Coping with Death

Death is an inevitable part of any realistic game play. To begin, let us give discuss the two types of death here in Equinox. There is the deathcry and the permadeath also known as a pd. One is purely a game-mechanics death and has its own set of consequences. The second is a death that has been role-played out and the consequence is that your character ceases to be.

Permadeath:
Permadeaths should not be taken lightly as the rapid succession of character applications by the same person will lead staff to believe you are not serious about your role-play. Characters that last in the world of Equinox stand the greatest chance of impacting the world and those they interact with. Not everyone lives forever however and there may come a time when it makes sense for your character to die, this is understood and expected. If your character is pd’d, a scroll describing the events leading up to and including the death will be expected before a new application will be considered.

Forced role-play is not permitted here and this extends to the killing of another character. Winning a duel for example, does not automatically mean that the loser must delete their character and begin anew. If an out of game or ooc agreement is reached, each player is expected to be honest and see through to their end of the bargain. Squelching on a bargain made out of game between players makes for a poorly connected community which is not what we strive for here. To protect yourself and others, all ooc agreements regarding mindwipes, permadeath, or anything of a serious nature should be sent in a private message over the forums to the player who requires it. This is to protect the integrity of any agreements made between players and aids staff in determining if a true agreement was made. It is solely your choice to agree to another player’s terms and you cannot be forced. Keep in mind, not agreeing to terms may not open you up to new lines of role-play. It is the chance we take with the roll of the dice.

Each character is the creation of the player and is seen as a special niche within Equinox. Role-play is meant to progress naturally through in game interaction. That being said, it is important for you to know this; if your character backs itself into the proverbial corner to where there would be no choice other than death you will be expected to accept this. Another player can never dictate the verdict that a character has outlived their time in Equinox, only staff… unless it is per ooc agreement. An example of this would be running amok through Haverstoke, slaughtering the people there, before getting caught. There is no slap on the wrist for a mass murderer.

DeathCry:
While out and about in the world of Equinox it is very likely you will encounter monsters, npcs, or even players who may engage you in battle. We have what is known as the knock out system here.

Knockout

The first time your health reaches zero, you will be knocked unconscious. You will experience a temporary loss of 10 to all stats for six minutes. Your character falls to the ground and lays there for one minute. You will spend that minute as a ghost. During this time, there is a small chance for the monster who knocked you unconscious to take an item or two but it is unlikely. If a player knocks you unconscious they are not permitted to take your things unless given permission. After your small coma, a gump will ask you if you wish to open your eyes. If you click “ok” you will open your eyes. If you click “cancel” you will still open your eyes. If you need a moment to plan your escape you can leave the gump up without answering. Keep in mind, the longer you are on the ground the more likely your body will start to decay and you will lose your items. Staff will not replace items lost via death or knockout. To avoid a death cry you must take care not to knock out for at least fifteen minutes after your last knock out.

Death Cry

The second time your health reaches zero within the time frame of fifteen minutes, your character dies and their death cry is heard all throughout the world. That means any player anywhere will feel, sense, or hear “a disturbance in the force.” This makes it perfectly acceptable for someone to come looking for your character and help. It also makes it perfectly acceptable within role-play to offer your assistance to those who deathcry. Your worldly belongings remain on your corpse and your spirit wanders the world as a ghost for ten minutes. During this time monsters and Npcs (not players!!!) may take your items or leave them to rot. After the ten minutes to reflect on your life, why you died, as well as how you will get your items back… a player or healer may resurrect you but not before then. You will be alerted every minute on the minute of how many minutes you must wait before you are given another chance at life.

The Price of Death

After your trip from beyond the grave your character will feel weakened. They will even experience small memory loss from hitting their head too hard or from such a great loss of blood. You will lose up to five points from your intelligence, strength, and dexterity until you gain them back on your own. You will also experience 1% random skill loss. That means one skill might lose a full 1% or ten skills might lose .1 each. While body, will, and mental facilities recover… the lessons lost must be relearned anew to regain them.