Rules of Engagement [02/APR/2021]

[Bospy]

Factions and Groups

 

For expediency, both all rules that apply to factions also apply to groups.

 

Very little reading is necessary for illegal roleplayers outside of faction leaders, and the most important section to read is about conflict logs and wars. If your faction tends not to engage in wars or you do not initiate hostile action that would incur a large number of allies, it's unlikely you need to become familiar with the mechanics listed below. However, the following rules establish IFM's formal rules of engagement. For the most part, this lists what is already being enforced to some degree.

 

Faction Conflict

 

Two factions are formally in conflict status when any faction takes an action which could result in force in response. This is highly contextual and loose - for instance, a gang which tags another gang's housing block could hypothetically escalate the situation by tagging the other gang's turf. This is conflict.

Conflicts must escalate realistically but also organically. Factions may, however, at their own discretion arrange for certain restrictions between themselves and other factions to ensure that escalation does not disrupt their regular roleplay. For instance, two factions may agree to purely melee combat. IFM would not enforce this unless escalation beyond that point is conducted unrealistically.

 

A faction conflict does not have to be physical in order to meet the standards of a conflict, and neither party must report a conflict until kills are recorded. If kills occur, conflict logs shall be made by both parties. A faction conflict becomes a faction war when more than two factions are involved.

 

Conflict Logs

 

Whenever a faction initiates hostile action that would realistically result in further death, such as repeated instances of attack, a conflict log must be filed by that initiating party. A faction which has faced numerous instances of attack by a party may file a defensive action log to record their allies and give their own perspective of the attack, but a defensive action log is only necessary if the defending party wishes to involve allies.

 

Unofficial groups need not file hostile action logs or defensive action logs, but factions must file these logs when initiating action against an unofficial group.

 

Hostile Action Log

 

Target Faction or Group:

Date Initiated:

Co-belligerents:

Offensive Allies (limit of 3):

Mercenaries (limit of 10):

Objectives (when needed):

Summary of Reasons for Initiating (only :

 

If a faction has hostile action taken against them, they could reply to their topic (optionally) with the following format:

 

Defensive Action Log

 

Attacking Faction or Group:

Date Initiated:

Defensive Allies (limit of 5):

Mercenaries (limit of 10):

Summary of Reasons for Attacks:

 

This will easier facilitate wars and allow us to keep tabs on faction conflicts much easier.

 

Conflict PK

 

A Conflict PK occurs whenever a faction member involved in a conflict is killed by an enemy faction in relation to that conflict or a third party hired by another faction. If a third party conducts a kill on behalf of another faction, they must report this to the individual killed. A Conflict PK also occurs when a faction member is killed by police while en route to an attack or while escaping from an attack.

 

A player who has been killed in a faction conflict is considered Conflict PK'd across all characters and cannot use an alternate character to continue the war. This is matrioshka warring.

 

If a player who has been Conflict PK'd re-involves themselves in an attack and is successful in Conflict PKing opponents, this will result in IFM selecting a random faction member from the player's faction to be PK'd as a consequence OR the forfeiture of assets OR war objectives.

 

A player who has been Conflict PK'd may not acknowledge the specific conflict, but may acknowledge the fact that their faction is at war. They are not allowed to become involved, strategize, or divide war spoils. Other characters in their faction may not punish them for their non-involvement on any IC basis. The player who has been conflict PK'd shall not enter enemy "turf" or scout for their faction on their current or alternate characters.

 

Under no circumstance may a player who has been killed in a faction conflict re-involve themselves in a conflict outside of the following circumstances:

 

- In defense of themselves if attacked by attacking parties in spite of their PK'd status (ONLY if they themselves are attacked, and if they succeed in defense, they may not re-involve themselves in the conflict beyond the isolated instance of defense)

 

Attacks

 

Attacks under any context must be conducted realistically and must have a level of development and realistic escalation to support their occurrence.

 

An attack is considered any offensive action wherein parties in the opposing faction are Conflict PK'd or at risk of being Conflict PK'd. Beatings and brawls do not count, but any situation that may reasonably lead to someone dying (for instance, kidnapping someone) is also counted as an attack.

 

There is no maximum number of people that may attack at once beyond convoy rules. However, attacks must be realistic and the attack's size must be relative to the size of their foes (thus necessitating some degree of scouting) and the attack must be merited based on the escalation of the conflict. For instance, 12 people attacking a small group of 3 people on a block will be considered unrealistic.

 

A faction or their offensive ally attacking another faction shall have a 12 hour cooldown period of initiating another attack of any type, although this does not apply to co-belligerents and defensive allies. This cooldown period can be reduced or increased by mutual agreement between two warring parties. Two co-belligerents or defensive allies attacking a single faction at the same time shall both have a 12 hour cooldown period, but both attacking separately will have a 12 hour cooldown period from the time of their individual attacks. An offensive ally is restricted to the cooldown of the main offensive party. The same shall apply to two defensive allies being attacked at the same location, and neither faction will be able to be attacked for 12 hours.

