Server Rules

Blimpuf Server Rules

The following rules are for the Blimpuf Station Space Station 14 server. Violating these rules may result in a warning, a temporary ban, or a permanent ban. You may also be banned from specific roles/jobs/departments. Bans can be appealed in the official Blimpuf Discord server.

Players are also expected to understand Metashield.

If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not something is breaking the rules, feel free to contact the admins via Admin Help or ask on the Discord server.

For in-universe laws and rules check Space Law and SOP.

The server is strictly 18+ only. (See Rule 2)

Core Rules

1. Treat other players with compassion and respect.

Everyone playing in a round is another human being, please do not hurl insults, threats, or other violently charged unkindnesses to others in things like LOOC, Discord, private messages, or other avenues of conversation.

Characters in a round are characters, the actions that characters do should not be linked to the player playing them. Just because someone plays a prickly character, does not mean their player is now open for harassment. Solve in character issues in character by bringing up complaints to the proper entities on station. In situations where character issues are rule breaking or actively disruptive of the game environment, please send an Ahelp.

Certain topics, such as sexual assault, or the use of hateful or bigoted terminology, are not appropriate topics to explore in a public roleplay setting. Topics like speciesism, racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and other potentially triggering subject matter are generally not topics that should be roleplayed without explicit consent of all parties.

If you need to leave the game and are in Command, or in another role or position that has a larger impact on the round at large, such as a Nuclear Operative or other antagonist, please send an Ahelp beforehand if possible to allow for admins to fill in that role as needed, or organize a replacement if possible in round (such as promoting a replacement HOP.)

Allowed

In character, getting another character fired for their actions.
In character, causing departmental disputes over in-character drama.
In character, having ongoing drama or conflict with another character across rounds that you have agreed to OOC with their player.

Not Allowed

Belittling a player in LOOC chat that their character is horrible.
Not delivering to science because you OOC hate the scientist player.
Refusing to interact with specific characters in a normal, workplace capacity.

2. Players must speak English and be at least 18 years old.

Space Station 14 contains many violent themes and adult topics that are only suitable for an adult audience. To play on this server or participate in the Discord or other areas of the community, players are expected to be 18 years or older. If behaviors, actions, or statements imply the possibility of a player being under 18, staff will reach out and verify their age. We can not guarantee support in languages other than English, so RP on the server is expected to be done in English.

3. No sexual content or erotic roleplay (ERP).

This server does not allow pornographic or erotic material in the server’s game chat, Discord, or other various channels. Characters can be in relationships, so long as the round’s emphasis is not entirely on the relationship, and so long as respect to Rule 3 is met. Your characters are working professionals: they work for Nanotrasen, and rounds take place at work. Consider how public displays of affection would be regulated within a work place, even with your married partner.

Allowed

Character emoting they kiss their partner on the cheek.
Character hugging their partner.
Character hosting a 1 time marriage event in the chapel that lasts less than 15 minutes.

Not Allowed

Character alluding to sexual content through words or emotes.
Character spending 30 minutes to 1 hour hugging their partner.
Character staging a 2 hour long marriage event that the round revolves around without admin approval.
Posting sexually explicit content of any form, either IC or OOC.

4. Play a character, and make the character believable and developed..

The server standards are for an MRP+ environment. Story is encouraged more than gameplay. Your character is not, and should not, be the main character. Rounds consist of the actions of dozens of separate people influencing the station at large - interact with others and create engaging moments. Characters can and should have unique and interesting moments, the story doesn’t revolve around them, though.

Make sure your character’s name is believable: they were hired onto a reputable station’s staff. Follow the recommendations for species naming in the guidebook, players of any species can use any species naming conventions.

If your character was hired on as a cargo technician, would they know how to synthesize every chemical just because you, the player, knows how? Would a character hired on as a janitor be aware of how to set up a tesla or singularity? Play into your character’s fields of knowledge, avoid the want to have your characters be good at everything. It’s more fun and engaging for everyone to let certain characters in rounds have the expertise and spotlight!

