Post by kalbaern on Jan 24, 2010 12:08:04 GMT -5
Updated on 01/24/2010
As with any PW, sooner or later players will find "exploits" in scripting, rules or game mechanics and abuse them.
Players that find and report exploits will never be punished for it. We do ask that players PM a Builder or DM here with the information and not just post it in a forum for all to see.
Players found using "known" exploits will be punished. Punishments can range from a formal admonishment to outright banning depending on the degree of severity and previous infractions if any that said player has had.
Known Exploits
Item/Equipment Swapping in Hostile Situations:
Swapping helms, belts, gloves, weapons, etc... in the middle of a fight is an exploit of game mechanics. It doesn't matter if the case involves a hostile spawned encounter or PvP, it's an exploit. When players are caught ignoring this fact, items swapped will be removed from their inventory and no reimbursement awarded for them. Repeated abuses will lead to stiffer penalties including a ban from the server.
Foraging: From fishing to picking food items or gathering firewood all of the scripts are purposely breakable. This means they'll fire as if you're still "standing there" if you move away. This was done so that in instances where you are partaking of these and something respawns, you've a better chance to react. Walking past such spots and activating them purposely as you merely traverse the area or engage creatures will not be tolerated.
Luring creatures: If you can lure one or two creatures from a main group to follow you and engage them on better terms ..... that's fine and makes good strategic sense. Luring creatures to purposely get them "hung up" on terrain they cannot reach you from is an exploit though. If as a player you notice creatures get "stuck" in certain places repeatedly, we ask you send a detailed PM to the Builders or DMs and include a screenshot if possible. If we find a player actively using terrain as a shield constantly though, they will face stiff repercushions.
Logging or Death Logging: Players that log out and relog to regain spells prior to resting again will be punished. We understand that some folks suffer crashes when playing though. We expect most players to simply play on as if those spells are still expended though. (Yes, even with persistance there are times that it may fail to correctly reset your spells.) If you log out while dead, be prepared for a stiff penalty. Any player doing so will find they still return "dead" and that their respawn XP Penalty has doubled and they'll have lost 50% of their coin. We understand that there are times that you might truly crash due to no fault of your own. Each instance will be reviewed and losses restored if there's any reasonable doubt. It's incumbent on the player though to make sure they have a log and or screenshot of the incedent to send in. Any logs or screenshots must further be unmodified. Doing "us" a favor by highlighting or clipping only what you see as relevent modifies the log and will not be accepted as "proof".
Bleed Logging: Logging out and in to restore hitpoints when bleeding out. Doing so or even attempting to do so is a bannable offense. We've held off scripting a penalty to ere on the side of caution when players truly crash IG, but .... players that "often" crash when bleeding and alone are doing so on purpose more often than not. Lag actually drops significantly when you are bleeding and alone as the monster AIs go dormant. So accepted instances will be rare if caught.
Not Respawning: If a player's character dies while out exploring and alone, we expect them to simply respawn. Players that "lie around dead" in the hopes that someone will come along or log in and save them are quilty of exploiting and metagaming both. If you think a DM's spawn was responsible then it's fine to wait a few minutes. DMs will rectify any "mistakes" they are responsible for and do not kill players on purpose.
If you were involved in a DM ran event, the DM in charge of the event should give you instructions regarding your demise. It's never a DMs intent to leave a character deceased unless the player of that character forced the circumstance by their own actions alone. ( A good or bad example would be PCs attacking a DM possessed creature that was in the middle of asking them why they were in his home ... in such cases the DM will likely unpossess the creature and let the AI decide the outcome
)
If you were a member of a party and the rest have left to get help of some sort to rescue you, then waiting and not respawning is of course fine. Help must be IC though. If your party cannot return you will simply have to respawn. Party members may also not switch characters to return alone or help others of your party either. Only those PCs involved and others met ICly IG may participate in a rescue attempt.
Ninja Looting: Stealthing to loot drops without first killing any spawns in the area is not permitted. It doesn't matter how stealthy a character is, opening a chest or disturbing a pile of bones is not a stealthy action. That the game allows it is a mere exploit of game mechanics on an RP server and won't be tolerated. (you're likely to be suprised at the results should you attempt it too)
Twinking or Muling: Twinking is the giving of items to lower level PCs that have not earned them inorder to "help" them out. PCs wishing to grant items to their "apprentices" and such should first clear it with a DM. Same if a group finds items as treasure and one of the players wishing the items is well below the average party level. when in doubt, hold the item aside and ask a DM ingame .... or send a PM on these boards for approval. Muling is placing items or wealth with one PC somewhere you can pick them up with another for their gain or holding items for another player to facilitate the same. Anyone caught Twinking/Muling will be punished ... all parties involved, so don't do it. In instances where you are merely recreating a PC, a DM will gladdly hold any items to transfer over as well as restore your XP and wealth. (You will need prior approval for the remake as we'll often simply delete your old PC from the vault after taking items so you need not worry about naming conflicts. this will need to be prescheduled though as few DMs will be able to do it for you.) So there's no other excuses for the above exploits.
