Rules
New rules may be added if we are prompted to do so by actions taken by players - don't do anything which is obviously going to be punishable, even if it isn't listed in the rules. In other words, use some common sense. If you are unsure about something, please don't hesitate to raise it with a senior staff member.
Assisting a player to break any of these rules is punishable with the same tariff.
Anything gained from breaking any of these rules may be reverted, e.g. if you xray, any ores (or other items) gained from xray may be destroyed.
Detailed objective definitions and explanations of these rules are available at the bottom of this page, under the Server Rules in Detail and Definitions sections.
Intervention Clause (IC): in the extreme occasion of a user being judged by senior staff to be having a significant net negative impact on the server's objectives (funding and activity), they can be banned or muted even if they have not broken any rules. A final warning will be given before a punishment. Offenders have the ability to appeal here.
Server Rules
Instant Ban - break any of these and you will be banned straightaway.
Do not use any software which gives you an unfair advantage over other players.
Do not impersonate a player or the server's name (LOTR Survival) with your Minecraft username.
Do not issue a chargeback on a donation.
Do not evade a mute or ban.
Do not cause players to lose items by using bandits.
Do not cause players to lose items by taking them into Utumno.
Do not grief inside another player's banner protection by summoning hill-troll chieftains or mallorn ents.
Do not grief player-owned structures with explosives, lava or fire. This can include blowing up terrain nearby needlessly. Exploding hired units and catapult rocks will count as explosives, if you use them for the intention of griefing.
Do not sell or offer sales of in-game goods or services in exchange for real-life money or assets. Note that selling in-game goods or services in exchange for store items is allowed, as store items do not constitute real-life money or assets.
Ban Warning - break any of these and you will be warned; if you break the same rule again, you will be banned.
Do not abuse a bug on the server. If you have found one, please report it on our Discord server. A list of all known bugs is available at https://tinyurl.com/lotrsurvival-kbs.
Do not have a profane Minecraft username.
Do not disobey or lie to a staff member while they are undertaking administrative affairs.
Do not combat log.
Do not own a waypoint inside another player's structure without their permission.
Do not log off or go AFK inside another player's structure.
Do not obstruct default waypoints.
Do not place blocks above a visible structure's banner protection.
Do not claim other players' structures using your banner protection without the structure owner's permission. If the structure's banner protection was previously removed as a result of banner removal, then this rule does not apply.
Do not own or use grinders which are using hill-troll chieftains.
Do not use alternate accounts or complicit players to boost your stats.
Do not falsely report other players.
Do not grief by planting trees.
Do not own or use fully automatic grinders. Farms using either chickens, or farmers for farming crops, are exempt from this rule.
Do not use an alternate account to save your location in Utumno.
Do not use anything which would make the server think you aren't AFK if you actually are, e.g. AFK pools.
[RULE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY]
Do not claim LOTR Mod bounties on any complicit alternate accounts.
If you steward any territories or lead any factions, you must not do either of those things on any alternate accounts under your ownership.
Instant Mute - break any of these and you will be muted straightaway.
Do not send links to malware or inappropriate websites.*
Do not dox anybody without their permission.*
Do not advertise other Minecraft servers or Minecraft Discord servers.
*These rules count as instant ban rules if broken via means other than the chat.
Mute Warning - break any of these and you will be warned; if you break the same rule again, you will be muted.
Do not swear excessively in the global chat.
Do not spam in the global chat, or spam a senior staff member in private messages.
Do not have a conversation in the global chat in any language other than English. If you wish to speak other languages, use /msg or /team.
Do not chat hate speech against other users.**
Do not impersonate other players with names or titles of any sort without their permission.
Do not impersonate other factions with names or titles of any sort without the faction leader's permission.
Do not have a profane nickname or title.
Do not impersonate senior staff or the server's name using any means.
Do not make any real-life threats of violence.
**These rules count as ban warning rules if broken via means other than the chat.
Protocol - these aren't rules, but procedures which could result in the loss of your assets.
Do not leave hired units or mounts in the lobby. They will be executed without reimbursement.