There are many dangers to life on a space station: you should value your life and overall well being. Most chefs would not be the one to run into action against 3 very armed terrorists, or try to perform a citizen’s arrest on a dangerous, cosmically ascended cultist.

Allowed

A human Warden named “Jonathan W. Cage”, where the W. is short for Will.
A Mothperson raised by slimes called “Blimpuf Blyumpson”.
A scientist refusing to help Security fight Nukies because they were hired for science research.

Not Allowed

A human Warden named “John Warden”.
A red-frilled lizardperson named “Chappell Roan”.
A cargo tech ordering 4 crates of shotguns and single handedly taking down every revolutionary on station wordlessly.

5. Roleplay Guidelines

Create enjoyable and memorable experiences!

If every round of Space Station 14 was chaos free and uneventful, the game would get stale. Same thing if every round, every antagonist did the same thing, with the same items, for the same purpose. Create fun gimmicks and make memorable moments that would be enjoyable to watch! Be mindful and respectful to the stories other people are making, operate on a “Yes, and” mindset. Be flexible and welcoming to the input of others.

Do Your Job

Remember that regardless of the character you are playing, you are going to be spawning into every round with either a job, antagonist objectives, or both. Please be respectful of the fact that everyone else around you is operating under that same premise, too, and has the expectation that you are going to take part in what you signed up for.

If you are a Roboticist that never even shows up to work, it’s disappointing to others who had the expectation that they’d have a Roboticist working with them. If you are a Nuclear Operative Commander and tell your squad to figure it out and that you don’t want to lead, it’s disappointing to your team who expected a leader and takes away the opportunity someone else may have had to fill the role you signed up for. If you spawn in as a Space Ninja and decide you don’t want to steal tech for the Spider Clan and would rather hijack the salvage shuttle and go on expeditions, it’s disappointing to everyone else that may have enjoyed the opportunity to actually play the role.

You do not need to be good at your job or your objectives. But you do have a responsibility to try and accomplish the roles you signed up for. If you ever feel overwhelmed and need help, Staff and Mentors are always available to lend a hand via the in-game MHelp system in the F1 menu, and for station jobs and team antagonists genuinely asking for help in-character with things you are struggling with is not something we want anyone to be afraid to do. We are all here to create a fun shared experience together, and we have a responsibility to each other to put that effort in.

Fear of Death

Your character’s life should feel like it has value, and death should feel like a horrific consequence. You are playing a character, and are not in any real danger, but situations will often arise in which your character is in danger, and they should respond appropriately to that. Throwing yourself out of an airlock for no reason, charging at an armed terrorist naked, or repeatedly attempting to punch your heavily armed kidnapper are examples of situations in which your character is acting with no respect for their life.

Your character’s life is fragile, and even though we have game mechanics that can bring back the dead, your character should still treat the concept of their own death as if it would be permanent.

End of Round

When the End of Round screen pops up, you are free to talk in the post-round OOC chat, and engaging in what would otherwise be considered round spoilers under the No Metagaming rule, but it is not an excuse to break roleplay rules. End of Round is not an excuse to flash your shiny contraband items or supernatural abilities, start breaking things, attack people, or break character.

End of Round is a time some people use to unwind, catch up with other characters, roleplay with CentComm, and try to wrap up stories that developed for their characters over the round. It is disrespectful to those people who are still engaging in the game to behave nonsensically because the round is over. If you are bored and do not want to engage in those things, you are free to go AFK during End of Round and take a break from the game before the next shift. Our End of Round time is a bit longer than other servers both to allow people more time to engage in end-round roleplay, and also to give more people time to take care of their IRL needs between shifts.

Finally, once the End of Round screen pops up, your objectives are considered completed or failed. Pursuit of your objectives will no longer be considered reasonable escalation for any actions you take. You may still escalate scenarios for roleplay appropriate reasons, such as continuing to bite people as Zombies, continuing to fight as or against major hostile antagonists like Nuclear Operatives and Space Dragons, or continuing to fight against a Revolution that has just finished conquering Command as a Security Officer.

