Server Guidelines

• [A1] Minimum Age Requirement
  You must be 18+ to join our community. This includes being in our server, discord, website, etc.
  
  This does not mean erotic roleplay is allowed. Keep it tasteful, guys.


• [A2] English Speaking Requirement
  Our server is hosted and founded as an English speaking community and it must stay that way. This does not include one-off words or one-off sentences used in roleplay. But all OOC communication must be able to be moderated by our english speaking staff team.


• [A3] Dark Themes
  Dark themes can only be spoken of or roleplayed out with the consent of everyone involved. This includes you and those you are directly speaking/roleplay with at that moment. If any theme makes a player you are interacting with uncomfortable or distressed, it must end immediately. Bystanders, or people who hear of the situation, are not included as 'involved.' Because of our adult only community, it is expected that you take yourself out of any situations where those themes may be present if they distress you.
  
  If you are unsure of whether a theme is too dark for the server, feel free to ask a staff member. But keep in mind, even with the consent of other players, the topics must remain decently non-graphic.
  
  Examples: Gore, Abuse, Torture, Sensual Acts or Statements, etc. . .


• [A4] Loopholing
  The rules are here for a reason! Follow the spirit of them rather than just what it explicitly says.


• Clause
  We may not be able to cover everything in the rules and guidelines, and even if we miss anything, anything that is deemed unacceptable by the staff team can be treated accordingly. If you have a problem with something a staff member has done or made judgement on, please directly contact an administrator.


• Breach of Guidelines
  Depending on the rule broken or the severity, a member of the community staff will determine what consequences should be given to the player. Most instances, a player will receive a verbal warning before receiving punishment, however this does not apply to all rules. Breaking of a rule can result in verbal warnings, official warnings, IP bans, muting, and kicking.
  
  In specific circumstances, a player that has been a victim from someone breaking a rule stated here may be consulted by a member of community staff to consider an appropriate response.
  
  You will be given a system warning after a verbal one, and three system warnings will result in an automatic ban. Multiple warnings can be given at any given time depending on how many rules have been broken during that period.
  
  Private ban appeals can be made however they will not always be accepted depending on the circumstances. Please contact an administrator to make one or email us at elderlandsroleplay@gmail.com.
  
  If you break the law in some way, we will alert authorities immediately.

If you see someone breaking any of the rules or guidelines in this or other sections, please try to report it instead of responding directly. Let’s work together to keep this a welcoming space.

Rugaios and it's future servers do practice pre-banning. If you have been pre-banned however, it is likely to do with us hearing that you have violated our safety guidelines. If you believe this is false, please contact us via our email.

Player Conduct

• [B1] Harassment & Aggressive/Toxic Behavior
  Targeting or acting aggressively toward one player or a group of players in the form of bullying, public shaming, stalking, bigotry, or harassment of any kind is not acceptable and will be swiftly taken care of.


• [B2] Advertising
  Advertising other roleplay servers is not allowed. However, you may speak about other minecraft servers or share links to other platforms (within reason). If you're not sure, ask.


• [B3] Spamming
  Spamming includes any excessive, repetitive, or harmful messages.


• [B4] Doxxing
  Doxxing includes releasing private information about another individual without their clear consent. Anybody who spreads this information or any pictures of the person will also be punished along with their original doxxer.
  This includes private servers or direct messages among a group of players.


• [B5] Misusing Channels
  Do not misuse channels on the website, discord, or in game repeatedly.


• [B6] Scamming
  Whether using real currency or fictional currency, do not scam another player. Roleplay scamming is allowed.


• [B7] Media
  If any media is seen as OOCly derogatory, offensive, or targeted, it may be subject to being taken down and the poster punished. However, this will be discussed beforehand.


• [B8] Usernames
  Players must use their Minecraft usernames on the website and as part of their nickname or 'about me' on our discord.


• [B9] Sexual Predation or Grooming
  Remember, consent is: Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific.
  See our Safety page for more information about consent, grooming, and abuse.


• [B10] Exploits
  Exploits using mods, automated redstone machines, duping, etc, is not allowed.
  This includes map or any other mods that allow for players to see each other on it as this has potential for metagaming (see roleplay guidelines for information on metagaming).
  Mods like optifine, sodium, any shaders, more player models, custom player models, figura, etc are allowed.


• [B11] Griefing
  If it's not yours, don't break or toggle it. This includes parts of the base map. See the build section of guidelines for more information.


