Shadowcove Rules of Play

Thank you for reading our Rules of Play. Please note that we consider our rules of play to be important to maintaining the proper atmosphere on our game. These rules are not made frivilously, but with exactly the type of environment we wish to provide in mind. Reading these rules of play can also let a prospective player know if Shadowcove would be the right shard for them at all, to begin with.

Rules Details

'Ignorance of the Law'

• Front-page news, or 'General Forum' posts are made when changes are made to the rules. Careful perusal of these sources at least once a week, before logging in to the game, will be sufficient to keep a player up-to-date.

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'The Golden Rule'

• This is an 'Acceptable Behavior' rule.
• This rule forms the very backbone of the atmosphere we attempt to cultivate on Shadowcove. We understand that many UO shards take a more 'free for all', 'every man for himself' type of view, but that's not what we are about. Our intent is to build a strong, cooperative, community-based game based on trust, friendship and mutual benefit. You might even call us a 'Care Bear' shard.

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First, Do No Harm

• This is an 'Acceptable Behavior' rule.
• This includes, but is not limited to: Player-Killing, scamming/stealing, 'smack talk', out-of-band drama/rumors meant to harm another player's reputation, disruptive out-of-character talk, advertisements of any kind; or anything else which should reasonably be expected to be seen as negative by anyone else. Players must always treat other players and staff with the utmost in personal respect and kindness.

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Appropriate Language

• This is an 'Acceptable Behavior' rule.
• Vulgar or sexually explicit language is not permitted in 'public', and should be used with care in more private settings, to avoid offending others.
• 'l33t' language is not permitted at all. This includes alternating caps, switching letters for numbers, etc.
• Non-l33t Internet Shorthand should be used in moderation, only in situations where required; such as to pass messages quickly during a heated combat.
• We are an English-speaking shard, and we do require conversational English be used and understood. Players may speak privately to others in whatever language they choose, but we do ask that in public, players show respect to others present, and speak in English.

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Respect Roleplay

• This is an 'Acceptable Behavior' rule.
• While we do not 'enforce role play', we do require players in the presence of anyone role playing to respect that, and do nothing to disrupt it. This means refraining from any 'out of character' speech, or acting in a way which would in any way disrupt what may be going on.
• Even better, why not join in the fun? Many of our players joined as 'novice role players', and learn as they go. Our established player base is more than happy to help and enjoy a new role player, learning the ropes! For more information on our unique Role Play environment, and how best to smooth your character's entry into our world, see our Shadowcove Roleplay Environment page.
• Players also must exercise respect for the established world fiction, and be sure not to role play in such a way as to specifically disrupt that fiction. This includes coming up with 'back stories' for player characters which directly contradict world history, and also appropriate role play concerning the Royal Family and Nobles, keeping particularly in mind that this is a cooperative-play shard. Role playing opposition to the Royal Family, therefore, is frowned upon strongly.
• Players should approach the issue of role playing a race other than human with care. Races which exist in the game, but which are not available to a player, should usually not be taken up without discussing the matter with staff, to be sure it would not create unforeseen difficulties to play a character as that particular race. Generally speaking, it's much safer, and likely just as well, to play a character as an 'ethnic' variety of human which would have traits of the race in question.

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Proper Character Naming

• Character names must be unique. An in-game system exists to enforce this, and you will be prompted if this is an issue. If so, please try to choose a name that also will not be easily confused with your original choice.
• It is preferred that players choose 'real names' for their characters, and not titles, or 'names of legend', such as 'DragonSlayer'. Names of Legend are something earned from the community by the greatness of one's deeds. The name you give your character should be the name that character was given at birth, or otherwise it's "legal name".
• Players should not choose names of Gods/powers of various well-known mythologies, especially Egyptian or Sumerian.
• Of course, names containing vulgarities, titles ("Captain George" or "Lord Biron") or which are otherwise inappropriate are not permitted.
• For help choosing a name for your character, see these resources.