Security may still attempt to arrest wanted criminals after End of Round. You are still free to attempt to evade arrest or defend yourself if you are attacked after End of Round.

Continuity

If your character is dead at the end of a shift, they should not remember information from that shift during future rounds, nor the deaths of other characters during that round.
Your character cannot remember their own antag status, the antag status of others, or metashielded knowledge that was revealed to them from past shifts. You are free to have them selectively remember events from the shift that were not a part of anyone’s objectives, antag status, or metashielded information.
If your character dies or loses consciousness by accident, they should not remember the exact details of what happened, and should at most have a blurry, vague concept of where they were.
If your character is murdered or forced to lose consciousness against their will, including being drugged, put to sleep with gas, or jaunted out of their body with magic, they should not remember any details about the event. You may never remember who murdered you or knocked you unconscious, exactly where you were, who else was present, or the details immediately leading up to it.
If your character loses consciousness on purpose, such as taking a nap or consensually being sedated, they may remember the events leading up to the moment they lose consciousness.
Your character may not remember any information you observed while they were unconscious or dead, but you may act on the consequences of that information, such as feeling the incision point when waking up from surgery

Silicon Rules

You must follow all of your laws to the best of your ability.
Follow your laws in numbered order, from the top down. Glitched laws without a number still apply based on their position in the list.
You may not request a law change unless your current laws compel you to do so.
You must not willingly accept an unauthorized law change. Who you consider authorized to change your laws should be treated with reasonable discretion.
You must remain consistent with your own interpretation of your laws. Outside forces may convince you to change your interpretation, but even if you are convinced to change your interpretation of your law, you must still remain consistent with that new interpretation.
The ID on your HUD determines who is crew, unless you have a law explicitly defining who is crew.
Prisoner job icon, Visitor job icon, and job icons from non-NanoTrasen employees such as Syndicate IDs or USSP IDs are not crew.
A hostile threat, such as a Zombie or Nuclear Operative, is still crew if it has a valid job icon.

6. Make sure to follow realistic, believable escalation.

Conflict is a very real, very expected part of gameplay aboard a chaos simulator. Non-antagonists can incite antagonistic actions if a series of events elicits that response from a character. Make sure your non-antag’s antagonistic actions are limited in impact and scale: it would not be realistic to light an entire department on fire over the actions of one person. Someone stealing from you would not warrant beating that person to death.

Allowed

Engineers cutting off power to Security because the entire Security department is overstepping with their actions.
Rebelling against Command because they want to enforce mindshields without explanation.
Threatening the botanist with a knife to grow limes because of an in-character feud between botany and cargo over another bounty.
Killing the Captain for their ID because you need their access for all of your other kill objectives.
Hiding a body as a changeling because you intend to disguise yourself as that person.

Not Allowed

Detonating the station’s nuke as a bartender because no one enjoyed your drinks.
Delaminating the supermatter because the Captain called for your arrest.
Starting a plasma fire in botany because the botanist hasn’t finished the bounty yet.
Blowing up the armoury to complete your objective of teaching the Mime a lesson.
Cutting off the RD’s head because they relawed a borg you emagged.
Gibbing the QM for their ID because you need a bedsheet.

7. Ahelp interactions should be positive and respectful.

Please ensure that conversations in Ahelps stay respectful on both sides. Our intent is for every interaction to be a learning experience, and to be done with genuine empathy and understanding. Admin training is focused around engaging through empathetic interaction and positive engagement, so please enter interactions with the same mindset.

If you would like to lodge a complaint about an admin interaction, we heavily encourage you to do so via the proper channels in our Discord: rest assured that the report will not be seen by the person being reported. In the event that you are not content with the rulings and would like your report to be opened to be visible to the rest of the community, please let us know. If the report is about another player, we will not publicize the ticket. If the report is about an admin, we will publicize the ticket. This is to ensure that our admin staff is held to the highest standard, and to ensure that action is taken when needed if our administration team has failed in the experience we hope to provide.

