Sandbox;serverrules

Nova Sector Policy

	Server Rules
	Nova Roleplay Expectations
	Antagonist Policy
	Silicon Policy
	Ghost Role Policy
	Corporate Regulations
	Nova Sector lore
	Staff Operations Policy

Return to policies page

Nova Sector 13 Rules

These rules are the framework for everyone on the server. This server is for people who are 18 years of age or older. No exceptions. Our servers are based in the United States, and because of that we adhere to both US-Federal Law, and its moral guidelines.
Rule 0: Be Mature Don’t be a dick OOCly. Being needlessly antagonistic to other community members, generally toxic, or any other variation you could imagine won't be tolerated. English literacy is a must. While we do not expect grammatical perfection; you should be able to speak comprehensibly out of character. Small phrases or singular words in other languages are fine to use IC as long as they are still using the english alphabet, however, the staff team should not be having to find a translator to see what you are saying. Don’t “ride the line” with regards to the rules. Follow through on the spirit of rules, and not just their exact wording. If an admin has told you not to do something; do not do it. Don't attempt to argue in wordgames with the staff, it's their job to enforce the rules, not argue for them. If you believe they are in the wrong, make a staff report on Discord. Do not target players in bad faith. Do not ban-bait people. This includes misrepresenting a situation.
Rule 1: Do Not Grief Griefing is the act of deliberately annoying or angering another player maliciously. This includes EORG (End of Round Griefing) Do not spam. This includes in-character conversation, the global out-of-character channel, or any other text channel used in-game. You should adhere to the self antagonist guidelines listed here (Note to self; remove this and add the hyperlink to the self antag rules on the main page when it goes live.). If you want to do something that can be Do not exploit bugs or errors in the code to your benefit in-game. Report issues to the wider community in the main-dev chat channel, and on the github. Do not harass a player ICly if it is unwelcome by said party. Don't touch SSD/AFK players unless you are moving them to safety/cryo. The interlink and dorms rooms isn't the place for conflict or instigating stuff; you shouldn't be starting or trying to drag trouble there. No force-borging or transforming another person's character without getting LOOC consent first!
Rule 2: Listen to the staff team The staff is responsible for upholding the enforcement of rules on the server. As such, they have a final say on related matters. Take feedback about staff to a staff-report, or staff-feedback. Be polite, honest, and to the point when sending an admin PM. Time, place, the act itself, who did it, who might have seen it are all things that help staff in the moment with figuring out the situation overall. Do not instigate someone you are admin-helping about. An admin's word is final. If they say not to do it, do not do it. If you believe an admin is in the wrong with a ruling, calmly take the incident to an Staff-Report. If an admin tells you that something is IC, valid, and so forth, that is the final answer. Admins are not obligated to give you more information than they think is necessary during an ongoing round. If the situation you are admin-helping about is immediately happening to you, continue with the situation where possible, and ahelp immediately. This does not apply to a prefbreak scenario
Rule 3: Stay In-Character and Meet Character Standards Your character must fit into the lore and setting, this includes their current situation. Speak in a believable manner. Knowledge must be consistent with the character; that means they shouldn't suddenly know how to do complex surgeries when convenient, when they previously couldn't. Do not act silly in a way that disrupts others RP or detracts from the overall immersion, this includes stuff like: netspeak, saying or creating popular memes on the floor, etc. Follow the character standards: . Do not impersonate other player's characters with the exception of things such as changeling shapeshifting. If you are playing someone else's character( I.E, changeling, genetics, etc.), you are not allowed to ERP as that character without OOC permission. Do not copy and paste real-world people and pre-existing fictional characters. You can play as fictional races, but not specific people. E.g. you can play as a Sangheili, but you can't play as the Arbiter. Do not commit suicide for little reason. For Ex: Do not kill yourself to escape in-character punishments, do not commit suicide to spite someone for something mildly rude they said, etc. Respawning as the same character should only be done if absolutely necessary, or you left the round for whatever reason and would like to rejoin as the same role or as an assistant. Under no circumstances should you respawn for a mechanical advantage. If you spawn in at the beginning of the round/shift and have not interacted with anyone, you may cryo and respawn as another role/job. Underaged characters are strictly prohibited. Characters under no circumstance should be under 18. Do not attempt to work around this restriction by implication or presentation of your character. Short species like goblins, kobolds, and so forth are allowed as long as they are an adult.
