Consequence Rules

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CONSEQUENCE RULES

CONSEQUENCE RULES

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All rules are subject to change, however will be posted and documented in the discord until the website can be updated. Thank you for your consideration. ~Staff.

The best development comes from various types of failure. It doesn’t matter if the failing is a task gone wrong, missing your mark, or conflict with another character, the experience will end in a drawback for your character. These drawbacks are considered consequences which start a road towards further developing your character.

This page will guide you through not only PvP conflict but also any type of natural consequence your character may face. There are numerous ways you can flavor your roleplay and progress your character through consequences. This page will offer a set of rules and guidelines for IC consequences.

Communication and consent

Here at Crossroads, we consider it important that our players recognize that clear and effective communication between players is the basis for any good roleplay interaction between different parties. While we advise reaching out and discussing consequences, it may not always be a requirement in every encounter. 

Players should make reasonable efforts towards ensuring that their intentions and actions are conveyed clearly to other players OOCly, particularly when the roleplay may lead to lasting consequences following a PVP encounter- or in situations wherein a consequence may need fading-to-black for player comfort. At the same time- it is important that it be understood that not all consequences applied in RP strictly require prior consent. These will be listed out below.

In matters of Sensitive Content in the consequence phase such as gore, maiming, etc., as per CR5, players must get consent from all parties involved in the scene before engaging with a consequence and continuing RP.

In the event that players are not able to find common ground, or where one party appears to be unreasonable, this may necessitate staff intervention and the opening of a Moderation ticket.

When Consent is REQUIRED

• Anything involving our Sensitive Content rules including but not limited to Dismemberment, Torture, Sexual Themes, etc.
• Rituals/Spells that have significant influence over a character's mind such as Geas. For Charm/Dominate out of combat, refer to Charm and Dominate rules.
• Capture Consequences

When Consent is NOT REQUIRED
While direct consent is not required, play to lift mindset and collaboration to further story should be prioritized by all parties. Mutual escalation of conflict should always be considered and discussion between players is always encouraged.

• Application of wound levels - This is intended to be the mechanical representation of IC wounds. OOC discussion around the flavor of wounds should happen to ensure appropriate RP or Fade-to-Black in accordance to a player's level of comfort.
• Theft - For both mechanical and flavor items, consent is not required. Refer to theft limitations on the website.
• Unmasking, Witchsight, or other attempted mundane or magical disguise detection.
• Bestow Curse - While this is not directly required, if a curse crosses into lines as described in the Consent Required section, consent will be needed.
• Magical Interrogation - This should only be done *within reason* and abuse of these methods will not be tolerated. Ensure to refer to the Ritual Page for guidelines on rules for tickets.
• Left-For-Dead - L4D should follow appropriate mutual escalation. Those who apply this consequence beware as your opponent will not take kindly to a near-death experience.
• Scrying material may be taken freely without consent, although there can be negotiation as to what scrying material gets taken.

i. IC choices & IC consequences

It is recommended to think through each situation for the best way to proceed. Your character's actions will result in consequences. Whether good or bad, consequences that come from an IC choice are to be played out.

ii. Player Stories

Each consequence needs to appropriately match the error made by the character and applied so that story can continue for every player involved. Consequences should not be given with the goal of ending someone's story or being the winner. Players are here to create stories and appropriate consequences should drive meaningful story and progression.

It is important to remember that communication is paramount to any encounter with another player. The player is required to send a direct message communicating with the other party, especially if there will be consequences involved after a PvP encounter. You can use the command /channel player name in game or send a message in discord, if you have permission from the other player. Lack of clear communication will result in conflict, both in and out of character.

iii. Respect Consent

Not all players are comfortable with certain heavy scenarios such as; torture, dismemberment, rape, and sexual assault. Any roleplay that is graphic or sexual in nature or includes capture needs to be discussed out of character before the roleplay occurs and consent given for it to proceed.

Mutual consent to consequences overrides guidelines. If both the player giving and receiving consequences agree to consequences that would be disallowed by our skirmish restrictions or stacking restrictions, they may apply more than we would otherwise allow.

Players should decide what cons they are comfortable with before bestowing any cons. While certain cons are allowable at any level, it is still considered good etiquette to try and find a happy middle ground when giving cons to other players.

Players may not ascribe mechanical consequences such as wounds that were not intentionally given to another player. For example, you may not take devastating wounds after a friendly sparring match and blame it on the other party.

If a player wishes to take greater consequence than is being given by another, they must first gain the consent of that player as any follow up from the scene will directly affect them.

FADE TO BLACK

Fade-To-Black (FTB) is when a victim requests to forgo the roleplay of the consequence allotted. All FTB requests are required to be honored by the aggressor and attempting to coerce or force a player to roleplay out certain scenarios will not be tolerated and will result in severe disciplinary action.