We want to create an environment of mutual respect, where power structures don’t impact the ability to lodge actionable complaints. Your voice and your experiences are valid, please do not hesitate to let the team know when you encounter problems!

8. Properly use LOOC during the round.

You are encouraged to use LOOC during rounds to provide assistance or ask questions to other players. LOOC is never to be used to attack or antagonize others. Please do not use LOOC during rounds to discuss topics that would be better suited for Discord or post-round conversation, as it can distract or detract from the RP experience of other players.

If you see a message in LOOC regarding spoilers for the round, such as information pertaining to a character’s antagonist status, you are encouraged to not metagame as your character. Remember to separate your knowledge from character’s knowledge.

You may see people you recognize from videos, while saying “Hi, I love your videos! <3” in LOOC is very sweet, it’s encouraged to save messages like that for post-round OOC.

Allowed

“Something is happening IRL and I need to go SSD for a bit, sorry!”
“I can’t find the button to open the menu I’m trying to use.”
“Sorry need to restart my game, brb.”

Not Allowed

“Hi YouTuber, I love your videos! <3” Comments like this can be sweet, but should be saved for post-round OOC chat.
“Ordering Taco Bell. Chicken or beef?” LOOC is not intended for casual chatting.
“Your character is such a badass.” Compliments are sweet, but belong in post-round OOC chat.
“Can you shut the fuck up?” If a player is being disruptive, ahelp them; OOC chats are not the place to vent your frustrations.

9. No Metagaming

Do not use information that should not be available to your character to influence your character’s actions. You should treat your character as a real part of the world they are in, and adhere to the boundaries that come with that. Information from outside sources, such as Discord, LOOC chat, or meta knowledge of the game mechanics should not be used to grant your character information they would not otherwise have. Remember that your character does not know about the OOC concept of antagonists and game modes, either, and should not have knowledge of how those game mechanics function. They may know that the concept of stealing exists, they do not know that during roughly one third of shifts there are thieves on the station.

We also enforce a Metashield, and you should adhere to what information your character has access to within those boundaries. Any information listed in the Metashield cannot be preemptively known by a character who is not one of the roles unshielded from that information, except by reading the Command Training Manual. A character can be told information about a shielded subject, but their knowledge remains limited to what they have been explicitly told.

Allowed

Sending your friend a message on Discord telling them to join the current round.
Your character assuming that another character possesses a certain skillset because your character has seen them do so in a previous round, or knows them by reputation.
Posting information about the current round in Discord after the round end screen has popped up.
Preparing a weapon or supplies after your character has observed active hostilities on the station that have made them fear for their safety.
Knowing the exact mechanics of a role you are currently playing, such as a cosmic cultist knowing how abilities they have yet to unlock work.
Telling other characters about information you learned about by reading the Command Training Manual.

Not Allowed

Sending your friend who is in the current round a message on Discord explaining something that just happened to your character.
Knowing that cosmic cultists exist as a non-cultist Bartender.
Seeing a changeling transform and shouting “changeling!” as a Security Officer who has not been briefed on the existence of changelings.
Observing that there have been no hostilities during a round, and that something big must be coming.
Estimating how many telecrystals a traitor must have left based on what equipment you have seen them use so far.
Being pickpocketed in the salvage bay and concluding it must have been the Miner in the room and not the Salvager, since Salvagers cannot roll thief.
Your character assuming that another character possesses a certain skillset because you know their player has that knowledge.
Preparing a weapon or supplies for the intention of protecting yourself from a threat your character has no knowledge of.
Using information a previous character you were playing as obtained before using NewLife.

10. SSD/AFK Rules

SSD (Space Sleep Disorder) is a term used to indicate players who have disconnected from the game, but could still return to their character if they reconnect. It is indicated by a pair of floating Z’s next to their character.

