Rules of Conduct

We wish to make the Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted online gaming experience both fun and productive for everyone. In order to accomplish this, we have created specific “Rules of Conduct” to govern players’ behavior and actions while playing the game. We are dedicated to enforcing these Rules of Conduct, which include several ancillary policies on Account Security, Disciplinary Actions, Harassment and Naming Characters. (The Ancillary Policies are included within the Rules of Conduct below; in addition, for your convenience, the latest version of each policy may be viewed separately online at https://community.istaria.com/). Any violation of the Rules of Conduct will be handled in a fair and timely manner. We will investigate any alleged violations and we will provide the “benefit of the doubt” whenever possible. We believe in following an “innocent until proven guilty” policy at Virtrium at all times.  We will not discuss the results of our investigation with the person reporting the violation, however we will make every effort to contact the person who has been reported to discuss the matter directly with them before making our decision.

The Rules of Conduct are intended for the use and enjoyment of the game by our customers. Consider them a rulebook for behavior within the game. Virtrium has the final say over what constitutes a violation of the Rules of Conduct. We also reserve the right to change these Rules of Conduct at any time. VIOLATION OF THESE RULES OF CONDUCT WILL CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT AND MAY RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION(S) AGAINST YOU. REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF CONDUCT MAY RESULT IN BANISHMENT OF PLAYER CHARACTER(S) FROM THE GAME AND/OR TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT.

The following are the basic Rules of Conduct for playing Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted. While playing the game, you must respect the rights of others and their right to enjoy and play the game. These guidelines must be followed by everyone playing the game and will be monitored and enforced by us.

1. Virtrium is fully committed to the fair and equitable treatment of all our customers. As such, if there is a suspected violation of these Rules of Conduct, we will investigate the matter fully and thoroughly. Though we appreciate customers’ assistance in notifying us of possible violations, Virtrium ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVING TO THEIR SATISFACTION AND PUNISHING ANY SUCH VIOLATION OF THE RULES OF CONDUCT. We retain the right to take whatever action we deem necessary, up to and including the immediate termination of a player’s account without advance notice, in order to enforce these Rules of Conduct. Any disciplinary actions taken by Virtrium are done so at our sole discretion.
2. Players may not engage in any conduct or communication while within the Game System which is unlawful or which restricts or inhibits any other player from using or enjoying the System. The Game System is defined within the EULA which you agreed to when installing the game.
3. Players agree to use the Game System only for lawful purposes. The list of prohibited conduct below provides examples of what Virtrium considers to be unacceptable or illegal conduct. The list is not intended to be exhaustive or all-inclusive. Rather, the list of prohibited conducts provides a framework of rules governing players’ use and enjoyment of the Game System. We reserve the right to restrict conduct that we deem, at our sole discretion, to be harmful to individual members, damaging to the System, or in violation of our or any third party’s rights. We may prohibit or delete conduct, communication or content transmitted on the System that we deem to be in violation of any applicable laws or harmful to other players, the System community or Virtrium rights in general.
4. Players will follow any requests or instructions that are issued by Virtrium or our duly designated representatives. Failure to comply with any such requests or instructions will be considered a violation of the Rules of Conduct and appropriate disciplinary action may be taken.

PROHIBITED CONDUCT

PLAYERS MAY NOT:

