COMMUNITY RULES

This is a mature community with adult themes, language, and scenarios. All players and characters must 18+.
A working microphone of reasonable quality is required. Submit a ticket for special accommodations.
Players must be in the City of Fiends Discord for whitelisting, tickets, communication, and announcements.
Be respectful. Toxicity, harassment, discrimination, abuse, and exploitation may result in removal from the community at any time.

ROLEPLAY RULES

Stay in character at all times during roleplay. If an issue arises, finish the scene and address it via Discord after.
Failing to roleplay properly or intentionally disrupting roleplay is FailRP and not allowed. Just because the game doesn’t prevent something doesn't mean you should do it.
Ignoring interactions or consequences with no intent to roleplay (NITRP) is unacceptable in a roleplay community.
No RDM (random death matches) or VDM (vehicle death matches). Conflict must be initiated through roleplay. Intentionally killing NPCs without strong justification is also RDM.
Not valuing life (NVL) is not allowed and FearRP applies. Characters and NPCs should be treated as real people. Improper roleplaying of injuries, threats, or danger to yourself or allies is against the rules.
Players who are downed and respawn or recover by means other than medical treatment must observe the new life rule (NLR) and roleplay forgetting the circumstances around being downed.
Using knowledge your character didn't legitimately learn is metagaming and not allowed. You may not use third-party programs to metagame, powergame, or FailRP.
Altplay, abuse of multiple characters per player (alts), is not allowed. Information, conflict, benefits, money, property, and other assets cannot be shared between alts.
No powergaming, or playing to win rather than for the story. This includes exploiting, lootboxing, and combat logging. Losses and struggles are often the most entertaining part of a story and rewarding part of roleplay.
No godmoding such as forced RP or removing another player's control of their character. All roleplay should have room for reaction and options.
Respect players' roleplay limits. As limits are subjective, it is up to players to express boundaries. Intense roleplay such as torture requires consent and may be best played out privately or via fading to black (FTB).
Sensitive subjects such as sexual assault, suicide, or extreme topics surrounding children are not tolerated.

GUIDELINES

Ignorance of rules is not a valid excuse for breaking them. It is the responsibility of all players to keep up to date with rules and community guidelines. If you are unsure or need clarification, ask.
RDM does not just apply to fighting or killing other players. Locals/NPCs are considered beings with rights and lives. Intentionally killing NPCs without a solid reason is FailRP. Killing NPCs for fun, frequently, or for no good reason makes your character a mass murderer subject to the consequences of a homicidal maniac.
Interactions with other players will always be more rewarding than solo play or NPC-based content. For example, NPCs buy at basic rates to encourage selling materials to players for crafting. Player interactions also create connections and offer additional benefits in the long run.
Do not bring OOC into IC or break character, including by using roleplay to inappropriately handle OOC matters, or using "testing" as an excuse in roleplay. Reporting issues is appreciated, but trying out new systems without IC reason, knowledge, or willingness to accept consequences is metagaming and FailRP.
Unhealthy practices include but are not limited to monopolizing, playing to "win," putting personal desire over what is best for the community, exploiting, and avoiding interaction. Many of these cross into FailRP, powergaming, and NITRP. Roleplay is all about interaction and community, so all of these practices will damage your growth and fun in the long run.
Nobody likes a Mary Sue, characters that are inexplicably competent in many domains, overly gifted, and lacking in flaws or weaknesses. Ask yourself if every system you want to use or have makes sense for your character. Does it enhance your experience and suit your character, or does it hoard skills and deprive specialists of opportunities?
It can be fun to try out or participate in everything on the server, but this can be a quick path to monopolies or materialist FailRP. Gain-focused roleplay can be detrimental to quality and enjoyment.
Manager, Admin, and Staff characters are not inherently part of any government system and do not take suggestions, bug reports, or requests IC. For example, "I wish the city would do something about all this litter in Legion Square!" is valid roleplay. "I can't get my apartment door open! You're on the city council. Can you fix it and make it my favorite color?" godmodes a character into the role of an IC government official and door specialist, godmodes that the city government for some reason has dominion over doors and door colors, and brings an OOC bug and request into IC roleplay.
Before applying for whitelisted jobs, players should be active community members for at least a week to get familiar with the server and community. Each character can only hold one whitelisted job at this time.
Corruption in whitelisted roles should make sense and serve as a story arc beyond self-benefit or OOC reasons.
Crime such as player robbery and violence should be reasonable and keep community health in mind. Would a criminal risk life in prison to stand gloating over a person they shot? Would a criminal slow down and risk arrest to pocket-wipe/lootbox sandwiches without cause? You also cannot force a player to empty their bank.
Do not attempt crimes such as bank robberies or jewelry heists right before or after a restart. During these times, emergency services are wrapping up before tsunamis or are regathering themselves.
Use text scenes to enhance roleplay and leave clues. Do not delete valid scenes without adequate roleplay. Keep in mind that deleting scenes may deprive others of the roleplay opportunity and content they provide.
Do not abuse third-party media such as streams or Discord. This is metagaming and powergaming, and it will result in OOC consequences. Most servers ban external calls or watching streams, but we want you to have fun with your friends, share your stories, and support streamers, so don't ruin this privilege.
- If someone is eavesdropping or recording your conversation, you'd realistically have a chance of noticing. If someone was talking to others remotely or sending their location, you'd notice that. Using third-party media inappropriately does not afford others the same opportunity and is powergaming.
- It is not okay to use a player's stream to metagame.
- It is not okay to DM information OOC to be used IC.
- It is not okay to use OOC communication or streams as IC trackers, bodycams, surveillance, special bonds, etc.
Recording or streaming for use as IC information such as evidence is only valid if the transmitting or recording player roleplays their method, fairly creates means to discover and prevent recording, has not been successfully searched, and has not had similar items removed/disabled (such as phones or radios).
NPC witnesses and camera props should be presumed to be potential dangers if you are committing a crime.
Attempting to use game systems unreasonably such as instances or door locks to unrealistically elude police is FailRP.
Abusing radios, emotes, or interactions like carry or drag while handcuffed, restrained, downed, or injured is FailRP and exploiting.
Don’t chop your own personal vehicles or job vehicles.
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Discovering exploits or means to abuse systems does not permit using them.

