June 2024 Updates Part 2

The tension brewing on-site and off has been escalating recently, to the point where it's become clear to staff that some things need to change. We recognize that this is a passion project for all of us, and that we all utilize Ardent in different ways - some to vent, some to escape, some to just have fun through creative writing. We also know people approach these things in different ways, mainly through heat-of-the-moment posts and/or careful plotting. Sometimes, these differing reasons and styles can cause personal tensions and interpersonal drama. All of us are adults, and should all be capable of de-escalation, with one another as well as ourselves. If things get heated, taking a step back can always be helpful. Assuming the worst of one another does not help, either.

An important reminder: We do not tolerate bullying, intentionally circumventing the rules, or using posts to take out our frustrations with a particular player. When conflict does arise, we expect people to try to handle it directly, and only get staff involved as needed. Staff reserve the right to block threads, characters, or players entirely if these or other rules are found to be broken. Likewise, remember that by engaging in particular plots (with characters, entire packs, or otherwise) you are opening yourself up for potential IC consequences that may occur.

Going forward, everyone should remember to keep the following in mind:

• By participating in plots that involve a wide array of characters (e.g. joining a pack or band), you may find yourself involved in plots you did not necessarily explicitly agree to. This is the nature of being part of groups with many different players and characters.
  
• People interpret posts/actions differently sometimes; if someone misunderstands something in your post, or you feel they are misrepresenting an action of your character(s), before getting heated, you ought to reach out to the other player to clarify. Often they will be willing to edit their posts; please do this before escalating anything to a staff member. Give each other the benefit of the doubt.
  
• Running a pack or band in general may open your character up to retaliation based on the action of your members. It may be worth reconsidering pack/band ownership if this is a stressor on you.
  

With that being said, here's the changes. Note that none of these changes are in response to just one or two players, or even a group of them; we've looked at the health of the site and our fight system as a whole and discussed them at great length before coming to these decisions.

The Fighting & Racing section of the Guidebook has been edited, heavily in some spots. Every single page under this header has been reworked, rules being rewritten, removed, re-organized, and added as needed. Please refresh yourself on these sections.

The main changes to be aware of

• Specialties can now only be changed every 6 months. This includes swapping from one skill specialty to another. The original intent of specialties were for them to be long-term perks, not something changed every other month. This may change as we monitor things.
  
• A field for item has been added to all fight, race, and flee forms. Remove this whole section if you're not using an item. You must specify item usage in first fight post AND every subsequent one. 1 item max for all fights, races, and flee attempts.
  
• Fleeing a fight also means a character has fled a thread (otherwise opens other characters to immediately re-challenge; far too messy to deal with).
  
• Sieges no longer have accelerated default timers (just to keep things the same across the board).
  

Guidebook Cleanup

• All the relevant info for pack challenging/claiming has been moved off the "Fight Types" list on the Fight Rules page onto the "Claiming & Challenging for Packs" page.
  
• Tier 2 Fight Guide, Racing Guide, and Tier 1 guide have been updated with relevant rules & info.
  
• Some obsolete rules have been removed from the Sieges page.
  
• Staff page has been edited, with staff guidelines being added at the bottom. Staff should review these.
  

Clarification on the following rules

• The character being challenged is the one who decides how many rounds a fight is. If someone initiates a fight against you and specifies the rounds (which you are not supposed to do), you are free to decide differently if you choose.
  
• For fights where default timers can be flexible, players still must state flexibility is being given in their fight posts or the fight can be defaulted, at any time, by any player in said fight. Do not get mad at one another for doing this - it will be defaulted to the person who last posted (before the fight was posted to be defaulted officially). Added this caveat to the rules for clarity.
  
• Round 0's have been further clarified - basically, they don't exist in any circumstances. Fights officially begin on round 1. Pack challenges have their own rules regarding default times which you can review on the corresponding Guidebook page.
  

Regarding the Hallows bonfire thread

• The current bonfire thread is closed permanently.
  
• Ongoing fights are assumed to have not continued. Be extremely careful not to godmode here; do not assume another character's actions. If you need to come to an agreement on how a fight was stopped, reach out to the other player to discuss. Some ideas: maybe a fight was broken up by another character, maybe the one being challenged submitted/fled, maybe the attacking party decided to stop attacking; again, discuss amongst yourself to decide.
  
• At Joe's discretion the festival may continue with a new thread. If the bonfire is opened with a new thread, you cannot assume anyone is still attending unless they post there.
  

Sorry for the wall of text. As always, things are subject to change and review. Let us know if you have any questions!