1. Attempt to upload or transmit on the System any copyrighted content for which you do not own all the appropriate rights, without the express prior written permission of the author and/or copyright holder.
2. Attempt to interfere with, hack into or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the System or access any System software or hardware. This will result in immediate termination of the player’s account and may subject you to civil and/or criminal liability.
3. Modify any part of any customer account, any server or client file of the System or Game, or Web site(s) without our specific authorization (see supplementary rule f.). This includes, but is not limited to, any attempt to disassemble, change or interfere with the Game’s executable code, client code, databases and/or servers. Any attempt to do so will result in immediate termination of the player's account and possible civil and/or criminal liability. See supplement H for permitted modifications.
4. Use or exploit any bugs, design errors or problems in the System or Game or communicate the existence of any such exploitable items, either directly or through public posting, to any other user of the System or Game. Exploits include, but are by no means limited to, those behaviors which allow a character to remain either out of potential combat range, invisible to mobs, or utilizing a game error to gain unfair advantage over other players. Any such problems, errors or bugs should be promptly reported via the support website at https://support.istaria.com.  Failure to report such bugs, errors, or problems in order to continue to exploit the system may result in immediate suspension of the player's account pending closer investigation of the matter.
5. Create, use or provide any server emulator or other site where the Game may be played. Attempt to post or distribute any utilities, emulators or other software tools related to the Game without our express written permission.
6. Harass or threaten other players of the game or cause distress or discomfort to any such player. We do not condone harassment in any form and may immediately suspend or terminate the account of any player who takes part in such harassment. Personal attacks based upon a person’s race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or any other such criteria or affiliation is strictly prohibited.
7. Use any harmful, vulgar, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive language while in the Game or System.
8. Use of any sexually explicit language in all channels or discussion of adult topics in private channels with players of unconfirmed age or minors. See supplement G.
9. Post or transmit any unlawful, harmful, threatening, sexually explicit, obscene, vulgar, harassing, defamatory, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content or images or links to such images.
10. Exchange or transfer any pirated or illegal software while on the Game or System or our Web site(s).
11. Organize or participate as a member of any guild or group within the Game that is based on, or espouse, any racist, sexist, anti-religious, anti-ethnic, homophobic, or other hate-related philosophy.
12. Engage in “disruptive behavior” that is deemed to include, but is not limited to, conduct that purposely interferes with the normal flow of game-play or interferes with other players’ use and enjoyment of the Game.  Such behaviors include, but are not limited to, "camping" a certain spawn or spawn area for lengthy periods of time, kill stealing, loot stealing, and/or resource stealing.
13. Post or transmit any sort of outside advertising, promotions, chain letters, pyramid marketing schemes or other forms of unsolicited materials. Such material is considered a nuisance by many other players and may, in fact, be illegal in certain jurisdictions.
14. As an adult, solicit any identifying information from a minor✝, such as government or organizational ID, specific age, location, or real name. No player may request or solicit personally identifying information as part of initiation to any organized party, including but not limited to, a group or guild. Vague information may be requested, such as whether one is a minor✝, country (for timezone), or gender pronoun. Information shared between adult parties is not restricted, but heavily discouraged. Sharing, posting or otherwise distributing the personal information of another player, without their permission, is strictly forbidden.
15. Threaten, force, promote, disparage or otherwise encourage other players in Istaria to take a specific stance or attitude towards another player. Do not post messages to public chat channels that defame or attack the reputation of another player. If one is a leader or member of a guild, community, or group, mandating or encouraging that members not talk to said player or to have a specific attitude towards said player is considered a serious violation.
16. Impersonate or otherwise suggest you are a developer, have administrative authority or a relationship with the developers that confers authority or ability. (See supplementary rule e.)

✝A minor is any person under the age of 18.

SUPPLEMENTARY RULES AND INFORMATION

In addition to the general guidelines listed above, players are also subject to the following supplementary rules. Again, while by no means an all-inclusive or exhaustive list, these rules provide a suitable foundation by which the player can determine, for himself or herself, what activities are appropriate:

A. "Role-playing" does not grant license to violate policy.

We strongly encourage the use of role-playing while using and enjoying the Game. In fact, certain shards within the System will be specifically designated as “role-playing shards” where players are encouraged to immerse their characters even further into the fantasy world of Istaria. However, any claim of roleplaying in order to circumvent the Rules of Conduct will not be accepted as a defense of any of the behaviors mentioned.

B. “Experience Leeching” constitutes poor gamesmanship.

Experience leeching is the act of willfully and knowingly initiating combat with/against Non-player characters (“NPC’s”)] that are already in combat with another player. This is usually with the intention of taking experience from the encounter with little or no danger to your player. In these situations, it is expected that the two parties will use all tools at their disposal to solve the issue before involving our customer service representatives (“CSR’s”).

