Server Rules

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Text in this box means we are describing the rule.
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Ingame-Rules

The Golden Rule

1. The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule serves as a descriptor for all other rules set in place for our community. It outlines our commitment to the rules and how we handle, manage, and enforce them. Staff Members are the only ones who may enforce rules. Public trials or witch-hunting of any kind are strongly discouraged and can cause more harm than good.

In certain cases, Staff Members may use discretion when enforcing rules not listed in the ruleset, as long as it is done with the intention of calming down, suppressing, or removing toxic or harmful behaviour. This includes, but is not limited to, mass-trolling, bullying, or harassment on Discord or in-game. Discretion may also be used to save or preserve the reputation of the community. Any action taken must be done with the best interests of the players, the community, and our infrastructure in mind.

We ask all those who promote our community on other platforms (Twitch, Youtube, etc.) to adhere to the Terms of Service of those platforms.

We reserve the right to modify, add, alter, or update any rules or guidelines at any time without prior notice.

If a community member has a concern about an action taken in relation to the Golden Rule or wishes to appeal the action, an impartial intermediary will be provided internally.

Examples: An admin may issue a rightful ban on a player if they present toxic traits that damage the reputation of Ranch Roleplay.

You may be blacklisted for unspecified reasons, provided the above examples cover it.

Admin discretion can be used against a scenario not covered by the golden rule but still warrants intervention.

Punishments: Breaching any of these rules is based on the severity of what was conducted. Ranging from a warning to a ban.

Common Courtesy

2. Common Courtesy

Common courtesy is an essential part of any roleplay server. It is important to remember that there are real people behind each character and the words we type have the potential to hurt. Players should be kind to others and think before they speak on an out-of-character level. There is no need to be hurtful or abusive, regardless of a player’s position in the community. Everyone should be treated equally, from new players to head admins.

In addition, players need to keep in-character actions in-character. There should be no bleed onto the forums or Discord; you are not your character when using these platforms. It is important to remain respectful and polite when interacting with other members of the community, regardless of any differences in opinion.

By adhering to common courtesy, roleplay servers can create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for all players. It is this atmosphere that encourages players to come back and keeps the server alive.

"Treat others how you want to be treated."

  • Discrimination of any kind is not allowed. This includes but is not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, and age.
  • Try and keep aggression to a minimum; we understand there may be disagreements, but never attack someone personally for it.
  • Toxic personalities are best hidden. Inciting toxicity to the community is especially not allowed.
  • Politics / Extremism agenda pushing is newspaper chat. We do not allow it here.
  • Harassment or Hateful Conduct against any user is a no-go.

If you are a victim of hateful conduct in this community and do not wish to speak out publicly, the staff are always available to have a private conversation with you one-on-one.

Please refer to Rule 1 if you believe something here is not covered.

Examples: Making fun of someone OOCly on account of their voice or appearance.

Releasing personal information about someone.

Being overly aggressive to someone that has made a mistake.

Punishments: Anything from a verbal warning to a ban depending on the severity.

Restrictions on Playing

3. Restrictions on Playing

Whilst we wish to be inclusive of all players, we have some pre-requisites that you need to abide by before choosing to play on Ranch Roleplay;

  • You must be 18 or over to play.
  • You must be able to speak English.
  • Playing with a microphone is required. (If you have a disability that prevents you from speaking, please reach out to a member of staff as exceptions can be made.)
  • You must roleplay that of someone living in the Wild West, 1899 era. There are no modern adaptations or special allowances.
  • Your character and character name must be unique. Roleplaying or using the same name as any famous fictional or non-fictional person/character is not allowed and your character will likely be removed (you may take inspiration from a fictional/non-fictional character, but remember to make it your own and do not replicate it). Name puns/prank names are also not allowed.
  • You may not bring over stories and characters from other servers.
  • Roleplaying suicides is not allowed in any capacity.
Examples:

Roleplaying a character named Chris Evans, Ben Crobbery, and Arthur Morgan breaks a restriction.

Joining the server without a microphone and using /do /me to communicate without Staff Approval.

Speaking Spanish over voice chat, even if you roleplay your character as a Spanish speaker. Single common, non-English words are allowed. I.e. saying "Hola", when roleplaying a Mexican citizen.

Punishments: We may temporarily halt your access to the game server if these restrictions are broken.

Voice Changers

3.1 Voice Changers

Voice Changers are allowed to be utilised on Ranch Roleplay, with the following restrictions:

The voice changer must not completely recreate your voice, such as an AI-Generated software, these more often than not mispronounce words, or miss them out entirely, resulting in an immersion-breaking sound or word being stated.

Voice changers that change pitch is allowed, however, they must not be overtly high or low-pitched to the point they're immersion-breaking or not befitting of your character (See Immersion Breaking Rules). The voice changer must sound natural in order to fit within the world you're roleplaying in.

Examples:
  • AI-Generated voice changers such as VoiceMod (Narrator.)
  • High Pitched a voice that sounds vaguely like someone using an Alvin and the Chipmunks translator.
  • Deep voices that sound demonic/unnaturally deep.
  • Robotic voice changers or poor mic quality also fall under this category.
Punishments: We may temporarily halt your access to the game server if these restrictions are broken.

Third-Party Modifications

4. Third-Party Modifications

Third-Party Modifications are defined as utilizing any form of software, modification, application, or assistance to give yourself an unfair advantage or act maliciously whilst playing in our community. This can range from your run-of-the-mill cheat software to overlays that give you more information on server stats, where to aim et al.

Our server has the crosshair turned OFF, any 3rd Party Crosshairs and/or overlays on your screen to circumvent also violate this rule, ignorance is not an excuse.

Ideally, you should join our servers with a vanilla install of the game with no external applications that modify the config/executables and no overlays. If you wish to modify your game files for client-side purposes (skins, texture packs, ENB), ensure that it doesn't change your gameplay, and you must understand you are installing these modifications with risk and we will provide no support if there are any conflicts with our framework.

This also includes the use of third-party software, tactics, or actions that manipulate or alter the infrastructure, networking, or security of our servers. This will always be dealt with legal action in your jurisdiction along with the recommended punishment below.

The use of a controller is permitted, although not recommended, as we have disabled the aim advantage they have and we do not script with the intention of assisting controller players.

Examples: Installing cheat software to give you the location of other players.

Using automation software to rapidly mimic inputs.

Using .dll executables for any reason whatsoever.

Launching a Denial of Service attack against any of our services.

Punishments: The use of Third-Party Modifications on the server will almost always result in a permanent ban depending on the severity.

Account Rules

5. Account Rules

Account Rules are in place to protect our community from unknown individuals. We have a duty of care to your privacy, and as a result, strict procedures are in place to ensure we can run as effectively as possible.

Evasion of Punishment

If you have been issued an active punishment that limits your use of any of our services, such as access to our websites and/or applications, you are prohibited from creating alternative accounts or using any other methods to gain access during this period. Any breach of this restriction may result in further disciplinary action being taken, alongside the initial punishment being extended or ultimately made permanent.

Your Account

You are not allowed to transfer your account or give access to your account to another individual; this includes staff. In addition to this, your account remains your responsibility from creation to deletion, including all personal data on the account. Do not let anyone log on, including family or friends, and keep your passwords secure, preferably in a password manager, along with enabling two-factor authentication. You are also not allowed to log into someone else's account under this pretence, permitted or not. Doing so will result in both master accounts being disabled.

VPN Usage

VPN usage on any of our servers is prohibited, however, if you live in a country where VPN usage is essential and you can prove to us your use case and have good standing in the community, we may be able to grant you an exception to this rule. Masking or spoofing IP Addresses or Hardware IDs is also prohibited.

Examples: Returning to another account after being banned.

Giving your Discord / Account to another person.

Using a VPN Service to mask your true IP in any way.

Punishments: Breaching this rule will result in any associated account being permanently banned.

