Foreword
Hello TDN,Bit of an unfortunate message to have to put out today. Firstly, although we’re sure everyone is aware, we’re currently extremely busy trying to identify issues and work through them while also figuring out and working on next steps. This is a combination of things, from bugs, to mistakes, to adjustments on various aspects of the module. Not only are we trying to help people with issues they’re running into, we’re also getting a lot of requests from people to help them with roleplay pursuits.
Although most people understand and do their absolute best not to bug us, which is hugely appreciated, there are still a lot of people that either knowingly or unknowingly are making the work we have to do that much harder.
While this might be perceived as a prompt to apply to help or DM, that is not the case. We are expecting an organic process to unfold as it related to DM candidates and at this time we are not allocating time to observe, identify, onboard and train candidates. And currently, that is time we currently cannot spare.
So, on that note, we want to address a few things we’ve observed and how they’re going to be handled going forward.
Ignoring Rules
To make it clear as the first point, which kind of covers a lot of this post, any rules that are on the wiki are things you are expected to have read. If you ignore these rules, that is on you and not on us. If you don’t adhere to those rules when they’re clearly there for public consumption, we won’t sit and have a conversation with you about what you’re doing. Right now, we really don’t have the time nor the inclination for that. You will be temporarily banned for 30 days pending an appeal without warning - or permanently, depending on the severity of the circumstance. However, we will rarely, if ever, ban anyone without discussing the matter internally and seeing proof of wrongdoing.When a ban happens, you will be removed from the game server, the Discord server and the forums. From the point that happens, you will remain banned for 30 days, at which point the forums will be opened back up to you. At that point, you must send a ban appeal to Aschent, Khaine and Danuvis via PM on the forums. The template for that can be found below:
TDN Ban Appeal Template
At that point, we will review it as soon as possible. If your appeal is accepted, we will give you only one more chance to prove you are capable of being a good fit for TDN. If your appeal is rejected, you will be considered permanently banned from the server.
Attempts to curtail this process or take the issue to external forums to spread misinformation about your case or attack the staff may also result in you being permanently banned.
Excessive OOC
We’re receiving a lot of reports of people making a lot of casual and unnecessary OOC comments in public, which is upsetting the immersion of players. The staff was under the impression that people were aware this is against our vision of the server, but in the spirit of fairness, we will give players some grace on this topic. However, going forward, please keep OOC to an absolute minimum - this is reserved for emergency alerts to people that you might need to afk/drop out of the server or some other emergency. Sending OOC tells is entirely fine between players unless they ask you not to.Because this is a public announcement, we will not be giving people much leeway following this. If a player continues to demonstrate a disregard for their fellow players in this way, they will be temporarily banned for 30 days pending an appeal.
Disregarding the Setting
Similar to the issue of excessive use of OOC, we have had reports - including screenshots - and seen ourselves multiple instances of people disregarding the server lore and identity, even to the point of ignoring prompts from fellow players trying to gently steer them in the correct direction to be setting-appropriate.We want to make it clear that the two executions of mage players for disregarding the setting are not exceptional incidents. If we continue to see players disregarding the setting, at the absolute minimum you are risking your character being permakilled or otherwise removed from the setting. At worst you are looking at a temporary ban for repeatedly ignoring the setting. TDN is intended to be a narrative-heavy server, and each player that disregards the narrative damages the very integrity of the server, as it impacts and influences everyones experience and expectations from that point.
Factions and Presumptions
We’ve similarly received reports and witnessed ourselves cases where people assume authority and membership in factions such as local temples, as well as claiming ranks that are higher in station than that of new clergy, directly going against our ruling of new PC backgrounds having to be grounded.Every PC (especially the divine) must be of the lowest rank, such as a novice, as promotions are expected to take place IC - whether through NPC interaction or correspondence. Local temples (and other organisations) must be joined through DM interaction or in the future via PCs of high enough rank - you cannot claim membership without approval.
Similarly, you are not allowed to host events and make plans within NPC establishments without an NPC / DM’s say-so. Please make tickets for all of these matters, and we’ll get back to you when time permits.
If you are currently part of an official faction (i.e Firedrake Lodge, Starspire Accord, The Conclave, Swords of Darromar, etc), you will not be in a position of any kind of authority. No matter how fancy you make your character look, every player on the server is currently considered a nobody in the grand scheme of things - this applies as much to the factions as it does anything else.
If you have any attempts to make waves as a member of a faction, please set them aside for the time being. We’re aware of and appreciate the fact that players are trying to generate roleplay for themselves and others. If you are trying to set something up for your faction, please contact a DM and ensure you get a green light before you go ahead with it. We don’t want to have to excessively disrupt what people are setting up, but we will if you are pushing above your station.
In Closing
It brings us no joy at all to have to make a statement like this, and while we have seen so much support from so many players being helpful and reporting things in good faith to which we are incredibly appreciative, we were always aware that there were going to be players who do not respect TDN’s staff or it’s vision and show no inclination to learn or improve despite attempts at guidance. We are far more busy trying not only to ensure a more polished experience, but also expand the experience with systems and areas until TDN is at its fully realised state. So, to reiterate again, we do not have time to mediate every issue and fix every problem. If you are not supporting us, that’s fine, but if you are actively working against us that is an issue we cannot deal with in any kind of nuanced way right now. We simply don’t have the bandwidth. Please take this messaging seriously and align with it.