• [B13] Offensive Usernames & Skins
  Any swearing, slurs, or otherwise offensive or bigoted usernames and MC skins are not allowed in our server or any of our community platforms.

Staff Conduct

• [C1] Pre-Established Style
  Builds must be done in the same style as what's been pre-established. If you need clarification, speak with the admin overseeing the build team.


• [C2] No Editing Others' Builds
  You may not edit another builders or players builds without explicit permission from the builder/player or an admin.


• [C3] No Duping
  You may not give other players items from any of the creative menus, including heads and custom items.
  This goes for any and all staff members with access to creative menus.


• [C4] Priority Focus
  Please focus on making higher priority builds over lower priority ones. This is mainly to do with time sensitive event locations.


• [C5] Mindful of Lag
  Do not do world edit for large areas or with entities. This may crash the server or lag out players. Also be mindful in general of using entity blocks in builds for the same reason, including custom blocks.

• [D1] Bias
  Malicious bias or willful ignorance will not be tolerated.


• [D2] Warnings
  Community staff must always give a verbal warning before an official warning. (with exceptions)


• [D3] Bans
  Permanent bans must be discussed with the community team. It cannot be a lone decision.


• [D4] Misinformation
  Do not spread misinformation. If you are unsure of an answer to a question, you must check with the appropriate team or direct to a source.


• [D5] Safety
  If a situation or argument is getting too heated between you and another player/staff member/group, you must stop or pause the discussion to continue at a later date or otherwise introduce an additional third party.

• [E1] Consult For Editing
  Lore Developers must consult an administrator before editing established lore or taking up someone else's lore.


• [E2] Issues
  During discussions, Lore Developers must keep in mind that anybody can bring forward issues with your lore pieces.
  Rugaios is a collective project and the original writer of the lore piece will not have more say than another lore writer.


• [E3] Removal
  Lore Developers cannot remove a lore piece themselves once submitting it. They must request it be removed or altered with the entire team.
  Official pieces, including lore, will be posted using the Rugaios account, not the lore writers. They will include the name of the writer(s) on the bottom of the piece and you may be consulted for questions or issues on it (the answers must only be clarifying, not coming up with new information). This includes player submitted lore.


• [E4] Bias
  Lore writers cannot intentionally change or write lore to benefit yourself, your character, or your friends and their characters.


• [E5] Approval
  Lore must be approved by someone who did not have a hand in writing it. Meaning, you may not approve your own lore piece.


• [E6] Themes
  Lore may not include the following themes:
  Time Travel, Unaltered analogs of real cultures or events in history, Medieval themes, Steam-punk themes, Alternate/Mirror Universe, Unaltered analogs of popular media, Real divine intervention.
  Works can be Inspired by any cultures, events, media, etc, however cannot be copied completely or in any obvious manner.
  This list may be added upon in the future or altered.

• [F1] Additional Systems
  You cannot make systems separate to the current official systems without consulting an admin beforehand.


• [F2] NPCs
  NPCs may not be played outside an event and cannot also be your player character.


• [F3] NPC Relationships
  Characters may have relationships with NPCs, however when they officially are in a relationship the player character will also become an NPC. Players must be told of this beforehand.


• [F4] Permission
  Event staff members must be asked before you can use their assigned NPC or event area. This also includes interacting with their events or eventlines as an event staff member.


• [F5] Lethal & Superlethal Events
  Lethal, Superlethal, or anything otherwise world altering or lore breaking, must be discussed between the event team AND admin before launching.


• [F6] New Enemies & Lore
  You must discuss any enemies or lore made for the event/eventline with the lore and event team beforehand.


• [F7] Builds
  Event staff may make minor alterations to builds when relevant to events, however unless they are also part of the build team, they must consult a build staff member to make their location for them.


• [F8] Themes
  Events may not include the following themes:
  Time Travel, Unaltered analogs of real events in history, Medieval themes, Steam-punk themes, Alternate/Mirror Universe, Unaltered analogs of popular media, Real divine intervention.
  Events can be Inspired by any cultures, events, media, etc, however cannot be copied completely or in any obvious manner.
  This list may be added upon in the future or altered.


• [F9] Custom Items
  Custom items, including loot, must be processed through the custom item form and accepted by a different staff member, however as an event staff member you do not have to limit the amount of items you can process for events. This is for cataloguing purposes.