Rule 4: Meet Minimum Roleplaying Standards - No LRP, Be Immersive Nova Sector Main should be treated as a roleplay oriented server. This means, you should aim to be focused on the best possible roleplay you can, even at your lowest point. Anti-roleplay behavior is not tolerated. This means, despite your wants as a player, you shouldn't be acting in a manner which causes other's roleplay to be negatively impacted, for your own amusement. This includes cryoing out to avoid consequences. Your character must be part of the immersion of the server and ideally add to it, not detract. The more power your character has IC, the higher our expectation is for the quality of your roleplay. This goes especially true for Antagonist, Command, and Security roles. Like in the case of practical memes or jokes, do not overuse sexually implicit structures, be it strip-poles, or milking machines.
Rule 5: Act in Moderation Act in moderation, i.e. ensure that you do not do anything excessively. As a rule of thumb, if you think you're borderline, you are being excessive. Use proper and convincing escalation. Build up to your actions, don't jump right out the gate shooting! You need to be extra careful, especially in the case of a non-antag criminal element or gang, as you need to know when to stop or when to ease things off. LOOC communication is your best friend when it comes to being sure you're not pushing things to far. Important: You should moderate how your character behaves and make sure it does not detract from the experience nor is a nuisance towards others. Here are the three rules you should use to gauge if you're being excessive: Are you affecting the round in any significant way? Are you seriously annoying a person or group of people? Are you doing this crime consistently enough that it becomes repetitive and annoying?
Rule 6: Play the job you have Do your primary job first. Keep to your department, and do not perform other peoples' jobs unless needed to, for the overall story Don’t do the job of occupied departments (this includes acting/normal Captains). For Reference: This means you should be trying your best to fulfill the role of your job atleast to a bare minimum, like setting up the SM as engineering; this doesn't mean you're required to know how on your first round, but you should try to seek help on how to do it right.
Rule 7: Do not metagame or metagrudge Metagaming is using information gotten out-of-character for in-character purposes. Including (but not limited to) direct message conversations, voice calls, streams, the global out-of-character, and other forms of out-of-game communication. Meta-grudging is the act of targeting a player while IC for OOC reasons. Attacking another player for something that happened in a previous round without mutual consent is considered meta-grudging. Rounds are canon, but escalation isn't, you have to build up too it. Regarding the continuity with antagonists, these rounds will count as canon, with the antag being anonymized, while the victim can pick if they themselves are, unless it violates meta-protections. You may remember what happened to you, but not who in particular did it. Do not attempt to make an in-character issue out of previous shifts’ antagonism, unless you have the OOC consent of the involved party.
Rule 8: Do not powergame Powergaming is when you step outside your character's normal abilities just to guarantee you come out on top in every situation. It’s especially a problem when it messes with the roleplaying environment for everyone else. The more you lean into powergaming, the more you should focus on keeping the roleplay at the forefront before and after any fights. At some point, though, it will become staff discretion based on the overall impact.
Rule 9: Do not valid-hunt Valid-hunting is defined as; going out of your way to target a player, based on or else-wise dependent on perceived antag status alone. Justifiable reasons exclude you from this, such as: Valid IC escalation, A valid IC reason to go after them, (self-defense, being a threat to the station at large, otherwise escalated issues (breaking into ones department, etc) Risk of life to someone involved, which can be easily prevented. However, if you go out of your way to place yourself into situations for the sake of jumping in when they escalate; it could equally be considered powergaming, intent matters! If an Antagonist is not currently a station threat, or PMS, do not go out of your way to chase them down without valid IC reason. The Chaplain is exempt in manners of dealing with the occult. Attempting to root out Antagonists without any confirmation of a related threat is valid-hunting.