Spell Twinking: This is when a player much higher than others "buffs" PCs so they can go out and rampage through encounters easier. This is a clear unfair advantage given to the lower level PCs and will not be tolerated here. If you are not in the Party you are buffing then it is an exploit. Joining a party and waiting for them as they head to a level restricted area is the same as not being in their party.
Purchase Twinking: Purchasing items for PCs and players that cannot access a certain store/merchant is twinking. OOC and IC punishments may both apply at times. Elves caught giving/reselling/exchanging elven items would be labelled an outlaw and hunted down by their kinsmen. Dwarves would do the same to their own. Merchants dealing only to rogues would likely inform on the PC when it's found out and the local guilds would then likely become involved.
So just don't do it. Any player caught helping others obtain merchandise normally restricted to them is going to face severe penalties here.
Blatant Farming of Areas: We don't mind players that go out and adventure constantly here. Infact we in most cases promote it. However, we will not tolerate for very long players that only hunt repeatedly in one or just a few areas constantly. Move on. Explore this world. Constantly milking the same areas over and over will merely draw you attention you do not desire. There are often valid reasons for returning to areas frequently, most often there are not though. The minimum period to await visiting the same area twice here is 24 hours RL if your level 10 or below. For characters that are levelss 11 and up, the time between revisits is 72 hours RL. At any level, a Dragon's Lair is restricted to visits once per RL week here.. Yes there will be circumstances such as rescue parties or server wide events and quests that may dictate you revisit an area, but each will be judged accordingly.
We'll also not long put up with players that metagame areas either. By this I mean heading into an encounter area to hunt and always stopping short of the end encounters to avoid difficult fights. Your character has no IC knowledge of what awaits him/her afterall. To act as if they do would also mean they've already cleared any threats there long ago and have no reason to return. Treat each time into a dungeon or encounter area as your first ICly.
If an area seems to lack a challenge for you, then you likely should move on. Most "designated" areas will have an OOC message that appears to each group entering them. If you are over the areas designated level, please leave it.
Merely traversing a hostile area to reach a destination is not farming. Traveling through hostile areas on your way to a final destination and leaving the shortest paths to create and kill spawns and loot is farming when done within the above timelines.
Level Restricted Areas: Areas with level restrictions are implemented so that newer PCs needn't worry about higher level PCs uber spawns in them. These also often have "scaled" restrictions with some only for levels 1 to 5 and others with max PC levels of 6 or higher allowed. Areas with restrictions will range up to a 10th level cap. We set no minimum levels to explore areas though. Low level PCs are never prohibited from exploring unrestricted areas whether alone or with others.
Catch all: Not all exploits can ever be listed, but a good rule of thumb is, 'would you do it if you knew a DM was watching'?
As with any PW, sooner or later players will find "exploits" in scripting, rules or game mechanics and abuse them.
Players that find and report exploits will never be punished for it. We do ask that players PM a Builder or DM here with the information and not just post it in a forum for all to see.
Players found using "known" exploits will be punished. Punishments can range from a formal admonishment to outright banning depending on the degree of severity and previous infractions if any that said player has had.
Known Exploits
Item/Equipment Swapping in Hostile Situations:
Swapping helms, belts, gloves, weapons, etc... in the middle of a fight is an exploit of game mechanics. It doesn't matter if the case involves a hostile spawned encounter or PvP, it's an exploit. When players are caught ignoring this fact, items swapped will be removed from their inventory and no reimbursement awarded for them. Repeated abuses will lead to stiffer penalties including a ban from the server.
Foraging: From fishing to picking food items or gathering firewood all of the scripts are purposely breakable. This means they'll fire as if you're still "standing there" if you move away. This was done so that in instances where you are partaking of these and something respawns, you've a better chance to react. Walking past such spots and activating them purposely as you merely traverse the area or engage creatures will not be tolerated.
Luring creatures: If you can lure one or two creatures from a main group to follow you and engage them on better terms ..... that's fine and makes good strategic sense. Luring creatures to purposely get them "hung up" on terrain they cannot reach you from is an exploit though. If as a player you notice creatures get "stuck" in certain places repeatedly, we ask you send a detailed PM to the Builders or DMs and include a screenshot if possible. If we find a player actively using terrain as a shield constantly though, they will face stiff repercushions.
Logging or Death Logging: Players that log out and relog to regain spells prior to resting again will be punished. We understand that some folks suffer crashes when playing though. We expect most players to simply play on as if those spells are still expended though. (Yes, even with persistance there are times that it may fail to correctly reset your spells.) If you log out while dead, be prepared for a stiff penalty. Any player doing so will find they still return "dead" and that their respawn XP Penalty has doubled and they'll have lost 50% of their coin. We understand that there are times that you might truly crash due to no fault of your own. Each instance will be reviewed and losses restored if there's any reasonable doubt. It's incumbent on the player though to make sure they have a log and or screenshot of the incedent to send in. Any logs or screenshots must further be unmodified. Doing "us" a favor by highlighting or clipping only what you see as relevent modifies the log and will not be accepted as "proof".