BEING REGULATIONS

While we offer flexibility and creative freedom in character creation, balance, fairness, and consent must be kept in mind. Overpowered (OP) characters or characters that directly violate rules are not allowed. Exceptions may be made for special temporary event or "boss" NPCs, but they must still have weaknesses.
We are a scifi/cyber city, not a fantasy realm. Many fantasy races can be adapted into science fiction mutants, but we use lore rooted in futurism, technology, and science instead of magic. Even if you came from a land of magic, your character would discover magic doesn't exist here and they have changed and adapted to this new universe.
Perception that crosses the boundaries of metagaming and godmoding is not allowed, such as detecting lies, tracking, sensing being classifications or abilities, or knowing the future. Mind control, possession, forced mind reading, and forced telepathy are not permitted.
All beings can be harmed, damaged, or potentially destroyed. All characters should therefore value their lives to reasonable extents and react to the universal possibility of destruction. No character is completely invulnerable or invincible. A character may pretend to be indestructible as a lie, but all characters created must have vulnerabilities and mortality.
All beings can transfer or create their own equivalent process, but NLR applies to all beings.
We permit animal roleplay in some circumstances, but it is a small niche lacking support in the base game. Because of this, we can't dedicate resources to animal control or veterinarians as alternatives to PD and EMS. An officer can't discuss charges with a cat, so animals have some additional limitations in the name of balance, fairness, and reasonableness.
- Animals cannot wield weapons, drive, pilot air or watercraft, craft, hack, or perform other unrealistic actions. Even if they are some sort of mutant, they cannot do humanoid opposable thumbs things in animal form.
- Owned animals (pets) must have clear consent to claim another player as their owner, as that owner accepts responsibility for things like violent acts committed by the pet. Beings with animal forms are automatically classified as their own owner for legal purposes and are responsible for the actions of their animal form.
- Unowned animals risk serious IC consequences for roleplaying as dangerous or aggressive. Consider carefully before mauling.

