OOC Rules and RP Etiquette

There are the laws the Civil Authority enforces with a stun baton, and then there’s the code. The code is the set of unwritten rules that keeps the rest of us from killing each other over a spilled drink. You can break the official laws and get away with it. You break the code, and you’re a ghost. No crew will run with you, no fixer will hire you. Listen up.

The Basics (The Official Line)

Let’s get the simple stuff out of the way. This is the official word from the powers that be.

• Respect the Grind: First rule is simple: don’t be a problem. Everyone’s here to build a story in a world where we can all feel safe. Don’t be the one who tears it down through harassment or by ruining someone else’s experience.
• Privileges, Not Rights: Carrying a piece is a privilege you earn by proving you’re not a liability; your HUD tracks your eligibility. Want a ride? You pay the CA for a permit, and they’re not always available. Want to start a crew? You need to be approved, or you’ll get crushed.
• Keep the Streams from Crossing: What happens in the story is In-Character (IC). What you, the player, know is Out-of-Character (OOC). Keep them separate. If you need to talk to the operator behind the avatar, use double parentheses ((like this)) to keep the static clean.

The Code (How to Survive)

This is the stuff that really matters. The etiquette. The difference between a pro and a glitch in the system.

Write It Out This is a text-based world. We don’t see what you’re thinking. Use the /me command to paint a picture of what your character is doing, thinking, or feeling. It’s how you build a scene.

• Example: /me exhales a breath of mist into the cold air, adjusting his tattered coat against the chill.

Don’t Play God This is the fastest way to get blacklisted. You control your character, and that’s it.

• No Assumed Actions: You don’t decide the outcome for the other guy. You can try to do something, but they decide if it succeeds.
  • Wrong: /me grabs the stranger’s arm, making them drop their weapon.
  • Right: /me lunges forward, aiming to snatch the stranger’s arm in a firm grip. One is a power move by a rookie; the other is the start of a story between pros.
• No Powergaming: This isn’t some action vid where you’re the invincible hero. Don’t write yourself as dodging every bullet or winning every fight instantly. It’s boring, and it tells everyone you’re not here for a good story. Take a hit. Let things get messy.

Your Brain Isn’t Your Character’s Brain This one’s simple: Don’t use information your character doesn’t have. You might have read every data-shard on the website, but if your character didn’t see it, hear it, or get tipped off by a contact in the city, they don’t know it. Using OOC info IC is cheating the game.

Professional Courtesy

• Consent Matters: If you’re about to do something that permanently scars someone—we’re talking major, long-term consequences—you talk to the player OOC first. It’s professional courtesy. If a scene gets too intense, it’s okay to call for a “fade-to-black”.
• Limits are a Shield, Not a Weapon: You can have personal limits, but you can’t use them to get an unfair advantage. If you roleplay yourself into a corner with a gun to your head, you have to yield reasonably. A “no death” limit doesn’t make you bulletproof, and trying to use it that way is bad form.

Follow the code. Be the kind of operator people want in on a score, not the kind they zero out in a dark alley just for being a liability. Your Rep depends on it.