Era-Based Roleplay

6. Era-Based Roleplay

It is essential to bear in mind that our roleplay is set in the early 1900s. In order to accurately portray the time period, it is necessary to adhere to a few guidelines. These include, but are not limited to: dress and mannerisms, language, and cultural norms. Additionally, knowledge of the historical context of the time period is necessary in order to create a realistic and believable experience.

Ranch is a server that is based on the time period of 1899, during which many sensitive topics such as slavery, racism, sexism, and other highly contentious issues existed.

You may speak about them in character, such as the colonisation of America, however roleplaying these topics in an offensive, insensitive, accusatory or bigoted manner is strictly prohibited. Any comments or roleplay that could be interpreted as such will result in immediate removal from the server. We ask all players to be respectful of one another and to show appropriate consideration of these topics when discussing them in character.

We understand that sensitive topics, such as the colonization of America and the oppression of Native Americans, may be referenced in our roleplaying. However, we do not allow any comments that are derogatory, or accusatory of others being racist towards Native Americans, or any other minorities. We expect our roleplayers to show respect and consideration for all cultures, and to avoid any offensive or inflammatory language. If any derogatory comments are made, they will be removed and the user will receive a ban. We are committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for all of our roleplayers.

  • Your character must not reference any future events ahead of the current time period, alongside any items that are currently in 2023.
  • Time period-based language is to be used at ALL times. Statements like "bruh, lol, W, hold that L" and furthermore modern related language will not be tolerated. You are not your character, and whilst shit-talking would have happened during specific events in the time period of 1899, this would have been after lengthy scenes and far from the FiveM mentality that the above statements portray.
  • Time period-based roleplay and characters are a must, any character that breaks that format will be spoken to.
  • You may not roleplay any form of supernatural roleplay, ghosts, spirits, mythological beings &/or witches all fall into this category. You may roleplay "witchy" tendencies such as herbology, and practicing witch culture however you may not roleplay any form of magic, seances and so forth are acceptable.
Examples: Pretending to own slaves as a citizen.

Talking to someone ICly about World War 2.

Not allowing someone to join the Sheriff's office because they are female.

Using racist connotations, words, or phrases ICly to another citizen.

Talking about drinking red bull, going to get a burger from your Uncle McDonald etc.

Accusing a Native American Roleplayer of X Y Z due to them being Native American.

Accusing a Lawmen of arresting a Native American, because they are Native American.

Using one's race, religion, and other determining factors in a derogatory manner.

Using racial stereotypes present in 1899, and stereotypes that are present today in 2023.

Punishments: Breaching this rule will likely result in a timed ban to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Roleplay Takes Priority

7. Roleplay Takes Priority

At Ranch Roleplay, we take Roleplay seriously and prioritize it over any other aspect of the server. We encourage all players to develop storylines and interact with one another in meaningful ways, rather than instantly resorting to violence or shooting. In the event of a conflict or feud, we ask that players take the time to engage in Roleplay before any physical harm is done unless previous interaction has taken place. (See below regarding interaction rules.) We understand that Roleplay is the core of our server, and we ask that players stay true to their Roleplay and not simply shoot first and ask questions later.

  • Always look to begin a storyline when you interact with others; it promotes Roleplay within the community and creates some amazing stories.
  • If you are involved in conflict or a feud with another player or Faction, do not resort to shooting them immediately. There should always be roleplay/interaction with another player before shooting, harming, or killing them.
  • If you shoot someone, always ensure there is an appropriate RP reason to do so.
  • If a minor rule is broken, we may make an exception if it serves the purpose of advancing a storyline and both parties agree. - then we may allow it as an exception.
Examples: You walk up to a farmer and shoot them for no reason.

Your character or Faction's sole purpose is to cause mayhem that would realistically lead to death.

The Sheriff's office was raided by a well-known, well-developed, and well-roleplayed gang to further Roleplay.

Punishments: Not prioritizing Roleplay will likely lead to a warning but may increase to a ban on repeat offences.

Player vs Player Engagement

7.1 Player vs Player Engagement

It should be remembered that the times we're roleplaying in were a hectic and lawless era, from the Government wrangling control of the land to the death of the gunslinger & eradication of outlaws, all the way to the ostracization of Native Americans.

With this in mind, conflict is inevitable and will arise between characters; the following rule is to define " Interaction " to ensure the history of other servers doesn't impact your decision on how to act in character. Our definition is substantially different and allows more interesting stories to develop.

Players are allowed to act violently towards others IF an interaction has occurred.

Upon retaliating on violent actions, words ARE encouraged to be used, both parties are aware of why they're being attacked; however, this isn't mandatory. We're aware early doors will generate tickets. With our logging system, we can easily locate the reason, so don't be afraid to open a ticket for clarification if you were "randomly shot, sniped, attacked by someone without anything said".

Examples: Death Interaction is defined as "Player placed into Brutally Wounded Mode" once a player is Brutally Wounded, then escalations from Player B should cease UNLESS Player A wishes to retaliate after they're healed up from their injuries.

Player A has a verbal altercation with Player B, and it ends with the duo fighting.

Player A initiated the interaction, and it's on Player B to retaliate depending on the fight's outcome.

If Player B wins the fight, then violent interactions don't need to continue unless Player A continues to chase it, threatens or escalates it further.

If either Player wishes to escalate it further, they may do so between them up until a death interaction takes place.

Punishments: Using this explanation as an excuse to RDM will result in a significant action being taken against you; this isn't an excuse to RDO shoot; this is to allow more meaningful and realistic actions to take place.

Injury Roleplay

7.2 Injury Roleplay

Injuries should be roleplayed to their FULL extent; any player who takes damage or goes down is expected to roleplay their injuries to the best of their abilities. As the person being injured, it is up to you to decide the injuries you sustain however if they are unrealistic or seen as attempting to minimize your injuries unrealistically then you will be liable to be banned.

You should continue to roleplay the after effects of injuries as long as you see fit. Gunshot wounds do not heal themselves, being shot during a shootout but not going down means you must still roleplay the wounds sustained during the gunfight.

Players must understand that after 30 minutes have passed without medical attention whilst, in downed mode, their character will either have bled out or suffered from severe brain damage after a lengthy amount of time. This means that their character will no longer be able to use their limbs or think properly, and in some cases, may even be brain dead. Players must not linger longer than 30 minutes when downed in an attempt to gain an advantage.

Players should not attempt to use server restarts to their advantage to log off and return during prime-time hours when Doctors are more readily available, this is punishable under power gaming.

Examples: Player A has been shot in the chest and advised by Doctor Bella that they should rest for two months and 20 days; this is converted to 2 Hours & 20 Minutes.
Punishments: Players who disregard the time schedule by Doctors // Server will be punished under the "Power game" rule.

Definition of Deaths and Injuries

Player Kills (Temporary Deaths)

A player kill occurs when a character is killed through a roleplay situation, rendering them unconscious (brutally wounded/downed) and causing them to experience amnesia which extends back to the beginning of the roleplay scene leading up to their wounding.

Player kills don't always require a "script" death (Shooting/Brawling/Etc), as the effects of incapacitation and memory loss are still present, this is up to the player involved to decide on their own injuries. (For example, if you fall from a ledge, hit your head on the way down but don't die in terms of full HP loss. You may roleplay incapacitation and memory loss as you see fit)

If a character is attacked by a player, the scene should not end there. The players involved and who witnessed the event should roleplay a scenario where the injured character is eventually rescued by either a player Doctor or an NPC Doctor (Respawn). This does not mean they need to get the attacked character to a Doctor, this just means that they have not "killed" the person unless the character decides to character kill themselves. If they respawn, they should roleplay being in the medical office, recovering from their injuries. During this roleplay, the character would need to acknowledge the severity of the injuries and roleplay the healing process accordingly.

If a character is rescued by a "Player Doctor" they may remember the events that lead up to their death scene and other players who witnessed the wounding may fill in the blanks.

