Game Rules

NAME
     rules

DESCRIPTION
     Extensive version of the Rules for playing VikingMUD (wizards
     have additional rules, and archwizards are bound by their common
     sense).

You are expected to follow common sense and generally be nice to other 
people.

Be aware that the rules must not be interpreted too literally.  Please
note that the rules aren't necessarily very specific, this is
intentional.  If there is something you find unclear about the rules,
ask an arch (those who show up on "who -a", with (Arch) or (Admin) in
front of their names), preferably someone within the Law department
(help law).

The final authority on the rules of VikingMUD is the administration
(that is, those who are Administrators).

Also remember that VikingMUD is a game, wherein you have no rights,
although you usually are treated as if you have some.  The world of
VikingMUD is imperfect; it is not concealed that there can be real
persons behind a character's name, which makes "real roleplaying" near
impossible.  Keep this in mind!


1 Playerkilling
  
  Do not attack or kill players except in areas where it is
  specifically allowed, even if they make you angry.  See also rule
  #7.

  This includes some cases of indirect playerkilling, such as leading
  other players into deathtraps.

2 Multiplaying

  a) You may not be logged on with more than one character at a time.
     This does not apply to registered test characters being logged on
     at the same times as the owning wizard character.
     NOTE: A linkdead character still counts as being logged on, and
     so does using Guest.

  b) You may not use one of your characters for the benefit of another
     of your characters.  This applies to all characters you may have.
     This includes transferring money and equipment through other
     people's characters.

     NOTE: This rule also extends to Artifacts who help a player gain 
     equipment and then log on with another character and receives that
     equipment or any form for compensation.

  c) You are allowed to have at MOST one wizard character.

  Be aware that logging in from the same computer, like sitting at the
  same keyboard when playing, could lead to misunderstandings.  Please
  do your best to avoid such situations, and try to use different
  computers with different IP addresses.  If you have to use the same
  computer (and therefore the same IP address), we recommend you tell
  Law about this in advance (send a mail!).  It is also an advantage
  not to use the same user account, as this is one of the clearest
  signs Law has to go by, and also because it is most likely illegal
  with most ISPs.

3 Robots/automatic playing

  a) Your character is supposed to be played by you yourself, as opposed
     to by a program.  Using tools like specialized clients to aid you in
     your playing is OK, but using such tools to actually play for you is
     not.

     When you are not at your computer/terminal, your character should be
     idle -- do not use any tools to make your character look active when
     you are not.  It does not matter for how long you do this; if an
     arch finds you to be a robot or "triggeridling", you risk getting
     thrown out of the game immediately.

     When you are away from the terminal:

     Any type of trigger is qualified as illegal, if it can unidle your
     character by sending data to the MUD, and be triggered by any text
     executed by any object in the game. This goes for user tells and
     echos also.

  b) Idling in a party in order to gain experience is also considered
     automatic playing.

  If you are too busy to play your character at the moment, take a
  break or leave the game.

  Particularly active clients/robots might be the victim of _automatic_
  disconnection from the game or loss of commands when sending too
  many commands within too short time.

  If you think you have a good reason to make and use a robot, contact
  the administration (mail admin), and your request will be
  considered.

  Final conclusion:
     TURN OFF ALL YOUR TRIGGERS AND TURN OFF PARTY FOLLOW WHEN YOU
     LEAVE THE TERMINAL. IF YOU APPEAR TO BE AT YOUR TERMINAL, YOU ARE
     EXPECTED TO RESPOND TO ARCHES WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.

4 Character sharing (borrowing/lending)

  Your character is personal, and should not be used by others.

  For instance, you may not give away your password or allow others to
  play your character, while you are away or even if you are present.
  You may not give your character away permanently either, not sell
  it, and suchlike.

  It is also illegal to use your character as a point of transfer
  between other characters, including your own.

  Consider this rule in combination with rule #2 and #3.

5 Quest help

  Don't walk people through quests.  One small hint ought to be enough
  to help someone on their way.  The quests are there for people to
  solve, not for you to solve them for others.

  Helping people with difficult kills or in cases where there is a
  "physical" need for two characters (as in Killroy's quest) is okay,
  but don't overdo it.  Ask a QC Arch if you're in doubt whether the
  quest in question is made for several players or not.

6 Bugs, features and anomalies

  The lines between the three can often be very thin, report strange
  things to the creator of the area or the QC arches (mail qc).

  If you discover something strange in the game -- call it an anomaly
  if you like -- that either harms you, traps you or otherwise affects
  yours or others' gameplay in a way you didn't expect, the
  administration and the creator of that item/NPC/area really want to
  know about it in order to look into it (help rep).

  One such anomaly might be earning several hundreds of thousands of
  experience points (or money) in a very short time, like a few
  minutes.

  Another anomaly might be a wizard/creator/guild master/lord handing
  you an item, and ensuring you that it is okay.  Don't trust the
  wizard in question on this unless s/he/it is an archwizard or admin;
  it might be an attempt to cheat.

  If you discover such an anomaly (bug) and report it at once, it will
  be fixed as soon as possible.  

  Repeated failure to report bugs (bugs you ought to recognize) is
  illegal.

7 Offensive/menacing behaviour or names

  Players who behave in a way that is perceived by the arches as
  offensive, obnoxious, menacing etc. do so at risk of losing access
  to the game for a time, ranging from days to years, possibly
  forever, and perhaps even for the site(s) you are calling from.

  Looting is NOT illegal, but repeatedly "stalking" or ruining the
  gameplay for another player in a longer period if time, might
  qualify for harassment.

  Harassment is not tolerated.

  Keep in mind that minors may play the game, and that in some
  people's view, swearing, sexually explicit expressions etc may be
  damaging to their development into adults.

8 Escape/control characters and colours
  #This rule has been retired#

9 Law

  Never take the law into your own hands, _always_ leave this to an
  arch, preferably someone in the Law team.

  If someone breaks the rules, it is up to Law to do something about
  that, not you.

  Revenge -- petty or ingenious -- is not tolerated, so harassing
  someone because they harassed you will only get you into trouble, or
  lead to Law ignoring your complaints.

10 Denial of Service attacks

  The administration cannot tolerate attempts to disrupt the regular
  service of VikingMUD, whether they are successful or not.

  Such attempts may include creating "lag" in the game, or other
  methods -- internal or external -- for preventing the continuous
  running of the game.

  Severe cases will be reported to the your ISP, and can result in
  loss of Internet access, as well as other privileges, depending on
  the policies of your workplace or school.

SEE ALSO
  anomalies, behaviour, bugs, charactersharing, dosattacks, features,
  interference, law, looting, multiplaying, names, playerkilling, pk, 
  questhelp, robots, sharing, wizrules