Out of Character Conduct

The Military Handbook explains military information and military protocol
The Role-playing military book explains how to Role Play a military character better
This Book contains information on the atittude of the player and what is expected of the player.
As a note to military potentials; players have been thrown out of the military and guard for both RP and OOC reasons.
While RP is flexible and you being removed depends on the RP and the commanding officer, OOC atittude is not.
Each player has only chance. The first offense is a warning, the second is expulsion from the military.

This book contains issues that might occur "Out of Character". Like most of the handbooks, this information has been collected over time in an effort to improve military and military like role-play. I hope it is useful to the player. Thank you.

-Lord Bahlin

Chapter 1 : OOC Attitude

This very important. The attitude of a player has a big effect on any group.
This is EXPECTED OF YOU, THE PLAYER, NO MATTER WHAT!
-Do not swear at another player or DM no matter what they do, In character(IC) or Out of character (OOC)!
Swearing at a person is a bannable offense on "Bonds of blood"
-Do not put down the player! Do not write things like "HA HA I sent you to jail!" It doesn't matter if he has killed your character in the past. It doesn't matter if he has tricked your character in the past. Many of us have close relations with Zion players despite the in game conflict.
You make your self look bad by doing this and you end up making us all look bad and I will not support you.
Always be polite and civil to the player. Joke around if you want, but be polite.
-If a player tries to bug you OOC tell, them not to bug you OOC, you will not stand for it. If they want to insult your character thats fine, but not you the player.

Chapter 2: Trust

It seems that this is a very important and needed point.

NO EXPLOITIVE META-GAMING!!!!

The guard(as an OOC group) gives every player a chance. I have argued with several players in OOC disputes and I still give them a chance to play military/guards provided they pass the tests. I give Zion players or rebel characters a chance aswell and will continue to do so as long as they do not meta-game.
The reason we are able to do alot of what we can in the military and guard is because we have developed the trust of other players. What your Military character knows, only your military character knows. Not your rebel character, not any other character.
If I find people meta-gaming, they will be removed from the forums and the gaurd. Information does get back to us about this. As I have stated before, people who play gaurds need to have good CVC, Mission skills and Role-playing skills. Meta-Gaming is not Role-playing.

What are examples of Negative Meta-Gaming? the main example of negative meta gaming is
-Using information that only your military character has for your other characters. Especially if the two characters have no connection.
Often determining this is difficult and questionable. For example; your miliary character may actually be a spy passing information. Please note that if this is discovered then your military character will be removed from the Metropolis Forums anyways.
If we believe that we are being exploited in some fashion through a mix of IC and OOC, then you removal from the forum will be permanent.
-Inviting someone you are hunting to your group just to find them to kill them. *note an exception is made in this case for PKer's since their actions are OOC anyways.

Positive Meta-gaming is allowable.
-Using Party talk to set up RP.
-Contacting another faction that is under attack and asking them if you can join in to progress story or plot
-Contacting another player so you can set up some Role-play with them
-Contacting another player OOC and asking them to not interfere in some Role-play you are currently engage in with another player.

chapter 3: How to deal with a problem player

If another player insults you, taunts you or teases you in a manner you find offensive, calmly, warn the player that you will not tolerate any of the above and ask them to stop, If they do not you will report it as harrasment. Screenshot the dialoge immediatly and save all the dialouge

The screenshot button can be set up from you NwN menu.
From the options Menu,
1.Click on "Controls"
2.Click on "Change Key settings"
3.Click on "Misc"
You will notice your Screen capture button.

Screen shots are deposited into your main NwN directory.
Screen shot the entire dialouge, even what led up to the situation.

Character logs can also be recorded. All guards are to set this up aswell.
If you would like to save your in-game RP sessions to a log file go to your NWN directory, look for the file nwplayer.ini, find the commandline option "ClientEntireChatWindowLogging" and set it to 1. This will save all chat in your chat window to the log file in your logs folder.
To access this log file, go into your NwN directory and look for the folder called "Logs"
You will find a file NwNclientlog1. Open it and read through. Please save this Log right away after a disturbance. The logs get erased if you log of NwN and log back on later.

The first screenshot is very important. One of the biggest problems on Bonds of Blood has involved one player insulting another. The insulting player repeats the action at a later date. It is at this point that the offended player chooses to act. By this point in time it is already to late. The offending player shall only get a warning because they have only done it "Once". You have no proof of the first offence.
What also occurs is that the player may have offended you only once and other players later. You may not discover this till later and if you have not screenshot the first offense than there is nothing that you can do to help this other player.

Screenshot the first offence and warn the player. Hold on to the screenshots for a later date incase the person repeats what he has done.

A warning is usually more than enough from most offending players and once they understand this they are more civil.

Chapter 4: Your Character is killed for no reason

This is another common issue that often occurs online. Your character is killed for no "known" reason.
Until you can give proof that your character death was OOC, consider it IC.

Instances of where this has been a problem-
-Assassins are hired to kill other characters. The character who was killed takes it to be and OOC attack. It is eventually revealed that it was all IC.
-A player randomly goes out and kills new or lower level players for no reason. This is not a problem, until the attacking player speaks to you OOC or sends you messages OOC telling you that you suck or that you got pwned. Then, it is a problem.
-I have had a player who taunted me. His dialogue was mixed IC and OOC. He would "push my buttons" and send me tells that were directed at me but claim that it was IC. I eventually told the player the difference between IC and OOC and told the player to stop. Some people like to play mindgames such as this player did.

If you are killed for no known reason do not automatically presume it has no Role-play behind it.

Chapter 5: Why is this all important?

The Metropolis faction is the most attacked faction in bonds of Blood and Metropolis faction members have more work than other factions.
Metropolis Factions characters are often insulted and, currently, have a harder time in CvC. This may seem minor, but when you run to the metropolis to defend it and find you are facing 5 epic characters, your character will die and you begin to wonder at why you are even bothering playing a metropolis character, or why no one else showed up.
As a Metro Faction character you will also wonder why other people do not role-play or that their Role-play seems illogical.
Metro is the center of most activity in Bonds of Blood, it is also the starting point of the game so most metro member needs to deal with new players. Tolerance is required on the behalf of the Metropolis player, but that does not mean a metropolis player will allow others to walk all over them. You can be more tolerant of any player, but you do not need to take their OOC abuse. Deal with it right away or you will simply become more frustrated and want to quit.

Chapter 6 : Daily Actions

All military and guards should check the forums daily or atleast before you log on. The most important stuff concerning you will be in your section of the forums (so, servus consulates for Wolfguard and Black Temple for the Blackguard divisions)