Session 0

These guidelines are focused on in-character behavior and what is or isn't allowed. For rules more focused on out of character behavior reference Section One: Behavior & Conduct.

2.1 | Fantasy Racism, Drugs, Guns, & Other

• Roleplay Insults and Slurs are permitted within reason & the character must have the appropriate backstory written to include that content & reason why your character is racist and must be submitted upon application to the server as either a civilian or an adventurer. This still does not condone spamming fantasy racial slurs or using them inappropriately.

  • If a character is going to have a bias against any peoples/races ICly, it needs to be clearly defined in the backstory of the character, which will be reviewed by the DM team upon application.

  • Players will be reminded that everything has to be in moderation. You can't create Ul'Gar the Elf Slayer. If a kobold hates gnomes, that's entirely justified. You just can't chase down every single gnome, it has to be understood that everyone is a person.

  • DM Events: Race, Gender, etc. The source material we're playing with is full of stereotypes thanks to the lore. Some good, some bad. It is very possible that a character might face IC discrimination or distrust based on their origin or culture. This is in no way a reflection of a Dungeon Master's mindset. We do not tolerate racist or discriminatory behavior OOCly. IC is IC and OOC is OOC.

• Recreational drug roleplay is prohibited. Tobacco and Alcohol is permitted.

• Guns are not part of our server content and any D&D content related to guns has been removed or is unavailable.

• Always reference our Consent & Common Sense for any additional guidelines.

2.1 Other: Inappropriate Role-Play for a 16+ Server:

• Excessive Violence and Gore:

  • Detailed descriptions of brutal killings, dismemberment, or extreme injuries.

  • Torture scenes with explicit details of pain or suffering.

  • Prolonged and graphic portrayals of death or the aftermath of violent acts.

• Sexual Content:

  • Any explicit sexual scenes or descriptions of intimate acts.

  • Inappropriate discussions or references to sexual content in an overt manner.

  • Depiction of non-consensual sexual acts, exploitation, or any form of abuse.

• Disturbing or Traumatizing Themes:

  • Detailed descriptions of suicide, self-harm, or severe mental health crises.

  • Graphic portrayal of traumatic events, such as extreme abuse, both physical and emotional.

  • Depiction of extremely disturbing content, such as extreme phobias, body horror, or unsettling imagery.

• Substance Abuse:

  • Glorification or detailed descriptions of drug use, addiction, or overdosing.

  • Graphic depictions of intoxication or the consequences of substance abuse. 

2.2 | Immersion

• When you are within public areas of the world map you must maintain an In-character appropriate behavior. Meaning you are ALWAYS considered IC when you are in public areas. Meaning any actions you take can and probably will be used against you in roleplay. To AFK or remain OOC appropriately it is advised for players to go back to their character's homes, storage areas, or other non-IC locations provided in-game.

2.2a | Presence Declaration

• • • Upon entering a space with active roleplay an emote is required to declare one's presence. If under any effects that obscuring one's presence the emote must distinguish such status.  (e.g. Ethereal, Invisible, Hiding, etc.)

      • You can not exist in the vicinity of roleplay OOCly (based on  chat range). You should avoid OOC comments or actively interfering with nearby roleplay. You must declare your presence.

      • If watching an event you must have the DMs + the players permission to remain in the area oocly.

      • AFKing should be done within one's own home, storage areas, or admin shop and not in public areas. This clears up the confusion of who is available for roleplay and who isn't.

2.2b | Metagaming & Powergaming

• • • Metagaming: Metagaming refers to the inappropriate use of out-of-character (OOC) knowledge to influence in-character (IC) actions or decisions. This includes using information that your character would not realistically know based on the narrative or the game world. Examples of metagaming include acting on knowledge gained from private conversations or using OOC grudges to influence IC interactions. It is also important to avoid sharing IC knowledge in OOC chat unless it has been widely made known in the roleplay community.

      • Don't do a crime (or something else) and then tell everyone under the sun that you did it. This is considered baiting other players by telling them informaiton oocly so when they discover stuff ICly you can say they didn't know that information and that they were metagaming.