If a player respawns, (Local Doctor) they must roleplay the injuries once they respawn, however will forget all events that lead to them as detailed by the amnesia rule above, players who witnessed may not fill the person who respawned in on events, this is in place to prevent "Respawn Abuse" in which a player would respawn without medical attention, allow a friend to fill them in, and go back for revenge on another player.

While an administrator can revive a character after being player killed, the amnesia effects will still be in place unless an administrator specifically overrides them.

This ruling is applicable to player-on-player deaths only. If you fall off a ledge, are attacked by the cougar in Annesburg, or forget to eat, you may remember the cause of your unconsciousness, even if you seek medical attention from a local doctor (Respawn). It is therefore important to roleplay any injuries that you may have sustained accordingly once you have respawned.

Example: Player 1 attacked Player 2 and chaos ensued. Player 2 was downed and they were in desperate need of medical attention. Player 1 flee's the scene, and Player 2 can now either:

Local Doctor (Respawn): Forget all events that lead to their death involving Player 1. They must roleplay they were injured upon respawning, and roleplay their injuries correctly, they are described as having "Amnesia" about the event and may not be able to remember. Player 2's friend who witnessed the event, may not remind Player 2 about the incident.

Player Doctor (Healed/Picked Up by Doctor A): Player 2 can be revived by Doctor A, which means they must roleplay their injuries as normal, but they may remember all events that lead to Player 1 ultimately downing Player 2. Player 2's friends who witnessed the event may also remind Player 2 of any details they may be missing that lead to their demise.

Character Kills (Permas)

We want to also take a moment to discuss Character Kills (CK), which is Ranch's way of enhancing what is commonly known as "PK" in other servers. PK stands for Player Kill, which is the act of killing another player's character. In Ranch, we use the term CK instead, which follows a similar structure.

To clarify, a Character Kill is when a player decides to end their character's life in Roleplay. This can be a dramatic and impactful way to conclude a character's storyline or arc. However, it's important to note that others cannot force a CK on another player's character unless a prior agreement has been given, such as a Faction statement or an Admin involvement such as the Faction Management Teams.

Additionally, players may also be subject to a Character Kill for continuous abuse or breaching the No Value for Life Rule. This rule requires all players to prioritize their character's safety and well-being and to avoid putting themselves in unnecessary danger. Failure to adhere to this rule may result in consequences such as a Character Kill.

We believe that Character Kills can add a level of realism and depth to the game, but we also want to ensure that they are used appropriately and with respect for all players involved. As always, we encourage open communication and mutual understanding between players.

We hope that this explanation has helped clarify our rules of death. We encourage all players to familiarize themselves with these rules before continuing to play. Thank you for your support and dedication to Ranch, and we look forward to continuing this journey with you.

Poor Reason to Kill

7.3 Poor Reason to Kill

A valid reason must be given for killing another player's character. Examples of valid reasons may include self-defence, defending another character from harm, bringing justice to an evil character, or as a consequence of a character's actions or threats.

When it comes to murder, accidental death, or witnessing death, it is important to roleplay the consequences of such events to the fullest capacity. It is important to consider the emotional and psychological effects that death can have on characters, as well as the practical implications for the character’s life. When it comes to murder, for example, it is important to roleplay the legal consequences of the act, such as the potential for incarceration or other punishments.

Killing another person/player must have a reason behind it every time per the engagement rules; however, Poor Reason to Kill ensures that players have a validated reason to kill someone.

Examples:
  • Shooting and killing another player for a simple insult.
  • Killing another player over a personal relationship ending.

(This is null and void if the player is part of your Faction, see Character Kill Rules.)

  • Killing large amounts of group members who are nearby your initial kill target.

(Case by case, we understand heat-of-the-moment instances.)

  • Killing a Lawman for telling you to slow down, put a shotgun away in their town.
  • Killing a Doctor arriving on the scene to treat your friend.

The list is exhaustive, and the above examples are the main examples to run with. However, this rule is subject to Golden Rule 1, if an Admin feels your reason to kill someone was poor, they may act accordingly.

Punishments: Warning, temporary ban or permanent ban depending on the severity.

Sub-Par Roleplay

7.4 Sub-Par Roleplay

Ranch Roleplay maintains a high level of roleplay standards, defining ourselves as "HEAVY" in terms of roleplay, far from the light to medium style that FiveM or other servers may have instilled.

This rule is in place to ensure that actions are roleplayed thoroughly and maintain professionalism to ensure that good quality interactions flourish and become the norm.

Interactions between players must be roleplayed in their entirety, from the smallest of interactions to the largest.

You must remain in-character at all times unless an Admin tells you otherwise via our ticket system. You may not void any roleplay without Admin approval.

Examples:

The list is exhaustive and up to an Admins discretion:

  • Robbing someone with a Carcano or Scoped Rifle.
  • Robbing someone with no interaction, /me's included.
  • Hog-tying/handcuffing a player, searching them with the script, and then leaving.
  • Large-scale groups with the sole intent of robbing one person.
  • Arresting a player without any /me's interaction.
  • Creating a "comic relief character" to troll players and provide nothing of substance.
  • "Robo-Deputies" are characters who solely play to do law-related activities and provide criminal roleplayers minimal to no interaction.
  • "Robo-Criminals" are characters who only partake in illegal activities and nothing more, logging on to rob stores/players/banks and then logging off.
  • Rag-dolling into character piles, for comedic effect etc.
  • Dancing in the middle of towns such as Valentine Main Street, Rhodes Main, etc., is not allowed. However, it is acceptable to dance in bars and other closed-off areas away from the public view or in a venue that supports it.


Relying on scripts to facilitate roleplay, such as:

  • Bandaging in the middle of a gunfight without sufficient roleplay, such as cauterizing the wound with gunpowder, etc.
  • Robbing someone and not providing any substance with /me & /do taking their items, patting them down and so forth.
  • Mining with no fatigue roleplay.
  • Robbing a store/bank with no /me's or /do's
  • Theft of a Horse item with no /me's or /do's
  • Doctor "pat on the back, or given a sweet" to avoid Doctor related roleplay.
  • Instantly lasso players with F during any interactions, this is a breach of power gaming as the player on the receiving end has no chance to respond.
Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Immersion Breaking

7.5 Immersion Breaking

Ranch Roleplay is defined as a "Heavy Roleplay Server" and as such, actions that are able to be done via the Game Engine, may not fit in with the time period or depth of roleplay that we expect from players and wish to pioneer in the RedM standards.

This also includes any immersive breaking voice changers as detailed in the rule above.

Examples:

The list is exhaustive and up to an Admins discretion:

Abuse of RDR2 Physics Using RDR2's abilities to do things that in real life are unrealistic or not do-able (e.g bunny hopping, chicken running, jumping from a roof with minimal damage)

Bunnyhopping This is when you keep pressing the space button spamming jump, to speed up getting from one place to another.

Chicken Running/Zig-zagging

The act of running in a zig-zag manner during a shootout or another form of confrontation.

Roof Dropping The act of dropping from a roof or large drop with the knowledge you won't take much damage due to Game Engine restrictions. Realistically your character would find a smoother or safer way down.

RD:O Outfits / 1899 Portrayal RD:O Outfits are defined as outfits that don't fit the time period or something you would see on RD:O, whilst Rockstar added a lot of options, some of them do not fit the time period, or when combined together look out of place entirely.

  • Wearing bandages over eyes and still partaking in day-to-day roleplay.
  • Wearing mass amounts of bandoliers, armed to the teeth for day-to-day activities.
  • Sparkling satchels from RDO Events.
  • Topless during cold weather.
  • Lawman/Doctor with a skull mask over their face.

Immersion Breaking Speech

  • Saying spiritual when referring to out-of-character actions.
  • Referring to the discord as "Discordian".
  • Referring to out-of-character jobs as "nightmares".
  • Stating you're going in your head for a moment when AFK.
Punishments: Breaching this rule will be a warning, leading to a temporary ban depending on severity. Outfit breaches will result in a ticket created, and advice on how to improve the outfit(s) going forward.