• [F10] Posts & Pings
  Pre-Event, event staff must make a pig about their event in the discord.
  This message must have a difficulty level stated on it (even if it's just 'Unknown'), but does not need to specify death permissions being taken away.
  For pop-up events, you are not required to make a ping beforehand, however you do need to make a message afterwards. Please keep within reasonable difficulty for these kinds of events.

• [G1] Implementation
  You may not implement anything before consulting an admin beforehand.


• [G2] Style
  You must stick to the same style of models, textures, text, etc, as what has been pre-established.


• [G3] Role Substitution
  You may not use this role as a substitute for another position. If you wish to do actions as part of another team, you must also have that role.
  Eg. You cannot kick or ban individuals as part of the Tech team. You cannot run an event as part of the Tech team.

• [H1] Rights
  As part of the admin team, you may request that someone do a task. However, they always have the right to say no.
  In the event that someone on your team has not been pulling their weight, you need to discuss this with them before taking further action. If this behavior continues, discuss what will occur with the other administrators.


• [H2] Favorites & Bias
  You cannot favor a staff member over another. Delegate and review fairly.
  Allow them to also give feedback to you as the one managing their team. Make sure that you foster an environment where people are able to take accountability and responsibility without fear of judgement or ridicule.


• [H3] Set Clear Expectations & Lead By Example
  Make sure when delegating tasks that you make sure that staff member knows exactly what is expected. As well as that, lead by example; No one wants to listen to someone who contributes nothing.


• Disputes
  Disputes between other staff members must be moderated by both an administrator and the community team.
  In the event of a disagreement between administrators, the entire staff team or community may be consulted on an issue.

Safety

• Abuse & Crisis Resources
  
  If you're in immediate danger or need urgent help, please reach out to the hotlines or support services below:
  
  United States & Canada
  National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 — www.thehotline.org
  RAINN (Sexual Assault Support): 1-800-656-4673 — www.rainn.org
  National Resources for Victims of Crime — https://victimsofcrime.org/
  Love is Respect — https://www.loveisrespect.org/get-relationship-help/local-resources/
  Male Survivor — https://malesurvivor.org/index.php
  Types of Relationships — https://www.sexandu.ca/sexual-activity/types-of-relationships/
  
  United Kingdom
  National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 — www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
  The Survivor’s Trust — https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org/
  Women Against Violence Europe — https://wave-network.org/
  
  Australia
  1800RESPECT (Domestic, family, and sexual violence): 1800 737 732 — www.1800respect.org.au
  Lifeline (for crisis support): 13 11 14 — www.lifeline.org.au



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• What Is Consent?
  
  Consent means giving clear, voluntary, and enthusiastic permission for something to happen—especially in any emotional, physical, or sexual situation.
  It should be:
  Freely given — not pressured, manipulated, or coerced.
  Reversible — you can change your mind at any time.
  Informed — all parties understand what they’re agreeing to.
  Enthusiastic — people should want to participate, not feel obligated.
  Specific — saying yes to one thing doesn’t mean yes to everything.
  No answer = no. Silence = no. “Maybe” = not yes.


• What Is Grooming?
  
  Grooming is when someone builds trust with a person (especially someone younger or vulnerable) in order to manipulate, exploit, or abuse them later. It’s a slow, deceptive process. Groomers often:
  
  - Pretend to be a friend or mentor
  - Offer gifts, special attention, or praise
  - Try to isolate you from others
  - Push or test boundaries slowly over time
  - Make you feel guilty or responsible for their feelings
  
  If someone is making you feel uncomfortable, confused, or pressured—even if they seem kind or charismatic—it’s okay to speak up. Manipulation can look like care. But care never requires secrecy, fear, or guilt.


• What Is Abuse?
  
  Abuse is any behavior meant to control, harm, or intimidate another person. It can be:
  
  Emotional — insults, gaslighting, threats, silent treatment
  Physical — hitting, pushing, restraining
  Sexual — any sexual activity without consent
  Psychological — fear tactics, manipulation, isolation
  Digital — monitoring, harassment, revenge threats online
  Financial — controlling funds, cutting access from funds
  
  Warning signs of abuse:
  You feel scared, guilty, or "crazy" around someone
  They ignore your boundaries or twist your words
  You consistently push your own needs down for theirs
  They act differently in public vs. private
  They make you feel dependent on them



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• You're Not Alone.
  
  Even if you're not sure what's happening, if something feels off—it’s okay to talk to someone.
  You can contact staff, a trusted friend, or one of the support services above.
  You deserve to feel safe and respected, both online and off.