    • Powergaming: Powergaming is prohibited within our community. This term describes the practice of forcing actions upon other players' characters without allowing them a reasonable opportunity to respond or contest. In the context of Dungeons and Dragons, powergaming involves actions that go beyond a character's realistic abilities or the established rules of the game. It is essential to resolve in-character conflicts through fair and collaborative decision-making among all involved parties, ensuring that actions align with the characters' capabilities as defined by the game's rules, particularly those outlined in the 5th edition rulebook and character sheets.

2.2c | OOC & IC

• • • it's important to maintain the boundary between in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC) communication channels. Please refrain from discussing out-of-character matters in the in-character chat. If you're unsure about where to communicate, familiarize yourself with our chat plugin by using the "/chat" command.

      • Additionally, any in-character drama should remain within the confines of the IC chat. Bringing OOC issues into IC interactions is not appropriate. Similarly, OOC drama should not spill over into IC situations. 

      • While we encourage a fun and lighthearted atmosphere, please keep out-of-character memes and jokes to a tasteful degree when in-character. This ensures that the roleplay environment remains immersive and respectful for all participants.

2.2d | Named Characters

• • • Your character cannot be directly related, closely affiliated with, nor personally or intimately involved with any named characters from any official sources.  

2.3 | Building & Resources

• Building in the wilderness is not allowed unless following our Nomad Rules.

• Building certain structures outside of your house boundary is allowed as long as it remains next to your property, is not an addition onto your home or shop, and you understand that anything built outside of your housing boundary can be destroyed via events, build team, etc.

  • Appropriate additions to outside of your boundary include: gardens, small stables for 1-2 horses, and work stations. If you are uncertain if something is allowed please reach out to the build team via an Architect Ticket.

• Resource gathering on RPDND requires specific tools and even specific areas. Going into the world and strip mining will get you nothing as the droptables are disabled outside of those areas. Lumbermills & Mining require specific locations before you will get drops. Other resources can be completed anywhere on the map using the correct tool.

• Intentionally damaging the world by not using the correct tool may fall under the griefing rule. Minor errors that the player can fix may be excused. Report any issues you find within the world or if something happens. Reporting it is better than letting it be discovered later.

2.4 | Inventories & Muling

• In-Game Inventories do not drop upon death. Please do not abuse this as a form of fast-travel or Healing/Hunger avoidance. In addition make sure to die in-game once in awhile with your inventory set up so it will save to our Death Inventory List in-case any errors occur we can restore your old inventory more easily.

2.2c | Muling

• • • Because we allow multiple accounts there is a specific rule about interacting between your main and alt accounts. This is not allowed and is considered muling. When you give your alt or main account an item from the other this is not allowed. You can not share homes, chests, guilds, etc with your other account(s).

2.5 | PVP & Theft

• Player vs Player (PvP): is content heavily reliant on proper roleplay and building up the conflict between characters. PVP should not be the result of an OOC conflict. We do allow certain conflict between characters and more details can be read on our Consent & Common Sense page.

• Theft: Theft is not allowed between characters unless agreed upon between the two respective parties.

  • Character homes can not be stolen from without permission of the building owner this includes: wall objects, chests, blocks, plants etc.

  • Chests left in public locations unlocked can be taken from without issue. You may see these types of chests around most resource areas.

  • Removing items on walls in public areas (non-homes/shops) is not allowed without permission.

2.6 | Children Characters

• Child characters PC or NPC may be kidnapped, held for ransom, etc. But any roleplay verging on torture or murder by another character is not allowed.

  • For obvious reasons child characters can not be in romantic relationships (similar to Age Rule) and players should reference the Race Ages page for more details on appropriate ages for your characters.

2.7 | ERP - Erotic Roleplay & Graphic Content

• ERP (Erotic Roleplay) is a consenting 18+ activity between players and will not be allowed on any server related medium. Anyone under 18 cannot partake in ERP-type roleplay regardless of consent or medium. We are a 16+ server, ERP has no place here.

