Rules

Rules may be changed at any time. Last rule revision: 2021-09-15

0) Courtesy & Conduct

1. Act in good faith. The spirit of a rule supersedes its wording.
2. Do not use slurs, especially against others. Bigotry will not be tolerated.
3. Do not flame, threaten, intimidate, bribe, blackmail, slander, or otherwise harass community members. “Creepy PMs” will not be tolerated; if someone says they are uncomfortable, stop.
4. Do not purposefully act disruptive. Do not post content intended to offend or provoke others.
5. Do not post, produce, or engage in any content or behavior forbidden by the Discord Terms of Service, both in-game and out-of-game. Report any and all TOS violations directly to staff.

1) Roleplay Standards

1. You must remain in-character at all times when in-game. Do not break immersion for other players. Treat the game world as if it were a real world in its own right. Netspeak (“LOL”, “XD”) is considered an immersion break. Please avoid using modern slang wherever possible. The only exception to this is when staff intervention occurs, in which case immersion should be suspended while staff resolve the issue.
2. All round events are considered canon by default. This means that in subsequent rounds, characters should remember their interactions from previous ones. If the ISEO Endeavour is ever destroyed, it must be retconned into severe (but survivable) damage. NB: Consult Rule 3.0) Antagonists & Conflict for an explanation of the canonicity of antags. Do not try to kill or capture characters over events from previous rounds, unless given OOC consent by the other player. Staff reserve the right to de-canonize events for the purpose of resolving administrative issues.
3. Do not metagame. This is defined as when your character somehow possesses knowledge that you as a player have, but your character would not. This can be anything from information about someone’s character you read on the server Discord, to knowledge about OOC game mechanics such as round type or antagonist roles. To this end, please avoid discussing the current round in OOC or Discord. Save it for when the round ends. Do not allow your OOC opinions of a player to influence your IC interactions with their characters. This is metagrudging, and falls under the umbrella of metagaming.
4. Your character must be reasonable for our setting, and must be sane and stable enough to feasibly be employed on the ISEO Endeavour. Ask a staff member if you’re not sure whether your character fits.
5. You must be able to communicate in English. This includes using punctuation and fluent grammar.
6. Flavor/examine texts may not contain any information about a character that is not discernible from a glance. OOC details and preferences are an exception, but must be clearly marked as such.

2) In-Game Behavior

1. Roleplay supersedes mechanics. If an action would realistically be possible in our setting, but is not supported or even conflicts with mechanics, players are expected to defer to what is roleplayed, not what game mechanics reflect.
2. Do not utilize exploits. An exploit is any flaw in the game’s systems that may be abused by a player to their or another’s advantage, in a way unintended by the game’s developers. If you are aware of an exploit, do not inform other players. Report it to staff privately, either through an in-game AHELP or a Discord DM.
3. Do not powergame. Powergame is defined as acting in a way that dramatically favors mechanics over roleplay. Remain within the limitations of what your character is capable of.
4. Do not hop between departments or roles without legitimate reason. If you aren’t sure whether your reason qualifies, ask.
5. Suicides are considered permanent character deaths. The only exception to this is when the events influencing a suicide are not canon; this includes antagonist influence or total ship destruction.
6. No End of Round Deathmatching/Griefing (EORG). You are expected to maintain immersion up until the moment the round restarts. Legitimate, RP-supported fights may still proceed as normal at round end.
7. Do not strip, steal from, harm, or otherwise endanger SSD/AFK players. If there are extraneous circumstances that demand stealing from an SSD player, AHELP for permission. Do not abuse this protection. Intentionally disconnecting to avoid in-character consequences will be met with administrative action. Emergencies happen; just don’t make it a pattern.
8. If you are in an important role (i.e. a Department Head) and need to disconnect, inform the administrators via AHELP beforehand.

3) Antagonists and Conflict

1. Do not kill or injure without a legitimate in-character reason. This includes but is not limited to self-defense or achieving one’s objectives as an antagonist (within reason). Consider the gravity of taking another’s life; do not do so lightly.
2. Mechanical combat must be preceded by escalation via roleplay. This applies to all player characters, antagonist or otherwise. Before deciding to kill someone, consider whether it is necessary, and whether their death will result in a more engaging story.
3. Major damage to the ship or death of the crew is never canon (without staff-approved exception). On-Ship antags are semi-canon. Offship antags are canon. Any other events from the round (not directly caused by obvious antagonist influence) may be canonised as long as references to antagonist actions are removed.
4. Antagonists may seek out targets to kill or maim, and may cause damage to the ship, both within reason. However, they may not seek to cause wanton destruction.
5. Antagonists must act before the round is nearly over.
6. Antagonists must have a believable story to justify their actions.

4) Mature Content

1. Hearth of Hestia is an 18+ server. By joining this server, you confirm that you are not underage. Lying about your age will be met with a permanent ban without appeal. If a player is suspected of being underage, they will be asked to submit verification. Failure to produce proof of one’s age will result in an indefinite ban.
2. Mature content is permitted. This includes erotic RP (ERP). It is expected that players treat ERP as an extension of regular RP, rather than a primary focus. Do not harass other players for engaging in ERP. If you cannot tolerate sexually explicit content, leave.
3. Extreme content is not permitted. This includes any depiction of rape, gore, scatophilia, or underage characters. All characters must be both biologically and chronologically 18+. Violating this rule will be met with a permanent ban without appeal.
4. Department Heads and other critical roles may not ERP under any circumstance.
5. If you are engaging in ERP as a role that is suddenly needed, your job comes first. Stop the scene and do your job. You are responsible for staying in reasonable communication with the rest of the crew (i.e. keeping your headset or PDA on you at all times).

5) Miscellanea

1. Intentionally helping others break a rule may subject you to the same punishment.
2. If you are ticketed by staff, you are expected to respond promptly. Gross disrespect or noncompliance is grounds for a ban.
3. Do not seek out a more favorable decision from other staff regarding an ongoing ticket. Wait until a decision has been reached by the staff member who took your ticket, then post an appeal on our forums. Do not circumvent the appeal process.