FADE TO BLACK CONSENT ABUSE

Players are not allowed to abuse consent rules or FTB to bypass consequences. The agreed upon consequences of a scene DO happen, whether or not the roleplay is played out. Anyone who abuses these rules will receive disciplinary action. If either party has questions or concerns about a scene, please open a moderation ticket with screenshots referencing your concerns.

iv. Consequence Options

There are numerous options for consequences and they do not have to always lead to a large, dramatic end to a story. Below are a list of options and examples put together by the mod team. Make sure to double check skirmish con rules to ensure your choice of consequence does not violate the guideline for your combat ratio:

Regulated Consequences
These kinds of cons cannot be stacked without consent.

• Mechanical (RPR) wounds to the ratio of what is allowed (see skirmish con/ratio rules)
• Serious injury
• Theft (see skirmish con/ratio rules, and Theft Rules)
• Persistent magical effects like Bestow Curse (see skirmish con/ratio rules)
• Magically compelled interrogation
• Physical torture to interrogate
• Capture
• Collecting ritual material (blood, hair, etc),
a. Hair, blood, etc. is carried by the person who took it, or if transferred via RP to the current 'owner'
b. Hair, blood, etc. can be transferred via RP. This should be logged by taking screenshots of the transfer RP.
c. The person who uses the hair, blood etc. in a ritual can request the thief to be added to their ticket if we need to verify how it was obtained.
d. Only one ritual worth of material can be taken from a player as a combat con. It is consumed on use. It may only be taken during the cons phase or during a relevant RP (hair cutting, doctor work where blood is drawn, etc)
e. If the person using hair, blood, etc. cannot produce a log, they do not get the bonus.
• Limb Removal
a. Not as a first encounter with exceptions for very poor behavior or with consent.
b. Not available as a consequence (unless specifically requested) if your side of a combat outnumbers the other side by 2 or more people.

Non-Regulated Consequences
These types of consequences can be stacked. (It is still polite to ask for consent, but it is not required):

• Unmasking - as this can be damaging to a character, we gently suggest reserving unmasking for a second encounter.
• Nonmagical interrogation that would not result in wounds/damage (threats, bribery, blackmail etc)
• Name calling/insulting
• Physical injury that is intended to give momentary discomfort without injury (IE pinning someone down or attempting to restrain them, temporarily binding hands, etc.)
• Theft of fluff items like an earring, a bracelet, a handkerchief or other RP item with no mechanical value. This may be done with appropriate OOC communication.

Example: "I was hoping to steal a holy symbol or other religious item. Would your character have anything like this on their person, or is there a different fluff item I can take?"

Caveats
Cons may escalate depending on behavior. If there is a history of RP antagonism, more serious cons may be considered. Conversely, if it is a first encounter, but there is a significant amount of escalation or NVL, more serious cons that usually do not befit a first encounter may be applied.

Consent is required to both give and take additional mechanical cons. This includes taking wounds in RPR that another person didn't give you as part of the combat. Please ask consent of the person you were in a conflict with before taking wounds.

Use of Body Parts Taken as Consequences

• 1. Body parts or bodies (when stolen or taken as part of the PK) must be indicated with a POI when they are moved to a new location, identifying the body & if any rituals (gentle repose, etc) have been cast on them.
• 2. If a player rerolls while in possession of a body part, they are given two options.
• a. Pass the body part to another active character.
• b. Bring the body part with them.
In the second instance, the body part is considered destroyed for the purposes of resurrection rituals.
• 3. Corpses can be located via locate object, as they are now objects, however - corpses cant be scried, as they aren't people.
• 4. If a corpse is cut into pieces you may specify which piece you are casting locate object on (ie Player Name's Head), but you may also generalize understanding it will target the NEAREST legal fragment.
• 5. Bodies or body parts not being preserved by gentle repose are considered "destroyed" after 30 IRL days of being taken, or 30 days without having Gentle Repose cast on them.
• 6. Bodies and body parts may not be stored in demiplanes.
• 7. Player bodies may not be reanimated into undead.

CAPTIVE RP
In captive RP, there are responsibilities for both the captor and captive. The captor is required to provide RP for the captive. If 30 minutes go by without any RP from the captor, the captive is allowed to leave the scene. The captive is responsible for communicating to their captor when they are present and if they are unhappy with how the roleplay is developing. Clear communication is required from both parties as well as following the consent rules. Roleplay should be about advancing a story for both individuals involved.

