RULES
Community
Standard
Ignorance
All forms of derogatory or abusive language is prohibited, resulting in a ban. Slurs within the game and outside of it are prohibited, and will result in a ban. Personal attacks outside the server and harassment are prohibited and will result in a ban. Roleplaying to a standard deemed unacceptable risks revoking one's whitelist tag. Examples include: not valuing one's life, breaking character, or lacking regard for any and all injuries. Acting as if you were on Red Dead Online will result in revoking one's whitelist tag. High-standard roleplay & immersion is the base of our community.
Guidelines
All community members MUST be at least 18 years of age to participate in roleplay; there are zero exceptions to this rule. Failure to be 18 years of age results in a permanent ban from the server and Discord. We are an English speaking server; all members are expected to be fluent in English. Members who choose to make characters who are not fluent in English, but speak another language fluently, are subject to staff approval. Mute characters are subject to staff approval. All members in the community are expected to be present in the Discord to qualify for the WHITELIST. All Discord members are expected to update their display to their character name. There are ZERO exceptions to breaking character. All interactions must be handled in character. Any issues may be reported after the interaction is over, when the player is out of the State Region. All members are expected to roleplay in a way that values their life. That means ALL use of weapons is considered violent and lethal. The use of exploits, glitches, bots, macros and other means to gain an advantage on the server will result in a permanent ban. The State Region aims to make all roleplay on the server believable and immersive. If your roleplay is deemed non-believable or a detriment to the community as a whole, you may be asked to stop playing that character or halt the roleplay. Open mic is prohibited. You must be on push to talk. The only exception is under the Music Policy. Condenser microphones are required for roleplay within the State Region. Player characters are permitted to roleplay as escorts or other similar lines of work. Roleplaying mature, sexual contact or erotic roleplay is prohibited. This type of roleplay should be handled off server. For clarification open a ticket.
Tickets & Reports
In any situation, members may open a ticket in the Discord with the State Region BOT. In the instance of a PLAYER REPORT, members are expected to provide 3 minutes, before and after, a clip of the rule break they are reporting. Player reports involving a scenario will not be accepted if 6 minute footage is not provided. Players are expected to remember that player reports, in most instances, are a learning experience and are not always intended for disciplinary action. In the instance of a BUG REPORT, members should provide the ERROR CODE, screenshots or video examples & other relevant information. Tickets opened are confidential and kept on file, unless players involved in reports wish to disclose said information to the public. Addressing support in a disrespectful way is not tolerated.
Bans & Appeals
The State Region issues three hard warnings to players, but follows a point system depending on severity. These issued warnings are kept on file for Administration to cross reference for future disciplinary action. BANS CAN BE APPEALED ONCE, 30 days after the ban was issued. All information regarding the ban is kept confidential unless the offender decides to disclose details to the community on their own volition. Then Support may comment if applicable.
Character Creation
GENERAL All characters must be 18 years of age or older. Character names must feel real and unique to the time. Using names from media, historical figures, movies, books & other historical references are prohibited. If there is any confusion, you may open a ticket. Characters and backstory must age with the timeline. Rapid aging of characters or backstory in an unbelievable manner is not allowed. Social: Various aspects of history are acknowledged on the server; We acknowledge the Native American land conflict and the Civil War on this server. This entails that Native Americans do have land and can forcibly remove player characters from it, or kill them. Women will have to form a suffrage movement to vote, own property or business.* Because of these factors, player characters are forbidden from initiating conflict with other player characters solely based on these components alone.
Group Size Limits
CIVILIANS At any given time, civilians are welcome to roam in groups of 6. They are also welcome to roam in a group bigger than 6, though if they are looking to engage violently in greater numbers, this would require staff approval. LAW ENFORCEMENT At any given time, 6 players may engage violently with another group of 6. With staff approval, this can be expanded to securing hostile territory, responding to a transport event, or otherwise. CRIMINALS At any given time, 6 players may engage violently with another group of 6. With staff approval, this can be expanded to certain groups in Guarma, Mexico and New Austin, or for shootouts on a case to case basis. Gangs are limited to 8 online, 4 offline, making for 12 total. There is potential to increase online presence with staff approval or on a case to case basis. Gangs may roam around in groups bigger than 6 with staff approval and on a case by case basis.
