THE RULES OF PRIMAL DARKNESS                                          
                                                                                                            
Please note the following distinction:                                                
'Player' refers to the real, live individual who engages in a gaming experience. 'Character' refers to any fictional persona that a Player invents and controls in order to manipulate the game.  Players are subject to the following set of rules (Law), whereas Characters are faced with mortal rules (Justice).  In Primal Darkness, respect for Justice is optional, but for Law it is not.  The rules will be interpreted at the discretion of the Administration.                           
                                                                                                            
1.) GENERAL BEHAVIOUR                                                           
These rules have been designed to give an overview of what constitutes acceptable behaviour and what does not.                                                                                                                                       
   a.) 'Harassment' is defined as the persistent targeting of one          
   Player or group of Players in a negative way, despite the fact
   that the aggressor has been asked to stop.  This type of 
   behaviour is unacceptable on Primal Darkness and may result in 
   various punishments.                                                                                      
                                                                                                           
   b.) 'Spamming' is a specific variation of harassment.  Spamming      
   is defined as the excessive repetition of information over any          
   avenue of communication, i.e. 'say', 'tell', 'shout', boards 
   and lines.  Spamming has no conceivable function other than to 
   annoy the Player population and it is considered to be 
   unacceptable behaviour.                                                                                           
                                                                                                            
   c.) The public display of profane language is not allowed.  
   Profane language is allowed in private communications like 'say',
   or 'tell', but only with a consenting audience.                                                 
                                                                                                            
   d.) The discussion of other Multi-User Dimensions is not wanted    
   on Primal Darkness and will be considered illegal.  This rule is 
   in place for the simple reason that Primal Darkness is meant to 
   be a unique, fantasy-oriented experience, and all too often the  
   discussion of other worlds leads to heated comparison and
   sometimes slander. Furthermore, Players are given a blank slate
   when they log on to Primal Darkness for the first time.  Any 
   player  found to be violating the 'blank slate' philosophy noted 
   above will be guilty of violating this rule.                                                           
                                                                                                            
   e.) The specific behavioural expectations of the Auction line's use:  
                                                                                                            
      i.) Items that have been put up for auction may only be bid on
      once by the Auctioneer in order to set a minimum price.  The 
      Auctioneer must not continually change this established minimum 
      price.                       
                                                                                                            
      ii.) Items that are easily identifiable as 'common' (meat, oil
      and stones, for example) are not allowed to be auctioned because
      they unjustifiably clog up the system, making it more difficult 
      for genuinely rare items to surface.  Common items may only be 
      auctioned in bulk, in containers, so that they represent 
      valuable commodities.                                                                    
                                                                                                            
      iii.) In the event that an Auctioneer fails to sell an item, 
      that item may only be auctioned again after a ten minute waiting
      period has elapsed.  This gives other players the opportunity to
      use the auction system, and prevents spam.                                              
                                                                                                            
   f.) Respect for members of the Primal Darkness Staff must be shown
   above and beyond the expectations outlined in Rule 1.)a.) regarding
   harassment.  The Staff contribute many self-sacrificing hours of hard 
   work for the enjoyment of the player population and must not be 
   insulted in either explicit OR implicit ways.                                    
                                                                                                            
II.) CHARACTERS                                                                            
These rules address several common issues with regard to character creation and customization, as well as the importance of character ownership.                                                                                          
                                                                                                            
   a.) As Primal Darkness is a game with an emphasis on a fantasy-oriented
   gaming experience, new Characters are required to choose names that are 
   suitable for such an environment.  A fairly safe guideline for choosing
   a name is to exclude the use of actual words.  This rule is probably
   the most flexible of all, but can be arbitrarily enforced at the 
   discretion of the administration.  No justification is necessary.                                                                    
                                                                                                            
   b.) All information published by Players must be respectful and void of
   any offensive content.  Offensive content includes (but is not limited 
   to) references to illegal activities, racial remarks, discussion of lewd 
   behaviour, etc.                                                      
                                                                                                            
   c.) Enter and Exit messages are customizable by players after they have 
   reached level 20.  These messages are a special privilege and a luxury 
   intended to promote character creativity through customization.  Enter
   and Exit messages must include a perfectly clear indication of the 
   direction that their respective characters have followed.  If the 
   direction that a character has followed is hidden or confused in the 
   customized messages, they are said to be  guilty of 'Stealthing' their 
   entrances and exits.  Please note that 'Stealthing' and the ability 
   'stealth' are completely different.              
                                                                                                            