C. The customer must abide by the arbitration given by CSR’s for contested spawns.

In certain cases, two or more groups will contest the rights to an NPC, resource, or object within the Game. It is expected that the two groups will use all tools at their disposal to solve the issue before involving the CSR’s. If no resolution is reached and the involvement of a CSR is mandated, then the decision will be left solely to the discretion of the CSR. As mentioned before, it is to the benefit of the parties involved to solve the issue on their own, as the decision of the CSR is final and may not please everyone.

D. The customer may not defraud other players.

Fraud is defined as falsely representing one's intentions to make a gain at another's expense. Examples of this activity include, but are not limited to, using deception to deprive another player of items, slandering another player or impersonating them with the intention of causing harm to that player's reputation, or falsely representing one's identity in order to gain access to another player's account or account information. Fraud in any transaction between players may result in disciplinary action.

E. Abuse of CSR’s will not be allowed.

The following actions would be considered abuse:

Attempting to defraud a CSR – Contacting the CSR with information that is false with the intent of receiving benefits, monetary or otherwise, as a result. This includes, but is not limited to, reporting bug deaths, experience or item loss, or accusing other players of wrongdoing without basis.

Impersonating a CSR – representing, holding yourself out as or portraying yourself to another player as one of our guides or employees.

Customer Service Personnel Abuse - This includes, but is not limited to, sending excessive reports and messages (whether as an individual or group), sending excessive messages to a specific CSR, excessively using chat channels to communicate to a CSR, making physical threats or using abusive language against a CSR.

“Unmasking" or Determining the Personal Identity of a CSR - This includes personal in-game characters, real-world name (if not published), age, location, or any other identifying information.

Note: This list is not all-inclusive. Other actions may be determined as abuse at our sole discretion.

F. Operation of a guild that habitually violates the Rules of Conduct is forbidden.

Disciplinary action will be taken against guilds that habitually violate these Rules of Conduct. Specific issues with a guild will be addressed with the entire guild membership and will not be dealt with on an individual basis. Guilds whose members repeatedly violate these Rules of Conduct will be subject to the same penalties that an individual player would face under the same circumstances.

Guild leaders and/or officers may be held accountable for any and all prohibited actions of their guild members; this is in addition to any other disciplinary actions that may be taken against the guild as a whole. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the guild leadership to ensure that all its members abide by these Rules of Conduct and to report any infractions as soon as they are known.

G. Private chat rules of conduct

The game system provides players with the ability to create private chat channels. Because these channels are not public, players may converse about themes otherwise not allowed in public channels. In any of these interactions in private channels, it is a requirement that you confirm all present individuals consent to these topics if spoken and, if these topics contain adult themes, are legal adults. Players who do not abide by these terms run the risk of accruing disciplinary action including, but not limited to, in-game mutes, account restrictions, and, in cases of illegal activity, any and all chat logs, as well as any other information, being submitted to law enforcement and the potential for prosecution.

Sexually explicit content is prohibited in private channels and may be reported and actioned upon.

H. Permitted file modifications

Permission is granted to modify client-side files using our resources_override system for visual changes only. Changes that modify gameplay are considered a violation, such as, but not limited to, building client-side structures to overcome obstacles or replacing model files to gain access to inaccessible areas.

Permission is also granted to use external programs, including, but not limited to, ‘ReShade’, to externally adjust the visuals of Istaria. ‘Istaria Companion’ and other similar applications that read and interpret game files are permitted.

I. In the interest of reducing conflict during gameplay, if there's someone you don't want to see or receive messages from, please use the ignore feature. The ignore feature will prevent you from seeing or hearing the other player. Note that the existence of the ignore feature does not make it acceptable to harass other players, and even if you are ignored you will still be subject to review.

If you have been put on ignore, going around the ignore feature is considered a serious violation of the Rules of Conduct. Someone does not want to speak with you and any attempts to go around an ignore will be considered harassment.