to resolve every conflict in the fastest way possible, i.e. murder, is uninteresting.
Type-baiting
Type-baiting is strictly prohibited. Should you confront someone, be courteous enough to allow them to finish their thought. Do not commit to an action for the express purpose of distracting someone by typing so that you may attack them.
2 Role Expectations
Characters are expected to initially remain consistent to the role they choose, until the story dictates otherwise.
Those with more powerful influence, skills, and gear are expected to adhere more closely to their expected roles and should not readily abandon their post.
Characters in positions of leadership have the responsibility to actively shape the narrative. Their actions should drive the plot forward and offer something interesting to the round.
A beggar can act insane, heretically or antagonistically, as it is a role with no responsibilities. Note that this does not make you exempt from roleplaying rules. A knight should not readily abandon his Duke/Duchess. He has sworn an oath to him/her, not to anyone else. A man-at-arms should usually behave like an experienced and trusted soldier. Adherents of the Inhumen should strive to keep their patron a secret, lest they bring the ire of the authorities down upon them or their allies. An adherent of the Ten would not readily align themselves with bandits, vampires, or werewolves. They should listen to and obey the Priest until circumstances dictate otherwise. Likewise, the Duke or Duchess can only be coronated by the Priest. Therefore, the fate of the Keep and Temple are linked. Do not readily betray the clergy which you rely on.
3 Miscellaneous
3.1 Immersion
Players must remain in-character at all times. Do not make your character look, speak or act like a modern-world person transported back in time. A character’s name or media should not be a meme, joke or reference to anything modern. This means that you should make your headshot fit the theme and the setting. Keep NSFW images to Nudeshots only.
3.2 Persistence
No knowledge, including events, relationships, or rivalries, is carried over between rounds. Knowledge can still be retained with the consent of the involved parties, excluding Metagrudge rule violations.
3.3 AFK Interactions
AFK characters are not immune to thievery, with the exception of those who go AFK mid-scene; they are to be left alone until they reconnect. One should avoid murdering, raping or kidnapping AFK/disconnected players unless they have a very good reason to do so.
3.4 Erotic Roleplay
Erotic roleplay is allowed between sentient humanoids, but not protected from outside interference.
3.5 Defiance
Defiant characters are protected from being subjected to non-consensual erotic roleplay, even after death. Overriding the mechanical restrictions with emotes is prohibited. Defiant: ON characters may not participate in non-consensual erotic roleplay of any kind unless they are expressly permitted to do so by the other party (such as a private scene between two players). If you aren't sure, don't do it.
3.6 Underage Characters & Behavior
Underage characters, advanced pregnancies and excessive baby-talk are forbidden. All character media should look unquestionably adult.
3.7 Harmful or Triggering Content & Disconnecting
Ratwood is a server designed with the express purpose of allowing players to engage with mature themes and content which some users may find disturbing. With this in mind, players may disconnect at any time should they encounter content which causes emotional and/or mental distress. If you are found to be abusing this rule purely to escape consequences, you may be punished accordingly.
4 Good Faith
The following are strictly forbidden:
• Metagaming: using information your character should not be aware of.
• Metagrudging: using an OOC/Past-round knowledge to negatively affect someone’s current round.
• Metacomming: exchanging sensitive round information OOCly.
• Exploiting: Knowingly exploiting a bugged feature to give yourself an unfair advantage.
At the end of the day, we're all here to have fun and play a game together. If we sense that you have to be removed to lower the toxicity of the environment, we will do so at our discretion.