• Graphic Content: Graphic Roleplay is to be kept at a tasteful degree or Fade to Black. Here are some examples of what you should not roleplay in excessive detail:

  • Pregnancy/Birth Roleplay

  • Trauma/Backstory Details

  • Detailed Killing or Maiming

  • Graphic retellings in-general

  • etc.

2.8 | F2B/FtB - Fade To Black & Voiding Content

• Fade to Black is a simple way to skip over graphic or uncomfortable roleplay without breaking character. It allows for age appropriate roleplay and storytelling.

  • If you are in roleplay and you feel uncomfortable the direction it is going you may request to Fade to Black or void the part of the roleplay that made you uncomfortable. If you do not tell the player they can not correct their mistake. It is advised to talk to the player before submitting a GM ticket.

  • If another player voices they are uncomfortable with the direction of the roleplay you should apologize and if needed get clarification so it doesn't happen again. You can also fade to black the scene or void it if needed.

  • This is not a valid way to get around ERP or the Age rule as a minor.

• Voiding Content: Voiding content means to rewind back to a time before a scene happened. it is a good way to correct mistakes quickly when in a small interaction. Larger interactions may not be allowed to be voided due to the logistics of having to contact everyone involved and the level of metagaming that may occur. Voiding content can also be abused for "meme-content" in roleplay. ex: I hate you ((void. Doing so during events or in roleplay is distracting and disruptive behavior.

These guidelines are focused on out of character information to make sure you start out informed when beginning your time on RPDND.

4.1 | Server Rating & Sources

• Our server is 16+ years old but caters to an 18+ community. We do not allow ERP or overly graphic descriptions/details. You are allowed to request a Fade to Black. (meaning the DM/Player will allow you to leave the room or will skip over the details and get a very brief overview of what happened)

  • Always keep content appropriate for the ages of the server

  • Keep suicide & Self-harm topics out of RP or OOC channels.

  • If you are in an event ask before being overly graphic or detailed and even with permission be tasteful.

• Our world is one that allows multiple source books. Coming from either the world we play on or from another plane (even one you made up -- as long as its not modern earth) is allowed and encouraged. Technology shouldn't be stronger than Eberron and no guns.

4.2 | Scheduling & Events

• Events require volunteers who understand how dungeons & dragons works. That means events can fluctuate in amounts month to month depending on how busy a Dungeon Master is in-real life. We ask all players to be respectful of any DM who is listed as [On Break] so they may come back refreshed and ready to go. 

• Events are a collection of players gathering under a single or multiple Dungeon Masters to take part in a story created by the Dungeon Master. Characters who are involved in the event shape the direction the event goes. Remember to play smart, but have fun and respect your dungeon master and party. Event etiquette is very important to have a fun time in an event.

• Who runs events: Dungeon Masters are volunteers who work with the server lore to create story arcs and interesting random encounters, planned encounters and dungeons. They are the main source for loot but not the only source. We also have a team of players called Player DMs or PDMs who can run encounters for fun this role is the first step to joining the DM team officially.

4.2a | Random Encounters

• • • Random Encounters are events that do not have a set time or place for when they occur they are normally ran ontop of a gathering of players, a solo player, or sometimes even at weddings. Random encounters allow players to choose if they wish to join or not and can range from easy to even dangerous. Random encounters could also include NPC interactions where there is no combat involved and its an event usually solved by talking. Random Events could be started from a DM Emote broadcast or DM event private message. 

4.2b | Planned/Scheduled Events

• • • Planned events allow the player to have a few hours to a few days notice before it will happen. Requires sign up or some type of coordination such as building a party or reacting to a noticeboard/adventurer's guild post. These events are posted by a Dungeon Master. Some planned events will have level restrictions.

    • Scheduled events are either created from the adventurer's guild posting and signups, through a discovery of a location, item, or roleplay sign that tells you to contact a DM or event a large scale event that's posted in advance for people to sign up for on a set day and time.