Criminal Conduct
Robberies
PLAYERS When a player is being robbed and is outnumbered at gun point, they must surrender, even in 6 v 5 scenarios. If player characters fail to surrender after the opposing party has made it clear and established proper communication of the demand, the opposing party may shoot them down, and this will count towards a character death. Make sure that your team is on board with you, in character, prior to proceeding a hostile engagement with another player character. If a player character is being robbed by only one player, they must comply with gun point roleplay to value their lives. Criminals may choose to rob other player characters, but are not allowed to 'lootbox' and wipe inventories of players. Criminals understand the strict consequences of their actions if they choose to shoot and simultaneously rob a player character. BANKS A minimum of 4 player characters are required- a maximum of 6 player characters may rob a bank at a time. The Law will have the option of asking how many outlaws and hostages are involved in the scenario. The outlaws/robbers must answer truthfully- this is so the Law players involved know how many people are involved in the active scenario. Each player may only rob a bank once every 4 days (96 Hours). This includes the person initiating the robbery and everyone involved in the active robbery. This is to prevent the mechanic from being overused. This encompasses all banks across the State Region. All bystanders and those not actively involved in the scene must respect and keep clear of being involved in the roleplay. The only players that should assist at any point are those involved in the Outlaw or the Law side. All uninvolved parties who are law-abiding citizens should leave. Anybody who is instructed to leave or lingers around a robbery scene too long may be subject to charges in character. Players should be ready for the consequences of their actions, including but not limited to warrants for arrest and court orders for their characters. Robbers may wear masks or use disguises, but it is extremely likely that a bank robbery will result in your character becoming heavily wanted. TRAINS A minimum of 3 player characters are required- a maximum of 6 player characters may rob a train at a time. Outlaws and criminals cannot remove the train conductor/engineer as the NPC has out of character mechanics/responsibilities that involve being on board. Law will have the option of asking how many outlaws and hostages are involved in the scenario. The Outlaws must answer truthfully- this is so the Law players involved know how many people are involved in the active scenario. Players can sneak on the train, but must announce themselves when the robbery begins. Each player may only rob a train once every 4 days (96 Hours). This includes the person initiating the robbery and everyone involved in the active robbery. This is to prevent the mechanic from being overused. All bystanders and those not actively involved in the scene must respect, keep clear, and show authentic value for life. The only players that should assist at any point are those involved in the Outlaw, Law, or train company side. All uninvolved parties who are law-abiding citizens should remain disengaged. Anybody who is instructed to disengage or continues to interfere with the Law may be subject to charges in character. Players should be ready for the consequences of their actions, including but not limited to warrants for arrest and court orders for their characters. Robbers may wear masks or use disguises, but it is extremely likely that a train robbery will result in your character becoming heavily wanted.
Hostages
HOSTAGES Hostages can be either players or non-playable characters, but must be authentic. When dealing with new criminals, Law player characters may take hostages more seriously, but when dealing with known criminals who are violent, hostages may no longer hold the same weight as the hostage is immediately regarded as being in danger versus as a bargaining chip. Being an inauthentic hostage or failing to roleplay appropriately in such a scenario may result in a warning from staff.
Shootout & Dueling
​SNIPER ROLEPLAY Sniper roleplay is only allowed on a case-by-case basis with full staff approval. Players must work with staff to build a believable story and purpose. SHOOTING ON SIGHT Shooting on sight is not permitted. There is no exception to this, even in ambush scenarios. There must be a form of communication, roleplay, and consideration of other parties involved to not constitute a Random Death Match.​ SHOOTOUTS Shootouts by player characters are permitted to occur, following the 6 player versus 6 player rule. Exceptions are subject to staff approval. Regarding shootouts- all player characters NOT involved in the shootout MUST be cleared out. This may take some time but is necessary to avoid committing Random Death Match(es) against those not involved in the shootout scenario. DUELING A duel is an agreed upon gunfight, between two consenting parties, at an arranged time and place, typically as means to settle a dispute. Duels are considered lethal and must result in the other party taking a loss by killing their character permanently. Duels must be supervised by a Law enforcement official, who will ensure the duel is consensual. Illegal duels without officers are subject to punishment by Law enforcement officials.
