Server rules

Section 0: Preamble

Goals

• We want to create a fun, inclusive and fair roleplaying experience for every player;
• We need to adapt the rules to the somewhat restrictive framework that Funcom put in place;
• Maintain a clear set of rules that govern all player interactions.

Challenges

As you may know, the way Funcom has decided to implement private servers is quite limiting, especially for a roleplaying community. Private servers are grouped into worlds, which host a number of shared areas across different servers (Arrakeen, Harko Village, Deep Desert). This means that at any point when your character is located in one of these locations, you may be interacting with people outside of the community. This also means that the scope to which we can enforce the rules of our community are limited, in effect, we need to treat these spaces as high likelihood of grieving, poor sportsmanship, etc.

Mitigation

• Every player within the server will be subject to the server rules regardless of whether they are in a shared area or not, and regardless of whether the other players they are playing with are members of this server or not.
• The rules will contain specific items meant to maximise the likelihood of a fun roleplay interaction in shared areas, while acknowledging that in the current Dune: Awakening implementation full certainty is impossible.
• All player names will contain the DRP tag at the beginning, to visually distinguish other players bound by the same rules at a glance.
• I have chosen a low-population world for the server. While this cannot assure a safe environment for our community, it makes grieving in the Deep Desert less likely.

Section 1: Behaviour and Fair Play

First and foremost, this community is about a game and a universe we love and enjoy. This section is about the very basic rules that should govern every in-character and out-of-character interaction between members of the community.

1. All members are expected to maintain respect and maturity. Do not insult, harass, troll, or provoke other members in any setting.
2. Treat all community members with dignity regardless of their background, beliefs, or real-world characteristics. Bullying, demeaning, or patronizing behavior will not be tolerated.
3. Do not spam, advertise external services, exploit game mechanics, or disrupt community functions through any DuneRP services.
4. All content must remain appropriate for mature audiences. Real-world political discussions, sexual content, real-world religious debates, and extremist ideologies are prohibited to maintain focus on Dune lore and roleplay.
5. Text communication should contribute meaningfully to roleplay discussion or community organization. Meme responses and "+1" posts should be replaced with appropriate reactions.
6. For the purposes of the rules, all communication (Discord, in-game chats, meeting comments, etc.) are subject to the rules, as long as 2 or more community members are involved with the intent of talking about or organising game activities.
7. Do not impersonate staff members, create fake announcements, or misrepresent official community positions.
8. At all times you must follow and respect the spirit of the rules, not just the letter of the rules. Behaviours that break the intended safeguards set forth in the rules will be considered to be in breach of the rules. Context will be taken into account and posts that tow the lines of the rules will be dealt with accordingly.
9. These standards apply to all community members regardless of location within the game world, including shared areas where non-community members may be present.
10. Any use of cheats, hacks, or external software that provides unfair advantages results in immediate permanent community ban. This includes BattlEye bans or VAC bans in related games.
11. Do not exploit game bugs or mechanics inappropriately. Examples include unrealistic building techniques, item duplication, or abusing physics glitches.
12. Gameplay should focus on roleplay and story development, not dominating other players through superior PvP skills or gear accumulation.
13. Accept losses gracefully. Gear can be replaced, but community relationships cannot. Take breaks if you struggle to separate in-character events from out-of-character emotions.
14. Do not engage in "ghosting" - logging out to avoid consequences or gain unfair positioning advantages.
15. The rules are subject to change, especially in the beginning; it is your responsiblity as a player to keep up to date and abide by the latest set of rules.