4.2c | Annual Events

• • • Annual Events are events that occur on a schedule they can be in-character events (Mass Merchant Event) or out of character events (like New player week, Christmas or Easter.) These events are expected to happen at least once a year or every few months. On RPDND we try to incorporate OOC events into roleplay via stories, events, and the like.

4.2d | Player Events

• • • Player Events are gatherings, contests, weddings, festivals, etc hosted through the playerbase and does not involve a Dungeon Master as its host. These events can bring together characters or divide them depending on what happens. DMs are known to poke their head in with NPCs from time to time but largely are asked to give player events the space they need to play out fully without interruption.

4.2e | Dungeons & Finales

• • • Dungeons are available once per character and require a coordinated party to enter with a DM. Dungeons can take hours to complete and do require a large commitment from the host DM and the players. Dungeon can also give players EXP one of the few ways to get exp besides daily logins.

    • Mid Arcs & Finales are portions of a large story where the event is about to reach its climax or end game. These are large scale and can involve multiple Dungeon Masters and many many players/characters. Mid Arcs & Finales are additional opportunities to earn more exp outside of daily exp.

4.2e | Merchant Events

• • • These events focus on economy and could be an auction, an npc stall, or a traveling trader. They sometimes accept gold, gems, or other currency if you have something they want. Most merchant events are random and come and go multiple times through out the year from different dungeon masters.

4.2g | Event Rescheduling & Cancellations

• • • Life happens and events can fall through on occassion. Idealy a fellow DM will step in to cover the event if the original DM can no longer host the event. Ideally we would have that happen but other times it may require a full rescheduling of the event. DMs are asked to make sure the event is re-hosted within two weeks (if possible again life happens).

    • Players who do not show up to the event on time may be replaced by another player who is avaialble if no prior notice is given to the Dungeon Master. The DM will not be obligated to reschedule the event if this happens.

4.3 | Getting Involved

• When you are on the server you are essentially your character. That means afking for hours in the corner of the tavern may seem like something your character would do but its also an obstacle for you getting involved in the story. You need to roleplay, meet other characters, find things to explore, and create story. Players who actively participate within the roleplay have a higher chance of getting events.

4.3a | Starting Level & Perks

• • • All characters (civilian & adventurer) start at Level 4. Every adventuring character is also given a bonus feat at level 4.

    • We use Average HP (no rolling)

    • We use Point Buy for stat points

4.3b | Multiple Characters

• • • Players can have 2 Minecraft accounts total. Each account can have 1 active & 1 stored character.

4.3c | Leveling & Exp

• • • 400 Exp is gained daily for 1 hour of roleplay (on Double EXP weeks it goes to 800 but you need to complete a quest to get it). Meaning you no longer have to compete for exp and can gain exp for roleplaying. Are you a pacifist? Great, maybe you earned exp from studying. Are you an arena fighter? You gain exp from your small fights!

4.3d | Tiers of Play

• • • • Tier One: Lvl 1-5

      • Tier Two: Lvl 6-10

      • Tier Three: Lvl 11-16

      • Tier Four: Lvl 17-20

4.3e | Magic & Technology

• • • This world has magic and the level of technology we have is mixed. Just like with people this world can pull items from other worlds here too. While these rare discoveries have been found, used or remain undiscovered it does not mean the people of this world understand how to make these things themselves.

      • Example: An airship could be found but no one from this world would understand the technology to make it.

        • Not allowed: Guns/Modern Items

4.3f | House Rules

• • • House Rules & Class Rules are available make sure to review those before doing things in-game. 

4.3g | Time, Long Rests & Health

• • • 2 MC Days Per 24 IRL Hours. Day is 6 hrs and Night is 6 hrs so each full day is 12 hours IRL *Pregancy runs differently scroll down for more details.

    • Long Rests last for 4 hours irl -- Short Rests are 1 hour irl.

    • We use HP Average. We do not allow HP Rolling. 

4.4 | Reflavouring

• Reflavouring is encouraged and welcomed. We only have a few requirements that you must meet.

