Server Rules

Text in this box means we are describing the rule.

Text in this box means we are giving examples.

Text in this box means we are listing the punishment.

Server Rules

The Golden Rule

1. The Golden Rule The Golden Rule is intentionally vague in that it will not be tested and is more of a descriptor with security for every other rule in the community. It outlines our rule standards, our commitment to the rules, and how we handle, manage and enforce them. Only Staff Members may enforce rules by 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 harmful and toxic intentions. The discretion is used to save/preserve the reputation of the community. The discretion is used with the best intentions for players, the community, or our infrastructure. If you promote our community in any other form (Twitch, Youtube, et cetera), you must always follow that media's Terms of Service. We reserve the right to change, add, alter or update any rules or guidelines at any time with prior notice. We understand applying discretion can be difficult. However, suppose you are concerned about this rule, or you are looking to appeal a punishment handed as a result of this rule. In that case, an impartial intermediary will decide on the state of your discipline - should you wish to appeal.

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 We should recognize that everyone is here to have fun as a community. 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; everyone should be treated equally from new players to head admins. Remember to keep in-county actions in-county; there should be no bleed onto the forums or Discord; you are not your character when using these platforms. "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 stops 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 bring over stories and characters from other servers. We encourage this, especially during the birth of the server. You can start on a clean slate if you would prefer. 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 prepared should any staff members ask. You are roleplaying a child "just because" is not allowed. Roleplaying suicides is not allowed.

Examples:

Roleplaying a character named Chris Evans, Ben Crobbery, and 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.

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. 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. 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.

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 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 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 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. It was a time that had issues relating 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.

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.

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 must understand that "Roleplay" is what we are all here to do. This server is not a DM server nor Red Dead Online. We will try to promote Roleplay over any other server aspect. Mainly that of using firearms. 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 but is made so in the name of advancing storylines and promoting Roleplay (where 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 - the rule against Green zones was dismissed for this scenario.

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

Interaction(s)

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 gets shot is expected to roleplay their injuries for a minimum time of X determined by the Doctor handling them. We do not wish to force players into a forced system of time schedules, so the Doctor in charge will determine the time for you, and it's up to your discretion to roleplay it out in that time period. Days = Minutes Months = Hours Years = Days

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.

Poor Reason to Kill

7.3 Poor Reason to Kill You must have a valid reason to be killing another player, either in the form of a regular player kill during the engagement rules or when carrying out an approved character kill. Death should be treated as a very heavy subject; consequences for murder, accidental death, witnessing death, and so on must be roleplayed to the full capacity. 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 hanging around 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 and/or permanent ban depending on the severity.

Sub-Par Roleplay

7.4 Roleplay Standards 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.

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. Relying on scripts to facilitate roleplay, such as: Bandaging Mid-Shootout without sufficient roleplay, patching wounds/cauterizing wounds with Gunpower 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 till/bank with no /me's or /do's Theft of a Horse item with no /me's or /do's

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

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 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, into a river) without reason is also RDM. Repeatedly killing local players (NPCs) 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.

Examples:

Richard Solomon had just killed you in St. Denis. You respawn and run back to your place of death to kill Richard. 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.

Powergaming

9. 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 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 scripts, or human-wise, to 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 enforcement 30 minutes before a server restart. 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 to 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 keybind) key. If someone has a mask on you can not identify them via their voice.

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. This, however, does not mean your character (s) cannot take risks. In the face of being outnumbered, you may find it appropriate, provided the right RP opportunities are there, to make an escape or decision that will improve your character's chances of surviving. Taking risks with these situations can come with consequences, but you should never be aiming to risk your character's life by roleplaying unrealistic, movie-type actions. Play the long game. 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 because 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 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.

Examples:

Unrealistically disobeying officers of the law as a common man. Frequently participating in vigilantism or inserting yourself into / investigating hostile situations. Jumping from a high height, although survivable due to RDR2 physics - not fearing it ICly is NVL. 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.

New Life Rule (NLR)

11. New Life Rule (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.

Examples:

Watching another player's stream and using information gained from their Roleplay on your character. 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 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 perma 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. 13.1 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

15. 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.

Torture RP

16. 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. If you torture someone, you can not kill them afterwards.

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.

16. 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. 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.

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 and 2 hours between robbing banks. 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 can not rob and then kill a player. It is one or the other. You may not force another player to take items/money out of their bank. After robbing a player, you must give them a chance to get back on their feet. You can not rob the same person or store more than once per server restart.

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

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: Visible Weapons equipped can be taken. Three Pocket Items (Stacks count as "one", and also includes pocketed weapons.) No Limit on pocketed money If the player who was robbed attempts to use the weapon that wasn't taken, this can be reported for NVL.

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.

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 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.

17. Gang Limits

Factions/Gangs There will be no limit to the number of members in a faction/gang. When committing a crime, the max posse size is 6. 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.

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.

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, 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 of Engagement

Faction Rulings

1. Faction Expectations & Definitions All Factions are subject to the Faction Management Rulings // Expectations; this is to ensure Roleplay as a whole is dictated in a way that allows stories to flourish and not devolve into mass shooting fests with little to no substance.

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.

Cooldowns and Conditions

1.2 Cooldowns 6-hour cooldown between each faction attack. Only eight 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

1.3 Faction Wars Defined 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. 1.3.1 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.

1.4 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 favorable 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, 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): 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.

1.5 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 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.