LEFT FOR DEAD
Left for Dead (LFD) allows characters to disengage from the conflict without permanently ending a character's story. The winner of the conflict would believe that the other character is dead and is left behind. The downed character, not actually being dead, could then continue on with their story. They would also need to be careful with their actions given that the winning character thinks they are dead. It is important to remember that being LFD does not reduce the severity of the consequences inflicted upon your character should you come face to face with your attempted killer again.

v.PLayer Death

Permanent Death can be explored with significant conflicts that have grown to a critical point in the character’s story. Character death should be proceeded with caution and a last resort for conflict. A ticket is required to request the ability to potentially kill another player’s character. A well thought out reason, as well as proof of interactions with this character to lead up to this consequence, must be provided in the ticket. Not all requests will be approved.

DM EVENTS & DEATH

DMNPC's killing a player character will not be permissible during a DM event without consent from both the player and DM. PVP kills are allowed as long as they are communicated with all parties, including the DM/staff present. In the event that a player character is exhibiting NVL behaviour, an LFD consequence may be issued and, upon staff review, may be escalated to a player death.

DEATH APPEAL

If your character’s death was accepted and the aggressor successful at killing your character, though you feel it was not justified, you are allowed to appeal the decision. A ticket is required with the submitted evidence for your claim and will be reviewed by staff.

DEATH AS CONSEQUENCE

Once your PK ticket has been approved and the roleplay has taken place, a ticket is required to be created with the following form. Remember, just because a PK ticket was approved, that does NOT mean the character is automatically killed. Each character has a chance at escaping death. The roleplay must happen and screenshots provided. Remember to stay in constant communication between the other players involved.

PK FORM

Character Death Form



Victim’s Name: (Character Name)

Victim’s Discord: (Actual Discord ID. Example#1234)

Killer’s Name: (Character Name)

Killer’s Discord: (Actual Discord ID. Example#1234)

Type of PD: (Permanent Death Kill)

Detailed explanation: (What happened and why)

Relevant screenshots: (Screenshots of last emotes before killing blow)

vi. PK RULES

We encourage players to be creative with their consequences and to seek PK as a last resort. We are all writers contributing to a large story and if the antagonist is killed at the beginning, the story would eventually run dry. Beyond that there is a greater story at play to consider when making your decision. We ask that the choice to PK is not taken lightly and that other options are considered before a PK is chosen so that stories can continue to grow and form! Below are five PK rules that aid building a fulfilling story for all parties.

SCENE LOCK

Once PvP starts the scene is locked. This means anyone who wanders upon the scene does not see what is happening because the battle would have already been completed. The 4 Emote Rule is for when combat has concluded. There are 4 rounds of emotes before the scene is unlocked. At this time, players can interact with the scene. The players that were involved in the combat, are still subject to consequences agreed upon.

The scene lock of the 4 Emote Rule should be utilized to inflict consequences or relocate the downed character to a new location. A secondary location can be used as a temporary imprisonment away from the scene of the crime until consequences have been agreed upon and decided.

CONSENT

Defendant’s consent overrules all below PK rules. If a player would prefer to reroll through a PK and communicates this effectively to their aggressor, the PK will be approved. A ticket is required to log the PK.

Additionally, no one should be pressured into providing this consent. If you feel like you are being pressured, please open up a ticket with moderation staff.

VOLUNTARY DEATH

The defender can give their consent to voluntarily PK their character forgoing the PK request process. If the player would prefer to reroll through the PK and communicates this effectively to their aggressor, the PK will be approved. A ticket is required to be opened to log the PK.

MUTUAL ESCALATION

Mutual Escalation is when both parties are antagonizing each other. This is what drives a great story, having a foe and combating one another. However, certain escalations would not give enough reason to end a character's life. For example, if a character vandalizes your home and your character decides to go and send a threatening letter. To get a PK request approved, there needs to be proof of mutual escalation that shows the circumstances enough to end the other character’s life, ergo finishing their story.

NO VALUE OF LIFE

When a character acts recklessly and is roleplayed in a way that does not make sense for the situation they are in, this is called No Value of Life (NVL). An example of this is when a character is in a situation of extreme danger and the player roleplays the character as if they do not care. A monstrous creature who walks into a well populated town without trying to sneak around or when a character is getting beaten/tortured and not showing any sort of fear or pain are both examples of NVL. It is crucial to play your character as accurately as can be for the situation they find themselves in.

If a character shows NVL, a PK ticket can be created for review by the staff team. In the ticket, you may ping moderators immediately in this situation in order to get a quick response.

EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCE

There are circumstances that are deemed extreme where requesting a PK is acceptable without mutual escalation. These situations are incredibly vulgar and so vile that an appropriate response is PK. An example would be if your character was tortured and home utterly destroyed leaving their life ruined. A moderation ticket is required with proof of the extreme circumstances to be reviewed by staff.