Rule 10: No Self-Antagging Self-antagging is the act of acting like an general antagonist, when you are not. If you are going to do something that may fall into antagonism, make an OPFOR or Ahelp if you're not sure. If you are not an antag, do not do the following: Roleplaying as a established antagonist, terrorist, mass bombing, or otherwise destroying large parts of a department or the station. Murder someone for no reason. Sabotage important station facilities (flooding Security with plasma, blowing up Engineering, unleashing viruses from Virology) or otherwise making the round unplayable for the crew without any escalation ingame. 10.5 Non-Antagonist Criminal Addendum For non-antagonist criminals, please read the below: Crime is allowed, however, self-antagging is not. Your level of roleplay should fit the level of the crime, the higher level your crime, the more roleplay is expected. To be a non-antag criminal ICly, you must be able to read the round and station, and you must be focused on roleplay and creating fun for others. It is not an excuse to be LRP. If you are ever considering doing something particularly drastic in terms of escalation request permission via Admin-Help or OPFOR. In conclusion, to be a non-antag criminal, You must be low maintenance for security. You should try to dial it back if the round heats up; or elsewise, keep the impact minimal. You should try to create RP around your crimes for the individuals involved.
Rule 11: 'Misc RP' / ERP Respect people's prefs. OOC prefs are absolutes, if it says ask, you should ask, if it says no, it means No. Try to limit other's unintended exposure to sexual acts/objects in relation to their prefs. This includes in-game communications over the radio and etcetera. Non-consensual ERP or similar types of things must be kept to consenting parties only and should not become a public issue for the station. Don’t be a dick Do not go out of your way to target players over ERP, or perceived ERP, this includes IC and OOC means of communication. Keep extreme kink activities out of public view, and do not force other players into them (non-con, hyper, bloodplay, gore, etc.) Do not ERP as someone else’s character without their consent. This includes any intimate interactions such as kissing/groping. Don’t make drama out of ERP Do not ERP Bait, or use ERP to bait a player into a situation with the intention to trick them. Don't draw attention to ERP over the radio, this also goes for department radio channels and command channels, or calling security. Do not levy accusations of sexual assault or non-con against other players over public channels of any kind (this includes PDA messages as they are viewable by all ghosts). If command staff is urgently needed, ask them to do their job. Do not do this in bad faith. Do not interrupt if they do not comply, instead make an admin-help. You must have OOC consent from the erping parties to interrupt ERP in a private area. A private space is an inhabited enclosed area, non-visible to the public, and not vital to the core functions of a department's job. Any space that does not fit into these criteria is a public space. Staff can make the distinction if an area is public or private in the event of an issue. If you stumble upon it, ask for LOOC consent before interrupting. While people can publicly ERP, a player has the right to ask them to stop or go somewhere else in LOOC, if there is issues, ahelp. If you are reading this and applying to the server, please type BANANA EGG, in the chat after you create your ticket to confirm you've read this document.
Rule 12: Situational Rulings These are rulings made to address a specific circumstance, or act, that don't necessarily fit within the rest of the rules, but equally go against the goals of the server. Ruling Description Rolling Antagonist as a 'Unintended roles' Departmental Guards/Security/Command/Prisoner/GhostRoles are expected to notify staff if they have rolled traitor, changeling or heretic as it is not intended for them to do so. They may choose to either respawn as another job or to pass on the antag status. Item requests Item requests unless it was an item that failed to spawn as you joined should be done through prayers and not AHELPs. Ghost Cafe Conduct: The ghost cafe is not an arena and should not be used in selfish manners. You shouldn't be griefing it, as it's meant to be a place for private-or-quiet RP. Blackout Policy: Upon death you do not remember anything that has lead up to it, the person who killed you or where it happened. You still remember what happened throughout the rest of the round but anything close to your death is faint at best and unreliable. Blackout applies to cyborgs as well, you will not remember the above mentioned if you are killed or your chassis destroyed. To note, being deconstructed while functional does not trigger the blackout and you will still keep the memories. Ruling on Prisoners Prisoners(the job, roundstart or latejoin) must OPFOR to be a significant nuisance or escape. Protection for Suicide, Mental Health, and Trauma RP Players have no obligation to participate in Suicide, Mental Health, or Self-Harm roleplay regardless of role.