Body-Dumping

7.6 Body Dumping

Dumping a player's body is allowed in Ranch Roleplay, players are welcome to hide a body and/or lower the likelihood of medical attention under the following restrictions:

  • A body can not be dumped in the Sea.
  • Lake/Well/Cliff dumping are allowed, as long as they are accessible to others. They should not be left in deep water.

Players should not linger once a body has been dumped.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Roleplay Progression

7.7 Roleplay Progression

When creating a brand new character, we expect that your role-play follows a gradual gradient of progression. What we mean by this, is your character must start small and progress throughout their life at a realistic rate, ensuring the progression of a good back story, strengths, weaknesses, experiences and friendships. This also applies to any new factions on the server. This is also known as "Slow burn" Roleplay, which not only benefits you as a player but ensures the quality of roleplay amongst characters is accurate.

Examples: Creating a new character and roleplaying that they already run and own a significant business in Monroe.

Establishing a faction and immediately jumping into bank robberies, elicit operations (i.e. Moonshining) without first establishing a reputable history/roleplay

Creating a new character that gets immediately promoted to a high ranking position in law, doctors, or another faction.

Punishments: You may be asked to slow down your progression arc and provide more slow burn RP to those around you, repeat offenses will result in character/faction progression pauses.

Random Deathmatching

8. RDM / VDM / KOS

RDM (Random Death Match), VDM (Vehicle Death Match) and KOS (Kill On Sight) are terms coined to describe the act of killing another player randomly and without any valid roleplay reason to do so.

  • You cannot kill the player(s) without prior Roleplay leading up to it.
  • Terrorism Roleplay is not allowed on the server (the act of killing people to invoke fear/terror).
  • Instructing someone to kill their character (i.e. jumping off a cliff, or into a river) without reason.
  • Killing non-playable characters, (locals), whilst not players, they are still clarified as human beings within the game world and repercussions still count as if towards regular players.
  • VDM covers killing / stunning players with your horse or wagon without reason.
  • The act of targeting a player and immediately killing them premeditatively without Roleplay whatsoever.
Examples: Randomly executing NPCs because they are in your way.

Running over players purposefully with your wagon because they will not move.

Throwing a molotov cocktail into a group of players without reason.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Revenge Killing

8.1 Revenge Killing

Revenge Killing is the act of going back to retaliate either by killing, attempting to kill, robbing or trying to enact revenge in any way for scene in which you accepted death.

  • If you are downed and accept death, you cannot retaliate or use this information after you respawn. All events leading to the death which was accepted must be forgotten, essentially as if it was a different character who died.
  • The person who accepted death cannot be brought back into a retaliation on their own death by any means.
Examples: Examples of when it is okay to retaliate:
  • You are downed, but a Doctor revives you. After properly roleplaying the injuries, you may retaliate if you deem it fitting for your character.
  • You are downed by a group and accept death. The group robs you the next day. You are now brought back into the beef with them as they robbed and you may retaliate for the robbery if you deem it fitting for your character.

Example of revenge killing:

  • You are downed and accept death. You go back to them and attempt to rob, hurt or kill them.
  • You are downed and accept death. Your friend tells you that you died (weird right?) and you go back to get revenge.
Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Powergaming

9. Powergaming

Power gaming in a roleplay environment refers to a player who disregards the rules of the server or attempts to gain an unfair advantage. This could include exploiting game mechanics, manipulating other players, or simply ignoring the story or roleplay aspect of the game. An example of power gaming in a roleplay environment is respawning in order to avoid consequences.

  • You can not force Roleplay on players without giving them a fair chance to respond to your actions.
  • You are not allowed to "make up" situations that never happened on the Ranch Roleplay universe for your IC benefit.
  • You can not roleplay things that are not possible in scripts, or human-wise, to gain an unfair advantage.
  • You are not allowed to revive players mid-combat to allow them to return to the scene. You must wait until the scene is over.
  • You can not commit any crime that notifies law enforcement via a script (Bank/Store Robberies, selling drugs/moonshine) 30 minutes before a server restart nor can you do it 30 minutes after a server restart. Anything else is exempt from this rule.
  • Faction Attacks may not be conducted 30 minutes before the storm.
  • The kidnapping of lawmen is prohibited if there are less than 4 lawmen in said town.
  • The robbery of lawmen is prohibited if there are less than 2 lawmen in town.
  • You are not allowed to call/whistle for your horse if it has been stolen.
  • Despawning wagons and feeling horses protect the contents from an RP scenario is not allowed.
  • Using a Lasso in an active shooter situation, either as Law or Criminal in the scene falls under this definition of Powergaming as it leads to an immediate win.
  • Breaking out of a hogtie with the F (or any other keybinding) key.
  • If someone has a mask on you can not identify them via their voice, however;

There are some exceptions that may help with identification, such as clothing, weapons, and roleplay manner. For example, if someone is wearing a distinctive piece of clothing or carrying a weapon that is unique to them, then it may be possible to identify them despite them wearing a mask. The rule does not instantly protect you from being identified, if you walk around the corner and mask up, return to the place you were prior and someone notices the same clothing and other identifiers, then they are not breaching this rule.

  • You may not jailbreak without LFM Approval, this is to prevent offline/timezone abuse.
  • Camping any form of teleport is not allowed, this includes interiors, exterior and the teleport from Guarma to Monroe, and vice versa. You must be within 15 metres away from the teleport location to allow players to react accordingly. Please remember the common courtesy rule, as some players may load slower than others due to PC specifications.
  • You may not respawn in a scene to avoid consequences, if you have not been interacted with whilst down for 30 minutes, you may forgo this rule and respawn.
Examples: /me pick up the horse with two hands and moves it.

/me kicks John Doe in the head, immediately killing him.

Roleplaying an item that isn't actually on you. I.e /me holds a knife to his neck - when you have no knife.

Roleplaying that an item isn't on you when it actually is. I.e. searched by law and said the knife isn't there.

Roleplaying that your store/office is guarded by NPCs when it is not.

Talking whilst in a Downed or Unconscious State (grunts etc that don't give any advantage are allowed when appropriate to the injuries)

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Not Valuing Life (NVL)

10. Not Valuing Life (NVL)

Your character(s) are human, with an appropriate level of fear and value for their own life. You can not be fearless in the face of immediate danger, especially during robberies or when faced with multiple aggressors.

If you are presented with a situation in which an aggressor has a gun pointed at you or is willing to shoot you, it is important to prioritize your safety and preserve your life. Engaging in a physical altercation and/or attempting to pull out a weapon to respond aggressively to the situation is considered no value for life (NVL) behaviour, as it fails to prioritize safety and protect your life.

Since there are so many scenarios for NVL, each breach may be reviewed individually, and the staff member can utilize Rule 1.

Fear roleplay is important on the server as you should reasonably fear someone when your character is put in a situation in which they may lose their life. If someone is reckless while reasonably expected to roleplay fear, they may be liable to be fear Character Killed under power gaming rules. For example, someone has a gun to you, and you continue to taunt them without reason or bait them to PK you. You may be liable for a CK.

You might submit a fear CK application to have someone CK'd after a situation if there was a blatant lack of fear in the scene(s) that has taken place.

Any Admin Level 3+ or Illegal Faction Management representative may approve a fear CK without an application after an in-game report if the evidence provided is a blatant disregard of NVL. Players may not make this decision themselves during any scene, evidence must be provided.

NVL refers to yourself only, there are IC repercussions and other factors in place when it comes to other people's lives in a situation. If a player disregards a friend/hostage/etc life, then that is on their character development and not a breach of the NVL Rule.

Examples: Unrealistically disobeying officers of the law as a common man.

Frequently participating in vigilantism or inserting yourself into / investigating hostile situations.

