Server Rules

Text in this box means we are describing the rule.

Text in this box means we are listing the punishment.

Text in this box means we are giving examples.

Server Rules

The Golden Rule

1. The Golden Rule The Golden Rule is intentionally vague in that it does not have examples, will not be tested, and is more of a descriptor with security for every other rule in the community. It outlines our rule standards along with our commitment to the rules and how we handle, manage and enforce them. Only Staff Members may enforce rules in accordance with their position in the community. Public trials are discouraged. Staff Members may in some cases enforce discretionary rules not listed, provided it meets the following criteria The discretion is used to calm down, suppress or remove negative and toxic intentions The discretion is used to save/preserve the reputation of the community The discretion is used with the best of intentions, either for players, the community, or our infrastructure. If you promote our community in any other form (Twitch/Youtube etc) you must always follow that medias ToS We at any time can change, add, alter or update any rules or guidelines at any time. We will of course try and give notice. If you are concerned about these vague rules, or you are looking to appeal a punishment handed to you under any of these rules, we know applying against discretion can be difficult. Therefore an impartial intermediary will take the final decision on the state of your punishment if you wish to appeal.

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

An admin may issue a rightful ban on a player if they are presenting toxic traits that damage the reputation of Ranch Roleplay You may be blacklisted for unspecified reasons at any time, provided it is covered by the above examples Admin discretion can be used against a scenario that is not covered by the rules but still warrants intervention

Common Courtesy

2. Common Courtesy As a community, we should recognize that everyone is here to have fun. Be kind to others and think before you speak on an out-of-county level. There is no need to be hurtful or abusive, regardless of their position in the community, from new players to head admins everyone should be treated equally. Remember to keep in-county actions in-county, there should be no bleed onto the forums or Discord, you are not your character. "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. Breeding toxicity to the masses is especially not allowed. Politics / Extremism agenda pushing is newspaper chat. We don't allow it here. Harassment or Hateful Conduct against any user is a no-go. If you are a victim of any 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. Whilst all of these are vague, please refer to Rule 1 if you believe something here is not covered.

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

Making fun of someone OOCly, for example, their voice or appearance. Releasing personal information about someone. Being overly aggressive to someone when they have made a mistake

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 to 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 stops you from speaking, please reach out to us in confidence for an exception and we may allow you to roleplay a mute character. You must roleplay that of someone living in the Wild West, 1900 era. There are no modern adaptations or exceptions. Your character must be unique. Roleplaying as Arthur Morgan, Billy the Kid, or any single-player character or famous name is not allowed and your character will likely be removed., You may bring over stories and characters from other servers. We encourage this, especially during the birth of the server. Or you can start on a clean slate. Roleplaying as a child is a grey area as it requires more restrictions and sensitive roleplay. Due to this, we highly discourage doing so unless you have a valid, well-thought-out RP reason to do so. Please have this explanation to staff handy if they ask. Roleplaying a child "just because" is not allowed.

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

Roleplaying a character named Jim Bob, Ben Dover, Arthur Morgan breaks a restriction. Joining the server without a microphone. 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.

Third Party Modifications

4. Third Party Modifications Third-Party Modifications can be described 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-day cheat software to overlays that give you more information on server stats, where to aim et al. Ideally, you should join our servers with a vanilla install of the game, no external applications that modify the config/executables of that game, and no overlays. If you wish to modify your game files for client-side purposes, i.e. skins, texture packs, ENB, ensure that it doesn't change your gameplay and you must understand you are installing these modifications with risk. This also includes the use of third-party software, tactics, or actions that manipulate or alter the infrastructure, networking, or security of our servers. Although 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.

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

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.

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 an active punishment that prevents you from using, logging into or utilizing any of our services, you are prohibited from creating alternative accounts and/or using an alternative method to gain access during this period. Your Account Your Account is important to us and we have a duty of care in regard to your privacy. 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 pretense, permitted or not. Doing so will result in both master accounts being disabled. VPN Usage VPN usage on any of our servers is prohibited. Masking or spoofing IP Addresses or Hardware ID's. 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.

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

Returning on another account after being banned. Giving your Discord / Account to another person. Using a VPN Service to mask your true IP in any way.

Era-Based Roleplay

6. Era-Based Roleplay It should be remembered that we are roleplaying in the era around the 1900s. There are a few pointers that must be followed when roleplaying in this era. Your character must not reference any future events ahead of the current time period. The 1900s had some issues. It was a rough time due to Slavery, Racism, Sexism, and other sensitive subjects. In Ranch Roleplay, these topics never happened and should not be roleplayed. You are not allowed to be historically accurate with these subjects, and all RDR2 references to them should be ignored.

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

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

Roleplay Takes Priority

7. Roleplay Takes Priority At Ranch Roleplay, we need to understand that Roleplay is what we are all here to do. This server is not a DM server, nor is it Red Dead Online. We will take a hard stance on promoting roleplay over any other aspect of the server. Mainly that of using firearms. Always look to begin a storyline whenever you interact with others, it promotes roleplay within the community and creates some amazing stories. If you are in a feud or beef with another player or faction, do not shoot them immediately. There should always be a roleplay/interaction with another player before you shoot / harm / kill them. If you shoot someone, always ensure there was an appropriate RP reason to do so. Even better would be to initiate an intriguing and interesting story arch beforehand. If a minor rule is broken, but it is done so in the name of advancing storylines, and promoting roleplay (where Both parties agree) - then we may allow it as an exception.

Punishments: Not prioritizing roleplay will likely lead to a warning, but may increase to a ban on repeat offenses.

You walk up to a farmer and instantly open fire on him for no reason. Your character or faction's sole purpose is to cause mahem that would realistically lead to death. You want to break your friend out of Jail, so you open fire on the Sheriff's office from a distance to cause panic. The Sheriff's office was raided by a well-known, well-developed, and well-roleplayed gang for the purpose of furthering roleplay - and the rule against Green zones was dismissed for this scenario.

RDM / VDM / KOS

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 player(s) without prior roleplay leading up to it. Doing so at random is worse. Terrorism Roleplay is not allowed on the server (The act of killing lots of people to invoke fear/terror). Instructing someone to kill their character (i.e. Jumping down a cliff, into a river) without reason is also RDM. Repeatedly killing local players (NPC's) without any valid RP reason is also RDM. 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 is not allowed (KOS). Revenge killing falls under RDM. Revenge Killing is the act of returning to the scene of your death/injury immediately and then attempting to kill/injure the person that just killed you.

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

Richard Solomon had just killed you in St. Denis. You respawn and your first motive is to run back to your place of death to kill Richard. Randomly executing NPC's 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.

Powergaming

8. Powergaming Powergaming can be described as roleplaying or performing acts that are not humanly possible, especially that of the 1900 era. We should all be roleplaying realistic characters at Ranch Roleplay, and doing un-human like actions destroys this concept. 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 scriptwise, or human-wise so you gain an unfair advantage. You are not allowed to heal during or immediately after fights or shootouts to gain an advantage. You can not commit any crime that may involve law 30 minutes before a server restart. You can not kidnap more than 1 law member at a time, individually or as a group. You are not allowed to call / whistle for your horse if it has been stolen. Despawning wagons when you are in a heated situation is not allowed. (i.e. despawning to protect the contents)

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

/me picks up the cart 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 saying the knife isn't there. Roleplaying that your store/office is guarded by NPC's when it is not.