Department Policies

Below you can find specific department policies. These policies apply to anyone in said department, or if they are acting as a member of the department. Any additional standards laid out by a head of staff/command is primarily an IC issue unless otherwise breaking server rules.

Department	Policy
Central Command Crew	These rules apply to the Central Command members stationed with the crew (Blueshield and NTC). Central Command Members should be in very good standing with NT. While the NTC is in charge of crew resources. They do not have absolute authority over the station. The NTC has ultimate say if corporate regulations are properly being enforced.
Command	The Captain can lay out additional IC standards for command, within reason. Command should be in good or better standing with NT. They do not need to be perfect, but they should be someone reasonably qualified and hirable. Quartermasters should be in good standing with the FTU. You should be competent with your department and aware of its relevant policies. Command equipment and clothing is to only be given as necessitated e.g. a dire emergency. Access should not be given out for frivolous reasons. Do not change your job title outside of the titles provided in the job menu. Command cannot place players into Nova Star exclusive roles in any way, shape, or form. Command characters should have filled out general, medical, and security records. See here for examples. For information regarding the "Acting Captain" position, check the Captain job page.
Security	The Head of Security can lay out additional IC standards for security, within reason. You are expected to function as a counter to criminals, antagonists, and all kinds of ne'er do wells. You are expected to follow Corporate Regulations when feasible, though alternative punishments can be applied within reason. Hardcore torture, MMI, or borging require explicit OOC consent. The head of your department is the “Head of Security”. If the captain demotes them, you are to remember that you work for the department, not the Head of Security. You can roleplay as a corrupt security member, however, do not use it to shut down roleplay or create a toxic environment. You are not to ignore antagonistic behavior that is a threat to the station. Understand Permanent Mechanical State and the Combat Indicator. You should not leave the station unless the threat is out in space or lavaland.
Medical	The CMO can lay out additional IC standards for medical, within reason. Revival should only take place outside of medical under emergency conditions where transport to medical or a medical site is infeasible. Revivals should take place in sites designated by the CMO or Station Blueprints. Except with admin permission, only beneficial viruses may be produced and intentionally released. Viruses should be clearly-labeled (ex. with symptoms, cures, and slime-safeness). Airborne/touch-spread viruses may only be released with the Chief Medical Officer, Captain, or Acting Captain approval. The virus must not cause harm to specific races or groups if self-spreading.
Engineering	The CE can lay out additional IC standards for Engineering, within reason. Experimentation is welcome, but you are responsible for if it goes wrong.
Cargo	The Quartermaster can lay out additional IC standards for cargo, within reason. Orders, legal or illegal are an IC issue, unless breaking another rule. (see: cargo setting up their own SM.) The Cargo/Supply department are not formal employees of NT, they are temporary-contractors from the FTU, filling in for the Cargo Department. As cargo, you shouldn't be refusing orders without a justifying IC reason. Cargo is still under Corporate Regulations while on NT Property.

Gameplay States and Policy

There are three states you will find yourself in while enjoying Space Station 13 in a roleplay environment. These are fluid conditions which you can consider as simply as the difference between standing still and walking across a room. We consider three types: being social, engaging with the core gameplay itself which we call Mechanics, and engaging in violence.

Roleplay State

When you are standing about talking in low-tension public spaces, when you are repositioning yourself in a scene good faith like stepping aside for traffic, and when your actions do not place you at a direct advantage over another player (such as a bartender preparing drinks, or a doctor providing routine healthcare in normal medbay conditions) you are existing in a Roleplay State.