If you are using so many hired units that the server is lagging solely because of them, staff can execute every single one of your loaded units, without reimbursement.
If you are using a grinder which is causing the server to lag, staff will disable it using any means necessary, without warning or reimbursement. Grinders solely using LOTR Mod farmer NPCs are excluded from this protocol.
Discord Server Rules
Do not impersonate other users by changing your nickname, username or profile picture without their permission.â€
Do not spam.
Do not have a conversation in any language other than English.
Do not needlessly mention people - this includes roles and usernames.
Do not post sexually explicit content.â€
Do not dox anybody (post private real-life information about a user, e.g. their real name) without their permission.*â€
Do not evade a mute or ban.*
Do not disobey or lie to a staff member while they are undertaking administrative affairs.â€
Do not post links to malware or inappropriate websites.*â€
Keep your conversations in line with the channel topics.
Do not swear excessively.
Do not falsely report other users.
Do not advertise other Minecraft servers or Minecraft Discord servers.
You must adhere to all Minecraft server rules in the #server-chat text channel.
You must follow Discord Community Guidelines and Terms of Service*:
Since Discord's harassment and hate speech rules are quite subjective, we have a more objective definition of both for consistency in enforcing the rules:
Harassment is insulting someone 5 times or more with a similar subject of the insult, over any given period of time. Examples:
Calling someone a 'retard' 5 times over the space of a year is harassment.
Calling someone a 'retard' 4 times and the n-word once is not harassment, as the two subjects of insult differ.
Calling someone a 'retard' 4 times and an 'idiot' once is harassment, as the two subjects of insult are the same, and it happened 5 times.
Hate speech is negatively commenting falsehoods concerning one of the characteristics listed on Discord's Community Guidelines (which are listed below). Examples:
Saying 'muslims want to kill non-believers' is hate speech as it's a negative falsehood concerning a religion - not all muslims are like this.
Saying 'some followers of Islam believe in killing non-believers' is not hate speech, as it's not false, even though it's negative.
Discord's protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, caste, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, serious illness, disabilities.
*These rules can be enforced on Discord status messages.
†These rules can be enforced in direct messages, if the two parties aren't friends and only share this Discord server as a mutual server.
Server Rules in Detail
Instant Ban - breaking any of the rules in this section will result in a ban without warning. You will be banned indefinitely until appeal in most circumstances, so must appeal here in order to have a chance of being unbanned.
1. Do not use any software which gives you an unfair advantage over other players.
A list of disallowed mods and software is available at https://tinyurl.com/lotrsurvival-dsSoftware are programs which run on your computer, such as mods, macros or hack clients.
This rule bans virtually all forms of hacks, for example fly hacks and xray hacks.
If you are unsure about whether or not you are allowed to use something, ask a staff member.
Why this rule? We aim to be as fair a survival server as possible. All players, including staff, must follow the same rules in order to fulfil this aim. Hacks and similar cheats do not conform with this aim, which is why they are not allowed.
2. Do not impersonate a player or the server's name (LOTR Survival) with your Minecraft username.
This rule bans changing your actual Minecraft username so that it is similar to another player's username or the server's name.
Impersonation is defined at the bottom of this website.
Why this rule? If your Minecraft username looks like that of another player or the server's name, it is very easy to fool some players and open up possibilities of exploitation and defamation.
3. Do not issue a chargeback on a donation.
Issuing a chargeback in this context is the act of disputing a donation you have made to the server through your payment gateway.
We can give refunds in some circumstances - there is more detail in our store terms and conditions.
Any chargebacks will result in a counter-dispute where we contact the payment gateway and consider legal action.
Why this rule? We have a refund policy so if you are dissatisfied with your purchase or change your mind, it is possible to return it. You agree to this policy when you purchase anything from our store, as well as to not issue a chargeback. The issue with chargebacks is that we aren't expecting it and so you can continue using your purchased item until we ban you - another problem is that a chargeback has the potential to put our PayPal balance into negative figures, giving us a whole host of new problems to deal with.
