This is a role playing shard, so keep stuff like Kewl, D00d, ok, and swearing etc out of here. (Swearing is a major offence) Try and talk like you live in a fantasy world but that doesn't mean you have to talk in Elizabethan English. A good substitute is to tend towards good courtesy, good punctuation and no shortcuts.

Since we are a children-friendly shard that encourages all members of the family to play, we insist that players behave accordingly. Even if no young players are around we still expect players to behave as if they were present. So that means no adult content,  no sexual references or actions, and no inuendo, even if it is roleplayed.

We expect you to treat others with respect and to be treated with respect. A decent attitude and maturity will ensure you go far here; we are a family of sorts so if you have a complaint please contact us. I cannot stress this enough we do not wish to have players leaving over this sort of thing. If we receive a complaint, or your behaviour is consistently below par of what we expect of a player thn it will be noticed. 

If we receive a complaint about you, a staff only forum topic will be opened to discuss your behaviour. If enough evidence is compiled either through complaints or monitoring, you shall receive a formal warning. You normally get 3 of these, then action shall be taken.

However, if you say or do something really idiotic or insulting, then we won't hesitate to jail you as soon as we have proof. Giving 3 warnings is insulting to players that have complained about your unbelievable behaviour.

Otherwise known as in-game knowledge. If your character in the game doesn't know something, then you don't know it either. So if you click on the other player and see that they are a bard, don't say anything that implies you know that information. They don't really have a sign telling you all their accomplishments. Never let out of character words appear above your player's head. The use of [square brackets for OutOfCharacter text is barely acceptable and should be kept to a minimum]. Use .msg to send things that don't translate into roleplaying words. This isn't an offence unless you do it too often, but it's rotten roleplaying. 

By all means. Even little things help. These are not compulsory but always worth doing:

• Stand next to a workbench when using tools even if the tool doesn't need it 
• Get out of the rain or snow 
• Go into the tavern occasionally and spend some money or admonish the drunks you find there
• Get a haircut sometimes 
• Spell words correctly. Take your time; this is a not a texting cell phone call 
• Don't say 'ok'. That rhymes with sock. It means nothing! Say 'alright' instead 
• Log out inside a building - preferably at an inne or your house
• Keep your horse or pets outside buildings and off the gardens 
• Talk about the weather and travel conditions 
• Don't clank around town in your armour. Make or trade some nice clothes and wear them in town 
• If you see someone on the road, stop and chat. Give them enough time to type out an answer, don't rush off unless it's life or death. A quick .wave should be a minimum.

• If you gate someone to a location, it is your responsibility to ask if they need to be returned to their starting location. Don't just abandon them 
• If you kill a monster, the loot belongs to you - unless you are part of a hunting party in which case the loot should be divided equally. If you have to log off and have a vital quest clue or valuable item, let someone know. That item might be vital for the quest. 
• If you lure a monster to a guard and then help slay the monster, then you have looting rights. Other players may join in only if you invite them 
• If someone owns or has something, then it's not yours. Okay? 
• We don't steal from fellow players even if they leave their front door or a chest unlocked.

You are not permitted to have more than one player account or to apply for another account when you are banned.

You can add more characters to your account if you earn them. Your character gump tells you how many characters you are allowed to have. To add characters, each character needs to be a specialist. You then see Lore to add a new character slot.

Previously we used to allow people to apply for more than one account. This is no longer the case. If you have 2 accounts, contact me to have your characters combined onto one account.

Keep your sparring or player kills to the arenas or Rathlin. We try to prevent you from attacking other players, but we know ingenious players can find ways around that. If the other player complains to a staff member that they were attacked by another player then we will take it seriously and punish the offender if we can find evidence. This is a MAJOR offence.

Don't loot another player's house or yard even if their front door is open and they leave chests unlocked. The only exception is where a player marks a chest as being free for all to take from. SQ is not a shard where players are permitted to steal items from each other.

We take theft from other players seriously. Sometimes we can track the items and prove ownership. Theft is a MAJOR offence. 

When you are talking to a GM or any member of staff about an issue they are investigating, do not log off or swear at them. This is a MAJOR offence.

GMs CAN do something about it. Getting them annoyed with you is not going to be good as they can jail you immediately for being an idiot, whether you are online or not.

We recognise that you need to advance in your skills and that this takes time.

Powergaming is playing the game solely to gain skills. We do not recommend you do this for the majority of your online time. Sorcerors Quest is a game to be played with others, and you should not forsake enjoying the game for the repetitive gaining of skills. It is no offence to powergame.

If you macro a skill and leave your computer for a while (or even overnight - ew!), please do it in EasyUO and observe the following rules:
* Your macro must emote regularly that you are not paying attention to other players (eg *concentrating on work*)
* You should put yourself into private mode with the .private command.
* You should always endeavour to respond to other players if you see them address you.

Failure to do these things are MINOR offences.

We shouldn't have to say this, but there should be no shortcuts to anything. It's cheating. If you find a problem with the game, let a staff member know and don't use it until it's fixed. If you think it's fun to take a shortcut then you shouldn't be playing a game like this one. This is a MINOR offence. 

Helping other players is encouraged, but don't go too far. No-one should give a complete stranger a valuable item for nothing in return. We strongly encourage you to trade and not give. However, it is perfectly okay to give items if you wish as long as they are suitable for the new player. By give, we mean face to face. Don't just leave an unlocked chest outside your house - talk to them!

The town of Vale as a lot of small houses and it also has a Vendor Mall. Players are allowed to own one property in the town - one house or one vendor mall. If you are found to have more than one, we will insist you vacate one of them.

It has become necessary to publish our punishments; not so you can see what you can get away with, but so that you know in advance that we do not tolerate bad behaviour. Breaking any rule can lead to immediate banning if your attitude is poor. Don't mess up our home. 

Minor offences:

• 1st offence - verbal warning  #
• 2nd offence - verbal warning * #
• 3rd offence - jail 24 hours * #
• 4th offence - jail 1 week * #
• 5th offence - banned *

* is a repeat of the same offence
# can substitute a different punishment such as loss of skill, stats or possessions.

Major offences:

• 1st offence - jail 24 hours
• 2nd offence - banned ** #
• 3rd offence - banned ** @

where:
** does not need to be the same offence
# can substitute a different punishment such as loss of skill, stats, possessions or character deleted
@ account nuked. Goodbye.

Before a player is banned, the Lead GM will seek opinions of other staff.

Last Updated 10 October 2009