Roleplay States can be extended to things that might normally be considered Mechanical only if it is appropriately supported by custom emotes and ample waiting time for people to read.

You are engaging with SS13 as a social layer with which to interact with others, not as a competitive or gameplay oriented layer, at least in that immediate moment.

Mechanical State

When you are engaging with any gameplay feature that meaningfully changes your standing relative to others, whether by gaining an edge, taking on risk, or affecting your ability to act, you are entering a Mechanical State. Some examples of this State are:

• Equipping a weapon or disabling it's safeties
• Shoving someone in a way which causes them to fall over in non-hostile scenarios, or which doesn't cause them damage or immediate situational disadvantage
• Stitching your wounds or those of others in the field, particularly when done without a custom emote supporting it
• Using the radio to call for backup or otherwise say things that would alert people that there is something going on.
• Opening a door
• Existing or moving about in a hostile or obviously dangerous area, such as near active fights or warzones

Combat State and Combat Indicator (CI)

When you intend to do anything in a Mechanical State that puts someone else at physical risk, or which causes direct harm, or places them at a situational gameplay disadvantage, you are preparing to enter Combat State.

Actions that require you to engage CI before proceeding (initiating):

• Firing, utilizing, reloading, or preparing a weapon
• Planning to depressurize a room with malicious intent, starting a fire, or any other environmental techniques
• Preparing an explosive
• Applying handcuffs or resisting out of handcuffs without emotes supporting your actions
• Using a radio within view of, or planning to move away to use the radio, to communicate the location of someone in any sense other than social altruism, such as "Contractor Sci Maints" on Common or "I'm with them in the Courtroom right now" on Security frequencies.
• Running away from a clearly socially escalated situation, such as Security doing hallway detainment, or running when someone has a gun aimed at you

Actions that count as automatic reciprocation, satisfying CI without an independent wait:

• Fleeing a threat that has already engaged CI against you
• Resisting handcuffs being applied to you
• Being attacked, or getting involved as collateral in a fight

To legally enter a Combat State, you must engage with the Combat Indicator system.

Combat Indicator (CI)

A security operative reciprocates the CI of a greytider, showing off the UI elements you should pay attention to.

The Combat Indicator is a game system that uses a hotkey to signal that you are entering Combat State, which is transitioning from roleplay or mechanics to combat, or elsewise putting yourself at a significant advantage over someone else with regards to the game environment.

The default keybind for Combat Indicator is C. This can be changed in Preferences -> Game Preferences -> Keybindings -> Human -> Combat Indicator.

This game system provides a mechanism to clearly establish the transition from Roleplay and Mechanics to Combat by:

• Providing a UI element which is visible in all conditions
• Playing a noticeable audible cue
• Sending large red text in chat warning that you are entering an aggressive state.

After activating CI, you must wait at least FIVE seconds, unless your target reciprocates CI, or enters / obviously continues a Mechanical State, to begin Combat.

Ambushes, Traps, and Stealth Weapons

Due to the constraints of Combat Indicator and our roleplay expectations, you should not attempt to ambush people if you are not PMS and in an active battle zone.

Equally, as we require Combat Indicator to be used to gain mechanical advantage, you must be within view of your target and also engage CI to utilize a trap. This means you cannot set trigger traps in nearly every situation.

Nova Sector's Combat Indicator system means true surprise attacks are not supported by design. Silent tools like poison or sleepy pens are for narrative and roleplay setup, not mechanical ambush, and still require CI at the moment of use if roleplay does not fully convey and allow for reaction to the attempt.

Permanent Mechanical State (PMS)

Permanent Mechanical State is a status that is applied through Policy and IC circumstance which waives the Combat Indicator engagement timeframe protection. This means you only need to engage CI to begin mechanics, without the normal wait time.

You may attempt to drop the PMS Status by disabling your CI and refusing to return violent contact with your aggressor. You may dodge and attempt to avoid damage during this time.