4. Do not evade a mute or ban.
To evade a punishment means getting around it, e.g. by using an alternate Minecraft or Discord account.
If you are caught evading a punishment by using an alternate account on either Minecraft or Discord, that account will be banned and the account which was punished originally will be punished further.
Why this rule? If you are punished, you should serve that punishment as (a) a preventative measure to stop you from violating the same rule in the present, and (b) a punitive measure to deter you from violating the same rule in the future. Evasion of a punishment makes the whole process obsolete, which is why it is not allowed.
5. Do not cause players to lose items by using bandits.
Why this rule? The risk of bandits being able to be used for this purpose can create an atmosphere of fear and reluctance to TPA to people, which may negatively affect server population.
6. Do not cause players to lose items by taking them into Utumno.
Why this rule? The risk of Utumno being able to be used for this purpose can create an atmosphere of fear and reluctance to TPA to people or go to Utumno with other players, which may negatively affect server population.
7. Do not grief inside another player's banner protection by summoning hill-troll chieftains or mallorn ents.
Hill-troll chieftains or mallorn ents can be collectively called 'boss NPCs'.
It is intentional for boss NPCs to destroy even banner protected blocks, so that they aren't too easy to defeat.
A consequence of this is that they can be used to bypass banner protection for the purpose of griefing.
Why this rule? Griefing can make players leave the server and put players off, which affects our playerbase - therefore it is in the server's interest to disallow this.
8. Do not grief player-owned structures with explosives, lava or fire. This can include blowing up terrain nearby needlessly. Exploding hired units and catapult rocks will count as explosives, if you use them for the intention of griefing.
Refer to the list of definitions at the bottom of this website for the definition of a player-owned structure.
'Needlessly' means doing something for no good reason.
A 'good reason' here would involve something of a tactical nature, for example using bombs against enemy NPCs or players, or fire for the same reason. Using explosives or fire for the purpose of griefing is not a good reason.
'Terrain' is natural pre-generated land.
'Nearby' is anywhere visible from the structure in question. In terms of enforcing this rule, we go off a 10 chunk render distance.
Why this rule? Griefing of player-owned structures can make players leave the server, which affects our playerbase. Therefore it is in the server's interests to disallow this.
9. Do not sell or offer sales of in-game goods or services in exchange for real-life money or assets. Note that selling in-game goods or services in exchange for store items is allowed, as store items do not constitute real-life money or assets.
Why this rule? Since there's no trusted middleman in any transaction which could take place on the server, this rule is partly in place to prevent scams. It's also in place to support one of the server's goals: funding. Preventing players from selling their own in-game goods and services for real money ensures the store, which also sells in-game goods, has no competition.
Ban Warning - breaking any of the rules in this section will result in you being officially warned; if you break the same rule twice, you will be banned indefinitely until appeal in most circumstances, so must appeal here in order to have a chance of being unbanned.
1. Do not abuse a bug on the server. If you have found one, please report it on our Discord server. A list of all known bugs is available at https://tinyurl.com/lotrsurvival-kbs.
This rule stops players from using bugs or glitches to give themselves an advantage, hence 'abuse'.
A list of all known bugs which you can be punished for is available at https://tinyurl.com/lotrsurvival-kbs.
Why this rule? Similar to Instant Ban rule 1, this rule stops players from having an unfair advantage in our fair survival server. It also forces players to raise a bug with staff to get it fixed, which is of course a good thing.
2. Do not have a profane Minecraft username.
Profane in this context means the name contains or strongly implies a swear word or phrase; a swear word or phrase in this context is a word or phrase which is widely recognised as a swear in popular culture.
If you are warned for breaking this rule, you must change your username immediately. Failure to do so will result in a second warning, and therefore a ban.
Why this rule? Minecraft is played by many younger children and we want to keep the chat as clean as possible in terms of profanity. Profanity can also be off-putting to some players, affecting our playerbase. Swearing in the chat (within reason) is allowed because it's not a permanent thing, i.e. it's usually one-off and disappears from the screen within a short period of time. The issue with profane usernames it that it's there all the time, whenever you chat and whenever you interact with another player - your username can be seen in the tablist, above your player's head and can be seen when you use some features, for example requesting a TPA.