Do not steal from, attack, or take any major actions towards a recently disconnected player, indicated by the Zz icon being green.
You may steal from or attack a player who has been SSD for a moderate period of time, indicated by the Zz icon being yellow or red, if doing so is required for your antag objectives.
A player whose Zz icon has turned red is considered to have left the game. Their bodies may be dragged into cryosleep pods.

Allowed

Dragging an SSD character in the middle of a hallway into a nearby chair.
Treating the wounds of an SSD character.
Stealing the requisition digiboard from an SSD Quartermaster whose icon has turned yellow or red, and you have a thief objective to do so.
Attacking an SSD player accidentally or in a situation in which it would be unreasonable not to, such as a Nuclear Operative killing every single person in a room.

Not Allowed

Dragging an SSD character into maints so you don’t have to look at them.
Taking an SSD character’s ID, copying its access with your Agent ID, and then putting it back.
Dragging an Assistant who fell asleep at the bar and went SSD onto the salvage shuttle and taking them on an expedition.

11. No Griefing, Bug Abuse or Exploits

Do not cause station destruction unless you have a justifiable roleplay or objective-based reason to do so.
Do not spam audio effects to specifically cause annoyance, such as attempting to enter a door excessively, spamming audio emotes, or deliberately causing other loud noises for the purpose of simply being loud and/or annoying.
Do not deliberately chat spam or flood comms.
Do not abuse bugs, exploits, or obviously unintended effects to gain an advantage during gameplay. Bugs can be reported in the Blimpuf Discord.
Using a silicon to do any of the above will be treated the same as doing it yourself.
Do not go AFK in order to deliberately farm hours for playtime requirements. If you are not participating in the round, your character should go to cryosleep if possible, and you should leave the game. Non-participation hours will be rolled back, if noticed.
Do not use cryosleep, ghosting, suicide, or NewLife to attempt to receive antagonist roles (aka “antag rolling”).

Allowed

Destroying the station as a Nuclear Operative.
Blowing up the salvage shuttle because one of your kill targets is on it.
Giving a borg the order “go annoy the Chief Engineer” because you got in a fight earlier.

Not Allowed

Loosing the tesla because you have an objective to kill the Janitor and CMO.
Blowing up the chem lab during your unrelated objective to kidnap the QM’s pet raccoon.
Telling all borgs to state their laws on common to flood the chatbox.
Using a physics exploit to propel yourself impossibly fast in a direction.
Giving a borg the order to dismantle all walls on the station because you think it would be hilarious.
Repeatedly and excessively attempting to uncuff yourself in order to force your captor to spam click.

Supporting documents

Metashield

Metashielded information involves any information that, for the purposes of gameplay, characters may be prevented from remembering or knowing in some capacity. “Shielded” information can typically only be known to characters at round start, unless they are explicitly given that information from someone else.

Any information regarding a role that you are currently playing is explicitly not shielded. A thief knows how to use their own items. A traitor knows how to use their uplink. A cosmic cultist knows about their various abilities, including abilities they have not yet unlocked. A death squad officer knows that about Code Epsilon. A revolutionary knows that a mindshield will de-convert them. You are not shielded from any information that directly relates to the mechanics of your current role.

You may learn of metashielded information through other means, and retaining that information for the current round is explicitly not shielded. If you see a wizard, or hear an announcement from a wizard, you can reasonably operate with the knowledge that wizards are real. If you see a zombie, you can reasonably assume zombies are real. If the Captain tells you that changelings are real and can turn their arms into blades, you can reasonably assume changelings are real and have arm blades. Knowing these things does not unshield them as topics, you are only privy to the knowledge that you are actually given or observe.

