Transformers: Decepticon Dominion
Policy Files

Consensual RP

It is every player's right to determine how their character will think, feel and react to the IC world of the MUSH. It is also the responsibility of every player to do their best to produce an outcome that is satisfactory to all the other players involved, so long as the outcome is reasonable. For example, a player might not be satisfied that his cassette character lost to a gestalt, but expecting to win under those circumstances would be unreasonable and the gestalt player(s) shouldn't feel obligated to accommodate the cassette player. Players should be aware of the difference between IC satisfaction and OOC satisfaction. Even with their characters having a very serious dispute ICly, players can chat in friendly tones about it OOC. In the previous example the cassette character might ICly be very upset about losing the fight, but OOCly the player might be fairly amused by the situation.

Players should view each other almost as fellow actors in a play rather than opponents in a game. In keeping with that, players should keep each other informed whenever a serious development of any kind is taking place. Whether a character is about to attempt to kill another or knock them to the ground in order to save them from getting hit with a weapon, the two players involved should discuss it beforehand. Naturally players who are familiar with each other will come to an understanding about what specifically needs to be discussed and what's understood to be acceptable.

In cases where players can not come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion, they can request third party arbitration of the matter. The arbiter will evaluate the situation and offer reasonable compromises. If this doesn't resolve the conflict, one or more of the admin will listen to both sides, review the logs, and decide what IC and OOC actions should be taken. It's hoped, though, that this will be a rare occurrence and players will be able to work out solutions on their own or with the help of an arbiter.

Combat

Turn-Based Combat and Dramatic Posing

Combat at Decepticon Dominion follows the usual MUSH format of turned-based posing. Basically this means that you attack someone, wait for them to attack you, then you attack them again, and so on. Role-playing combat involves two main components, dramatic posing and coded attacks. Dramatic posing is when a player describes his character's actions during combat. This can be a single sentence, a page-long epic, or anything in between. A typical dramatic combat pose might look something like this:

Thundercracker dives to the ground as laser bolts flash through the space he just left. He rolls once, getting to cover behind a large boulder. He calculates the position his attacker fired from and pops up from the rock to fire a well-aimed shot.

Keep in mind that very often you're in a room with several other players also posing their combat actions, and it can be very hard to keep track if everyone is doing long complicated poses.

The Coded Attack System

The other part of combat RP, coded attacks, compliments dramatic posing. Coded attacks provide an impartial system for deciding who hits and who misses and how much damage an attack does. The command to use your coded attacks is +attack <target>=<weapon>. Replace <target> with whomever you're attacking, and replace <weapon> with which weapon you want to use. You also don't use the < > symbols. A typical attack command might look like this: +attack Prowl=Laser. This would attack Prowl with your laser weapon. Your available weapons are listed by mode in your +stats listing. When you use the +attack command, the MUSH will make sure the target is valid and that you have the weapon in your current mode. Then it will use a formula to determine if your attack succeeds, taking the target's agility into account and your sharpshooting or hand to hand skill. Damage range is determined by how powerful your weapon is, plus or minus a random amount. And that's the basics of combat on Dominion. For text files of sample combat sessions, go here: http://Decepticon-Empire.org/TFDD

Drone Combat

Because Dominion is a one-faction MUSH, we don't have Autobot players. However, we often fight the Autobots during the weekly TP sessions, and it's nice to have live targets to use the combat system on. So we have Autobot drones, which are like characters that don't have a player controlling them. You can +attack a drone, and they will fire back after a brief pause. The only thing drones don't do is dramatic posing. It's easy though to accommodate your actions and a drone's action in your own poses. For example, say Thundercracker is fighting the Trailbreaker drone. His first pose might be:

Thundercracker comes in for a landing, transforming into his robot mode and hitting the ground running. He fires his arm lasers at Trailbreaker, hoping to catch the Bot unaware.

Note in the pose above, Thundercracker's player doesn't assume success, but only poses up to the point of actually firing. She/he would then type the command +attack trail=laser. It would indicate a hit or miss, and the drone would then fire back. That might looks something like this:

Thundercracker attacks Trailbreaker with Laser, and strikes him!
Trailbreaker attacks Thundercracker with Laser2, but misses him!