3. Do not disobey or lie to a staff member while they are undertaking administrative affairs.
Staff should make it clear when they are doing something administrative.
An administrative affair is an official duty undertaken by a staff member - it is not part of survival. It can include investigating a bug, investigating a rule being broken or running an event.
If staff tell you to do or not do something while they are undertaking an administrative duty, you must ensure you do that. You also are not allowed to lie to a staff member during this administrative duty - e.g. they may ask you if you witnessed somebody else breaking a rule, and who it was.
Why this rule? The rule gives staff power they need to undertake their duties, for example if a player is killing other players during an event, staff may punish them for that. It also makes it easier to find a perpetrator of a breach of rules.
4. Do not combat log.
Combat logging is logging off the server or using a teleportation command with no countdown for the purpose of avoiding PvP.
The only exceptions to this are:
(1) if you log off while a /tpa is in progress to cancel it, and the combat you're avoiding is on the other end of the TPA.
(2) if you log off in a /duel.
Why this rule? We want our gameplay to be as smooth and fair as possible - being allowed to just leave while somebody is attacking you goes against this aim, so combat logging is disallowed.
5. Do not own a waypoint inside another player's structure without their permission.
Refer to the list of definitions at the bottom of this website for the definition of a player-owned structure and permission.
Why this rule? If a player owns a structure they should be somewhat safe inside. You having a waypoint, and thus being able to teleport inside at any time, does the opposite.
6. Do not log off or go AFK inside another player's structure.
This rule includes entering /build, /pvp, or anything else which would let you immediately teleport back after using a command.This is only enforceable upon being reported by the victim, so feel free to "break" this rule if you know the structure owner won't report you (e.g. if it's your friend).Going AFK means entering the AFK cage.
Refer to the list of definitions at the bottom of this website for the definition of a player-owned structure.
Why this rule? If a player owns a structure they should be somewhat safe inside. You being able to spawn at any moment inside their structure, with them unhappy about it, does the opposite.
7. Do not obstruct default waypoints.
A default waypoint is a pre-set LOTR Mod waypoint, i.e. not a custom waypoint.
Obstruction means that a player who fast travels to the waypoint cannot escape your obstruction without taking damage, breaking/placing blocks, or jumping into water. This also applies to any mount which the player may be riding.
Why this rule? Players should be able to use all default waypoints normally without getting stuck at their destination. Experiencing a blocked default waypoint and having to wait for your fast travel cooldown, or losing your mount to suffocation, is too big of an inconvenience to allow.
8. Do not place blocks above a visible structure's banner protection.
This rule prohibits you from placing any blocks which are vertically above any visible structure's banner protection.
Lava, water and explosives are blocks.
Why this rule? Banner protection is intended to protect your structure from being modified by players who don't have access. Placing certain blocks such as lava or water can cause griefing, so this is not allowed. Additionally, placing blocks above can be used to grief in itself by making the structure less aesthetic. Griefing can make players leave the server and put players off, which affects our playerbase.
9. Do not claim other players' structures using your banner protection without the structure owner's permission. If the structure's banner protection was previously removed as a result of banner removal, then this rule does not apply.
Definitions of a player-owned structure and permission is at the bottom of this website.
Why this rule? Building takes a lot of time and effort, and to have a player claim it can drive players to leave the server, which may affect our playerbase.
10. Do not own or use grinders which are using hill-troll chieftains.
Grinders are structures which are used for the purpose of gaining in-game commodities.
This rule makes using or owning grinders which currently use a hill-troll chieftain to function illegal.
Why this rule? Hill-troll chieftain grinders are incredibly efficient for both alignment and getting rich from trading the troll drops. They can only be used by players who are negatively-aligned with Angmar, and create an unfair imbalance on the server.
11. Do not use alternate accounts or complicit players to boost your stats.
Alternate accounts are other Minecraft accounts controlled by you.
Complicit players are players who are purposefully letting you kill them for your stats.
