Diverge Networks: PK War Rules & Guidelines

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PK War Rules & Guidelines

Last updated 14/04/2021

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The following document serves to outline the rules and regulations of faction PK wars, how they work, and information to be aware of.


What is a war?:
A war (in terms of Garry’s Mod MafiaRP) is when two or more factions officially recognise they are in violent conflict and compete violently until one side concedes or is wiped out. Killing or kidnapping members of the other side and the destruction or seizure of properties are mostly commonly practiced during a war. War is not a surprise and both sides are aware of what is happening, and have time prior to it beginning to prepare, reach out to allies, prepare properties, strategies, etc.

When does a war happen?:
Wars are used as a last resort, they occur when all other attempts to settle a matter have been exhausted. This includes sit downs, compensation requests, and even the killing/beating of a single or few members of a faction as ways of making up for something. (E.g Associate of the Lucchese is attempting to extort a Made Man in the Gambinos, Gambinos want to whack him as a result.) Assuming every option has been attempted and has either failed, or not been satisfactory, one side may request to declare war.

Who can be involved in a war?:
Each war will have two sides involved. Those involved on either side will have been directly involved in the issue leading up to the war, or an ally who has agreed to take part in the war. Factions must be of a criminal nature, the NYPD, Government, etc may not take part in wars.

How can I begin the steps to War?:
Conflict Tickets
The evidence requirements of escalation mean that, in order to ensure that roleplay is conducted properly, and sufficient steps are made by all parties to at least put up the pretence of attempts at peace, supervision is necessary. As such, support tickets on the main Diverge discord may be created to inform the Upper Administration team of certain developments.

In the following instances, it is required that you inform the UA Team and/or seek approval:

• (as stated) wars;
  
• Firebombings;*
  
• Sit-downs which have the possibility of justifying an escalation. (Make the ticket BEFORE the sit down)
  
• Attempts to extract taxes or other tributes from another faction. (Justify it)
  
• Any plights or grievances that prove faction vs faction hostility
  

Although you are not required to do so, other events which you may later reference whilst requesting approval for designated actions may be logged in UA tickets. Doing so provides background and may alleviate some difficulty in later conveying the set of circumstances leading up to an escalation.

How can I declare a war?:
You can request for a war by opening a Discord ticket (or in an existing conflict ticket) with the following, a meeting will then be scheduled with the wider faction leaders to discuss specifics:

• Names of the faction(s) you wish to go to war with.
  
• The reason you want to go to war.*
  
• A list of attempts that have been made to make peace, with evidence. (Reference existing conflict tickets)
  
• Names of other factions who will be on your side. 
  
• Evidence of the aforementioned. (Reference existing conflict tickets)
  

Once a war has begun, additional factions may not enter. Factions can concede/surrender, but this will come at a cost, this includes financial, seizing of assets, or the complete dissolution of a faction.

What are reasons I can go to war?:
As mentioned previously, war should be an absolute last resort, therefore meaning that reasonings must be able to be justified and completely irrefutable. Valid reasons will be determined by Upper Administration, who may deny a request for war if they believe there are alternatives that should be explored. Below are some examples of valid and invalid reasonings for requesting a war:

Examples of valid reasons for requesting a war:

• An unsanctioned killing of a faction member and refusal to turn over the killer.
  
• Repeated acts of trespassing.
  
• Repeatedly muscling or interfering with a racket.
  
• Repeated assaults on members of a faction.
  
• Repeated vandalism or theft of faction property.
  

(Above factors assume that attempts to make reparations for these problems were either unsuccessful or not satisfactory.)

Examples of invalid reasons for requesting a war:

• Petty insulting.
  
• OOC issues.
  
• Low level or inconsistent disruption of faction activity.
  
• Anything that hasn’t gone through the mediation process.
  

What happens when a war is approved?:
If and when a war request is approved, the chain of events will be triggered. This is divided up into two parts. The first stage is preparation and commencement, Upper Administration will reach out to the factions involved, informing them that war has been declared, their involvement, and that they have until the next nightly server restart (6PM EST) to make preparations, reach out to other factions for support, finance weapons/supplies, prepare strategies, etc. Any other factions either side wants to partake in the war will need to be declared at the latest an hour before the server restart. After this, everyone is locked in, and the war will begin straight after the restart.

On the restart, the war will commence and Upper Administration will enter the involved factions into the in-game war menu. All involved factions will now be indefinitely PK active to the other side. Transfers in and out of these factions will be blocked during this time. Both sides will be responsible for the strategies they use, who they target, and how they do it. It is completely up to those involved how the war will go. Staff involvement is unnecessary with the exception of if a side wishes to destroy a property. In that case they will need to contact a Senior Administrator+ who can authorise and carry out the destruction/vandalisation of a property. Those involved in the war will need to be able to justify their killings, and have 100% certainty that the person they are killing is in a faction on the opposing side. Kills on individuals not involved will be treated as RDM, and the appropriate punishment will be given. Severe cases may result in a ban and or PK.

Is there any special rules that apply during a war?:
When a war is ongoing, if you are on a character that is involved, you may not disconnect or switch characters for at least 20 minutes after loading your character, being involved in conflict, or some other significant event that is relevant to the war.

Can there be involvement of any other factions after a war begins?:
Criminal factions may not have any involvement in a war while it is active. They should’ve been entered into it prior to it starting. They may be involved with the surrendering or handling of the aftermath of a war for either side. They may not partake in violence or retaliation of any kind however. Government and Police entities can be involved, however are not subject to the same rules or circumstances as the criminal factions involved. They have the ability to make arrests and take action to prevent the violence that may occur, same as they always would. Obviously, they would need to abide by the same rules as normal, warrants, procedure, etc.

How do you end a war?:
Once a war is declared, it will last indefinitely. There is no time limit. It will last until every faction on one side surrenders or if a sufficient number of members of high command across all factions have been wiped out. The latter would likely lead to a dissolution of the factions involved, it all depends on the severity. Wars could last hours, days, or weeks, it all depends on the actions and decisions of those involved.

What happens when a war is over?:
Once the war has been officially declared as over, and ended through the in-game PK war menu, all involved factions will no longer be PK active, and will no longer be able to kill those who remain on the other side. What happens after will be determined by what happened during the war. Any factions that are completely dissolved will have their property seized and returned to the government for auction. Any rackets belonging to dissolved factions will be seized and redistributed. If there are factions remaining on the losing side that were not dissolved, their terms of survival will be negotiated with the winning side. As previously mentioned, this could involve financial cost, transferring ownership of property, or handing over any significant people who may not have been killed during the war, but their surrender is sufficient to end the war.