Conflict Rules WIP

Foreword

The Big Disclaimer

The conflict rules are special. If you and your conflict partner mutually agree, you can play out a conflict in whatever manner you desire. The rules below are for instances where participants CANNOT come to an agreement.

• Remember that mutual respect and a willingness to compromise goes a long way.
• Remember that conflict is supposed to be fun. If you don't think you'll have fun participating in a conflict or otherwise don't want to, it's your job to speak up and say so! No one will know otherwise.

What is 'conflict'?

This term will be used frequently. Conflict is defined as any serious scenario that results in violence, or other similar serious consequences, against one or more player character(s).

What does 'interactive' mean?

Interactive RP means RPing in a way such that the other party is not simply a target for your actions; when you are establishing the context of a conflict, the other party should have a chance to react and reply.

• For example, attempting to start a conflict out of the blue by randomly punching a person is not interactive, because the person you are punching may not have acknowledged your intent or even your existence at that point.

Steps of a Conflict

There are usually three phases that a conflict will go through; Context, Resolution, and Aftermath.

Context

Conflict should be set up via context, which is Interactive RP between both parties. It is why the conflict is occurring, for example;

• Character A is robbing Character B.
• Character B insulted Character A, and Character A didn't like that.

This is also where the Danger Level (aka DL) is established, as well as giving Intent to Capture. (See relevant sections.)

Resolution

The actual conflict part of the conflict, where we play it out and determine what happens. There are several ways you can do this;

• Player VS Player (PvP)
• Dice Rolls
• Pure RP

None of these options are mandatory. Ideally, you and the conflicting party will come to agreement on the method by discussing it.

• In any instance where you cannot agree or otherwise don't know what to do, 1 person on each side can roll a d20, with the highest roll being the 'winner'.
• You can use this to pick which method the conflict follows, and/or the results of certain actions taken during Pure RP, and/or the ultimate result of the conflict.
• Keep in mind this is just a fairness option and a last resort. If people in the conflict are constantly disagreeing, it may be a sign that following through with it is a bad idea, or that certain people should sit it out.

Aftermath

What happens afterwards.

Rule of Consent

1. Both parties must give consent to the 'danger level' of a conflict encounter.
   • Danger Levels:
     • Level 1: Simple non-life threatening injuries.
     • Level 2: Robbery. (See Robbery section)
     • Level 3: Serious injuries, which can be fully recovered from over time. (Broken limbs, etc.)
     • Level 3.5: Maiming (IE, limb loss, tongue loss), destroying a vampire or lich's body. (IE, non-permanent character death.)
     • Level 4: Permanent character death OR permanent character imprisonment, etc.
2. In the event that no danger level is clearly established, both parties assume that it is level 1.
3. For Level 1/2, consent may be given through IC roleplay that explicitly implies that the other party is about to be, for example, punched or robbed.
4. For Level 3/4, explicit consent but must be given beforehand in the LOOC channel by both parties. Simply implying it is not allowed in these cases, as they have permanent consequences.
5. Once consent is given, it cannot be revoked without the approval of the other party, or the intervention of a GM. Do not give consent if you are unwilling to follow the consequences!
6. Consent cannot be forced in conflict between two parties. Furthermore, attempts to force or coerce someone into giving consent for something they do not want to do is not allowed. Do not harass them OOC - simply accept it and continue roleplaying, or move on.
   • NOTE: If one party is, for example, egging on or insulting another party, and the insulted party makes it clear that they'd better stop or they'll retaliate. In instances like these, continuing to egg on or insult them would be the same as giving consent for the conflict (at level 1). Do not try to use this rule as a shield.
7. Just because consent is given for a particular danger level does not mean that the victor has to follow through with it. For example, although consent is given for a robbery, the victor of the conflict may later choose not to actually rob the loser.
8. Consent only applies for the specific encounter. (IE, just because someone consents to being robbed once does not mean they are giving consent for you to rob them in the future.)

Rule of Avoidance

Conflict tends to beget conflict in retaliation. This is a beneficial thing, except in cases where it creates repetitive cycles of revenge over a short period of time. The Rule of Avoidance is designed to allow a proper period of time for conflict RP to be digested and for the players involved to breathe.

For 24 IRL hours minimum following a conflict, a conflict between two parties that has been resolved should not be restarted, even by other parties.

Example

Character A and Character B got into a fight. Character B lost, but got healed by a doctor. Character B should not then immediately go find Character A to try and run it back.

This includes actions that may serve as Context to a conflict, such as Character A finding Character B and taunting them, etc.

In the same period of time, other characters should not pursue a character involved with intent to retaliate.

Example 1

Character A and Character B got into a fight. Character C, who is Character B's best friend, hears about it and wants to beat up Character A. While Character C's motivations are understandable, they should refrain from immediately starting another conflict with Character A over it.