Consequence Policy
MURDERER & BRUTALLY VIOLENT CRIMINAL CHARACTERS Players may establish these types of characters with staff permission. They accept the ultimate penalty of their crimes, such as the death sentence or life in Sisika without break out (under most conditions). This is solely the approval and coordination of Administration. For clarification, feel free to open a ticket. CORRUPTION POLICY All characters in government positions and leadership for those careers are only allowed to roleplay corruption arcs with staff approval. Player characters are expected to uphold an honorable moral code while on duty (Government, Law, Doctors). To see what constitutes corruption for your character’s career or role, consult your profession’s handbook and rules.
Roleplay Standard
Out of Character
There are zero exceptions to breaking character. All interactions must be handled in character. If the conversation steers OOC, try to steer it back to in character. Any issues may be reported after the interaction is over, when the player issuing the report is out of the State Region.
Random Death Match
Random Death Match constitutes opening fire at, killing, issuing violence towards in a means to- incapacitate the character or power-game over the character with no roleplay involved, whatsoever, at complete ‘random’. This extends to locals, horses, hunting birds and dogs. Locals will be treated as player characters for immersion purposes. Horses, birds and dogs are categorized under the policy of RDM to avoid RDR2 online behavior. RDM also extends to vehicle death match, where players utilize wagons or large horses to trample, run over or kill players at complete random.
Meta-Gaming Policy
Meta-gaming is when a player utilizes knowledge from an outside source, beyond roleplay within the State Region, as a means to an end of holding an upper hand, sharing knowledge, resources, utilities and other things between themselves, or other player characters, for an advantage within roleplay. This includes trading, mailing, or giving resources to alternative characters. Characters may have heard of each other but that is where the knowledge of your own alternate characters must end. Players roleplaying two separate characters may not become involved in the same campaign. An example would be an LEO getting involved in a criminal RP that his alternate character is a part of. Meta-gaming also includes using third-party applications to communicate, or watching live streams of players within the server, actively, while in game. Stream-sniping, the act of locating someone by watching their livestream, is prohibited and will be punished.
Injury Standard
Any players involved in downing a player, Bleed Out/Unconscious/Permanent Death or otherwise, must leave the person where they are, or drop them off at Doctor's/Sheriff's Office. Continuing to rob, harass, or otherwise torment the player on a level beyond roleplay is unacceptable. If you find a random player who is downed, you are not allowed to rob them. Revenge RP is not permitted; for clarification, open a ticket. INJURY Characters that have been injured are expected to roleplay their injuries. When a character is injured you must consider your character’s abilities based on their injury- this correlates to how a character sounds when expressing their injuries to other characters, or their capabilities in daily life within the State Region. UNCONSCIOUS Being unconscious indicates that your character cannot speak and is not aware of what is happening to them any longer. They cannot remember anything leading up to their incapacitation- up to 30 minutes. Upon going unconscious, they should not remember the events leading to them regaining consciousness. If you must hit the keybind to revive or if you go unconscious, you can no longer remember anything that happened, 30 minutes up to your incapacitation. Players should avoid the area their character was downed in for the same time of 30 minutes to avoid interacting directly with the other players involved.
Permanent Death
Standard
Permanent Death is when a player chooses to issue a death to their character, in which they will no longer be able to roleplay the character.  This can happen from personal choice (death by NPC, world or metabolism), suicide (see rules), or interactions with another player. Characters within the State Region are permitted 2 intentional incapacitations by player hand. By number 3, they are expected to permanently kill their character. Because of the strict life policy, players are expected, when taking the life of another player character, to do so with intent, purpose, and previous story build-up. Under no circumstances should players utilize gunplay as a focus, but rather as a story-telling element. Player characters responsible for permanently killing another Player character(s) are subject to a permanent consequence on said character (Life in Sisika or Death Sentence.) While players are welcome to stay online for the scenario to play out after their death, they are expected to remain downed and silent. /Me or /OOC commands should be used appropriately and not to communicate after death. Players are to delete their character upon log out and are expected to stop roleplaying that character moving forward. Note that while killing a character is a personal choice, you are expected to uphold the guidelines of realism within the server and value your life accordingly. SUICIDE RP Required guidelines listed below: The player has received administrative approval to permanently kill their character this way. Players are discouraged from streaming, but acknowledge they are streaming at their own risk if they do. The player has received OOC consent from everyone involved in the scenario, actively. The suicide is not spoken of publicly and is considered to be deeply controversial and taboo. All terms must be met to avoid disciplinary action.
