I. Introduction

As a server, Ultima Legacy does not exist to produce a profit. We’re here to produce a good time and an exciting world to role play in. The server is for the players’ benefit, but we need you to keep the world fair, fun, and mature. Below are the basic rules of the server, but we as GMs will use our discretion when a rule has been broken or when certain behavior is hurting the server. We reserve the right to punish players whether or not they have violated a rule explicitly on this list.

There are three rules of thumb that you need to know:
1. Be mature.
2. If there’s an exploit, don’t use it.
3. This is a server for role playing a character in a world containing dozens of players and thousands of “people”, and that should be the reason you’re here.

II. Exploits, unattended macroing, and cheating

i. Exploits: An exploit is any “creative” use of the software and its glitches that unfairly benefits the user. It would be impossible to list all known exploits: if you discover an action that defies common sense, don’t use it! If you have any doubts whether something is considered an “exploit”, consult a GM before hand. This not only ensures fairness for all players, but some exploits may do damage to the server, including data corruption. We're asking that each player use the honor system, and let us know if there are any 'loopholes' or bugs that allow for exploiting the system.

If something doesn’t seem right, be sure to ask a GM immediately. Until then, do not use it!

ii. Using outside programs or set-ups (including wedging keys down) to practice a skill while being away from your computer is strictly prohibited. If you’ve been still for a while, we’ll come by and say something. When we “say something” it could appear over your own head, over a nearby object, or in the lower-left hand corner of the screen. If you don’t respond, we’ll try again or drop a monster in the area. If you move, the monster will disappear. While not banned, the use of third party programs fall under the honor system.

Don’t be offended if we test you for practicing a skill. It can be very difficult to determine whether someone’s macroing or just away form their computer. We enforce this rule as we feel it is unfair to the community to allow people to raise skills without investing their time as many others have.

III. Notes on the World

i. Your character is not literally dead unless you or a GM says they are. When your hit-points reach 0, you are presumed “knocked unconscious” until a healer or spellcaster revives you. This does not mean that you your character knows its immortal - you may get an unpleasant surprise next time the dragons start causing trouble!

ii. Do not carve human corpses (using a bladed item on a corpse, yielding a pile of parts) unless specifically approved by a GM. Keeping limbs of NPCs or players is forbidden unless they are a trophy from a quest.

iii. If you find yourself stuck in the world, there’s an option in the help menu (accessible through the paper doll) called “travel the ether”. This will drop you in the wilderness east of Yew. Likewise, if your character becomes stuck in a non-human form from the polymorph spell, there is an option for "form restoration" to reset to a male or female character. Please do not abuse either of these tools.

IV. Behavior Towards Other Players (including thievery and PVP)

i. We encourage a deep and interesting world. Part of this includes the occasional conflict, argument, or debate therefore we do not enforce “being nice”. What we ask is that you remain mature and IC.

ii. We expect people to be IC. OOC chatter is generally limited important messages to other people, including “[AFK for a minute]” or “[I have to leave in a minute or two]”. Please denote your OOC speech from your IC speech by putting it in the “[]” brackets as demonstrated.

iii. OOC conversations are -sometimes- acceptable. However, if you’re among a group of people being OOC and someone asks to go IC, you’re obligated to follow.

iv. Watch your language. Swearing isn’t forbidden, but excessive profanity is frowned upon. Please refrain from racist or bigoted comments. They may offend others, and staff will have zero tolerance for such behavior if it is heard. Treat everyone with respect, whether they are a player or staff.

v. Player vs. Player is considered in character, but you must be aware of the consequences of your actions. Depending on the circumstances, attacking someone may result in anything from being arrested to being hanged for attempted murder. Also, your character cannot “die” at the hands of another player unless you give permission beforehand.

vi. Playing a criminal or evil character is allowed. We believe that having conflict and controversy between players is valuable for maintaining an interesting world. However, playing an evil character is not an excuse for violating the rules. Many fall on a grey area between IC and OOC for evil and thievery-related skills, so we strongly suggest that you speak with a GM before creating an evil character to clarify what you can do. Using or pursuing OOC information or player's knowledge will not be tolerated.

Furthermore, when beginning your life of crime, be aware that your character is privy to the laws of the land. Expect that you can be caught, put on trial, and punished for any crimes you commit in game. However, if your character is caught or killed according to the rules, we can rename them so that you may make an entirely new character, retaining your skills and wealth.

V. Behavior Towards NPCs and the World

i. Do not use the steal skill on unique NPCs. The only NPCs you may steal from are generic NPCs including fishermen, miners, pirates, or bandits found in their respective camps. If you have any doubt if an NPC is spawned or unique, speak with a GM. You may only steal out of the backpack of NPCs.

ii. Do not kill unique NPCs. If you want to try to kill a unique NPC, page a GM before you do. NPCs take a great deal of time to set up and can be killed easily. Killing a unique NPC without permission will carry severe consequences. You may kill generic NPCs, but make sure you can tell the difference before killing. Ignorance is not an excuse.

iii. Do not tame unique NPC animals. This can cause problems with the NPCs, requiring additional set up time by the staff to correct. Generally, if an animal is blue, and with a unique name, they are off-limits to be tamed. As always, when in doubt, please ask first.

iv. If you find something in an NPC’s home or lair that’s in a container and not locked down, be sure (or find out) that it’s free for the taking.

v. Do not edit or change books that are not yours. In many cases, it can trigger an error that destroys the book.

v. Misuse, or flagrant OOC abuse of ingame mechanics (for example, OOC use of the taming skill to fill houses with animals) is forbidden.

