Player killing

Threshold RPG is an advanced role playing game. It was designed with the goal of creating many layers of conflict. Conflict breeds excitement, but it also often breeds discontent. Thus, the ultimate means of resolving a conflict is possible: player killing (PK).

Threshold is not, however, a "player killing mud." PK is only permissible when the role play of a situation absolutely calls for it. It should never be done frivolously, and for the sake of preserving quality RP surrounding a PK, there are a number of important guidelines that MUST be followed. Exceptions to any rule are clearly marked. There are NO OTHER EXCEPTIONS.

Role Playing
There must be a legitimate, non-frivolous role playing reason for a PK. PK is a very disruptive element of the game that is generally not very much fun for the loser. If there is a valid RP reason for the PK, that takes away some of the sting. The point of this rule is not to protect people from being PKed. The point is to avoid stupid, boring, uninteresting, random PKs that do not have a good reason behind them.

Examples of a Legitimate RP reason

 * Your hated foe is hanging out in an otherwise empty tavern with an unknown friend. You slay your foe and also slay the friend who is a witness.


 * Someone starts insulting or mocking you repeatedly. There are no witnesses. You have the shot, so you take it.


 * Someone stole your Shiny Sword. Your investigations all point to Morris the Catfolk. You sally forth and slay Morris. It turns out Morris did not steal your Shiny Sword. Oh well... sometimes mistaken identity can be rough. Note that in this example actual investigations (RP) took place. This is not a catch-all example to be used to justify any random PK.

Examples of illegitimate RP reasons

 * You come upon a mage in the Adventurers Guild who is conjuring spell components alone. You consider your character to be a "jerk" or "sociopath" so you decide to PK the mage for kicks.


 * You are exploring an area and cross paths with someone who has a very nice looking suit of armor. You decide you want it so you PK them for it.

Exception #1
Bounty hunting is covered in its own section below.

Exception #2
If a player is doing something EXCEPTIONALLY foolish (like resting somewhere without an ally watching over them, getting on a boat alone and staying there when a possible enemy boards, or being repeatedly abusive towards someone) they can be PKed freely. The PK rules are not designed to be a shield that guarantees someone's safety irregardless of their own actions. Also see Exception #2 in the Mauling section.

Newbies
Those who are new to the game should not be involved in PK in any way (either as the killer or the victim). There is no absolute definition of a newbie, but a good rule of thumb is anyone under player level *OR* guild level 5 is a newbie. Furthermore, since all PKs must involve role playing (see above) it is exceptionally unlikely that a new player has even been on the game long enough to have engaged in sufficient role playing for a PK situation. Newbies take note: newbies cannot be PKed and neither can they PK anyone else. Being a newbie is not an excuse to PK another newbie.

Memory
In Threshold, death is not permanent. Returning to life is a very traumatic experience and it takes time for your memories to return. As with a normal death, you should not begin remembering anything about your death for at least 2 Real Life hours (one IC day). This means you do not return to your corpse. You do not tell your friends or allies who PKed you (yet). You do not even start telling people things about it via AIM or other IM programs.

Bounty Hunting
It is permissible to PK someone for the mere fact that you wish to collect their bounty. Bounty Hunting is a solitary act. A bounty hunter is someone who seeks his or her prey alone. A party of individuals cannot use this reason for PKing someone. If more than 1 person is involved in a PK, they must abide by the general principles outlined for PK in the first rule about RP. Being "involved" is defined broadly. If someone is providing you with healing, blessings, a blessed cloak, a bardic inspiration, toxic poison, a keen sharpening, or similar assistance, then they are involved in the PK. Blocking an exit is involvement. Staying behind as "backup" is being involved. If you wish to act as a bounty hunter, you must seek your prey alone. It is assumed that the Bounty Hunter's Guild gives a Bounty Hunter sufficient information to identify his or her prey.

Bounty Hunting means you have gone to the bounty hunters guild, checked the list of bounties, and selected a target. Period. End of story. It does not mean someone has approached you about wanting to kill someone, and either offered to pay you or after you agreed they went and put a bounty on the target's head. That would be a hired killing and a hired killing falls under the normal PK rules outlined throughout this help file. If you have discussed a potential PK with anyone (see the exception below, however), then you are no longer a "solitary bounty hunter." At that point you are more involved than just a simple bounty hunter.

The purpose of the bounty system is simple: if someone plays their character in an adversarial manner that pisses off a lot of people, their bounty will naturally grow over time. Thus, the bounty system is designed to be an incentive for people to NOT go around pissing off tons of people- as that would result in a very fat and attractive bounty. Any other use of the bounty system is cheating since you are just trying to twist the bounty system to your own ends so you can PK someone without having to follow the normal PK rules.

Remember that Threshold is NOT a PK mud. PK is NOT a valid concept to build your character's RP around. Bounty hunting exists ONLY for the above reason.

Exception
Any number of people can join forces to collect the bounty on a Hegemon's head.

