Harshlands is a heavily role-play-oriented MUD based loosely upon the fictional "Harn" world created by N. Robin Crossby, we consider Harshlands to be a low-fantasy medieval cooperative RPG - role-play, storylines and events are primarily player-driven in nature with the staff acting as stage-hands of sorts in order to provide support, random events, and reasonable consequence to the drama unfolded by players.
The staff also serves as administration for the numerous behind the scenes mechanics of building and altering the game world based upon changes the players have inflicted upon it, and even as policing of sorts to keep the disruption caused by abusers of code and OOC information to an acceptable minimum.
Below are some concepts and guidelines for play that will be touched upon, along with several of the game's policies. Taking the time to peruse these will help you to minimize mistakes that could be costly to your character.
In-Character Role-Playing
This is a core ingredients which you will have a hard time getting by without. You must set aside many of your real world opinions and tendencies and base your character's actions and words upon the character you have created and the fictional world it is living in. Think as your character would, not as you would. It is improper for instance to go whacking NPCs in hopes of gaining experience points, your character would have never heard of such a thing (and besides experience points do not exist here). Stay In-Character at all times whenever possible. Don't refer to things such as hit points, again the word does not exist IC. Instead of "I'm low on HP", "I'm in real bad shape" is much more appropriate. Remember that all your words and actions have possible IC consequences or repercussions both good and bad that may come from them, these consequences may be brought forth by other characters, NPCs in the game world or by the staff directly. It is highly important to realize that these consequences are not motivated by spite, dislike or disrespect to you as a player - consequences are directed at the character, not the real person playing it. The other PC yelling at you or threatening you in-game may well be sitting at home having a good humored chuckle while he types, please do not take such things personally. Your part is much like that of an actor in a medieval world, remember this and it should go well for you.
Player-Killing
There are no specific laws against player killing. Just make absolutely sure that you have a sensible, IC reason for doing so. Also realize that the NPCs here should be treated no worse or better than the players. Unlike most muds, the NPCs do not exist just to be slaughtered and looted. Expect the NPCs to react IC as well. If you try to take down a tribal nation single-handedly, expect them to react accordingly. They are fully capable of ganging up, killing you, calling for help, and getting more reinforcements than can easily be beaten, or whatever their intelligence level and resources permit. Mindless pointless slaughter of PC's and NPCs is strongly discouraged, unless you really are playing a crazed lunatic.. but consider that society will probably deal with you quite harshly and quickly in such a case.
Powergaming
A special note must be made for power gaming. This is the unrealistic overuse of a skill in hopes of improving it. Some degree of practice and use is normal, but this should not be abused and must be tempered by the bounds of reason and realistic behavior. Sure, you might practice.. but not many people would practice for 2 days straight without stopping. Also, and this is very important... do NOT set automatic triggers to repeatedly perform a skill over and over... that is highly illegal. In any case, code is implemented to prevent most skills from going up unnaturally fast. If you practice too hard, it won't help you overmuch and will only succeed in drawing the attention of the imms to your behavior. Repeated abusers of code limitations and chronic power gamers will be asked to modify their behavior and will then be paid closer attention to in the logs, those who fail to mend their ways will have the abused skills penalized or removed altogether.
Dying
In Harshlands, death is almost always permanent. Magic sufficient to bring about a resurrection is extremely rare at best. Once you're dead, usually the only recourse is to make another character. The best way to stay alive is to respect the sword. Yes, warriors may love to do battle, but those that live a long time will understand that an enemy's attack can kill as well. Large animals such as bears are usually capable of tearing to shreds a lone human attacker. Skilled warriors can kill a lesser warrior with some ease but large numbers of weaker opponents can swarm and overwhelm a more powerful opponent. Caution and a little common sense will help ensure a long-lived character.
Multiplaying
Possessing and playing more than one living character per player is disallowed in Harshlands. There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which is the tendency for IC information to get mixed up between multiple active characters and for one character to either act upon, or refrain from taking a certain course of action based upon knowledge gained while playing another character. This hampers enjoyment of other players who do not have the luxury of multiple sources of information and could be taken advantage of by those that do. Therefore, regardless of what is popular Harshlands chooses to abide by our longstanding policy of no multiplaying.