VI. Behavior Towards GMs

i. Members of staff are here to help you and to make this world enjoyable for all players. Remember that you do not pay for UL, so we ask for your respect and cooperation at all times. Certain quests or stories may take longer than expected to resolve, or we may not be able to respond to pages or queries as soon as you might hope. Please work with us, we are doing our best.

ii. In order to get our job done fairly and quickly, we need players to be honest with us, and swift to report any problems, bugs, or rules violations. Please keep in mind that everything in the game world is logged.

iii. When paging a GM, please be patient. We are not always on-line, so when we are, we may be running a quest, testing scripts, or world decorating. Furthermore, not all GMs are able to help with all problems. Pages and problems are typically addressed in a first-come, first-serve basis.

iv. Don’t hesitate to page if you have a question regarding the rules, the way the game works, or a matter of plot. At the same time, we’d ask that you don’t page simply to make frivolous pages or to see if a GM or a certain player is on.

v. While we try to help players as much as possible, there are certain things we can’t or won’t do. If you lost equipment while hunting, or want a unique item made just for the sake of having a unique, we will generally refuse your request to avoid setting a precedent. On the other hand, there are certain situations in which we’ll make exceptions, such as losing equipment from connection problems, or want a “unique” made for a personal story.

vi. Some GMs are open with their identities, while some prefer their privacy. As a courtesy to staff, we request that you do not ask other players if they are GMs, nor try to track down GM/player identities.

vii. We welcome players to submit stories, quests, and plot ideas, both specific to the player’s character or for the world at large. However, we strive to keep the world balanced, interesting, and diverse, so be prepared to accept “no” for an answer. You’re more than welcome to revise your submission and try again, but pestering GMs once you’ve been told “no” is frowned upon.

VII. Behavior During Quests

Any time when a GM is interacting with a group of players (be it speaking as an NPC, dumping hordes of monsters on them, or “moving the pieces” during a puzzle) is considered quest time. Quests can require an hour or more of prep time for a GM, and once a quest starts, the GM running it typically has no time for anything except the quest.

i. When at a quest, it’s assumed that you’ll be entirely IC. Any OOC behaviour except necessary short messages (“[I have to go AFK for a second]”, etc.) is prohibited. OOC actions will be punished.

ii. Depending on the number of people attending a quest, things can get laggy. For that reason, there are a few steps you should take if asked to by a player or GM:
1. Turn off “Show Approaching Names”,
2. Turn Off “Footsteps” in sound,
3. Remove additional layers of non-armor clothing.

iii. While we try to keep quests flexible, there are certain things we can’t do. If you want to try something that would require our help, emote attempting the action. For instance, “Tries to climb the building”. This is for three reasons:
1. We have to decide whether or not the action is within your character’s abilities.
2. Even if it’s something that your character might be able to do, it might be something we can’t do because of the server mechanics.
3. We can’t do things instantly. Depending on an action, we may have to find the proper item or function out of a large catalogue, then set it to work exactly how it’s intended.

iv. If you know a quest is occurring but aren’t present, you may page to be teleported to it. However, we cannot always accommodate you, because of the nature of some quests. Please do not get frustrated or abusive if your page to be teleported to the quest goes unanswered.

v. If a quest is occurring and you’re not attending, we ask you to refrain from certain actions, particularly taming animals, because it spams our console and makes it more difficult to keep track of events.

vi. Finally, on quests, even more so than during regular play-time, the GMs are very busy. If you need help, get stuck, want to try a certain action, etc., please give us time. Quests are frantic, and we may not have time to immediately respond to your problem.

VIII. Consequences

i. An advantage of being such a small server is that we can judge violations of the rules on a case-by-case basis. The outcome will depend on what happened and how many offences you have previously committed.

ii. Unattended macroing is banned, and will be punished at the discretion of the GMs’ judgement.

iii. Exploiting bugs may result in anything from a warning to a temporary ban.

iv. Stealing from player homes will typically result in a temporary ban. Repeated stealing will result in a permanent ban.

v. Disruptive behavior during a quest may result in being ejected from the quest or a temporary ban.

Punishments are dealt with at the staff discretion, and can include anything from a verbal warning, temporary banning, skill reductions, and/or account deletion, depending on the severity and history of the account in question. We do not want to be the "bad guys", but we're asking everyone to be mature and give the server as much respect as we're providing to you.

Please remember that we’re here for the players, and part of that is maintaining rules and discipline. We retain the right to do whatever we deem necessary to ensure this server’s security and enjoyability. Simply because a rule wasn’t listed here does not mean that it will not be punished. The bottom line is that we expect players to be mature, responsible, intelligent, and aware of the rules. But most of all, we expect our players to have fun!

Please consider these rules as the most current version, and they are subject to change by the staff as deemed necessary.