In instances where this happens through unavoidable circumstances or coincidence, one way to play it off would be for Character A to say something like "Ha! Maybe I'll take you on next time. Gotta wash B's blood off my knuckles first, though."

Example 2

Guard D was there at the time and tried to arrest Character A for the fight. Character A beat up Guard D and got away. Guard E should not immediately try to hunt down Character A to arrest them.

As with most aspects of the Conflict Rules, if both parties are mutually willing, this rule can be waived. Character A and Character C can get into a fight right away if they want to, but if Character A's player doesn't before this 24 hour period is up, there is no obligation.

Exceptions

There are certain situations where this rule can be a hindrance rather than helpful padding.

Example: Occupation

An antagonistic character(s) has forcibly occupied a building in a town, such as a bar or hospital, etc. The first attempt to subdue/remove them failed.

After a reasonable interval of time, if the antagonstic character(s) still occupy that location with no intent to leave, another attempt may be made; repeat as necessary. (A 'reasonable interval of time' is not a hard definition, but generally 1 hour real-time would fit. Depends on speed of the scene). Follow up attempts should not involve anyone on the losing side of the previous attempt(s) without the acknowledgement and agreement of the other side. If mechanical combat is being done, let people heal and repair between attempts if they want.

The intent of such an exception is to prevent the eternal occupation of a populated location, and to give the guards of such a location a means to interact with it, should the antagonizing party choose to extend the situation rather than leaving.

Please contact Modmail if guidance is needed, should a complicated situation arise.

Scene Locking

First and foremost: Roleplay is a collaborative activity, not a competitive one. All parties involved in a scene, be it in conflict or not, should strive to make the scene fun and interactive for as many people as possible. Please keep that in mind when reading these rules.

1. Once conflict has begun, except in one of the listed circumstances, the scene is considered 'locked'. This means that the participants in the conflict at that time are the only ones who can participate - meaning that if someone happens across the scene, they may observe OOCly, but cannot interfere or interact with it, and for the purposes of the scene, they are not there ICly.
2. Once the conflict concludes, only participants may obstruct either party from leaving the scene, and only if it makes sense with how the scene played out. Non-participants cannot pursue leaving parties or interact with them regarding the scene for 10 real-time minutes (to give a little padding for antagonistic characters from being immediately pulled into another conflict).
3. KEEP IN MIND: If you stumble across such a scene, you are observing OOCly. The way it plays out and any information divulged is NOT IC knowledge to you - using it as such is considered metagaming. This includes if your character was 'secretly watching' - if you did not participate (by roleplaying) in the scene from the start, you are not there ICly.

The following is an example of how this rule works in practice:

1. John begins conflict with Mary with the intent to rob her.
2. The two roleplay the scene and some resolution is made (PvP or RP) with John being the victor.
3. Part-way through this, a random bypasser, David, sees the scene unfolding.
4. Although David may be a character who would like to interfere and stop Mary from being robbed, they cannot, because they were not an active participant when the scene began. For the scene's purposes, David is not even there.
5. John being the victor takes some Murai from Mary. Despite the scene nearing resolution, David still cannot jump in and try to stop John from leaving.
6. John leaves the area. David may not pursue them. Mary would like to pursue John, but since they have just been beaten up, it would not make sense from a roleplay perspective for them to be able to do so.

The Devlogic™:

1. Although this interaction could, ICly, take less than a few minutes to resolve, it may take much longer than that to roleplay out, not including any PvP or RP'd struggle. The longer the scene goes on, the higher the chance that someone will come across it by chance, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense.
2. This provides a major disadvantage for antagonistic characters due to the tendency for people to dogpile as more and more people become aware of what's going on.
3. This rule also prevents scenarios where less well-intentioned players will OOCly alert their friends that they need help IC during conflicts.

What defines a 'participant'?

1. A character who is actively taking part in roleplay with the conflicting characters before the conflict starts.
2. A character who is actively roleplaying in the immediate vicinity of where the conflict starts, even if it is not necessarily with the participants. (Immediate vicinity being capable of seeing the scene from where they are.)

What if a participant leaves to get help?

1. If a participant leaves the scene for whatever reason, they are no longer defined as a participant and thus excluded from the scene. (See Exceptions section).
2. All parties should apply basic logic, however. If the participant who leaves walks two rooms over to alert someone that conflict is happening nearby, that can be considered a general exception to the scene lock rule. (This only applies for being in the same general area.)
3. In the event that you cannot come to a general compromise, consult a GM.