Antagonizing groups of the law or armed outlaws (especially on their turf) may constitute NVL.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a ban, depending on severity.

Vigilantism

10.1 Vigilantism (No Value for Life cont.)

Players may not involve themselves in scenes that include Law going up against Criminals, such as Bank Robberies/Stores unless they're deputized by a rank-holding lawman that may approve it, such as Marshals/Law Command Staff/Sheriff/Undersheriffs.

Players may not also involve themselves in any conflict that otherwise doesn't concern them, situations can get out of hand very quickly & lead to confusion that would otherwise hinder what may have been a good scene.

Examples: Lawmen are currently holding negotiations for a Store Robbery in Blackwater and unfortunately escalates into a shootout. Mr Smith decides to assist the Law by joining in and downing some of the criminals involved.

Jackson Smith is openly arguing with another criminal named Joshua Creek, Jackson draws his weapon and aims his weapon at Joshua, to which Lady Jane from across the street draws hers & shoots down Jackson, after having no affiliation with Joshua.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a ban, depending on severity.

Player-Killed (NLR)

11. Player-Killed (NLR)

If you respawn manually (Accepting death) after being "unconscious", "downed", or "incapacitated", - then you are to forget all events that led up to the point that you respawn.

When you are unconscious, you are not to speak or interact other than responding with /me's and /do's. Depending on your injury, you may make audible sounds.

If you are revived from an unconscious state, you can not remember anything that happened while you were unconscious.

After being revived, you are allowed to remember everything that happened up until the point you lost consciousness.

Roleplaying your character's death means you agree to your character being Character Killed (permanent loss of the character) which can not be reverted.

Examples: Roleplaying "dead" but continuing to roleplay the character after respawning.

After manually respawning, retain IC memories during your state of unconsciousness.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a ban, depending on severity.

Metagaming

12. Metagaming

Metagaming is using knowledge the player has, but not the character. This includes knowledge about close communications, diplomacies, secret deals, etc., and using this to influence their character's Roleplay or to actively interfere with it.

In roleplay terms, if you use any Out of Character information In character, that is considered a metagame violation.

This also includes pre-emptive strikes based on knowledge one does not have or emoting (/me, /do, etc.) information other people have no reason to know.

You can also not use external VOIP programs such as Discord and Skype to communicate ICly.

Metagaming is also considered to use alternative characters that interact with your main. I.e. having two accounts act as Cousins that share information.

Metagaming can also be considered passive. I.e. watching a stream of a player who you have interacted with whilst in-game on the same session.

Metagaming can also be described as being in a third-party call, such as Discord, Teamspeak and so forth, ideally, your full attention should be in game at the time of roleplaying, void of any distractions.

Playing siblings of your main character is generally not encouraged since it can lead to metagaming issues. Creating carbon copies of your main character—those who have the same hair, attitude, storylines, etc.—can lead to confusion and make it difficult to distinguish between the two characters. To avoid these problems, we suggest creating unique characters with different personalities and stories.

You must also avoid joining any storylines that have led to a previous character's demise, such as character kills, events and other formalities that have led to your previously deceased characters until the conflict has subsided and been completed.

It is important to stay away from any plotlines that have caused a character's death, including character kills, events, and other elements that led to the death of a character until the conflict surrounding these events have been resolved.

Examples: Watching another player's stream and using information gained from their Roleplay on your character.

Watching another player's stream who you've had an association with during a play session.

Being in a call within a 3rd party app such as Discord etc, and using that information IC.

Using an emote like /me thinks about retaliating against the men that just attacked him.

Communicating with a friend on Discord to say that you are being attacked.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Character Kills (Perma)

13. Character Perma Deaths Expanded

Character Kills will be used a lot more so in The Ranch than in other servers, CK's are healthy for the server population and bring about real consequences to actions. This allows players to think harder during situations that would otherwise be protected by the "It's just a PK" mentality. This also allows Factions more functionality over their members; no longer will a PK remove you from the Faction and allow you to carry on as normal, alongside Leaders no longer being safe at the top, the possibilities are endless.

When you kill a character permanently, you have concluded that their story is over.

Players cannot force you to kill your character permanently; only members of the Administration Team can under very specific circumstances (see below.)

If you do not draft a will with a lawyer before death, all your money and belongings will be destroyed.

The decision to permamently kill your character is final and can not be reversed - consider this before committing to a character's death.

Others can permanently kill you per the regulations detailed below.

Duels result in a permanent kill of your Character if you lose; if both players lose, then both players have also considered character killed.

Lack of Fear Character Kill Fear roleplay is important on the server because you should reasonably fear someone when your character is put in a situation where they may lose their life. If someone is reckless while reasonably expected to roleplay fear, they may be liable to be fear CK'd under powergaming rules. For example, someone has a gun to you, and you continue to taunt them without reason or bait them to PK you. You may be liable to a CK.

Any admin level 3+ or Illegal Faction Management representative may approve a fear CK without an application after an in-game report. You might submit a fear CK application to have someone CK'd after a situation if there was a lack of fear.

==Faction Specific Character Kills==

Faction CK A faction CK is exclusive to factions with a script; this does not apply to unofficial groups. Unofficial groups must get individual permissions under the "Foe CK" guidelines.

Official Factions can character kill any Faction member with a rank applied, such as "Soldier, Capo, LT, etc., " without the need for "Foe CK Perms".

Foe CK It is quite simply defined as following a minor format to grant Leadership of Faction CK Perms over their members; this is done through a trust system between Factions & their privatised Discords/Threads. There should be a channel in ALL Factions Discords with CK perms in a format:

Example:

I *PLAYER NAME* give Character Kill permissions to the Leadership of "X" to kill my character off should the roleplay and reasoning be sufficient and preserve Faction integrity.

Foe CK's can be overruled by IFM if the reasoning is a poor reason to kill the said player.

Leadership Overthrow If 70%+ of the active insiders wish to character kill the leader, an administration permission request must be sent to Illegal Faction Management Admins with all names and will be approved. Factions may add additional criteria; however, this should be made explicitly clear on their approval by IFM. You cannot appeal unless a rule was broken.

If the player carrying out ANY Character Kill dies during the attempt, they will face the Character Kill instead. This is non-negotiable unless a server rule was broken and an administrator has confirmed this.

Pregnancy RP

14. Pregnancy RP

Pregnancy RP is delicate and should be done with utmost care.

  • If you decide to participate in pregnancy RP, your pregnancy must last 3 IRL weeks.
  • If you or another want to play as your child, they must wait 3 IRL months from the birth before they can be that character.
  • Child murder or torture is not allowed under any circumstances.
  • You may not RP a pregnancy loss.
  • If you are pregnant, you must fear for your life and your children. You must not start violent interactions, but you can defend yourself within reason.
  • Pregnancy roleplay is subject to stages based on what realistically they would be able to do; an 8-month heavily pregnant wouldn't be solo riding a horse, for example, or carrying x2 longarms, a bag full of ore from mines, etc.
  • The NVL rule applies twice to characters whom roleplay pregnant as it's not just your own life; your unborn child would be a priority and factor in your reasoning.

Child Character Restrictions

14.1 Child Character Restrictions

You may play as a younger character on Ranch, with the following exceptions:

  • Your character must be 16+, there are no exceptions.
  • The character may not be included in any form of major crimes.

(Bank/Store Robbery, Murder, Kidnapping, Drug Abuse, Torture etc.)

  • The character may not be involved in any form of Adult Themed Roleplay, any players found facilitating or conducting these acts will be removed from the community permanently.

Torture RP

15. Torture RP

Torture RP is allowed at Ranch Roleplay, but only if all parties involved consent to the RP. Before torturing someone, consent must be given using /me or /do or verbally. If you torture someone, you can not kill them afterwards.

Each torture action must have consent - i.e. you cannot use consent for one torture method or scene as permission for another torture method for example eye removal + finger removal would require 2 separate consents from all parties involved.