  • If you are reflavoring something it maintains its same stat block even if the appearance is different. Example: If you reflavored wild shape animals from a Bear to a Spider. The spider would only be able to use what was on that bear stat block. It does not gain any extra abilities from appearing as a spider. Same with weapons/armor/magic spells. IF my fireball comes out like fiery stars that is great but it still only does what the stat-block says in damage.

  • A guide to answer all questions about what is or isn't allowed on RPDND for reflavouring. Here at RPDND we want you to have a unique roleplaying experience but we want to make sure you do it right. We get asked often if a player can reflavor x y z thing on the server for their character and most of the time the answer is yes.

    • Minor visual changes are allowed and welcome, as long as it does not mislead or suggests any mechanical benefit

    • Items can not be reflavored and gain benefits from the reflavoring.

    • Reflavoring is strictly for enhancing Roleplay.

    • Reflavoring should not become some legendary item that does not match the quality of the item you have.

The server House & Class rules are here to balance or address concerns that have appeared in our Westmarch server. Some of these house rules are fixes or clarifications to things within D&D. If you think there is one that should be included please make a DM ticket! Thanks.

6.1 | Help Action

• • Per 5e DND: You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the check before the start of your next turn. Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team up to make your ally’s Attack more effective. If your ally attacks the target before your next turn, the first Attack roll is made with advantage.

  • On RPDND: You can only extend the Help action to another player if they are performing an ability check in which you are also proficient with.

6.2 | Fall Damage

• Fall damage accumulates at 1d6 bludgeoning per 10ft fallen, capping at 20d6. For the purpose of calculating fall damage on RPDND, remove 10ft from the total distance of the fall. When a character falls, they fall up to 500ft instantly, resolving on the spot. If the fall is further, their turn ends at 500ft then resumes the next turn.

6.3 | Contested Skill Checks

• Anything on the Skills List (ie: Insight, etc) are merely guidelines and can not be forced upon another player. Players can accept the skill checks for RP variety but must accept the fate the dice rolled for them and will not be voided. Sleight of Hand will be included in a different write up (ie: Pickpocketing, etc). Grapple and Shove are considered Combat and can not be ignored.

6.4 | Class Features & Combat Abilities

6.4b | Class Features

• • (ie: Words of Terror, etc) can be used and work against other players. As they are features of the class and not a skill check. Players are advised to rp the interactions correctly and in the event of a dispute a non-involved staff member will come to make a final decision.

6.4b | Poisoner's Feat

• • The Poisoner Feat requires Serpent Poison (from the fishing drops), each of them being valued 10 GP worth

6.4c | Spell Gem Requirements

• • If a spell requires gems of a certain value as their material component, this value can be made up of several instances of the required gem instead of requiring a single gem of the required value. 

6.4d | Buffing

• • Participants of an event may not receive any kind of buffs, spells, infusions or other benefits from players that do not participate in the same event.

6.4e | Class Abilities, Spells, & Crafting

• • Our server utilizes extensive and elaborate systems to gather and utilize resources. Outside of an event, no feature, spell or other ability may be used to circumvent said system, and no DM nor GM will exchange time or material into a finished item. These features still work inside of events, but are almost exclusively limited to temporary effects. You can, however, utilize such features to give flavor to the crafting process in your roleplay.

6.4f | Master Scrivener

• • Follow Raw Rules and add it to the spell-tracker and note when used or recasted/crafted.

    • Passive Ability is disabled.

6.4g | Forge Cleric

• • Blessing of the Forge: Similar to Artificer Infusions the item lasts for the duration of the event and you must be in the same event as the person who is getting the item. Also you need a physical item to represent it ex: an iron sword.

  • Artisan's Blessing:  Event Only follow Raw material requirements. Item vanishes after event.

6.4h | Planar Binding

• • The summoner can have at most 10 summoned/planar bound creatures at a time active.

    • In spell tracker (made by summoner) you must state who the summon listens to and can't change it. The summon can only listen to 1 person.

    • If summon dies or original summoner dismisses it. It opens a new slot from the 10. You must inform anyone who has one of your summons that you dismissed it. (and post a screenshot in your spell tracker)

    • Can be handled outside of events (not limited by the Buffing rule)

    • Any summoned or planar binded/bound creature with truesight will have its truesight senses reduced to 15 feet.