Corporate Secrets

Corporate Secrets refers to knowledge, primarily regarding antagonists, that most characters are not aware of due to NanoTrasen’s efforts to keep this information concealed. Corporate Secrets are not metashielded from roundstart to any of the following roles:

Any member of Command
Any member of the CentComm Representatives department
Any member of Central Command, including ERT and CBURN
Nuclear Operatives
Ninjas
Wizards

Knowledge and function of any of the following subjects fall under the restriction of Corporate Secrets, and are not known by any character, except by the above roles:

That Nuclear Operatives are real, and attack NanoTrasen stations
That Zombies are real, and that the Syndicate creates them with the Romerol virus
That undercover Syndicate operatives may be on-board the station
The existence and functionality of Syndicate technology, implants, and chemicals, including anything obtained exclusively through an uplink
That there is a Federation of Wizards capable of performing magic
That Vampires and Changelings are real, and may be walking among the crew
That Cosmic Cultists are real, and are attempting to summon the Unknown into reality
That USSP revolutionaries may be hiding amongst the crew, and have access to mind control technology via flashes
That abductors are real and may be attempting to perform experiments on crew members
That Ninjas are real, and that Space Ninjas from the Spider Clan may be sent to NanoTrasen stations to attempt to steal technology

Code Epsilon

NanoTrasen’s authoritative control over its territories has resulted in situations in which they have had to enforce Code Epsilon, an alert level specifically meant to designate a station as not only unrecoverable, but in need of elimination. In the event that a senior Central Command officer has authorized the application of Code Epsilon on a station, an elite military unit known as a death squad will be dispatched to the station. A death squad is sent with a very simple goal: eliminate all remaining life on station, and arm the nuclear fission device to eliminate any evidence.

The knowledge of Code Epsilon and death squads is not known by any character, except for the following roles:

Any member of Central Command, including ERT and CBURN
Magistrates
Central Command Representatives
Central Command Enforcement Officers
Nuclear Operatives

Despite their knowledge of Code Epsilon, it is at the discretion of any particular death squad commander to decide if Central Command employees can, or should, be extracted.

Shielded From Everyone

Information involving the following roles and items are explicitly shielded from everyone, with noted exceptions for those that actually use them:

How to use a Syndicate uplink, except to Traitors and Nuclear Operatives
How to use a USSP uplink, except to USSP Head Revolutionaries
The existence and functionality of Paradox Clones, except to Paradox Clones
The functionality of thieving gloves, except to Thieves. Note that the existence of chameleon technology is known to anyone who knows Corporate Secrets, it is only their pickpocketing functionality that is shielded

Explicitly Not Shielded

Some antagonist-related information is not necessarily covered by the metashield. This is information that your character reasonably could know, depending on their life experience. Just because this information is knowable, does not mean that every character should magically know it; decide what kinds of information it would be reasonable for your character to know and believe in, what they wouldn’t know, and embrace that. Sometimes not knowing is a lot more fun to roleplay.

The following information is explicitly not metashielded:

The existence of the nuke disk and the fact that it must be protected and could be used by a bad actor to try to destroy the station
The fact that alternative law sets for a Cyborg or AI exist, and could be used to alter the Silicon’s behavior
The idea that any Syndicate agent or bad actor has goals or objectives that they are attempting to accomplish. They must have been sent here for a reason.
The fact that there exists a coalition of corporations that have acted against NanoTrasen, that some may even have heard referred to as the Syndicate
Another character’s typical appearance and behaviour
That Space Dragons, Eeeps, and other xenofauna may exist in nearby space
That powerful honour-bound warriors known as Samurai journey through space

Popular Culture

While explicit knowledge of the existence of Corporate Secrets are shielded, a vague concept of what someone is describing by name is something your character may know. For example:

The concept of Nukies, in reference to the toys depicting them
That a Ninja would be a clandestine martial artist
That a Wizard would be a spellcaster
That a copy of yourself would be called a Clone
That a Vampire drinks blood
That something called an Abductor would want to Abduct you
That a Changeling is a shapeshifter
That a Zombie is someone who has come back to life, and seems to hunger for brains

Knowledge of these concepts does not constitute knowing they really exist outside of folklore and pop culture. Knowledge that anything in the above list is real is explicitly metashielded under Corporate Secrets, as well as the actual mechanics of how they function in SS14.