Why this rule? We want to preserve the integrity of the player kills and player KD stats.
12. Do not falsely report other players.
Falsely reporting is reporting with the knowledge that the player you are reporting hasn't broken a rule, or reporting a player blindly with no justified cause for suspicion.
Why this rule? All reports must be investigated, and a false report will inevitably waste staff time. There is also the possibility for the player you reported to gain a bad reputation from the report, or actually be wrongfully punished.
13. Do not grief by planting trees.
Why this rule? Griefing with trees is a far too easy way to ruin landscape around a player's structure in a way which can be very difficult to repair.
14. Do not own or use fully automatic grinders. Farms using either chickens, or farmers for farming crops, are exempt from this rule.
Grinders are structures which are used for the purpose of gaining in-game commodities.
Fully-automatic means that you can be AFK, and the grinder functions on its own.
Why this rule? Fully-automatic grinders can be incredibly efficient for getting resources. The size at which they can operate, and the fact that this can be done while AFK is too overpowered.
15. Do not use an alternate account to save your location in Utumno.
An alternate account is a different Minecraft account which is also under your control.
To save your location in Utumno means using the alt, e.g. by TPAing to you, then logging off and logging back on when you need to get back to that particular spot in Utumno.
Why this rule? This is essentially an exploit which gives a serious advantage to those with the funds for multiple Minecraft accounts, and also makes Utumno easier than intended.
16. Do not use anything which would make the server think you aren't AFK if you actually are, e.g. AFK pools.
Why this rule? The time played stat and activity counter (/activity) will soon not increase while you are AFK. AFK pools and similar things would undermine this feature.
17. [RULE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY]
18. Do not claim LOTR Mod bounties on any complicit alternate accounts.
Complicit alternate accounts are alternate accounts which are willingly used as bounty targets.
Why this rule? This undermines the rarity of Headhunter Trophies (the reward from bounties) by making it too easy to farm bounties.
19. If you steward any territories or lead any factions, you must not do either of those things on any alternate accounts under your ownership.
Why this rule? Doing this in the past has often led to abuse of various restrictions and limits, which is a problem for the conquest system.
Instant Mute - breaking any of the rules in this section will result in a mute without warning. Your mute will be for a set period of time.
1. Do not send links to malware or pornographic websites.
Why this rule? We want players on the server to be able to enjoy a secure environment with no threat of having their computer infected by malware. This includes being able to click on links sent in the chat without any fear of being infected by malware. We also have younger children who play on the server, who should not be given URLs to pornographic websites.
2. Do not dox anybody without their permission.
'Doxing' is the releasing of private and real-life information about a player, for example their real name.
Permission is defined at the bottom of this page.
Why this rule? Doxing is mostly frowned upon on the Internet, since it can have profound effects on a person's real life. We believe you should be able to play on this server while keeping real-life matters separate and private.
3. Do not advertise other Minecraft servers or Minecraft Discord servers.
Why this rule? We want to make sure players aren't disturbed by unwanted advertisements, and protect the server's activity.
Mute Warning - breaking any of the rules in this section will result in you being officially warned; if you break the same rule twice, you will be muted for a set period of time.
1. Do not swear excessively in the global chat.
'Excessively' swearing is defined as any of the following:
Swearing 5 times or more in consecutive messages.
Swearing 5 times or more in the space of 30 seconds.
Why this rule? Swearing non-excessively is okay since messages disappear after a matter of seconds, but if you swear in every single message you send, this is no longer the case. Younger children play on the server, who should not be subjected to a toxic environment of endless swearing.
2. Do not spam in the global chat, or spam a senior staff member in private messages.
'Spamming' can be one of these:
Sending the same or similar messages in the space of seconds.
Repeating the same character consecutively over five times in a message.
Repeating the same word or phrase over five times in a message.
Why this rule? Spam is irritating and can put players off the server or reading the chat, which may result in them leaving or turning the chat off. In doing this they lose out on communication with other players, as well as missing important messages, broadcasts or warnings from staff. This can degrade the server's image for players, who then may leave the server, which affects our playerbase. The extra clause for staff's private messages is due to the fact that senior staff cannot /ignore players.