Exceptions to Scene Locking

1. If the conflict is started in town or other area where NPCs are likely to be, this rule does not apply. (This is most places in towns with the exception of areas such as sewers. The reasoning being that, in this scenario, it actually is conceivable that someone would notice what's happening in a reasonable time frame to cause interference.)
2. If all participants agree to waive this rule, they may do so. (As a participant, until you have confirmation that it is being waived, please do not ICly interact with non-participants to avoid confusing them.)
3. If a GM believes this rule should not be applied to a certain scene and provides justification to the participants, it may be forcibly waived. (An obvious necessity in scenarios where this rule applying or not isn't clear cut, and for odd outliers.)
4. During events, this rule may be waived by Event Staff, for both conflicts they start, and conflicts started during the course of the event by others where applicable. (IE, if you try to rob someone in the middle of an area with an event going on, an Event Staff may forcibly waive this rule in those instances.)

Robbery

1. Robbery is any conflict scenario that results in the losing party having items or Murai taken from them.
2. Both parties must be aware prior to PvP or any roleplaying conflict that losing means being robbed, and consent must be given (see Rule of Consent).
3. Regardless of how many player characters are in either party, the victim(s) may only be robbed once. Some examples:
   • If the winning party has 4 player characters, while the losing party only has 1, the losing party is only required to offer once - they do not have to give something to each of the 4 player characters.
   • If the winning party has 4 player characters, while the losing party has 4, the losing party's 4 characters are only required to offer once. They do not have to offer to all 4 player characters in the winning party - only once. (The winning party has the responsibility of splitting it however they want.)
4. In the event that the initiator of the robbery 'loses' the conflict, and is at the mercy of their would-be victim, the victim can choose to rob them instead, following the same rules.
5. A player character can only be a victim to a robbery once per 24 real-time hours. (They may consent to more at their own discretion.)
6. A player can only rob a victim once per 6 real-time hours. (Note: This means player, not player character. You are not allowed to swap to a different character and continue robbing.)
7. It is highly recommended that if you engage in such an encounter, you document the whole thing with screenshots and chat logs if you feel even the slightest chance of there being a problem.

If the victim of a robbery, one (and only one) of the following, of the victim's choice, must be offered to the victor. (NOTE: DONATION ITEMS, PATRION ITEMS, REGALIA'D ITEMS, ETC. ARE NEVER REQUIRED TO BE OFFERED, NO MATTER WHAT. IT IS A BANNABLE OFFENSE TO ATTEMPT TO CONVINCE OR IMPLY THAT SOMEONE IS EVER REQUIRED TO.)

1. Victim's choice of an equipment item of at least 3* rarity.
2. 2d10 total of any stackable item(s), such as crafting materials or potions, etc.
3. 10d20 Murai.

Rules for Undying Races (Vampires, Liches)

Some races have the capability to escape death, such as vampires and liches (referred to here as Undying Races). These rules are here to help define what they may and may not do, to avoid players from 'cheesing' and avoiding RP consequences as a result of conflict.

While Undying races are permitted to utilize their relative immortality in a way that benefits them, utilizing it in a way that stifles RP or otherwise seeks to game the system, especially if done repeatedly, is metagaming and therefore a punishable offense.

Note that these rules only apply for instances where the Undying race character is captured or otherwise in peril of such.

Suicide:

1. Undying races can only commit suicide with tools, such as weapons or a noose. They may not commit suicide by bashing their head into a wall, or by biting off their tongue, or biting their body repeatedly. Tools that cannot be interactively RP'd with, such as poison capsules, or weapons that are hidden even after being searched (or otherwise part of the body), etc. are not permitted.
   • If the Undying race character is stated to be restrained or otherwise incapacitated as a result of the RP leading up to it, they cannot attempt to commit suicide until this changes.
   • Youkai or other summons are not considered tools. You cannot summon a Youkai to kill you.
   • Magic is not considered a tool. You cannot drown or freeze yourself with an Aquarian spell, impale yourself on a spike of earth from an Isespian spell, etc.
   • Jumping from a high enough altitude to fall to their death is allowed, but only if the height is substantial enough to be sure death; heights where you would have to land on your head for it to be fatal are not allowed to be used in this method.
2. If other characters are nearby when this attempt is started, they may intervene. Settle the matter with RP (and if you can't do that, roll a d20 - highest roll wins, RPing appropriately) If they fail to intervene successfully, the suicide attempt is considered a success and cannot be undone/stopped.
3. If the Undying race is said to be under strict supervision by NPC guards, perhaps due to the high probability of suicide if left unattended, it is assumed that they will intervene and be successful. (If the undying character wishes to try and escape via suicide in this instance, they will need a GM or Event Staff to roleplay as the guards and find a way around their intervention.)

Korvara-Specific Conflict Rules

See main article: Korvara Conflict Rules

Other Outliers

1. Joining someone's in-battle party with the intentions to use friendly mechanics (such as On A Leash) to sabotage them in the middle of battle is not permitted. The same applies for joining someone's party with the intention of filling it up and doing nothing so that other people cannot join. If you are trying to break up a fight in such a way, you should instead remake the battle as a free for all.