 

 

 

Blockwiping is the mass-killing of an opponent. Illegal factions must ensure they have a good enough reason to blockwipe another faction. Tell-tale signs of rule violating blockwiping are as follows;

• Cutting off all routes of escape
• Large convoys
• Overuse of force (e.g. 8 AK47s for a crowd of 5 people)
• Poor reason to kill (e.g. if their beef is only with a handful of members, it is not justified to commit a mass shooting)
• A good rule of thumb - if this would be considered domestic terrorism in real life, it's a rule violation

 

This is highly contextual and not punishable in all cases.

 

Affirmative Defensive Action

 

If a faction recognizes their enemy setting up for an attack at or nearby their territory and they can clearly identify the faction's members as their enemies, they may take affirmative action to defend themselves. This shall not be counted as an attack.

 

 

Wars - Allies, Satellites, Co-belligerents, Mercenaries

 

The following definitions apply to wars only - two factions in conflict need not concern themselves with these definitions.

 

A faction conflict automatically turns into a war when more than two factions are involved.

 

Initiating Party - The first faction to post about a war on their war log or initiate hostile action

Co-belligerent - Any faction in an offensive war which has a valid reason to wage war against an enemy

Offensive Ally - Any faction in an offensive war which does not have an individual cause for war, but is responding to an ally's call for arms against a faction
Defensive Ally - Any faction answering another faction's call to arms in a defensive war, in essence the same as a co-belligerent

Satellites - A faction which is vassalized or pledges allegiance to another faction

Mercenaries - Hired third-party faction members

 

 

Each attacking faction participating in an offensive war must have a realistic cause for entering the war as an individual faction or they will only be considered an offensive ally. A faction with an individual reason for entering the war is considered a co-belligerent. An offensive ally is not permitted to set terms or objectives, and their involvement is formally limited to the offensive actions of the war's initiating party. In practice, this means that they have cooldown restrictions. IFM may dictate a co-belligerent as an offensive ally at any time, thus limiting their involvement in the war.

 

 

The defending faction's allies need not have individual reason to enter the war in their ally's defense, and therefore they are counted as a defensive ally.

 

Each faction initiating a war shall have a limit of 3 offensives allies, although co-belligerents are unlimited provided each faction has a valid and realistic reason to enter the war. A defending faction shall have a limit of 5 defensive allies, or expanded given IFM permission.

 

Satellite factions are neither counted as allies or co-belligerents. Satellite factions are counted as members of a faction's regular roster. In practice, this means if La eMe initiates a war against the White Car, every faction which pledges allegiance shall be counted as part of their roster.

 

Each side may forward a roster of ten individuals from outside factions who are agreeing to fight on their behalf for pay. This list will also be furnished to the opposing party to ensure they understand those party's factions are not eligible to be attacked.

 

Turf

No formal regulation of turf shall exist beyond the geographic regions factions roleplay in. IFM shall generally regulate that factions which exist in a specific geographic region should not have impediments in continuing to roleplay there from any OOC basis, and unofficial groups attempting to establish themselves in that area may be liable for CK.

 

Factions which persistently attempt to establish themselves in the geographic areas of other factions may be punished for turf control purposes.

 

Radio Use

 

Radio use by illegal factions will be restricted purely to in-car use, and only cars. Only one person will be permitted to use a radio at any one time. Radio use must be grammatically correct at all times. Radio use is forbidden during faction attacks.

 

Vehicle Use

 

Illegal factions must make every effort to use realistic vehicles when conducting attacks. Usage of motorcycles or off-road bikes is not necessarily prohibited, but driving on one of these vehicles while carrying a large firearm will be considered powergaming and result in an automatic Conflict PK. Obviously, usage of trucks, boats, and other exotic vehicles should be within realistic contexts.

 

Only a limited number of vehicles may be used during an attack. Realistically, police agencies in a city as large as Los Santos would take note of large convoys. Therefore, there are convoy rules in place for attacks. The following list demonstrates maximum acceptable convoys:

• 2 cars
• 1 car and 1 motorbike
• 3 motorbikes carrying a passenger
• 6 motorcycles with individual riders (ONLY ACCEPTABLE FOR MOTORCYCLE CLUBS)

If there is a necessity for more attackers, the attacking party's faction leader must seek authorization from IFM. During faction wars, these restrictions may be lifted at the discretion of IFM or if both parties explicitly agree to lift the restriction.

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Bospy

[Bospy]

To be in effect on APRIL 2nd.

[khadijeh.]

No longer up to date or in effect as Rules of Engagement (February 2022) is put in full effect as of immediate release.