Roleplay Guidelines

• [I1] Metagaming
  Metagaming is characterized by having knowledge gathered out of character to use in character whether to gain an advantage or otherwise.
  An example of this is knowing the location of a character from being told by somebody out of character and going to that location to talk to them, despite the character having no reason to know that information.
  Another example is knowing the plans of the character going against you by being told out of character and reacting in a defensive way despite not having any clue what that character would do as your own character.


• [I2] Powergaming
  Powergaming is forcing another character to react the way you want them to with no consent from the opposing party.
  For example, telling them in an emote that you cut their hand off and not giving them any chance between action and consequence to defend themselves or react.


• [I3] Godmodding
  Godmodding is making your character powerful beyond reason with little to no limitations, boundaries or disadvantages.


• [I4] Combat Stalling
  Stalling combat through OOC chats or unnecessary arguments is not allowed. This also includes combat logging unless agreed upon prior.


• [I5] Explicit & Suggestive Themes
  You may not do 'Erotic Roleplay' of any kind. Nudity is acceptable as long as it is not explicit or overtly suggestive.
  You may do suggestive acts or make suggestive comments in roleplay, however anything beyond chaste falls under our darker themes policy where you must stop immediately if those you're interacting with ask you to.
  If you want to suggest something explicit has occurred, 'fading to black' is generally used.


• [I6] Keep In Theme
  Try to keep in theme of the server. Medieval skins, architecture, names, or blatant character references are not allowed.
  For the love of god, don't make us look at hundreds of applications that are just thinly veiled Star Wars, Marvel, or Dune characters. Inspirations are allowed but try to keep it that: inspiration.


• [I7] Stealing & Damaging
  You cannot steal or damage property in character if the owner of the property or item is not online.
  You do not need to ask the owner of the property or item beforehand, but make sure that they are online before doing so, and have an event staff member know as well so they can oversee your actions.


• [I8] Kill & Maiming Permissions
  You must have a valid reason to kill or maim another character and you cannot kill or maim another character without that player's permission.
  This rule may not apply under certain circumstances under staff correction or staff events. However, this should usually be clarified before an event is started.
  If a staff member has not clarified whether or not they are abiding by this rule, act as if your character could be maimed or killed as a possibility.
  If you see this, put in your application how you feel about cats!


• [I9] Switching Characters & Combat
  You must wait 30 minutes or more before participating in combat after switching characters.


• [I10] Character Inventories & Balances
  You cannot move items from one of your characters inventories to anothers without sufficient reasoning.
  You may be questioned on this if you decide to do it. Best to send in a ticket to ask before doing it.


• [I11] Antagonists
  You cannot shelve a character or exclusively play a different character after making an antagonistic action.
  This is to prevent people from skipping out on potential consequences of their actions.
  If you wish to do something antagonistic, always expect the possibility of conflict with other characters. Allow those around you the ability to become involved.


• [I12] Letters
  When sending letters or notes in character, be aware that you must roleplay/emote the sending and receiving of it at the exact moment that you do.


• [I13] Character Age
  The youngest a player character can be is 18 years old.


• [I14] Character Limit
  You may only have 2 active characters at a time. When you shelve a character, there is a cool down of 2 months before you may play them again.
  This is to prevent players from having too many characters at once and never actually focusing on any of them.

Builds

- Just because it's in your rent plot, doesn't mean you can alter it or add to it. The rent plots are difficult to keep to just the interiors of every building, so we ask that players don't change anything on the exterior or outside of the building or area you're allocated to. This includes windows, doors, rooves, etc. However, you may change floors/ceilings. But if you don't know if you can or not, feel free to make a ticket.

- No OOC basements or farms. You can request a basement in character to the appropriate character and a build team member will make your new basement. Think stardew valley rules.

- Unless someone very cool and awesome comes by and gives us a way to rent out the diagonal houses, they will remain decorative.

- Market stalls or rentable buildings labeled 'shop' must be business oriented. You may have your home inside your business residence, however.

- You may request that a build team member help you with your decorating. However, that build team member must be in survival OR you must give them all the resources they used to build with in creative. Build staff members are welcome to request in game or real currency in exchange for the favor.

- You may request a custom block or NPC for your business. Speak with an administrator to discuss.

- Want a boat/ship/other vehicle? Go through roleplay first before requesting a staff member to create it for you. Admins must be consulted before the adding of large vehicles of any kind (not including small ones like carts.)