Role-Playing Policy

[Cilbaer]

Role-Playing Policy

For Customers who wish to experience and enjoy more the specific fantasy characteristics, behaviour, and adventures of The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar storyline, Codemasters have developed and assigned specific role-playing servers.In order to create such a world and adventure, a more rigid set of policies have been created. These are in addition to the policies that have been released, which are being enforced on all the other non-role-playing servers.The primary difference between non-role-playing and role-playing servers is that players on these servers want to "live" the game as opposed to simply play it. With that in mind, there are certain behaviours, acts and names that could ruin their role-playing experience. For these reasons, we have laid out the guidelines below to help protect the immersion and atmosphere that the role-players have created. These rules are more stringent than those of a regular, non-role-playing server but do include all policies previously released for those and supersede them in cases of duplication.


Role-Play Character names

In order to create such an immersive role-playing experience for our players, all character names created and their characteristics are required to be believable and should be considered to be within the “sprit of the game” storyline.The following additional standards are to be adhered to when naming and creating your character:

• Characters names must reflect the time period:
  • Names should not refer to names that reflect modern, nick-names and non-fantasy names like: Daz, Bruce, Jimbo
• All characters names whether fictional or real, must be within the sprit of the characters, storyline and Tolkien's world.

Please note: As you are playing on role-playing worlds, any requests to rename your character are only undertaken after review and consultation of the guidelines. Any player found not complying with these rules will be asked to rename their character. If the Customer continues to violate this rule, the character will then be renamed for them automatically.

If you feel your character's name does comply to the above set of rules, Codemasters will review the name and if after review it is still found not to be compliant, the customer will be asked to change it. Codemasters' decision is final.


Verbal/Physical Harassment

In addition to the policies already released, no verbal or physical harassment is to be made of any person that is performing within their chosen character characteristics.



If a player is found to be violating the harassment policy; they will be:

• Warned not to offend again
• For a second offence placed on a 3-day suspension
• Further continued violations will result in a temporary suspension from the game or for continual harassment, removed from the role-play servers (Please note that character transfers to other servers are not available).

Out of Character communications

Use of General Chat

In order to help create a successful role-play environment the following chat restrictions apply in addition to the policies already released. Detailed below is the language policy enforced on the role-play servers.

The general/say chat channel is only to be used for finding or opening discussions regarding the Base Storyline (BSL), game quests or topics, and all chat must be within the time period, storyline, fantasy settings and within their character's characteristics.

• No non-fantasy related chat should take place in the general chat channel.
  • “Did you see yesterday's football match?”
  • "What did you have to eat yesterday?”
• All chat must be within your chosen character characteristics

All out of character conversation is to take place in the especially provided /ooc chat channel or /advice channel when seeking advice.

Please note that discussions in the trade channel should also be "in-character".

Guild chit-chat will not be policed; this is a responsibility of the guild to police themselves.

Codemasters will not punish customers that mis-type the odd word or sentence, as this can be done by accident. However if you experience a customer who continues to communicate in a way which you feel does not comply to the above rules and is effecting you game enjoyment, please ask them politely to stop. If the customer continues please report this to the Game support who will review the situation and:

If a player is found to be violating the use of these rules; they will be:

• Warned not to offend again
• For a second offence placed on a 3-day suspension
• Further continued violations will result in a temporary suspension from the game or for continual harassment, removed from the role-play servers

http://www.lotro-europe.com/policies...playing_policy

[Cintradan]

There I was at the auction hall trying to get some runes for my crafting when Han Solo landed by my side... Someone was playing the StarWars score. I did stop what I was doing to ask, politely, the music player to stop, as he was spoling the fun of the RP server of Laurelin.

To my surprise (or not) it was the same player I've already reported about. He just keeps at it and it does not seem that Codemasters cares. It's really a pity as besides being inconvenient he does not care of what we ask and even makes fun of people, hiding behind is character.
I think it's about time that Codemasters does some RP-policy within Middle-Earth and take into account the claims of people that is paying to use the RP-servers in a proper manner. It's a pity that people as this character are spoling the fun for us. Again I remember, we are the non-smokers and we deserve to have a free area for us.

am I asking to much?