Mauling
This refers to something that happens all too frequently. Sometimes, 2, 3, 4, or more people will be involved in a PK of a victim whose power does not require such an excessive army of assailants. Again, being "involved" has a broad definition. See above for details. As noted in the section on RP, PK exists in Threshold because it is the ultimate resolution of conflict. The game world would be extremely fake if this act were not possible. It does not exist to cause suffering for the player behind the character. When a group of people use overwhelming force to PK a far weaker individual, there is not even the possibility of excitement for the target. The target is simply in a situation where he or she must "bend over and take it." There is nothing interesting about that. An example of mauling is a 12/12 and a 14/14 player PKing an 8/8 character. Obviously either one of those attackers could PK the target alone. Another example of mauling is a 12/12 player killing an 8/8 player while the 12/12 player had someone "ready to heal" or "ready to block an exit" or "ready to intercept" the prey.

In some cases, a single individual PKing another can be considered mauling. An example of this could be a level 18/18 (HL - high level) PKing a level 8/8 (LL - low level). If the LL has been causing great difficulty for the HL, has been defaming the HL, or has been trying to cause other types of significant trouble for the HL, then the HL is justified in PKing the LL. Keep in mind that the RP rule still applies here. There must be extensive RP over an extended period of time before the HL PKs the LL. It is often a good idea (but not a requirement) for the HL to give the LL an opportunity to apologize or perform some type of humiliating or appeasing act in lieu of being killed. PK might seem like a good option, but usually it is far more interesting and fulfilling to get creative.

Exception #1
Mauling a hegemon is permissible.

Exception #2
If a player has engaged in extremely foolish RP such as angering an entire church (or multiple churches), an entire guild (or multiple guilds), or his/her own guild or church, it is permissible that this person be mauled. Before such a mauling takes place, there must be extensive role play and many examples of acts performed by the victim that justified the mauling. A single act does not justify a mauling. This exception exists to deal with those foolish individuals who engage in a campaign of harassment or misdeeds that over time have managed to anger a very large number of people.

Exception #3
Defensive Mauling: There is no such thing as a defender mauling an attacker. If you attack someone and they have friends in the vicinity they can freely assist their friend or ally defend against the attack (including chasing down the attacker if it is done IMMEDIATELY and not after further planning or marshalling of forces).

Clan Wars
In an officially declared clan war (which means one clan declared war on another- the other clan does not have to reciprocate), members of either clan are free to PK members of the other clan(s) with impunity. This is part of the risk of joining a clan. The acts of your members can bring death to all.

Guild Wars
In an officially declared guild war, the rules on mauling must still be observed.

Religion Wars
Though very rare, if a religion declares war on another religion, members of either religion are free to PK each other with impunity. This is comparable to a clan war situation. A single member of a religion cannot declare a religion war. There must be a consensus amongst the leaders and members of the religion before it can declare war in this fashion.

While there is more flexibility than usual, Mauling rules are not suspended for a religion war. Every religion in a war tends to have plenty of people in the hegemon+ ranks. Pick your targets appropriately. The PKer is always responsible. A religion war doesn't absolve you of the responsibility of not being abusive in PKs.

Note on all war examples
These rules apply to real wars. Wars do not happen on the spur of the moment. They are the result of role play that happens over a long period of time. Anyone who tries to use a hastily declared war as an excuse to PK someone outside the normal rules will find themselves in quite a bit of trouble.

Multiple PKs
Sometimes the temptation is quite powerful to PK someone more than one time for a single reason. If your RP has gotten to the point where you have to PK someone and you succeed, that should be the end of that specific need to PK him or her. Unless the person continues to do things that warrant a PK, you should not PK the person again.

Special Note
If you care about the role playing environment you are a part of, you have made it this far. Congratulations. This document may seem like a novel, but hopefully it illustrates how complicated and serious the issue of Player Killing is. It should never be taken for granted. It should never be rushed into it. The repercussions for all parties should always be taken into consideration.

Never underestimate how much fun it can be to imagine a more creative means of retribution than a mere PK. PK is basic, simple, and clumsy. People rarely remember who PKed whom months or years later. What people remember are unique and interesting punishments or payments that were the result of imagination. Those are the stories that live on forever as legends.

It is absolutely vital to remember that a role playing game is a co-operative form of entertainment. Although characters in the game may be enemies, the players behind them should be working together to craft an engaging and interesting STORY. The ultimate goal is for EVERYONE to have fun- not for a few to have fun at the expense of others. You may find yourself at the other end of the sword someday. Keep that in mind and be ever mindful of the real human being at the other end of your electronic execution.

Before Reporting a PK
If you get PKed, try to think about why that person might have PKed you. Don't immediately assume they cheated and mail the administration. Unless the abuse is glaring, most likely the PK is going to be considered legitimate. These rules are not designed to be a shield against being PKed: they are designed to prevent only the most abusive and nonsensical PKs. Do not pore over this file like a lawyer looking for a way to interpret the rules so the person who PKed you gets in trouble.

If you were PKed and you feel very confident it was against the rules, you must report it in detail and with complete honesty. Please see the support page for more detail.

Help File
help pk