Sandbox:server rules

Nova Sector Policy

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

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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. Lying to the staff is a punishable offense, 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: General Player Policy and 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. As a general rule, there’s a safe zone for what you can carry: Tools. Emergency medical stuff. A small number of weapons (like 1-3). Maybe some armor. Separately from the above there are additional items that can push you into higher tiers of power just on their presence alone, for ex: TTV's, Teleporters, anything-that-makes-you-mostly-transparent, and martial arts just to name a few, try to use these sparingly!
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: Roleplay as a terrorist, mass bombing, or otherwise destroying large parts of a department or the station. Murder someone without a justifiable IC reason. Pretend to be an established antagonist (Throwing on a black and red spacesuit and sabotaging solars). Sabotage important station facilities (flooding Security with plasma, blowing up Engineering, unleashing viruses from Virology) or otherwise making the round unplayable for the crew. 10.5 Non-Antagonist Criminal Addendum For non-antagonist criminals, please read the below: Crime is allowed, however, self-antagging is not. 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 shouldn't be a constant hindrance just for the sake of starting a fight with them. You should try to dial it back if the round heats up; or elsewise, keep the impact minimal. Light sabotage is fine, but it should not affect a large portion of the players in the round. You should try to create RP around your crimes for the individuals involved. You actions must be within 5xx crimes in corp regs with a special exception for allowing murder. Grand theft and Grand Sabotage require an OPFOR.
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. 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: '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. 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 13: 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 Reason 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. Occasional bug/code hiccups that allows them to roll antags type that they are not intended to. Item requests Item requests unless it was an item that failed to spawn as you joined should be done through prayers and not AHELPs. Due to a constant flood of tickets related to it, players should only ask for items to be spawned if they are an essential part of their kit and did not receive them due to a bug. Any other requests should be done via a pray. OPFOR requests for gear not on the list should be done in the chat. 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. Repeated poor conduct in the cafe 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. Copypasta of the in-game text Ruling on Prisoners Prisoners(the job, roundstart or latejoin) must OPFOR to be a significant nuisance or escape. Too many Prisoners escaping or causing chaos without an OPFOR. 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. Not all players are comfortable engaging with these topics on a OOC level.
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. 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. Regarding Contraband: Barring picking it up mid-fight, security shouldn't be using contraband, unless the alert level is DELTA. 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. 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.

Nova Sector policies

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

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