Section 2: Roleplaying

1. You must be roleplaying at all times while on the server. This includes general actions your character might do when alone. E.g.: while mining massive amounts of granite makes sense if your character is planning on building a base, "mining" granite just for stockpiling it wouldn't be a natural behaviour for your character (unless, of course, they're a granite merchant).
2. Valuable life: Your character must value their life appropriately. Do not engage in suicidal tactics, ignore overwhelming threats, or act fearlessly when facing military forces or sandworms. Move on the edge of caution, just as you would in real life.
3. Prioritize story development over mechanical advantages. "Rule-playing" (using out-of-character knowledge of the rules to gain in-character advantages) undermines the collaborative nature of our community.
4. RP bubbles: When 2 or more community members are present in any area, full roleplay standards are in effect, even if you are in a shared area. You must remain in character and contribute to ongoing scenarios. Solo players may relax RP requirements for practical needs.
5. Out-of-character chat should be minimal and marked with a // prefix. Do not use out-of-character chat for casual conversation during roleplay scenarios.
6. Fresh start rule: Upon character death, you cannot return to the death location (500 meters) for 2 hours. If killed in hostile action, you cannot remember the cause of death until all related storylines resolve. You cannot involve yourself in the circumstances of your death even after time restrictions end
7. Metagaming: Your character does not have your knowledge. You must never use the knowledge you have from engaging with the community while roleplaying. For example: introduce yourself to meet a new character even if you may know them from Discord, not using external streams or communications to gain location/status information, never use screenshots or community posts to "figure out" where a secret base is located, etc.
8. Communication is physical: Your character must possess the ability to physically communicate within the roleplay context for you to do so. For example: having your mouth tied would prevent you from using voice chat, Discord or in-game chat. Having your stillsuit/armour removed would prevent you from being able to broadcast via the comuninet (either in game or on Discord). If unconscious, captured, or equipment-less, external communication must cease.
9. You must never engage in private communication without broadcasting your message over in-game chat or voice chat as well.
10. Do not impersonate other community members or claim membership in houses/factions without proper authorization. The only exception to this rule is in the form of espionage, in which case you may claim to be a different person, but must disclose your impersonation if the opposing character mentions they physically inspect you (and they have prior knowledge of that person).
11. Official community events cannot be disrupted without explicit permission from event organizers.

Section 3: Base Building

1. Bases should reflect the architectural and technological constraints of the Dune universe. Avoid purely mechanical optimal designs in favor of lore-appropriate structures.
2. Major bases require lore justification - water sources, strategic positions, trade routes, or House territorial claims.
3. Vehicle limits reflect the rarity and value of technology on Arrakis. In general, your character shouldn't just happen to have 3 ornithopters to spare.
4. You may attack bases only with an in-character justification. A base being in the way is not justification enough.
5. Avoid blocking important paths to common areas such as Suks, towns, wrecks, etc. A member of the team might ask you to move the base, and you might end up putting in double the effort to build the base. Very rare exceptions for roleplaying enhancements may be made, but must always be discussed and pre-cleared with the lore masters.

Section 4: Hostilities and Combat

Player-on-player combat is enabled throughout the Hagga Basin. However, there are strict rules to how these kinds of interactions can happen. The bulk of the rules revolves around the concept of a conflict, that must have an initiation, a goal, a consequence and a resolution. The initiation of a conflict is a clear verbal or non-verbal statement of aggression from another player (e.g. raising and aiming your weapon, shouting Hands up!, etc.). The initiation is immediately followed by a statement of a goal followed by a consequence (e.g. Leave immediately or I will shoot!, Drop all your gear and you will walk away unharmed!, etc.). Finally, the resolution is how the two (or more) players collaboratively decide to resolve the conflict: the victim can choose to obey or disobey the demands, and the attacker may respond accordingly.