GLOSSARY

RP: Roleplay.
IC: In character. Your character and things within roleplay.
OOC: Out of character. You and the real world.
AFK: Everyone needs to go away from the keyboard at some point. Keep IC by saying you need to go "in your head," think hard about something, make a phone call, use the restroom, etc. as a means to excuse yourself.
Alt: An alternate or additional character played by the same person.
Altplay: A single player passing information from one of their characters to another without roleplay as a form of metagaming.
Baiting: Intentionally enticing people into conflict without RP reason.
Brain: An IC way to reference your computer.
Cousin: An IC way to say alt character.
Ears: An IC way to reference headphones or relevant audio settings. If you can't hear, you can say your ears are clogged to buy time to fix the issue.
Eyes: An IC way to refer to your screen or stream. Having your "eyes on" is a popular way to say you're streaming. Seeing something "in your eyes" is one way people express what they're seeing on screen.
FailRP: A broad term that can encompass many different meanings. Generally speaking, it is when a player does something that disrupts RP or is unrealistic.
FearRP: Fear for your life and the consequences of your actions IC as you would in real life.
Godmoding: A roleplay term derived from "godmode" in games. This is a type of powergaming that involves actions that control other players or their character.
Green: An IC and OOC way to suggest an area or person should not face overt crime or petty scuffles. Things that are labeled green are ICly respected and sometimes even protected by people on all sides of the law. Medical professionals are considered green, at the very least while working or in uniform, for the services they provide to all without bias. Green zones, such as Mission Row LSPD and Pillbox Hospital, are neutral locations of importance where creating problems is generally met with consequences.
Headache: If you're experiencing lag or other visual or performance issues with your game or computer, people often refer to this as having a "headache."
Limits: Roleplay limits are formal, informal, or adaptive boundaries players have regarding what types of roleplay they're willing to engage in or consent to. Respect players' limits when you are made aware of them. If roleplay is moving in an uncomfortable direction, inform someone or remove yourself from the situation to discuss.
Local: IC term for a ped or NPC (non-player character).
LTAP: Leaving to avoid punishment. Don't disconnect to avoid IC or OOC consequences.
Mary Sue: A character who is inexplicably competent in many areas, gifted with unique talents or powers, liked or respected by most others, unrealistically free of weaknesses, and generally lacking meaningful character flaws.
Metagaming: The act of using information received outside the bounds of the game to benefit your roleplay or your character’s knowledge in-game, where otherwise they would not know such information.
Muscles: The keys on your keyboard or buttons on your controller. "Flex your K muscle," for example, means to press "K."
Natural disasters: Tsunamis, avalanches, earthquakes, and similar terms are all acceptable ways to reference a server restart when in character.
NITRP: No intent to roleplay. This is the acronym used when players avoid or ignore interaction, solo grind, excessively troll, or present other indications of having no intention to contribute to community roleplay.
NLR: New life rule. When you respawn you forget anything that happened in a previous life. In our city, we refer to this IC as transfers. This is used in the case of player kills where a death is not permanent.
NVL: Not valuing life. You should act in a way that values your character’s life and welfare. While your characters may not care about others, they should at least value themselves and be aware that harming others willy-nilly will result in consequences for themselves.
Offscreen: Fade to Black (FTB) or offscreen is when all participants of a scene agree on the outcome of a scene without actually roleplaying it out. For example, players may wish to FTB a physical punishment scene to respect a player's limits regarding violent roleplay, a player may want to have an offscreen wedding, or a player on a break could have an offscreen vacation.
Permadeath/Permakill: Permanent death of a character, also referred to as CK or character kill. Permadeath is final, unlike impermanent death and respawning the character, or player kills (PK).
Powergaming: Playing to win over roleplaying for the story, doing anything overpowered, abusing or exploiting game mechanics to force a win, or blocking another player from reasonable choices and control of their roleplay and character.
Red: Red zones are typically secret areas of lawlessness that are dangerous for uninvited individuals.
RDM: Killing/attempting to kill someone with no (or minimal) roleplay, initiation, or reason.
Sky: If you're being told to "look in the sky," that means to look at the in-game chat or notices in the upper part of your screen.
Stream sniping: Obtaining and using information from someone’s stream.
Transfer: While there are many terms for the process, transfer is the most popular word for the medical procedure that explains respawns and revivals.
VDM: Deliberately using your vehicle as a weapon in an attempt to injure or kill another player with no (or minimal) roleplay, initiation, or reason.
Voice box: An IC way of referring to a microphone or voice settings.