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Hunting in Groups/Looting

• This is a Fair Play Rule.
• This is an 'Acceptable Behavior' rule.
• A player guide has been written on the topic of the mechanics and ethics of looting on Shadowcove. It is definitely recommended reading!
• During group hunts (organized or not), players should never loot any fallen monster corpses until all other players in the area have completed fighting, healing, etc, and are able to share fairly in the loot, unless arrangements have been made with all other players present.
• Players are also warned strongly against 'hanging back' behind a fight, simply waiting for others to do the work of killing the monsters, and then to jump in and loot what is left.
• For purposes of this rule, there is no such thing as 'abandoning' a kill. If other players are present, you must always have their consent and an agreement before looting, even if they continue on to fight other monsters before you can talk to them.
• If someone remains too busy fighting to work out an agreement with you concerning the looting of monsters, you may either continue to participate in the combat until they can, or simply leave to go hunt elsewhere.

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Third-Party Programs

• This is a Fair Play Rule.
• This rule applies to any external program which may, directly or indirectly, affect the Shadowcove client. Programs which 'script' actions in the game, inject into the data stream or client memory, send keystrokes, or alter client files are some examples.
• The best rule to follow here is this: Don't use any software to play Shadowcove aside from the software you download from our own downloads page. Shadowcove.NET and the Shadowcove Updater are not 'third party' programs, as they are provided directly by us. Anything you do from within those program or the client itself cannot violate this rule.
• Programs approved include: UO Auto Map, InsideUO, UO Magic, UO Curse, UO Weddings, and any screen-capture program.
• Not supported is UO Razor Info on use of UO Razor.
• No program not listed above may be used. However, here are some specifically prohibited programs: EasyUO, UOInjection/InjectionRW, MultiUO
• If you have any questions, or if you believe a program should be added to this list, please contact staff.

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Unattended/Multi-Client Play

• This is a Fair Play Rule.
• For purposes of this rule, "Macroing" means any method of triggering new character actions, other than within the Shadowcove client itself, that does not involve direct triggering by the player.
• For purposes of this rule, "Unattended" is when a player is not actively controlling and observing their character.
• "Multi-client play" refers to any means of having more than a single character logged in at a time, with only one player controlling them; whether on one or more computers.
• The point of this rule should be clear: The game is meant to be played, not automated. If you find an activity to be 'boring', and are inclined to automate it, you are encouraged instead to seek some other activity which you can enjoy.
• This rule is not at all meant to prohibit browsing, chatting, or performing other activities on the same computer on which you are playing, while logged in to the game. The strict wording above is only meant to make clear to any rules lawyers that we are serious about unattended macroing/multi-clienting; Not to make it so we can ban a player for leaving their character auto-loop crafting while doing a web site search, or checking e-mail.

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Bugs/Exploits

• This is a Fair Play Rule.
• A bug or exploit includes any circumstance that enables a player to do something contrary to the intended design of the system, or the spirit of the game.
• A player who is not certain about any particular activity should use the Contact Staff link to inquire, and follow any advise given in response.

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Game Masters/Staff

• Staff exist to support the game itself, and role playing within the game. They are not permitted to interact directly with players for their benefit, including giving out items, customizing items, etc. Players should not make any attempt to make special requests of Game Masters.
• A specific system exists for inviting players to be staff. This system does not involve the player requesting it. Players who wish to contribute to the game can and should do so as players, and they should do so for no other reason than to help entertain others. Players who do this tend to get noticed. Players who talk about wanting to be staff tend to get ignored, and perhaps even asked to leave.

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Account Policies

• This is a Fair Play Rule.
• We invite members to play for free, all they like. However, our free play is limited to only one account per person.
• Conversely, each person should have their own account, and should not share it with other players. Sharing an account can create the appearance of one person using multiple accounts, or of someone violating the 'multi-clienting' rule.
• The owner of an account is entirely responsible for anything done while logged in with it. Players are strongly discouraged from sharing their account information with anyone else at all.
• For more information about our age limitation, please see our policy on children under 13.

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Rules Enforcement

• For those rules marked as 'Fair Play' rules, see our Fair Play Document.
• For those rules marked as 'Acceptable Behavior' rules, see our Acceptable Behavior document.
• For more information on Probationary Status, see our Probationary Status Document.

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