This section covers rules and advice on how to act in the aftermath of a PK. The first section covers the event of a murder, as well as the use of resurrection and speak with dead, etc. The second section covers the event of other repercussions and staff involvement.
By playing this game you confirm that you have read the below rules and agree to act in compliance with them.
If you are killed in a PK, you will lose some experience and gain a NOPK flag. You must abide by the rules governing NOPK flags in <pk rules> and <nopk>.
The NOPK period will last for 14 days. It cannot be dropped, but see 'Voluntary absence' below.
During your NOPK period, you must avoid your killers. You may not contact, scry or otherwise gain knowledge about them. If you accidently meet them, you must ignore them and leave their vicinity. Additionally, the victim must avoid any plots that directly involve the killer, as instructed by an avatar. While you may reach out to people not involved in your death, avoid popular public spaces and any character actively attempting to avenge your death.
Memory loss
You have suffered a recent trauma and are confused and weakened/sick. You lose any memories leading up to the event: You do not remember what happened, who killed you, or why. Staff may also ask you to forget additional details depending on the nature of the PK.
Special positions
If you have a special IC position, such as cult leader or captain of the guards, etc., you are on temporary hiatus from that position during the NOPK period. The city/cult/etc. believes you to be dead. During this time, other PCs may attempt to take the position.
After your NOPK period has ended, other players may tell you about the events surrounding your death. Remember that learning such information could be traumatizing, confusing and possibly damaging, or you may not believe them. Whatever the IC reasoning, you may not act upon this information by avenging your own death.
The victim may involve themselves in any plots, even those that they were temporarily removed from by the killer. They may also reclaim any positions that they previously had, provided another PC has not claimed them in the meantime.
You may act normally towards your killers, but remember that the matter that led to your death is closed.
Voluntary absence
You may choose to take an absence of 7 days or more following a death in PK. If you do not log on the killed character during the first seven days following the death, you will return without a NOPK flag when the 7 days are up, and may immediately rejoin any plots you were previously involved in.
If you play an alt during these seven days or choose to switch for a longer time period, you retain any privileges gained on your dead character in regard to time needed for property building, gaining templates, etc.
The killer must alert the staff of any plots/positions that they wish the victim temporarily removed from.
During the victim's NOPK period, the killer may not contact, scry, or otherwise attempt to learn anything about the victim. As far as the killer knows, the victim is dead, the situation has been resolved and the matter that led to the death is closed. If they accidentally detect the victim (through peer, scrying someone else etc.) they must ignore the victim and avoid traveling to their vicinity.
The killer may, however, seek out any witnesses or other involved parties, with the intention of starting PK, even if they are in the vicinity of the deceased victim. In such cases, the NOPK character should leave the area and ignore the situation (<fade away>).
Once the victim's NOPK has ended, and you learn of their return through any means, you may act normally towards the victim. Remember that the matter that led to their deaths is closed.
If you witness a death, hear of a death, or see that someone has a new NOPK flag, that character is dead until they choose to contact you. Do not contact or scry them until they reach out to you, or you run into them by accident. During the victim's NOPK period, you may not involve them in any matters that may lead to a PK or tell them anything about their own death.
If you were directly involved in their death, you should avoid the victim while you are pursuing, or being pursued by, their killer(s).
After the NOPK period has ended, and the matter surrounding their deaths has been resolved (or otherwise reached a stalemate), you may tell them about their deaths. Remember that learning such information could be traumatizing, confusing and possibly damaging, and the victim may not believe you.
Assassinations happen when one PC is hired by a third party to kill another PC, or when the victim doesn't know the identity of their killer.
A player may use speak with the dead to get information from the spirit of the victim as long as they have not returned from the dead yet. Prior to the victim returning from the dead, they retain their memories.
Resurrected players behave as if they were saved from the PK and continue life as normal.
Trauma
If the victim was not killed, but instead suffered such trauma as torture, dismemberment, etc., all role-play may continue naturally from there. Before engaging in this type of RP, make sure to read <PK rules> and <fade to black> carefully.
The perpetrator
The perpetrator should show OOC consideration and give the victim room to roleplay the repercussions in a way that they are comfortable with. Repeatedly attacking, beating up and/or robbing the same character is discouraged and will have IC consequences.
The victim
Nobody can be forced to roleplay something that they are not comfortable with or that ruins their experience. You are encouraged to roleplay repercussions, but may always choose death over debilitating consequences such as loss of limbs, PTSD, depression, suicide. etc. Always remember that you are in charge of how you play your character and how they react to events.
Staff Interference
If you find yourself in a situation where you want to roleplay the repercussions of a PK, but it is impeding on your appreciation of the game, contact staff via <avatarmail> and present or ask for a solution. Likewise, if you find yourself in a situation where your character is being targeted by higher level players, you can seek help from other PC's or use <avatarmail> to request aid from allies of your church, guild etc., or hire an assassin. Though an IC solution is preferable, an OOC solution is always possible.
Note that it is possible to die in an avatar run plot. In such cases, the avatar in charge will inform you of how to proceed.
In addition to these rules, you are expected to know and abide by the rules listed in <rules>, <pk rules>, <nopk>, and <line use>. Lastly, please remember that everyone is here to enjoy themselves. Show consideration towards your fellow players and do your best to make any PK fun and/or memorable!
Failure to comply with the rules will result in punishment and repeat offenders may be banned and/or rid. If these rules are unclear, contact our staff for clarification.