Hogtying & Lassos
Escaping a hogtie or lasso is locked. Because of this feature, the interaction ends for the other player and avoids allowing them to fight back. This feature must be used sparingly, and as a last resort instead of as an initiating a roleplay scene. When hogtied, there are few instances when it is appropriate to break out of the ropes. Those instances are as follows: Your captor has left you alone for an extended period of time. Your captor has left the vicinity (beyond shouting distance). An active firefight has ensued or explosions have gone off in the vicinity, causing a major distraction. Player characters caught abusing the mechanic of hogtying, utilizing or escaping, may be subject to disciplinary action.
Other Policies
Animal Ownership
HORSES & WAGONS Players may choose to consent to having their horses or wagons stolen on the server permanently through transfer commands. If a player does not wish to consent to permanent theft, they will simply have the horse or wagon stolen solely for that session (until next restart). If your horse or wagon has been stolen, you may not call it until the next server restart, where it will be returned to you at the nearest stable. DOGS Dogs with the Attack Pedestrian feature may be subject to being put down by Law Enforcement Officials, in which case a permanent death of the dog would be required. The dog will be removed and wiped from the character's list of available companions upon next restart. HUNTING BIRDS Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to utilize hunting birds for any other purpose than to provide roleplay. Using them to gain an advantage for bank robberies, general store robberies & otherwise 'metagaming or power-gaming' circumstances to gain additional viewing points is not allowed nor feasible. If you plan on committing a crime, you must send your hunting bird away. If Law Enforcement Officials see your hunting bird and shoot it down, a permanent death of the hunting bird would be required. If there are player characters that own bald eagles and are caught, they will be subject to confiscation. They will be removed and wiped from the character's list of available companions upon next restart.
Notepads & Scenes
The Notepad and Scene commands allow players to communicate in roleplay, through means of livening up an already existing environment. Effectively, scenes should be used in situations where they may be removed or adjusted by the next person who approaches if they are not indicating ownership. ​Appropriate use of scenes could be as follows: Issuing the name of your business above or alongside your property door. Describing evidence or clues for Law Enforcement Officials or other parties such as horse track marks. Posting and removing a sign at the local telegram station, indicating you are open or closed for business. Inappropriate uses of scenes or notepads could be as follows: Using scenes or notes in the middle of the road, sky, excessive littering on owned property, or in a place that doesn't make sense. Using scenes or notes as a means to meta-game information between your own characters or others. Suggestive or otherwise offensive content that breaks terms of service. Having a haphazard, nonsensical scene or scene that indicates anything inappropriate is subject to disciplinary action. Businesses & Properties are limited to 3 scenes. Subject to staff approval in instances of necessity. Random scenes that create clutter, extensive traffic of contact information, or anything not congruent to State Region standards is not allowed.
Impersonation Rule
While impersonation of government officials, law, and medical officials is allowed in the State Region, creating false documents is not. Upon being requested for documentation by another government official, impersonation roleplay must cease. All government issued horses or animals that were purchased under a fraudulent guise will be suspended and confiscated. Any vehicles considered Army, Law Enforcement Official, Medical, or otherwise will be suspended and confiscated. The animals and vehicles will be removed and wiped from the stables upon next restart.
IC Leadership
Standard
State Region Administration holds all in character leaders to a higher, OOC standard than other players. Because of this, those in leadership positions may be asked to workshop with staff, from time to time if there are issues or questions, through Discord.
Music Policy
Because the game is set in 1897, the only music acceptable is music from this time period and earlier. Copyrighted music, modern music and song covers are not allowed. Players may come up with custom songs, providing instrumental music to the server. Custom songs and open mic is permitted during this time, so long as the lyrics and instruments used are period-appropriate. After streaming a custom song, players must go back to push-to-talk.