If someone that is PMS appears to be making an effort to return to a Roleplay State, you should attempt to indulge them. You are not obligated to do so.

Permanent Mechanical State Status Triggers are conditions in which the PMS status is applied automatically. These are currently:

• Area of Effect passives such as the Demoralizer mod module, Chaplain Bard equipment, Heretic auras, and similar.
• Anyone repeatedly teleporting or jaunting to escape confrontation

The Dynamic Antagonist Objective System and Conflict Opt-Ins

There are two different layers to interacting with the common hostilities on Station.

The first is Dynamic Opt-in (Be Antagonist Target in Character Creator > Character > Character Profile), which dictates how the Dynamic Antagonist Objective game system selects targets.

The second is Conflict Opt-In, (Be a Part of the Conflict in the same panel, just below Antagonist Opt-In), which describes how you can be expected to behave when exposed to Antagonism on Station, as defined above.

Your Dynamic Opt decides your minimum level of Conflict Opt. Without adjusting your Dynamic Opt, you can freely adjust the level of Conflict you wish to participate in. Select carefully, as this cannot be waived in the moment for a specific situation. The only way to change your selection is by Admin Help, and any change applies going forward, not retroactively to what's already happened.

Equating Dynamic and Conflict Opts

Dynamic Opt	Minimum Conflict Opt
No	Passive
Yes - Inconvenience	Involved
Yes - Kill	Vulnerable
Yes - Round Removal	Expendable

Round Removal is defined as a death in which the victim is unlikely or unable to recover from. It also captures deaths which require an exceptional level of medical effort to revert, such as gibbing or braining.

Dynamic Opt-In (Be Antagonist Target)

Dynamic Opt-In governs which players the automated Antagonist Objective system may select as a target for generated objectives. It does not restrict which players a live antagonist may choose to involve organically, that is governed by Conflict Opt-In below.

• No removes you from the Antagonist Objective Pool.
• Yes - Inconvenience allows the Antagonist Objective Pool to select you for non-lethal objectives.
• Yes - Kill allows the Antagonist Objective Pool to select you for lethal objectives.
• Yes - Round-Removal (RR) allows the Antagonist Objective Pool to select you for anything.

Conflict Opt-In (Be a Part of the Conflict)

Your Conflict Opt-In selection dictates how you are expected to behave when exposed to antagonism or criminal behavior directed at you or your Department. It also dictates how other Crew should handle you when going about their criminal business. These Opt-Ins do not exclude you from IC consequences, or protect you from situations that you yourself escalate.

You can only adjust your Conflict-Opt by creating an Admin Help and having your preferences refreshed. The gameplay expectations created by your selection of Conflict Opt cannot be changed otherwise.

• Passive crew exist as set pieces, excluded from being the focus of major round events or participating in Antagonism wherever possible.
• Involved crew are accepting of confrontation and conflict within the focus and boundaries of roleplaying and story building.
• Vulnerable crew accept all situations, particularly mechanics and violence, while maintaining protection from Round Removal.
• Expendable crew do not care if they live or die. Being gibbed is funny to them and they accept any and all dire consequences which may occur.

Station Threat

Station Threat is a theoretical status that is applied through Policy and gained by IC circumstance which permits any Crew to engage a threat as a valid-huntable target, following roleplay escalation expectations.

Station Threat Status Triggers are conditions in which the Station Threat status is applied automatically. These are currently:

• Anyone that threatens the Station by Announcement System. This includes antagonists that create a Station Announcement as part of their mechanics, such as when a Contractor successfully abducts a Target.
• Anyone or any Group that the Captain labels SPECIFICALLY as a 'Station Threat' in an Announcement. The Captain may also remove Station Threat status the same way.
• Anything or anyone that Central Command designates by Announcement.
• Anyone who causes more than half of the current Security Team to be combat-disabled or deceased.

Nova Sector policies

Server Rules • Nova Roleplay Expectations • Antagonist Policy • Silicon policy • Ghost Role policy • Corporate Regulations

---

Return to policies page