   d.) The particulars of Character ownership:                                       
      i.) A Player may own any number of Characters but no Character may be 
      used or owned by more than one Player.  The sharing of Characters is 
      illegal.                    
                                                                                                            
      ii.) A Player may only be logged on to the game with one Character at
      a time.  If a player is logged on with more than one Character 
      simultaneously, he or she is said to be guilty of 'Multi-Playing'.  
      None of a Player's Characters are permitted to interact with each 
      other or benefit from each other's activities.  That means that it is 
      illegal for a Character to directly or indirectly affect an alternate 
      Character belonging to the same Player.        
                                                                                                            
   e.) LANs: If you are connecting from a LAN-based  computer with  more than 
   one Player connected to the game, you will need to report it using <apply>.
   More information is provided within the help file for 'apply'.  Players 
   must apply in order to clear up any confusing issues with regard to Multi-
   Playing, and failure to apply is illegal.                                                                                             
                                                                                                            
   Please note the following particulars:                                                
      i.) Players on the same LAN are not allowed to exchange money or items.  

      ii.) Players on the same LAN may party together with the same rules 
      described in III.)c.) in effect.                    
                                                                                                             
      iii.) Player killing while on a LAN is forbidden.  The punishment for 
      violation of any LAN rule is an instant Character deletion and possible 
      banishment of the entire LAN's IP.                                                           
                                                                                                            
III.) GAMEPLAY                                                                               
This section is intended to provide rules regarding some of the key  issues of gameplay on Primal Darkness, including the proper use of the party system, the delivery system and this world抯 policy on scripting and feeding.                                                                         
                                                                                                            
   a.) Scripting, or the use of a program to perform any sort of task that 
   does not involve input from a Player, is illegal in the context of 
   experience gathering sessions.  It is also illegal for a Character to be 
   active while its Player is away from the computer.  While a Player is 
   away from the computer, his or her Character should be idle.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                            
   b.) The Delivery system: There are delivery jobs available around the 
   city of Tirun.  For more information, <help delivery>.  This system is 
   intended to be a non-violent method of work for gaining money and 
   experience.  The use of scripting, speed-walk programs, 'gate', 'fly', 
   or any other such form of expedited movement is prohibited.  The penalty
   for violation of this rule is total erasure of financial assets and 
   experience points.                                               
                                                                                                            
   c.) The particulars of the Party system:                                              
      i.) 'Feeding' occurs when a member of a party is not making an 
      equitable contribution to the accumulation of experience points.  
      Feeding is illegal.                               
                                                                                                            
      ii.) When a Party is engaged in an experience gathering session, all 
      Party members must be active participants in the process.  If the 
      function of a particular character within the Party is to heal fellow 
      members rather than to damage opponents, this is acceptable.  However, 
      their physical presence is required.  This means that healers cannot 
      remotely 'm-heal' and must be in the same room or general area as the 
      rest of the party.                              
                                                                                                            
      iii.) In the formation of a Party, there are restrictions on the 
      addition of Party members.  Party members must all be within a 
      specified level range of the Party Master.  'Bridging' occurs when a 
      Player acts as a medium in the formation of a Party, allowing two Party 
      members who could not normally connect with one another to do so. 
      Bridging becomes illegal if the Party Master leaves the Party and it is 
      not disbanded, because it bypasses the physical restriction intended on 
      Party member connectivity.                                                                      
                                                                                                            
   d.) 'Bugs' are defined here as unforeseen errors in an Immortal's code.  
   The exploitation of Bugs is illegal.  A Bug is usually easy to  identify 
   because it allows some ridiculous or obviously unintentional form of 
   gameplay.  Sometimes these errors are more subtle and it is difficult 
   to determine whether or not they constitute Bugs.  When in doubt, contact 
   a member of the Administration before continuing the activity.  Use the 
   <bug> command to report it.  The following are some examples of Bugs:                                  
                                                                                                            