Remember that proof needs to be shown by the aggressor seeking out the PK. If you are in a roleplay that involves antagonism, it is a good habit to take screenshots of information you may need at a later time. Even if you are not considering PK at this time, having the screenshot saved and ready is worth the time. Staff will not approve a PK without screenshots providing the appropriate amount of proof for Consent, Mutual Escalation, No Value of Life, or Extreme Circumstances. Screenshots are also needed for any OOC communications regarding Consent or Voluntary Death.

Requirements

Players are required to submit no less than three fully documented incidents of roleplay where the characters are at odds (Outside of NVL as well as three incidents prior of rp that lead to adequate story creation between the players. This is to be sure that the players story have evolved in a way that make for a lengthy story and connection between each other; before PK is considered to end a characters life.

Expiration

Pk’s that are approved, may remain in play for three months. After this time has expired; a player may reapply should they still have adequate story to continue to seek this rp; so long as they can provide continued proof of the story between the characters.

Shelf/Unshelf Consideration

Staff can take into consideration if the player needs further time to settle in and reaffirm their place in the server after unshelving a character under pk consideration. This rule is kept to staff discretion to avoid pk block by shelfing/unshelfing.

There will be a minimum period of 14 days to reflect the reroll cooldown after creating or unshelving a character where any previously approved PK on their character will be paused.

vii. NON-CONSENSUAL SEXUAL INTERACTIONS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PVP

Non-consensual sexual consequences as a result of a PVP down are strictly prohibited at Crossroads. It is not a viable consequence to give to any player inside Combat scenarios and should not be attempted. If you or someone you know have experienced Non-Consensual Sexual Interactions as a Consequence of combat, you may open a ticket to express this violation of our consequences policy.

viii. NON-CONSENSUAL SEXUAL INTERACTIONS OUTSIDE OF COMBAT

While we at Crossroads do not prohibit situations such as Non-Consensual Sexual Interactions altogether, we also know that these topics can be both triggering behind the screen and portrayed in particularly out-of-the-box ways. Consent is the pillar of any consequence, even outside of PVP downs – and we strive to make that abundantly plain and without question.

Before enacting Non-Consensual Sexual Interactions, any and all parties involved, whether they be a witness or a participant in the act, must give prior consent. This consent can be revoked at any time before or during the act. If there is an unwilling witness who does not give consent to seeing the scene unfold, the scene must be moved away from them without question. If the Defending party requests that the scene be “FTB’d” (Faded to Black), it must be followed and no further roleplay of the interaction can occur. The Afflicting party must abide by the comfortability and consent of the Defending party. We at Crossroads stress again that consent can be revoked at any time before or during the act, and the scene must be retconned.

Parties that choose to engage in non-consensual sexual interactions in RP cannot subject secondary parties to that element of narrative without consent. This includes reporting to city guards or otherwise talking about Non-Con interactions in a manner that would result in hunts for the perpetrator, or otherwise subject non-participants to the graphic content that took place during the roleplay.

ix. SKIRMISH CONSEQUENCES

Skirmish consequences are the result of a fight involving Unfavorable Odds, with the winners outnumbering the victims by two or more; 3v1, 4v2, 5v3, etc. Those are small, ICly insignificant, consequences, they are not long lasting nor leave a large impact on the downed individual, physically and/or mentally. These consequences are meant to enhance the roleplaying experience without causing significant harm to characters at overwhelming odds.

Players who /PVP Observe are counted towards the ratio of players in a combat when it comes to calculating cons. This means if Side A has two combatants, and they fight Side B which has three combatants and one observer, Side B would only be able to inflict skirmish cons.

Examples of Skirmish Consequences include, but are not limited to:

• Cuts & Bruises (Lesser Wounds)
• Interrogation
• Petty Theft (See Skirmish: Theft)
• Curse with OOC Consent
• Intimidation
• Threatening further action
• Concussion
• Collecting ritual material (blood, hair, etc),
a. Hair, blood, etc. is carried by the person who took it, or if transferred via RP to the current 'owner'

b. Hair, blood, etc. can be transferred via RP. This should be logged by taking screenshots of the transfer RP.

c. The person who uses the hair, blood etc. in a ritual can request the thief to be added to their ticket if we need to verify how it was obtained.

d. Only one ritual worth of material can be taken from a player as a combat con. It is consumed on use. It may only be taken during the cons phase or during a relevant RP (hair cutting, doctor work where blood is drawn, etc)

e. If the person using hair, blood, etc. cannot produce a log, they do not get the bonus.

x. SKIRMISH CONSEQUENCES: THEFT

Skirmish Consequences are small, insignificant consequences enacted against a downed player in a PVP scenario. Skirmish Consequences regarding Theft is the thieving of materials, currency, or non-magical items that are not Theft As A Consequence. For instance, you may only take 15 Currency as opposed to 30. You may only enact this consequence as opposed to another, and cannot stack consequences with this option.