Important OOC Policies are posted here for your perusal. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a local administrator. This text is taken directly from +EHELP POLICY from the Lórien help files.
Combat | Coms | Romance | Telain | Temp-alts | Travel | Weapons
Combat
While Lorien in our time period is indeed a land of vigilance, most evil things either do not know the Wood is inhabited or know better than to mount an assault on it — and the majority of Galadhrim are far too disinclined to travel, and too stealthy when they do, to end up in combat in the wilds. Thus, for any situation other than during an Order-run short-range patrol, you must receive permission from the TP LA before entering combat.
Before engaging in combat, you must also read all of HELP COMBAT, as well as +ELF THEME OUTSIDERS, +ELF INFO DAMAGE, and the rest of +ELF. Healers should be especially aware of +ELF HEALERS COMBAT. Try not to pose the death of NPC elves! In these days, with Lorien's population steadily decreasing, the death of any elf is a major blow.
Note also that it is very unthematic for any elf to attack another elf (other than during friendly sparring matches). This is simply unheard of in the Third Age.
Before you can participate in combat or in Order patrols — before you can use coded weapon and armor objects, or even pick them up — you must become "combat-registered". Once you have a thematic name, an approved desc and history, and have been with the Galadhrim culture for two weeks, you can ask any LA for the combat test.
Even if you do not intend to ever participate in combat, registration is still highly recommended. The stats you choose when you become combat-registered are used not only for battle, but also for healing, language learning and teaching, +sneaking, and +searching.
Once you pass the combat test, an LA will combat-approve you and you'll be able to register. Congratulations!
Coms
<Lorien> is our main com, used for helping new players, finding RP, and discussing TPs and other Lorien-related things. Random chat is acceptable, but must not become so spammy as to make the com unusable for its intended purposes.
<Gothweg> is for guard-related discussions. Random chat is not allowed.
All coms on Elendor are considered OOC. Additionally, it is not acceptable to swear or insult people on com, nor to bash any of the IC jobs or houses. If someone finds a subject offensive (even if you don't agree) and asks you to stop talking about it, please do so. For more, see NEWS POLICY COM.
All Galadhrim also have access to these bulletin boards:
Lorien-bb is for OOC discussions and announcements. Avoid posting personal debates, flames, and fake (or not-so-fake) put-downs. If you're not sure whether something you want to post is bboard-appropriate, feel free to contact an LA.
Lorien-news is for posting about IC happenings and rumors that almost anyone in the Wood could know about. Posts here can be used as IC knowledge in RP.
Romance
Before considering an IC romance, take note of the following policies:
- You must have read +ELF THEME ROMANCE before you begin, as well as +LAWS WED1 through WED8. The +LAWS files can be found in the OOC Classroom (type +LOOC, then Classroom).
- Elves do not make a decision on marriage lightly. This means that there should be a considerable time that you have known and courted each other. You are encouraged to do this through roleplay.
- The betrothal must be approved by your House Head(s) and announced at a meeting of the house(s) concerned.
- At least one year (IC) must pass between the betrothal and the marriage.
- Remember that you marry for all eternity, and that you can only marry once!
Note also that, as the world grows darker and the elves know that their time in Middle-earth is drawing to a close, fewer and fewer couples have children. Indeed, fewer and fewer elves marry at all, as bearing children is a vital part of elven marriage.
Because elven children are such a rare sight in these latter days, all RP involving pregnancies and elven children is restricted to feature characters. If you wish to obtain an exemption from this rule, please seek approval from the +ruler. To learn more about elven children, visit the Classroom in the +LOOC complex and read +LAWS PREAMBLE and +LAWS CHILD1 through CHILD3.
Telain (housing)
ICly, your elf probably lives in his or her own talan, though OOCly, we do not normally build private living spaces for players. Due to quota limitations, we only grant personal telain to house heads, guild heads and features. Married couples should share one talan even if both players qualify separately for living quarters.
Temp-alts
Temp-alts, or virtual alts, are a way to temporarily play another character by using your existing player account. By making some cosmetic changes to your character object, such as changing your name and desc, you can "pretend" to be a character other than the one you normally play. This can be useful if (for example) your regular character is outside of Lorien but you still want to RP inside, or if you would like to participate in a TP that your regular character would not be involved in.
Before asking to temp-alt, you must read NEWS VIRTUAL ALTS and be especially aware of the following rules:
- The character you temp-alt must be non-significant and non-special. For us, this means no children, pre-TA elves, House Heads, top-ranking guild members, etc., except by very special +ruler permission. Also, you may not temp-alt characters from other cultures.
- You need specific approval from a Lorien LA for each temp-alt you wish to create. This approval is limited to the length of time the temp-alt is needed.
- Temp-alts can neither give nor receive +trains or +teaches.
Travel
The most important thing to know about Galadhrim travel is that it is virtually nonexistent. The mysterious, reclusive nature of the Galadhrim is a vital part of what makes Lorien unique. Consider the issue from your character's point of view: if you lived in what you are certain is the last bastion of beauty in a darkening world, why would you be eager to leave it? Consider also that Middle-earth is a dangerous place! Once you leave the Lorien forest, your elf's life is at risk. If you don't want to take that chance, don't travel.
When the extremely infrequent travel situation arises — when we do travel, it is almost always to spy on our foes, to visit Imladris, or perhaps to sail West — the Lorien Admins try to be as accomodating as possible as far as who may join in. However, to go on a trip, the travel must be IC for your character. Because of their duties to the Wood, IC leaders receive fewer travel opportunities than others and do not leave Lorien unless they have very important cause.
Other than short-range patrols organized by the Order, all travel outside the Lorien forest must be part of an approved TP. Even though it is part of Lorien, travel into the grasslands south of the forest must be approved as well.
If you travel:
As Galadhrim, we are masters of stealth and secrecy. When outside our forest, we do not walk around in an obvious or overt manner; we use our special cloaks and superior woodcraft to evade non-Galadhrim eyes. In a wood we know well, we can even elude other elves if we wish.
Keep in mind that Legolas knew little about Lothlorien when he came to visit us in The Fellowship of the Ring. Thus, while abroad, try to reveal as little as possible about your land, even to other elves. Make sure to read +ELF THEME OUTSIDERS for details. Also avoid wearing anything (aside of the cloak) that could specifically identify you as a Galadhrim. If you have any questions at all about how to handle an IC situation you encounter abroad, contact a Lorien LA!
To reflect a properly Galadhrim level of stealth, set yourself UNFINDABLE (type @set me=unfindable) when outside Lorien so people cannot determine your location with the +WHO command (note that using +WHO for IC purposes is cheating anyway). Also consider using the +SNEAK command (see HELP +SNEAK) in situations where it's IC to do so.
Weapons
In order to have a weapon, you must be combat-registered. If you are not combat-registered, then you cannot use weapons or armor and none of the following applies to you. Read +ELF POLICY COMBAT for our policies on combat and the combat approval procedure.
The following weapons are produced in Lorien: longbow, spear, staff, longsword, dagger. Any Galadhrim may request one personal weapon from this list as long as it is IC for their character. Any Galadhrim may request a suit of Studded Leather Armor and a Studded Leather Helmet after participating in their first guard patrol. Additional weapons and armor are given only to members of the maethyr or by permission from the +ruler.