1. All hostile player-on-player action must happen exclusively through one of three methods:
   • the conflict framework governs 90% of hostile interactions between players;
   • an officially organised hostile event;
   • interactions with characters from other servers on the shared areas (e.g. Deep Desert). Any other hostile interaction that does not follow one of these situations is strictly prohibited.
2. Hostile events are officially organised community events clearly bound in time and space where any form of player hostility is permitted, subject to pre-aprroved rules. These areas may allow for killing on sight.
3. Shared areas (like the Deep Desert) are shared between multiple servers. Therefore, do expect being killed on sight. While it is our wish this was not the case, it is a reality of the current Funcom server setup. However, should you encounter another member of the community in the desert, you are expected to follow the conflict framework instead.
4. Conflict framework: All hostile player interactions that do not fall into one of the two categories above must follow the conflict framework. As such, a hostile interaction must contain all of the following 4 elements: initiation, goal, consequence and resolution. The purpose of this framework is to govern hostile actions that may lead to the death of a character. Only by following this protocol does the aggressor obtain the right to kill the victim.
   1. There are two (and sometimes three) parties to a conflict: the aggressor(s), the victim(s) and the observers.
   2. The aggressor is the person that initiates the conflict upon one or more victims.
   3. The observers are other players that share the same space with the attackers and victims.
   4. The observers may intervene into the conflict by triggering a new conflict in which they become aggressors, or may become additional victims. While in the role of the observer, they may enter or leave the premises as they wish, but possibly subject themselves to a possible conflict.
   5. The initiation must be a clear and non-ambiguous verbal or non-verbal expression of aggression. In general, prefer to express them verbally. However, raising and aiming your weapon is a fairly non-ambiguous aggressive action.
   6. The initiation must be immediately followed by a verbal statement of a goal and consequence. The goal and consequences must be justifiable in-character, and achievable by the victims. If the victims choose to obey the demands and give in to the attacker's goals, the attacker does not obtain the right to kill the victims.
   7. If the victims disobey the demands, then as long as the consequences did include the possible death of a character, and the victims' response is to attack the aggressors instead of fleeing or hiding, then the aggressors does obtain the right to kill the victims.
   8. If the victims disobey the demands whose consequence did not include the possible death of the victims, the aggressor does not obtain the right to kill the victims. However, the aggressor may naturally wish to hurt the victims.
   9. If the consequences include the possible death of the victims, they immediately obtain the right to kill the aggressors.
   10. If the consequences did not include the possible death of the victims, the victims do not obtain the right to kill the aggressors.
   11. In general, prefer to solve situations without involving character death, as roleplay resolutions tend to be more fun for everyone involved.
   12. The right to kill is transferable only with faction and house members, subject to them being able to be informed of the conflict (i.e. access to Comuninet, being conscious, etc.)
5. Combat logging is strictly prohibited. Remain in-game 30 minutes after last hostile interaction, unless all parties verbally consent to the cessation of the conflict early. If for practical or technical reasons you need to leave early, you need to obtain the approval of the other parties; the approval may be conditional (e.g. drop all your gear).

Section 5: Player Factions

1. Player factions, as opposed to informal groups of players, are pre-approved lore-bound organisations with a clear leadership structure, set of internal rules and adhesion criteria.
2. Player factions are still wholly bound to the same set of rules that govern the server, but may wish to further mould player behaviour. For example, an Anti-Sanguophage League may prohibit its members from consuming human blood.
3. Player factions are self-governing, subject to their internal rules and protocols.
4. The lore masters may choose to engage player factions to drive server-wide storytelling events and lore.
5. Membership of a rival faction is sufficient justification for initiating a conflict. Membership of an allied faction is sufficient justification for avoiding an armed conflict at all costs.
6. Each Player Faction may choose two representatives for involvement in server-wide efforts: an administrator will be a member of the High Council, that will be involved in logistical decisions related to the running of the server. An elder will be a member in the Council of the Elders, that periodically meets to discuss lore-building concerning the whole server.

Section 6: Houses and Kanly

1. Houses, as opposed to informal groups of players or player factions, must follow the established lore of the Dune universe. In general, players may not take pivotal roles of the House (e.g. head of the House, heir, general, etc.). However, specific exceptions may be issued at the discretion of the Council of the Elders, depending on the player's roleplaying skill, community standing, etc.
2. Players may not create new Houses. Only the pre-established houses can be used for roleplaying purposes.
3. We distinguish alignment with a House (choosing to employ one's skills for furthering that House's goals, often in exchange for Solari) from membership of a House: being an actual biological descendant of a House member.
4. A player being a member of a rival House can be sufficient justification for initiating a conflict if the goal is related to furthering your House's goals (e.g. access to a spice field, demanding resources, etc.). However, in doing so, you must engage with the Kanly rules, which will require you to seek non-open-combat resolutions whenever possible.

Section 7: Hagga Basin

1. The Hagga Basin is exclusive to our own server, thus it is the peferred space for carrying out roleplaying activities.
2. All player aggression in the Hagga Basin must follow the Hostilities and Combat rules.

Section 8: Shared World

1. We share areas of the world with other servers, for example Arrakeen, Harko Village, the Deep Desert. You must follow and abide by all rules when in these areas as well, unless noted otherwise in each rule. Represent our community positively.
2. We will not provide compensation for lost gear due to aggressive interactions in the shared areas. Assume that venturing out into the Deep Desert is a very high risk activity, and consider whether you can achieve what you want in the Hagga Basin.