PLAYER GUIDELINES for play on the Total Entertainment Network (www.ten.net)
Dark Sun: Crimson Sands is an online role-playing game based on TSR's Dark Sun(TM) campaign setting for AD&D(tm). It is one game--one world--shared by thousands of players. In order for Dark Sun Online (DSO) to reach its potential, players must follow a simple rule: don't be a lamer.
WHAT'S A LAMER?
A player who treats DSO as a personal power trip, is annoying or rude to other players, mocks the game setting, or otherwise acts in a manner which hurts the game is a lamer.
Here are some of examples of player lameness:
Pkilling
Athas is a tough place. Characters won't always get along, and fights will happen. Some quests will pit characters against each other. Characters will form organizations that are directly and violently opposed to each other. Some Athasians will partake in mutually agreed upon Character Combat for the pure sport of it. And sometimes an evil character will just plain have a good reason to jump someone. But in all cases, players should act a in manner which reflects a respect for other players (if not their characters) and a desire to maintain the integrity of the game setting.
Pkilling (Player Killing) is when a player attacks another character for no good in-game reason. Such attacks have little place in a role-playing game--even "evil" characters don't just randomly attack people. Pkilling compromises the game's realism by implying that Athas is full of maniacs. There are plenty of good ways to play the bad guy--creating a personality that people love to hate, providing a worthy adversary for powerful players, etc.--but Pkilling is not one of them.
Inappropriate Language
When players are role-playing, it can be a lot of fun to trade threats, boasts, epithets, and other "colorful" language. That's OK, but be careful because there's a fine line between offending a character and offending a player. If you cross that line, the game will suffer, people will become upset, and it'll be your fault. Likewise, while it may often be good role-play for one character to taunt another, no player should ever feel harassed personally.
Some language is abusive to the game itself. Talking "out-of-character" (except in private messages) or filling the chat screen with worthless banter are typically seen as bad form. People who consistently and blatantly disrupt the game in these manners should be prepared for some backlash.
Game Manipulation
DSO was designed to provide an ongoing role-playing environment driven by mature player interaction. It is not a game you can win. Nonetheless, there will be people who try to "beat the game" by capitalizing on bugs or loopholes. These types of offenses may not be too serious, but remember that anything which needlessly causes game imbalance will rightfully upset other players. The most extreme and forbidden form of game manipulation is hacking. Get caught hacking, and you'll have more than just other players on your case.
WHAT HAPPENS TO LAMERS?
Lameness will be dealt with in many ways. In general, lamers must accept the fact that DSO's "powers that be" don't appreciate people ruining the game and will act accordingly. What is a "power that be?" Here are a few examples, along with how they might deal with lamers:
PLAYER CHARACTERS. Most characters will ignore characters played by lamers. On Athas, having friends is pretty important, not to mention fun, so people who annoy other players are at an immediate disadvantage.
CHARACTER ORGANIZATIONS. To their credit, many players will jump at the chance of using their characters to make DSO a better game. They'll form organizations which actively seek out the characters of lamers and make their lives a little less enjoyable. Character organizations which consistently do a good job in making DSO a better game will receive support from DSO Institutions.
DSO INSTITUTIONS. Athas is a world with a long, rich history. There are institutions which hold far more power than any one character, or group of characters, could ever expect to obtain. DSO Institutions include the Templars (Lawful Evil keepers of the peace in the cities), the Veiled Alliance (Lawful Good, albeit outlaw, protectors of justice), and other organizations. Characters who represent DSO Institutions will have a symbol in front of their name, such as *Templar Timor.
DSO STAFF. The goal of the DSO Staff is to maintain a game where players respect each other --where good role-play reigns, and where lamers lose--by guiding and supporting character organizations. Nonetheless, the DSO Staff will not be above taking out-of-game measures when needed. Players who consistently manage to make the game worse by their presence may one day find their characters locked out of the game. Remember, playing DSO is a privilege, not a right. The DSO Staff, at their sole discretion, control that privilege.
TEN. Break TEN's Terms of Service, and deal with the consequences. You are responsible for the actions of your character--or any character being used with your TEN account. Things like hacking and player harassment go well beyond lame.
SUMMARY
Player lameness makes DSO a worse experience for other players, sometimes causing them to stop playing.
Lamers will face consequences which make DSO a worse experience for the lamer, sometimes causing them to stop playing.
Don't be a lamer.
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Dark Sun, TSR, AD&D, and the Dark Sun: Crimson Sands logo are trademarks of TSR, Inc.
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