Physiological torture is also covered by this rule. This is anything that can be a major trigger for people's OOC. For example, forcing a character to eat a corpse.

Consent to torture roleplay may be withdrawn at any time, if a player states this via /me, all torture actions and roleplay must cease immediately.

If you commit an act involving torture on another player, you agree to be subjected to torture roleplay if their friends or faction members attempt to torture you. You may not withdraw consent unless you feel OOC uncomfortable.

Examples: Below is an example of torture RP done right.

Player 1: /me "holds a knife to the eye to remove.".

Player 2: /me "they cut eye out with a knife."

Below is torture RP done wrong.

Player 1: /me "holds a knife to the eye to remove."

Player 2: /me "closes eyes tight to prevent eye removal."

Player 1: /me" forces eye open and cut out eye."

Punishments: Punishment for breaking the torture RP rule can lead up to a ban depending on severity.

Robbery Rules

Common Robbery Rules

16.1. Common Robbery Rules

Robberies must be performed in a realistic manner, including a sensible player's motivation to perform the robbery as a whole.

When performed realistically, it is also implied that the robber(s) must play fair and not go for quick and easy robberies as a whole.

Players should not be performing high-risk / little-reward robberies, for example, using high-end weapons like a Carcano/Repeating Shotgun to rob someone holding a Cattleman or similar.

Players should not be performing robberies in highly populated areas with many potential witnesses.

Players should not be performing robberies unless their character has a reasonable reason to be doing so, and their focus should be more than just robbery roleplay as a whole.

When performing a robbery, your first priority should be providing quality roleplay to the person(s) being robbed. The theft should be enjoyable for all involved and the roleplay must be detailed, robberies, where there is as little roleplay/actions being taken, are against the Ranch standard of expectations,

E.g, running up to the victim(s), shouting "hands up", roping them and taking their belongings via the robbery script. This produces no roleplay, and is a simple asset grab and leave the scene, providing nothing of substance to anyone involved.

When robbing player(s), you must not kill or incapacitate them after the items have been removed from their inventory, unless the victim(s) are actively making threats to the robbers, such as saying they are going to kill them when they are freed, alert the law, and other threats that would jeopardize your characters freedom and/or life. This rule should not be used to hide behind and openly taunt the thieves, this is classified as metagaming and has no worth for your life.

You cannot rob someone who you have just revived, or camp near a downed person and rob them once they are revived by someone else.

Robberies must be done realistically and thought out, more so than "Let's go rob a store." An example of a bad robbery standard would be to run around Saint-Denis with large animal masks and weapons drawn, looking for victims to instantly hog-tie and use in said robbery.

You cannot rob the same person more than one time per storm. You must also not target specific people repeatedly for robberies unless they are provoking or continuing to provide reasons for you to do this.

You may not change your clothing in the same town where you robbed a store/bank for "45 Minutes". Realistically your characters would be on edge, not hiding behind the fact Law cannot use masks to ID you and changing clothes.

Examples:
  • If you have a hostage, you are not allowed to use a friend as a said hostage.
  • You must tell the law of all robbers involved in a robbery. You do not have to specify where they are; it's up to Law to figure it out to avoid any advantages gained.
  • You must wait 1 hour between robbing stores, 2 hours between robbing banks and 1 hour between player robberies.
  • You must not use an NPC in the place of a robbery.
  • Robbing players while they are on a menu is not allowed whatsoever. (Avoiding a robbing by staying on a menu is considered Powergaming and is liable to punishment)
  • You may not force another player to take items/money out of their bank.
  • Robbing St. Denis store, escaping through the alleyways, changing clothes in the St. Denis Clothing Store or Faction HQ, to then be walking around like nothing happened.
Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Player on Player Robberies

16.2. Player on Player Robberies

When partaking in a robbery of a Player Owned Store or another Player in General, you must use the Common Courtesy Rule (Rule 2. Common Courtesy)

"We should recognize that everyone is here to have fun as a community."

As such, storage wiping them will not be tolerated and judged on a case-by-case basis.

When robbing another player, the limitations are the following:

  • All weapons/items in the hotbar can be taken.
  • Up to 3 stacks of items excluding the hotbar (Stacks count as "one", and also include pocketed weapons.)
  • No limit on pocketed money
  • Crime Related Items are exempt from the "Rule of Three", these are all fair game.
  • motajoint, cocaine, grave robbery items, moonshine, handcuffs, black market goods, gold bars, dirty money etc.
  • (Player named Jewelry is exempt from this rule due to Jewelry Businesses.)
  • If the player who was robbed attempts to use a weapon that wasn't taken, this can be reported for NVL.

Wagons are exempt from the above rulings, there are no limits on Wagon robberies due to the existence of lockboxes on Wagons.

Examples:

The limitation of 3 ITEMS are in place to ensure they're able to continue their roleplay and serve the community as a whole; this includes any player-owned stores.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Chain Robbery

16.3. Chain Robbery

Chain Robbing is defined as conducting robberies on players/stores etc., in a manner that wouldn't prove realistic.

Going from one robbery to another in such a short time falls under the Sub-Par Roleplay Rule and will be handled accordingly.

Players should wait a while before attempting a robbery again:

Examples:

• Going from robbery to robbery and quickly demanding assets or conducting robberies simply to gain OOC assets rather than for the roleplay interaction.

• Conducting a Robbery with overuse of force, such as six people robbing one person.

• Once a large robbery has been conducted, you may not partake in another "large" robbery for 2 hours.

"Large Robberies" are defined as:

  • Store Robberies
  • Player Store Robberies
  • 6 (8 in New Austin) people posse rolling across the lands to target groups over and over
Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Faction Limits

Factions/Gangs
  • There will be no limit to the number of members in any Faction/Gang. (Law is limited by LFM.)
  • When committing a crime, the max posse size is 6. Unless in New Austin, where the limit is 8.
  • If another faction/gang approaches your gang hideout and is looking for conflict, you are allowed to defend with all members of your faction/gang.
  • A faction/gang attacking your hideout will be limited to the max posse size of 6.
  • You can ride as a full group, but if a conflict arises, you must split into groups 6 (8 in New Austin).
  • Marshals may request an extra 2 Law to join their posse, increasing the numbers to 8 for situations that require it. This must go through LFM approval before any numbers are deployed.

Situations that require it:

    • Warrant Executions
    • The capture of a known fugitive
    • Gang Shutdown
    • Business Seizure / Closure
    • Large Still Raids (Production Based, not small groups.)

Situations the rule may not be used

    • Bank Robberies
    • Store Robberies
    • Small Scenarios that can easily be handled by a posse of 6

Business Limits

Business Owners / Faction Conflicts

Having players hold two primary jobs in the server can lead to a dilution of the overall experience of the game. This is because players who are trying to maintain two different jobs will be less focused on both of them, and therefore less likely to be able to put as much effort into either one as they could if they were only focusing on one job. This can lead to a decrease in the quality of the jobs they are providing, as they may not be able to give as much attention to the details as someone who is only focused on one job. Additionally, it can lead to a decrease in efficiency, as players may be jumping back and forth between two different tasks, instead of focusing on one at a time.

Business Owners may not be employed in another establishment or Official Legal Factions such as:

  • Law
  • Doctors Office
  • DOJ

They may not also be employed in any of the following primary jobs, this is to prevent monopolies from arising and allow a bigger diversity of players.

  • Blacksmith
  • Deputy/Doctor
  • Horse Training/Breeding
  • Gunsmith

Account Rules

Common Sense

1. Common Sense

You are not allowed to have a friend, family member or someone else answer play on your account. Trying to hide your true identity when using any of our services (either with the help of proxies, VPN, or other methods/programs) is strictly forbidden. Your account name "Focus Name" shouldn't be Anything derogatory or malicious.

Punishments: Breaching this rule can lead from a warning to a permanent ban depending on severity.