[turjake]

Yes you are.

Role playing servers are generally a red cloth to anti role playing stalinists, who do their utmost diluting every rule and intention in order to have just another regular server with fancy tag. They claim that lore and all such unneeded cruft and especially sticking to it spoil their roleplaying. And of course they do the socialization and diluting claiming to be roleplayers...

Thet enables pure powergamer guilds "preying upon carebears" and every other similar kind of players just becoming another part of RP server. Of course those stalinists do say that those guilds will change when exposed to RP environment, but with my limited experience with MMO's, starting with UO from '98 or so I haven't yet seen that to happen.

And of course, now we have the RP tag as well, so people can RP and be in character when they feel like it, not all the time :P

I think it's time for codemasters for either stop the ruse of calling Laurelin a RP server as the names or immersion breaking action are not actually in any way enforced. It might just barely be a RP preferred one but at present, nothing more.

[York]

Originally Posted by Cintradan

There I was at the auction hall trying to get some runes for my crafting when Han Solo landed by my side... Someone was playing the StarWars score. I did stop what I was doing to ask, politely, the music player to stop, as he was spoling the fun of the RP server of Laurelin.

To my surprise (or not) it was the same player I've already reported about. He just keeps at it and it does not seem that Codemasters cares. It's really a pity as besides being inconvenient he does not care of what we ask and even makes fun of people, hiding behind is character.
I think it's about time that Codemasters does some RP-policy within Middle-Earth and take into account the claims of people that is paying to use the RP-servers in a proper manner. It's a pity that people as this character are spoling the fun for us. Again I remember, we are the non-smokers and we deserve to have a free area for us.

am I asking to much?

Yes you are, if your going to start being annoyed at such minor things as this then you should expect to be annoyed on frequent occasions because your going to see/hear alot worse.

You could say that every single bit of music that is ever going to be played in LOTRO is not role playing (unless its a jab of randomness) even the theme tune was composed for a film.
How far do you take it? whats to say that your actions were indeed spoiling this players fun (which imo you were and could constitute harassment). If it was spoiling your fun so much you should have turned player music off in your options.

Truth is, this player would not be banned/suspended/told off by a GM for playing star wars music, if he did, then you can apply this to everyone because the music from the films (which is the only lore for LOTR) is basic and limited and the other music that is played is popular theme tunes and popular music.

[Anaire]

Not 100% sure, but doesn't /ignore also prevent hearing that player's music?

[A.K. - 47]

There's an option to turn player genrated music off. It's wonderful, considering the horrible noise most of them make anyway.

[Pretext]

"Hans Solo"?

No you are not, that is totally ridiculous, give the admins time to sort things out though.

[Heyesey]

Originally Posted by Pretext

"Hans Solo"?

No you are not, that is totally ridiculous, give the admins time to sort things out though.

Well if he's genuinely named Han Solo, that's a name that won't survive the first time a GM spots it.

As for the music .... what if someone writes LotR-related words that fit that tune, and he's singing it in public with a lute accompaniment? Is it still unfitting for the setting?

Very hard to specify that any piece of music is unsuitable for any given setting. Just to prove the issue, I have, in the past, written appropriately funereal words to be sung to "Happy Birthday To You," "What a Wonderful World" and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. That makes them funeral music.

More significantly, anything written in the last fifty years is almost certainly still copyrighted, and as such illegal to play regardless of any RP policies. Whether the GMs want to, or even could possibly, do anything about this is another matter.

[Vox Doom]

Originally Posted by Heyesey

More significantly, anything written in the last fifty years is almost certainly still copyrighted, and as such illegal to play regardless of any RP policies.

Why?

How is it illegal to play a cover of a song which was written in the past 50 years? Because that's what it is, a cover, not the original. And seeing as it's not being recorded or released for sale, how is it illegal?

[Lcars]

Originally Posted by Vox Doom

Why?

How is it illegal to play a cover of a song which was written in the past 50 years? Because that's what it is, a cover, not the original. And seeing as it's not being recorded or released for sale, how is it illegal?

Actually, playing it in any event that people pay for is illegal, IE it's not legal for such music to be played inside a game that people pay to play.
Problem is, it's Codemasters that take the fall for it.