         -Gaining experience without equitable activity               
                                                                                                           
         -Advancing skills, stats or levels without depleting experience points                                                             
                                                                                                            
         -Fighting a creature that does not fight back                    
                                                                                                           
         -Repeatedly using spells or abilities (or 'stacking'
         them, one after the other, without delay) when they 
         were not designed to be used in such a way                                    
                                                                                                            
         -Selling an item over and over for financial gain 
         when it does not leave the inventory                                                                                                                                                          
         -Buying an item at a shop and not being charged for it    
                                                                                                            
IV.) PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER RULES                                      
This section is intended to describe the various forms of Player Versus Player behaviour on Primal Darkness and their legal ramifications.                                                                                                                                                               
   a.) A Player may not kill another specific Player in an obvious series of 
   conflicts.  Such multiple kills are considered a form of harassment.                                                                         
                                                                                                
   b.) 'PK-Spree' refers to the execution of an unrestrained series of Player
   kills.  PK-Sprees are illegal.                                                    
                                                                                                           
   c.) A Player must be at least level 20 to participate in or be subjected 
   to combat-oriented Player Versus Player activity.             
                                                                                                            
   d.) Player killing is a specified No Player Versus Player Combat' zone, 
   such as the city of Tirun, is illegal.                                           
                                                                                                            
   e.) The particulars of Guild Player Versus Player activity:  

              
      i.) A Guild and all of its members are permitted to kill a specific 
      member of another Guild exactly one time, until a five day period of 
      wait has elapsed.  After this delay, conflict may legally be resumed.  
      Violation of this rule is considered harassment and is illegal.
      Consider the killed Character to be a Chess piece that has been 
      temporarily removed from the board.                
                                                                                                            
      ii.) Similarly to IV.)d.)i.), a Character who has been killed by 
      another Guild is barred from initiating combat with any member of that 
      Guild until the five day period of wait has passed.  Consider the 
      killed Character to be a Chess piece that has been temporarily removed 
      from the board.                                                                        
                                                                                                           
   f.) The particulars of kill ownership:                                            


      i.) In certain cases, a Player may be engaged in combat with a 
      creature, or resting one room away from its location.  In these cases, 
      except as indicated in special game-wide events, that creature is their 
      property to kill unless they explicitly relinquish their claim on it.
      Attacking a creature that has been claimed in said fashion is illegal 
      unless it is done by a Party member of the creature's owner.                                          
                                                                                   
      ii.) If a creature is injured and there is no other character present 
      to claim the right to kill it, then a Player attacks it at their own 
      risk of being charged with stealing the kill.                                                                                   
                                                                                                            
      iii.) The principles of ownership in Rules IV.)e.) and f.) apply to 
      the looting of corpses as well.                            

V.) QUESTS                                                                                      
Quests are mysterious journeys undertaken by Players in order to achieve some desired reward.  The most prestigious races are available only through the completion of Quests.  On Primal Darkness, the secrecy of the information needed to solve any given  Quest is incredibly valuable to the health of the Multi-User Dimension.  Rewards can only justifiably be made as valuable as they are rare.  In the future, it may be necessary for the Administration to devalue rewards based on their decreasing rarity  for the sake of Balance.  The following rules have been designed to  help ensure that Quest rewards will remain worthwhile:                   
                                                                                                            
   a.) It is illegal to share information about Quests or Mini-Quests with 
   other Players for any reason, with the exception of information shared in 
   the context described in Rule V.)b.)               
                                                                                                            
   b.) Two Players may Quest together, but both must be active in the process.                                                                                               
                                                                                                            
   c.) It is illegal for a second Player to join a Quest near its completion.  
   Two Players may only co-operate  together during a Quest if they do so at 
   what is perceived to be its beginning. When in doubt, Quest alone.                                                                        
                                                                                                           
VI.) OTHER IMPORTANT RULES                                                 
                                                                                                            
   a.) The Primal Darkness Staff will not assist Players in any way unless 
   they are doing so to reverse the damage as a result of some form of Bug, 
   and/or to eliminate the Bug itself.  All parties involved with a violation 
   of the rule will have their entire selection  of Characters deleted and 
   they will be banned for life.                      
                                                                                                           
   b.) It is illegal to ask a member of the Primal Darkness Staff to actin a 
   way that would violate any of the rules listed in this help file.   
                                                                                                            