After Thundercracker's player sees the result of his attack and the drone's counterattack, he can pose what happened with both Trailbreaker and Thundercracker. His or her next pose might look like this:

Thundercracker's laser shot is dead on, striking Trailbreaker squarely in the chest. The Autobot staggers back a moment, raising his own rifle and firing off a shot. Thundercracker smiles as he sees the move coming from a mile away and neatly sidesteps. He kneels down behind a rock and lets loose another barrage of laser fire.

As you can see, this pose gives a little more description to the hit and miss messages the +attack and drone counter attack generated. In addition, at the end it leads directly to Thundercracker's next attack, and the player can now use +attack again. Poses of the above length are not always necessary, particularly as the combat progresses. Just the hit or miss messages are all that's required. Poses add a lot to the action though, and are recommended for at least every few attacks.

Stuns and Grasps

The MUSH now has coded support for stun and grasp attacks. Grasps are melee attacks, and indicate one character has seized another in a wrestling or martial arts type grip. Once a character is grasped, they are immobile, and can't attack or take other actions until they are released. Usually this is by a melee attack by whomever grasped them. Grasps are also broken if either character is hit by an attack from someone else. Although it is possible to use any attack after you've successfully grasped someone, please consider if it makes sense ICly to use an attack other than a melee. A claw attack makes sense, but if you had someone in a bear hug, could you really shoot them with a rifle? Even weapons attached to the arm like Megatron's cannon aren't usually going to be lined up properly for a clean shot. However, an attack such as Devastator's eye beams or something like an electrical shock in the hands makes sense. Use discretion when choosing an attack to follow a grasp.

Stuns are handled somewhat the same way as grasps, except they are usually ranged weapons such as Starscream's null ray or Reflector's blind attack. The stunned character is far enough away that any attack can be used after a successful stun. Note however this can quickly get twinky, so use stuns sparingly. You will be notified if you are stunned or grasped, or have stunned or grasped someone else. Follow-up attacks will always hit.

Attack Types and Area Attacks

You may have noticed in your +stats listing that each attack has a number (the strength of the attack), a category (either melee or ranged), and a type such as energy or blade. The attack types currently aren't being used except as a description of the attack. However, it's possible to expand the code in the future to accommodate resistance or vulnerability to specific types of attacks, and that's largely why they're there.

Currently we do have coded support for area attacks, which are attacks that strike more than one target. Cluster bombs are a good example of area attacks. To use an area attack, you simply type in more than one target with +attack. Example: +attack optimus prowl jazz bumblebee=Missile. This would attack all the characters with the same missile, assuming that ICly they're all in the area of its effect. Note that area attacks can get twinky easily, so don't go overboard using them.

TS

This MUSH is dedicated to RP first and foremost, and to that end encourages characters to lead full and developed lives. This can include romantic relationships, as Transformers have genders, and some will obviously be attracted to one another. These relationships can go in any direction, provided the direction is consensual, and otherwise themely. Since a type of sexual reproduction is themely, what is commonly referred to as TS or 'TinySex' (RPing a sexual encounter) is also themely. (It will in most cases of course not lead to offspring). However, we expect you to use the same common sense and decorum that you would use for just such a situation IRL, and keep the intimate aspects of such relationships private and in private rooms.

Any relationship and/or TS RP must be completely consensual (both players agree to it and are comfortable with the situation), and not impose upon others' right to feel comfortable. Do not impose unwanted romantic attention upon an unwilling player! Be sure that you and the person you're dealing with are both considered legal adults. Use discretion when discussing relationship matters with other characters IC, and do not make details public on channels. Again, use real-life as your guideline when it comes to a question of what's acceptable and where, and do not discuss in public the details of what you wouldn't do in public. For example, a hug or kiss in greeting or holding hands is fine under fitting circumstances (remember that there is still military decorum to consider!), but save the more intimate encounters for private rooms.

Twink

Twinking is defined on Dominion as any violation of consensual roleplay by one or more players who are not being fair and reasonable. Twinking can be the result of inexperience with consensual roleplay, in which case the player in question will be shown where he or she slipped up and encouraged to learn more about consensual roleplay. Twinking can also be the result of willful negligence, disregard for the rules, or even malicious intent. This type of behavior will not be tolerated by the admin of the MUSH.

Some examples of twinking include:

1) Posing any actions or thoughts of another character. For example, if someone playing Starscream posed:

      'Starscream concludes his speech by folding his arms and staring bravely at Megatron, who is obviously impressed by his words.'