3. Do not have a conversation in the global chat in any language other than English. If you wish to speak other languages, use /msg or /team.
A conversation is an exchange of communication between multiple players.
Why this rule? It can be annoying and confusing for players to see multiple languages being spoken at once. It also means that our English-speaking staff will struggle to enforce our chat rules properly.
4. Do not chat hate speech against other users.
Hate speech is defined at the bottom of this page.
Why this rule? Hate speech is genuinely insulting, and may put players off the server. The rule allows for jokes between friends as the victim must report an eligible insult on themselves for any action to be taken, but puts a stop to actual toxicity if the victim reports it.
5. Do not impersonate other players with names or titles of any sort without their permission.
Impersonation and permission are defined at the bottom of this website.
Why this rule? If your Minecraft username looks like that of another player, it is very easy to fool some players and open up possibilities of exploitation and defamation.
6. Do not impersonate other factions with names or titles of any sort without the faction leader's permission.
Impersonation and permission are defined at the bottom of this website.
Why this rule? If it seems you are in a faction which you are not, it is very easy to fool some players and open up possibilities of exploitation and defamation.
7. Do not have a profane nickname or title.
Profane in this context means the name contains or strongly implies a swear word or phrase; a swear word or phrase in this context is a word or phrase which is widely recognised as a swear in popular culture.
If you are warned for breaking this rule, you must change your name or title immediately. Failure to do so will result in a second warning, and therefore a mute.
Why this rule? Minecraft is played by many younger children and we want to keep the chat as clean as possible in terms of profanity. Profanity can also be off-putting to some players, affecting our playerbase. Swearing in the chat (within reason) is allowed because it's not a permanent thing, i.e. it's usually one-off and disappears from the screen within a short period of time. The issue with profane names and titles it that it's there all the time, whenever you chat or enter/leave the game.
8. Do not impersonate senior staff or the server's name using any means.
Senior staff are staff above the rank of Helper.
Why this rule? There is room for exploiting your purported staff/server identity, and players must be reassured that when speaking to staff, they are speaking to actual staff.
Protocol - these are just standard protocol which staff enact
1. Do not leave hired units or mounts in the lobby. They will be executed without reimbursement.
Why this protocol? Excess amounts of NPCs in the lobby can cause client lag, which can be detrimental to players' experiences on the server. They also wander around and can be a general nuisance and obstruction.
2. If you are using so many hired units that the server is lagging solely because of them, staff can execute every single one of your loaded units, without reimbursement.
Farmers count as hired units.
The server can vary in how many units it can handle, but anything up to 200 hired units should be fine. Anything over may also be fine, but runs a risk of solely causing lag. You can check the server's lag information using the /serverstats command to gauge the effect your units are having on performance.
Why this protocol? We want to avoid server lag to maintain a smooth player experience.
3. If you are using a grinder which is causing the server to lag, staff will disable it using any means necessary, without warning or reimbursement. Grinders solely using LOTR Mod farmer NPCs are excluded from this protocol.
Why this protocol? We want to avoid server lag to maintain a smooth player experience.
Definitions
Structure
A structure is a placement of blocks to form a distinguishable building. A building has a roof and walls.
Player-built structure
A player-built structure is a structure built partially or completely by a player.
Player-owned structure
A player-owned structure is a structure which is either player-built, or a building which is either partially or completely banner protected.
Pre-generated structure
A pre-generated structure is a structure which has been automatically generated by the mod.
Impersonation
Pretending to be someone or something else for the purposes of entertainment or fraud.
Permission
Permission means explicit verbal communication stating what permission has been given.
Hate speech
Hate speech can be committed against a person's protected characteristics; these are race, religion, sexual orientation and disability.
In order for an insult to be considered as hate speech, it must be widely accepted as an insult on that characteristic in popular culture.
In addition, the victim must also report it. Unreported incidents are not defined as hate speech.
lotrmc.net
Last Edited: 13 Jan 2024