14.8 PK
Player killing is an acceptable and a necessary avenue for conflict resolution in Lusternia. Raiding, vengeance, and roleplay are all acceptable reasons to attack another player. The visceral exercise of combat affords an unmatchable level of drama and challenge that help make Lusternia an exciting and memorable world.
Player killing almost never occurs without consequences - a fact of which every potential combatant needs to be acutely aware. Most commonly, consequences of player killing can involve reciprocal attack from other players, being declared the enemy of an organization, or even Divine retribution. Be warned, however, that consequences of player killing may also bring about Administrative punishments if the actions have been carried out in an irresponsible and egregious manner. We care for the well-being of the game and its players, and excessive player killing and harassment harms Lusternia as a whole. Those OOC consequences may include Administrative disfavours, shrubbings, bans, or even a total loss of one's character.
There is no rule book, so please do not ask the administration to enumerate or hypothesize about specific situations where you may or may not kill another player. We recognize that no two conflicts are alike, and we evaluate -each complaint individually-.
That said, there are certain tips and easily-avoided mistakes that we can point out from experience. What follows is a short list of guidelines for player vs. player aggression. It is by no means all-inclusive; it is provided merely to assist in making intelligent choices:
No single death issues
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Any issue filed purely over an attack where NO DEATH or a SINGLE DEATH occurred will generally be dismissed outright. Death is a part of the world, and there are numerous avenues to deal with the repercussions of player killing without the Administration stepping in. These avenues should always be taken, and issues that concern player killing of any sort should only be filed where they constitute serious breaches of conduct and may constitute harassment. This does not mean that Admin will never act if it is a single or no death involved. However, it is more likely to be dismissed.
On the Prime plane, Avenger is one of those avenues, see HELP AVENGER for more details.
Off-prime deaths
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Only the Prime Material Plane is protected by Avenger and other planes are generally Open-PK. Any issue filed for deaths occurring off the Prime Material Plane will generally be dismissed outright.
Roleplay-based deaths
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While a roleplayed motive can be a reason to attack another player, it is not carte blanche to kill whomever you want with impunity. Your role defines your motives, not the other way around. If it's not clear to others that you are immersed in a role, then you effectively aren't. The burden is on you to demonstrate that your aggression is in-character, not only at the time of a fight, but constantly through your character's everyday behavior, habits and speech. See HELP ROLEPLAYING for more information.
Hurt feelings only go so far as an excuse for player killing. Failure to apologize is not a good reason to continue killing someone repeatedly.
Teaming, assassination, and excessive PK
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Repeatedly killing the same person for the same reason is rarely acceptable behavior. Killing someone over and over, and other attempts to demoralize someone to the point of wanting to quit playing are good ways to attract the ire of Administration.
Any time you assist another player, or group of players, in slaying someone - you are expected to have a strong reason to help kill them.
If you use assistance to slay someone, and do not land the killing blow, you generally _can not_ use the same reason and attempt to kill the person again.
Raiding
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If you enter an enemy organization's territories, on Prime or Off-Prime, of your own volition or attack one of their loyal NPCs, you are assumed to be launching an assault on that organization and should expect to be attacked accordingly by its citizens.
If you are participating in a raid, regardless of if you died during it, the defenders can retaliate for your raid later. This stands even if you were just participating in the raid by healing attackers and never hitting anyone. This does not mean you can perpetually retaliate in response to the retaliation.
Harrassement
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Excessive player killing may constitute harassment and be very harmful to the health of the game as a whole. Someone being an enemy of your organisation, slaying you, or raiding your organisation is not sufficient reason to absolutely always kill them on sight or to track them down at every opportunity. Players need to be able to play the game without someone constantly breathing down their neck _unless_ what they are doing does in some form endanger your organisation. Raising the Soulforge or the Tainted Broadcast Centre are good examples of activities which warrant interference.
The Avenger protects the Prime Plane from excessive player killing but it is possible to harass someone even beneath his watchful eye. However, just because it is possible does not mean it is permissible as that, too, harms the game and its players. Following someone constantly and interfering with their endeavors constitutes harassment as much as killing them would.
Other Guidelines
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If you have an issue with another player and can imagine some way to solve it yourself, please do so. Remember that nearly every player answers to other players, an organization, or a deity - so diplomatic solutions can sometimes be even more effective than a counterattack.
The more spurious issues get filed, the less the Administration is able to focus on developing and enhancing the world. Those who file issues deemed spurious may be subject to Administrative punishment.
Again, these points are merely here to assist you with making responsible decisions and are not a list of rules. The Administrators are not stupid, and attempts to play semantic games with them over words in this document will not work to your advantage.