This would be twinking because Starscream's player would be directing not only his character's actions and thoughts, but those of Megatron as well. It should be left to Megatron's player to decide Megatron's reaction.

2)Taking any serious action involving another player's character that you don't discuss with them first is twinking. If someone playing Ravage posed that Ravage grabbed Starscream's arm laser and ran off with it, and they didn't discuss this with Starscream's player beforehand, this can be considered twinking. As with any situation, however, it depends on the level of comfort between players. If two players are well acquainted with each other, they often know what kinds of things the other is generally ok with.

3)Forcing another player's character to do something against that player's wishes by force of rank is a serious case of twinking. The player always has the right to refuse to take part in RP that compromises the integrity of their character, or is unreasonable. The right to ICly give orders does not give a player the right to OOCly give orders or to dispense with the rules of consensual roleplay. However, players also have the responsibility to recognize that being IC implies a certain amount of reasonable consent. For example, if your character is IC in a room in which combat is occurring and your character's commander orders your character into the fight, it's not reasonable to simply refuse on the grounds that you as the player did not consent beforehand. Being IC in the room implied consent to reasonable IC orders.

4)All players are required to respect each and every character's background and characteristics. The information presented in a character's profile is not subject to interpretation. It is to be regarded as fact OOCly and treated as common knowledge ICly unless stated otherwise. In no case shall the facts about a character be distorted or ignored without the player's consent. IC misunderstandings where one character doesn't recognize another's profile are of course quite possible; however both players must agree beforehand.

5)No player has the right to make up events in the life of another player's character without consent. If one character boasts that he/she defeated a second player in combat, and such an event did not take place ICly on the MUSH, that would be twinking. In all cases where events in a character's life that did not happen ICly on the MUSH are being discussed, the player of that character must give consent. As an example: Megatron shoots Starscream ICly, and Thundercracker and Skywarp are discussing it.

      Skywarp says, "Yeah Thundercracker, I thought Screamer got off light. Who does he think he is trying to oust Megatron all the time? What a geek."

      Thundercracker replies, "Eh, Megatron always goes easy on him."

This conversation is fine, because it simply discusses what happened ICly. By contrast, if this was said:

      Thundercracker says, "Reminds me of that time on Alpha Helios, Starscream had too much energon and tried to make off with Megatron's fusion cannon. He was lucky he didn't get blasted into a million pieces."

This would be a minor example of twinking. Thundercracker's player is making up an event that involves at least two other player's characters, without their consent. Things like this are not uncommon however, particularly when the characters for whom events are being detailed are not player-created. It probably will be perfectly fine for a character to tell the story of how he or she first met Megatron, even without Megatron's player's consent. Common sense applies here of course. If your character relates a story of how they were inspired by watching Megatron fight and a few words he spoke to your character afterwards, that's likely to be fine. However, if you say your character briefly ousted Megatron as leader, or had a love affair with him, that would require consent. And players should not hesitate to propose such past associations or shared events to another player, it's part of what makes a MUSH fun.

6)Other cases of twinking can include minor items such as not giving ample warning before leaving a room or not respecting other player's interests in parts of the IC world like objects or rooms.

See News Combat for a description of proper combat protocol and how to avoid twinking while using the combat code.

Reporting Twinking

Twinking can be a very serious thing. However, it is hoped that players will attempt positive solutions when possible. Twinking is often the result of inexperience, or experience on other MUSHes where the rules are not as clearly defined. If you feel that another player has twinked, we would encourage you to speak to that player and try to resolve the matter. Often in these cases one player isn't even aware of how their actions are being perceived by another player. When talking to another player, please keep that in mind and talk to them calmly. Try to tell them your concerns in a way that doesn't sound like you're accusing them.

If you still can't get the matter resolved, you should report it to the admin by either paging someone on-duty or sending an @mail. If at all possible please have a log of the encounter ready to email. It's extremely difficult to sort out the details without a log, and we encourage all players to make them. Some complaints don't require a log to resolve, but it never hurts.

Once the admin have received your complaint and all the pertinent information they will decide on a course of action. Each and every complaint will be given careful consideration and will be resolved in some manner. In no case shall a complaint simply be ignored or given less than the full consideration it deserves.