Ban Evasion

2. Ban Evasion

You are not allowed to create or use other accounts without an active ban on any of your characters. Doing so will only lower the chances of the original ban being lifted and will lead to your new/alternative account being banned. If you have been issued an active punishment that limits your use of any of our services, such as access to our websites and/or applications, you are prohibited from creating alternative accounts or using any other methods to gain access during this period. Any breach of this restriction may result in further disciplinary action being taken, alongside the initial punishment being extended or ultimately made permanent.

Examples:

This rule applies to all services we provide at Ranch — game server, forums, Discord & so forth.

Punishments: Permanent ban of all characters/accounts related, original ban extended.

Real World Trading / Asset Transferring

3. Real World Trading / Asset Transferring

You are not allowed to sell/buy or advertise the selling/buying of any in-game money, horses, boats, carriages, and so forth, properties, memberships, or accounts to gain real-life money. You are also not allowed to sell/buy Out Of Character items for/with In Character money/goods. In other words, no mixing of any IC/OOC goods and services. You cannot trade assets between your characters or give assets away to other characters via exploiting the character creation system

Punishments: Permanent ban of all characters/accounts related, the original ban extended.
Examples:
  • Advertising on external websites that you are selling $1000 for $1 real-life money.
  • Buying donation memberships and selling them to other players for in-game cash.
  • Writing applications for Law/Doctors & so forth for in-game or real-life cash.
  • Making a new character and giving the starting money away.

This rule applies to all services we provide at Ranch — game server, forums, Discord & so forth.

Faction Rules & Guidelines

Faction Rules Statement

Ranch Roleplay is open to the establishment of a wide variety of factions by all players within its community. However, those creating or leading a faction on Ranch Roleplay are required to abide by the following rules and regulations.

Factions Must Provide Sensible And Realistic Roleplay

Factions are often looked upon to provide the best examples of roleplay on the server. As such, all factions must provide sensible roleplay that is grounded in realism and complies with the Ranch Roleplay rules.

Factions Memberships

In order to constitute a faction, every faction is required to have a minimum of 'three' members.

Faction Showcase Guidelines

At a minimum, faction showcases should include an overview of the faction's purpose, lore and/or backstory.

The content included should be original and not plagiarized from other communities or websites (including Wikipedia).

Faction topics should be well presented, using formatting that is applied sensibly to improve the showcase's aesthetics and readability.

Faction topics cannot contain predetermined glorified achievements that did not actually happen in-game. Faction management expects people to develop their illegal characters and earn reputation, notoriety, power, etc all in-game. Not to claim they're whoever they are just because they want to or just because they feel that the area where they want to base themselves appears abandoned.

Factions Must Not Be Duplicates

Factions may be based on real-life, movie/TV show entities, however, they must not be a direct copy. Plagiarizing factions which already exist on Ranch or in other communities is disallowed.

Faction Topics Must Remain Active

It can be challenging for Faction Management to monitor the activity of factions in-game, therefore, faction showcases must be kept active. Faction media must be posted at least once within a 14-day period or the faction will be deemed inactive.
Faction media posted by players that are banned in-game is not counted, nor is faction media created outside of Ranch Roleplay.

Faction Media Must Remain Authentic

All faction media must be authentic and not fabricated in a screenshot editing application. The roleplay should not be heavily scripted and must reflect the faction's true activities on the server.

General Faction Rules & Guidelines

Militia Factions Are Disallowed Without Permission

Militia and/or governmental factions may only be created with the express permission of the Head(s) of Factions and/or Management.

Turf Must Be Approved by Faction Management

If an illegal faction wishes to claim turf, it must apply for it via an IFM ticket.

Illegal Faction Leaders Can Be Overthrown With Approval

The leaders of illegal factions can be overthrown in coups with Faction Management approval.

Those planning to carry out a coup must notify Illegal Faction Management before one begins. Faction Management will then evaluate the case, in consultation with all of the involved parties (including the current faction leader). The final decision will be made by the Head of Factions.

Faction Management will only approve coups which have strong roleplay reasoning behind them and in the interests of providing good quality roleplay. Coups will not be approved if the overbearing motive is an OOC power-grab.

Following a successful coup, leadership of the faction will be transferred to the new leader and the faction will have its official status revoked.

Coups are exclusive to illegal factions only.

Official Faction Leadership May Only Be Transferred With Approval

In an effort to uphold the standards of official factions, official faction leaders may not transfer their leadership without the approval of the Head(s) of Factions. In the event a faction leader steps down or is removed, another member may be assigned as an "acting" leader until a new leader is approved. To change an official faction leader, open up a faction ticket.

Official Faction Names May Only Be Changed With Approval

Official faction leaders may not change their faction name without the approval of Faction Management. If you wish to change your faction name, please open a faction ticket quoting the new name and the reasoning behind the name change. Name changes need to be approved by the Head(s) of Factions.

All Faction Media / Work Belongs To That Faction

If you have left, been removed or fired from a faction, you may not demand they remove your work. If you make something for a faction, it belongs to that faction. This includes written and graphical work along with discord servers.

New Factions May Not Enter a Faction War or Perform a Faction Attack Against Another Faction Upon Their First 2 Weeks of Opening.

In the interest of fairness and eliminating unnecessary/unfair faction beef, any new factions may not be involved in standard faction wars for the first 2 weeks (14 days) of their opening. This is to ensure newer factions don't get dogpiled by longer-standing factions and to ensure newer factions don't open up simply for the purpose of beefing/attacking another faction due to OOC feuds. Any factions found breaching this rule are subject to punishment/closure.

Law Command Must Be Approved To Have Illegal Faction Alt(s).

In the interest of fairness, players who hold command positions in governmental factions must make their law faction leadership and faction management aware of any illegal faction and/or criminal alts that they have, vice versa for illegal characters who have an alt character in a governmental faction.

Faction Owned Business Limitations

In the interest of fairness and to give other players opportunities to own businesses, a set of faction owned business limits shall be in place. Applying only to businesses that require premises, scripting and/or mapping, official and unofficial factions alike will only be permitted to own 2 major businesses and 4 minor businesses. Native faction members however, will not be permitted to own property as they fall under a different ruleset, unique to native factions.

Major businesses are businesses that provide a good source of income, such as a ranch, saloon, gunstore, blacksmith, general store, brewery, hotel, fight club, distillery, restaurants/cafes etc.

Minor businesses include bookshops, tobacconists, barber shops, tailor shops, pawn shops, fishing/hunting shops, private offices for various businesses such as mining, veterinary, private investigation, newspapers, auction houses etc.

Official Legal Factions May Not Use Their Faction Bank For Personal Gain.

In an effort to protect official legal faction banks, faction members may not use their faction bank for personal use (e.g. you want to purchase a vehicle for yourself but you don't have enough money and decide to take from the faction bank).

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, removal from Faction, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach.
2. Faction Attack Definition

Faction Attacks Defined

A faction attack is automatically considered when you directly fire upon or attack a faction with firearms, or bladed weapons such as Machete/Knives/Cleavers, no matter if you brutally wound someone or they manage to escape the attack.

Once you attack, you should not stick around the area after shooting, especially with the sole intent of hunting people down to kill them. This includes chasing individuals into another town/zone to kill them, you can find them again later. (See Engagement Rules.)

Faction attacks should be performed in a sensible manner, including sufficient reasoning for the choice of weapons used.

Example:

Faction A attacks Faction B, with multiple players using Carcano Rifles retaliating after a minor brawl.

This ceases interactions, provides little to no roleplay, and is an all-around poor usage of weapons.

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, removal from Faction, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach.

Allies and Dogpiling

1.2 Allies and Dogpiling

Factions are allowed to have allies, who help them with planning, support or overall friendship within roleplay. There is no limit to how many allies you can have on the server, however allies must not be recruited solely on the basis of providing support during a war or PvP. Purposefully recruiting or persuading other factions to join you during this time of conflict on a mass scale is defined as 'dog piling'. If you are an ally to another faction engaged in PvP conflict, you must not join the PvP conflict unless it is a direct retaliation or response to your own conflicts, and not that of any of your allies.