OOC Information
Please refrain from trading and using IC information via unauthorized OOC means. Your character must act or not act based solely upon information or facts he/she was told directly, overheard, or read in-game. The only out-of-game information one may act upon are IC'ly composed emails that are cc'd
to the staff at staff @ harshlands.net so we may keep track of who is doing (and knowing) what. Any information garnered through unconfirmable emails, or any instant messaging service such as ICQ, AOL, MSN, Hotmail, etc is an unauthorized OOC communication and as far as the staff is concerned _never_ took place. We reserve the right to modify the course of events in any circumstance (which may include the restoration of dead characters, loss of wealth, return of stolen goods, even the holdings of clans may be modified if the information by these things were accomplished had unauthorized OOC communications involved) Please be aware of this fact before taking advantage of fellow players with OOC information, not only may your gains be overturned if you cheated but the steps the staff must take to do so may cause great disruption to the game or to other players.
Objectionable Activities
In Harshlands, there are several activities which may be prohibited. However, in some of these cases such as the role-play of torture scenes, sexual scenes, or other potentially disturbing scenes we try to leave the player with as much choice as possible. If ANY player expresses a desire for a certain objectionable scene not to take place, or to stop during, it MUST stop immediately. This is non-negotiable, ALL players are free to refuse to take part in such scenes at any time, regardless of their past behavior, and regardless of what is IC'ly realistic. Anyone who is found to be forcing objectionable scenarios upon another player will be dealt with harshly, including possibly having their character removed from the game.
Clan Leadership
Certain characters sometimes rise to positions of power in a certain clan or town by way of IC events, consistent role-play, or by staff appointment for trusted players who have a history of fair and consistent play. Be aware however that more than minimum participation is expected from such characters, those who vanish for prolonged periods without advance warning or suitable explanation upon their return may well find that others have been promoted above them, or that they have been removed from play altogether if the absence seems indefinite or deliberate.
Contacting the staff
Players are welcome to contact the staff at our email account
staff @ harshlands.net which all staff members receive. Please feel free to pass on constructive suggestions, criticisms, requests of a reasonable nature given your character's IC resources, background information about your character or its motivations, and complaints about prohibited behavior.
Conflict Resolution
We will attempt to resolve all issues within the bounds of established IC history of events whenever possible, one of our primary concerns is that the chain of events in game history not be disrupted unless we find indication of _deliberate_ abuse of OOC information or code, or some bug in game mechanics. Please be aware that this policy may not be compatible with pleasing all those concerned, Harshlands is NOT some MUSH where the other PC's or NPC's require your consent before taking a negative action against your character - By playing a character here you assume the risk that something unfortunate or even fatal may occur for a reason outside your immediate control.
That said, you are free to email the staff with issues or conflicts outside that norm, please keep in mind the following when doing so:
- Word your complaint or issue in a civil manner, and avoid using profanity, we reserve right to ignore any email that is overtly hostile or profane.
- We try to avoid taking punitive action against a player on the mere say-so of another - be advised we will take the time we deem necessary to review logs, speak to other PC witnesses, or to imms that were online at the time in question.
- Be specific in your complaint or concerns, if the actions of another player are involved please provide their names, if the actions of an imm seem unwarranted please give us the RL _time_ the incident took place, please do not make accusation against an imm by name unless you are sure whom it was. As wrongful accusations are unlikely to garner much sympathy for your plight from the accused imm. While we try to be impartial as possible, we are subject to the same human reactions when wrongly accused as you are.
- Be advised that no one on the staff of Harshlands is a therapist, counsellor or social worker. While we may have experience resolving disputes regarding IC events or game mechanics, our expertise in resolving your personally-motivated disputes with others is not substantial, nor is it really our reason for being here, please carry your personal disputes to a forum outside the game where it will not interfere with other's enjoyment of the MUD.
Thank-you