Bleed Logging: Logging out and in to restore hitpoints when bleeding out. Doing so or even attempting to do so is a bannable offense. We've held off scripting a penalty to ere on the side of caution when players truly crash IG, but .... players that "often" crash when bleeding and alone are doing so on purpose more often than not. Lag actually drops significantly when you are bleeding and alone as the monster AIs go dormant. So accepted instances will be rare if caught.
Not Respawning: If a player's character dies while out exploring and alone, we expect them to simply respawn. Players that "lie around dead" in the hopes that someone will come along or log in and save them are quilty of exploiting and metagaming both. If you think a DM's spawn was responsible then it's fine to wait a few minutes. DMs will rectify any "mistakes" they are responsible for and do not kill players on purpose.
If you were involved in a DM ran event, the DM in charge of the event should give you instructions regarding your demise. It's never a DMs intent to leave a character deceased unless the player of that character forced the circumstance by their own actions alone. ( A good or bad example would be PCs attacking a DM possessed creature that was in the middle of asking them why they were in his home ... in such cases the DM will likely unpossess the creature and let the AI decide the outcome
)If you were a member of a party and the rest have left to get help of some sort to rescue you, then waiting and not respawning is of course fine. Help must be IC though. If your party cannot return you will simply have to respawn. Party members may also not switch characters to return alone or help others of your party either. Only those PCs involved and others met ICly IG may participate in a rescue attempt.
Ninja Looting: Stealthing to loot drops without first killing any spawns in the area is not permitted. It doesn't matter how stealthy a character is, opening a chest or disturbing a pile of bones is not a stealthy action. That the game allows it is a mere exploit of game mechanics on an RP server and won't be tolerated. (you're likely to be suprised at the results should you attempt it too)
Twinking or Muling: Twinking is the giving of items to lower level PCs that have not earned them inorder to "help" them out. PCs wishing to grant items to their "apprentices" and such should first clear it with a DM. Same if a group finds items as treasure and one of the players wishing the items is well below the average party level. when in doubt, hold the item aside and ask a DM ingame .... or send a PM on these boards for approval. Muling is placing items or wealth with one PC somewhere you can pick them up with another for their gain or holding items for another player to facilitate the same. Anyone caught Twinking/Muling will be punished ... all parties involved, so don't do it. In instances where you are merely recreating a PC, a DM will gladdly hold any items to transfer over as well as restore your XP and wealth. (You will need prior approval for the remake as we'll often simply delete your old PC from the vault after taking items so you need not worry about naming conflicts. this will need to be prescheduled though as few DMs will be able to do it for you.) So there's no other excuses for the above exploits.
Spell Twinking: This is when a player much higher than others "buffs" PCs so they can go out and rampage through encounters easier. This is a clear unfair advantage given to the lower level PCs and will not be tolerated here. If you are not in the Party you are buffing then it is an exploit. Joining a party and waiting for them as they head to a level restricted area is the same as not being in their party.
Purchase Twinking: Purchasing items for PCs and players that cannot access a certain store/merchant is twinking. OOC and IC punishments may both apply at times. Elves caught giving/reselling/exchanging elven items would be labelled an outlaw and hunted down by their kinsmen. Dwarves would do the same to their own. Merchants dealing only to rogues would likely inform on the PC when it's found out and the local guilds would then likely become involved.
So just don't do it. Any player caught helping others obtain merchandise normally restricted to them is going to face severe penalties here.
Blatant Farming of Areas: We don't mind players that go out and adventure constantly here. Infact we in most cases promote it. However, we will not tolerate for very long players that only hunt repeatedly in one or just a few areas constantly. Move on. Explore this world. Constantly milking the same areas over and over will merely draw you attention you do not desire. There are often valid reasons for returning to areas frequently, most often there are not though. The minimum period to await visiting the same area twice here is 24 hours RL if your level 10 or below. For characters that are levelss 11 and up, the time between revisits is 72 hours RL. At any level, a Dragon's Lair is restricted to visits once per RL week here.. Yes there will be circumstances such as rescue parties or server wide events and quests that may dictate you revisit an area, but each will be judged accordingly.
We'll also not long put up with players that metagame areas either. By this I mean heading into an encounter area to hunt and always stopping short of the end encounters to avoid difficult fights. Your character has no IC knowledge of what awaits him/her afterall. To act as if they do would also mean they've already cleared any threats there long ago and have no reason to return. Treat each time into a dungeon or encounter area as your first ICly.
If an area seems to lack a challenge for you, then you likely should move on. Most "designated" areas will have an OOC message that appears to each group entering them. If you are over the areas designated level, please leave it.
Merely traversing a hostile area to reach a destination is not farming. Traveling through hostile areas on your way to a final destination and leaving the shortest paths to create and kill spawns and loot is farming when done within the above timelines.
Level Restricted Areas: Areas with level restrictions are implemented so that newer PCs needn't worry about higher level PCs uber spawns in them. These also often have "scaled" restrictions with some only for levels 1 to 5 and others with max PC levels of 6 or higher allowed. Areas with restrictions will range up to a 10th level cap. We set no minimum levels to explore areas though. Low level PCs are never prohibited from exploring unrestricted areas whether alone or with others.
Catch all: Not all exploits can ever be listed, but a good rule of thumb is, 'would you do it if you knew a DM was watching'?