Example:

Faction A is in conflict with Faction B. Faction A is not allowed to solicit immediate support from Faction C and D without Faction C and D having roleplay reason to do so.

Faction E is an ally of Faction F who is in conflict with Faction G, Faction E is not allowed to join Faction F in PvP or otherwise when they have no direct conflict with Faction G.

Punishments: Breaching these rules will result in a faction strike.

Cooldowns and Conditions

1.3 Cooldowns

6-hour cooldown between each faction attack.

Only 6 participants can be involved in any faction attack, this includes allies. Using multiple groups to bypass this rule, will result in all members being punished.

As an attacking faction, you are to choose your weapons realistically based on the severity and stage of the war.

Previously killed members of either Faction may defend their faction members from any attack or form of active aggression, but may not be involved in any future attacks/retaliations.

Alternate characters may not be used directly relating to a situation if your main character was killed and vice versa this includes the transmission of information about the opposing Faction.

Robberies and brawls are not considered attacks unless it escalates to a hostile situation (see faction attack definition) with firearms or bladed weapons being used.

The Faction that shoots or attempts to stab first is considered the one initiating the faction attack unless they are defending their faction members from an active robbery situation. Factions are allowed to breach the 6-hour cooldown if their faction members are being robbed, in the heat of the moment and at the time of the immediate robbery situation, not after. After, both factions that were involved in the robbery (victims, and robbers) are forced into a 6-hour cooldown. It is important to remember that realistic escalation needs to be taken into consideration, unrealistically provoking a faction to be attacked is not allowed, and vice versa.

Examples:

Faction B finds Faction A, and a brawl happens. Faction B pulls out guns and starts shooting.

Faction B, in this scenario, is the one initiating the faction attack regardless if it is in their area.

Faction A encounters Faction B and decides to rob them; however, Faction B attacked them 3 hours ago. Faction B is allowed to shoot them immediately upon SEEING the attempted robbery and bypass the 6-hour cooldown. But ultimately, they are not able to retaliate for the original period.

New factions are prohibited from provoking other factions and must be open for a minimum of 1 week before conducting an attack on any faction. If the newly formed Faction is attacked first by an opposing faction, it may actively retaliate against them in a realistic manner that accommodates their Faction's current development. It is worth mentioning that newer factions shall not attempt to loophole around this clause by performing robberies or brawls to get attacked by another faction and enter a faction war.

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, faction strike, removal from Faction, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach. ROE is in place to facilitate Roleplay and prevent wars from turning into RDO Shooting-Fests every 30 minutes.

Faction War Definitions & Clauses

1.4 Faction Wars Defined

A faction war is an active conflict between two or more factions. A faction war can be uncontrolled, or a controlled faction war including various regulations to dictate the modus operandi of the "War" in its stages. Faction "War" is a loose term to define Faction Conflicts as a whole, declaring "War" is substantially different from other servers' definitions and ignorance of this rule is not an exception.

1.4.1 Uncontrolled War

Uncontrolled faction war is an active conflict between two or more factions that has to follow all the mentioned rules within the rules of engagement and all its conditions be altered in any way, regardless of agreement between the factions involved (unless the agreement is to end the war).

Conditions & Clauses

Automatically considered a Faction War when one faction attacks and another retaliates.

Automatically ends after two weeks since the last attack by either party.

Valid until each member of all participating factions dies once, one faction forfeits or mutual agreement is made to end the war.

Faction Management may put an end to an uncontrolled faction war if there's an unrealistic escalation or it devolves into a sub-par shooting fest.

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, faction strike, removal from Faction, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach.
1.5 Controlled Faction War Definition

Controlled faction war is an active conflict between two or more factions that is communicated to the Faction Team, where specific conditions are agreed upon (within reason).

This type of war usually has some sort of reward, that being a turf expansion, turf takeover, business takeover, and so forth.

Rules/regulations can be forced by IFM if one side is seen as actively denying terms that are favourable for both sides.

IFM can also step in to shut down a poor proposal, such as:

Faction A wants: Perma Clauses on Faction B's but won't accept perma clauses on themselves.

Requesting a vast amount of turf/businesses and giving back none to Faction B should Faction B win the war.

Conditions & Clauses

All conditions are agreed upon and finalized with the Leaders/Staff within the IFM Team.

Those conditions are usually permanent character kills for specific characters, and modified faction attack conditions (e.g. lesser / higher cooldowns, weapons restrictions, etcetera)

Valid until Faction Management declares the end of the war, which is done when 75% of either Faction's roster is killed, the faction forfeited, mutual agreement, or due to unrealistic escalation.

Process Period:

Submit the following to the IFM Forum // (TBD)

Name of Faction:

Name of Opposing Faction:

Roster:

War Terms:

The history between Factions (With Examples):

The submission will be reviewed by the Illegal Faction Management Team before any war can be officially declared, they will reach out to the opposing Faction for the same information. Once confirmation has been given, it's up to the Factions involved to conduct the war within the terms set.

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, faction strike, war outcome determined on the opposing group, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach.
1.6 Permanent Faction War Definition(s)

Permanent war is defined as both sides accepting full permanent agreements to end either side of the Faction. This will rarely be granted unless the war comes to a point where it's deemed acceptable.

This is on a case-by-case basis and, as such, will require the format filled out below.

Conditions & Clauses

All conditions are agreed upon and finalized with the Leaders/Staff within the IFM Team.

Those conditions are permanent character kills for all faction members involved, modified faction attack conditions (e.g lesser / higher cooldowns, weapons restrictions, etcetera)

Valid until Faction Management declares the end of the war, which is done when 75% of either Faction's roster is killed, faction forfeit, mutual agreement, or due to unrealistic escalation.

Process Period: Submit the following to the IFM Forum // (TBD)

Name of Faction:

Name of Opposing Faction:

Roster:

War Terms:

The history between Factions (With Examples):

Punishments: Breaching these rules can lead to a warning, faction strike, war outcome determined on the opposing group, descripted/force closed of the Faction, and/or ban depending on the severity of the breach.


Fine Print

All Factions/Gangs/Groups that fall into the illegal category must abide by these rules; ignorance isn't an excuse.

Factions/Gangs/Groups cannot declare War on a business, e.g., Faction A declares War on a Ranch; this will have to be discussed with IFM beforehand and requires Admin Approval.

Faction rules aren't subject to your definition of "fairness", these rules exist to promote healthy conflict and prevent situations from devolving into RDM only. Conflict requires meaningful interactions.

Clarification on "Blacklist" "It's up to the Faction Leaders to decide whom they wish to have in the Faction, everyone should be given a fair chance, despite previous server intentions. However, if the desire to not have someone in the Faction is so severe, Faction Leaders may reserve the right to remove a player they deem not viable for their Faction. The "Blacklist" serves as a purpose to refrain from hiring certain people due to offences on Ranch, however, Faction Leaders are ultimately the defining factor in removals due to them being the Leaders of an Official Faction & representing Ranch as a whole."

All factions are required to abide by the Ranch Roleplay rules.

If a faction's leader(s) and/or a portion of its member-base are found to be infringing the rules, the faction is liable to punishment.

Faction Management reserves the right to administer any punishment they deem necessary, including (but not limited to) warnings, strikes, removal of assets and closures.

A faction strike system exists to address faction rule infringements. Factions are given up to three strikes before they are forced into closure. However, this system may be bypassed, whenever deemed appropriate, by the Head(s) of Factions.

Players can report factions by opening a faction ticket.

Factions are categorized as "legal" or "illegal" depending on their primary purpose and intentions.

Rule additions and/or changes can be suggested within #quick-suggestions or raising a faction ticket.

Any questions or concerns regarding the Faction Rules & Guidelines can be forwarded to your handler (where applicable) or the faction management via a faction ticket.