6.4i | Divine Intervention & Wish Modification

• • For Divine Intervention: When using Divine Intervention outside of events, it follows the rules of Wish, being able to cast any spell of 8th level or lower from the Cleric Spell List. This limitation does not stand during events, or NPC interactions, as Divine Intervention is up to DM discretion.

  • For Wish: When you are not in an event the most you can do with wish is Duplicate spells because of the limitation on monitoring for the "risk of losing wish".

6.4j | Glyph Limits

• • After a long discussion with the DM team, concerns have arose with excess Glyph of Wardings being cast with supplies from classes and subclasses with the ability to create spell components. 

    • Due to this we are putting a limit of 7 glyphs created with the use of the said created components. 

    • This means that a person who is using spell components created through a class ability can have 7 glyphs active at a time that were cast with those created components, and cannot cast any further glyphs until those created before have been used or dismissed. These same limits do not apply for people using only non-created spell components.

6.5 | Exhaustion

• Going down, exhaustion and how it effects YOU. When you are brought back from Zero hp (When you are knocked unconscious and brought back up) you gain a level of exhaustion. This is only applied AFTER you are brought back to positive health. 

6.6 | DM Inspiration

• In a regular campaign, DM Inspiration is usually rewarded for engaging in roleplay and for taking decisions based on your character's personality traits. On RPDND, you are always in character, and are constantly engaging in roleplay. Because of that, whenever you start an event, you do so with DM Inspiration. This resource can be spent on any roll of a D20 to gain advantage, but you must declare such before making the roll and can't proc a reroll of it after seeing the result.

6.7 | Character Pregnancy & Children

6.7a | Character Pregnancy

• • Characters who choose to be 'pregnant' can do so but may result in your character not being able to join events. to prevent people from being stuck for months and months without a Combat styled event we have determined that while the server runs on a 2 to 1 time scale (2 days ic = 1 day irl)--- pregnancies on the server will remain a 4 to 1 time scale. (4 days ic = 1 day irl)

6.7b | Children Characters

• • Child characters are allowed but only between the ages of 8 years old and 15 years old of your respected race. Please refer to the Race Ages Guide. Once your character reaches 16 (in their race) they are considered an adult and can apply to be an adventurer. Children characters should accompany an adult Player Character or have some sort of family connection on the server. Lone Wolf "Orphaned" Children are not encouraged.

6.8 | Hearing

• If there is a floor and door closed [very unlikely to hear] or walls and a door closed. You should not be able to hear them. If the door is opened then yes you can hear the conversations inside. This only applies that you are in a room or area next to the conversation. I know chat goes thru floors and walls but as roleplayers lets be aware of our surroundings to prevent any issues.

6.8 | Applying Artificer Infusions

• Infusions are a core concept of the Artificer class, but the way they work is not entirely suitable for our style of play. You never know who you will find at your side when adventure calls, and assisting your allies through infusions is much more complicated this way. We are adding two perks to Infusions:

• Instead of "when you finish a long rest", you can apply your Infusions "after finishing a long rest". This means that you can hand out one of them to your party members at the start of an event.

• You can not, however, give an infusion to any person participating in an event you are not part of (see "Buffing" house rule). This is in order to not make room for infusion-slave alts that only exist to hand out buffs to other players.

• Magic items duplicated via artificer infusions are to be treated as any other infusion and, thus, only works with the artificer present, otherwise they return to their non-magic base forms. In order to make the infusion, whether that be the magic item duplication or any other infusion, the artificer must have the base item with them in their inventory.  It is up to the DM whether something can reasonably stand in for the base item for the infusion. 

• Using Infusions for RP is allowed but it gives you no mechanical benefit and its just flavor. Infusions in Arenas can be used but the Artificer must remain in the arena too and only lasts the duration of the arena combat.

• Arenas & Events = Only time infusions give mechanical benefits.

• All infusions end at the end of  an event.