Criminal Guidelines

Rules

Keep in mind, that some of these rules are *very closely* linked to those of the powergaming section in the Rules & Guidelines. 

[13.01] - Players are not allowed to rob people and down them in the same scenario. 

This also applies to downing someone, taking them to a doctor, and then waiting for them to get up again so you can rob them. This is powergaming and a bannable offense. 

At the same coin, if you down someone and stick around to wait for them to either get a doctor call or respawn/revive it's considered terrible etiquette and not something we want to see on this server.

[13.02] - Camping out Green Zones (those indicated in rule [8.07-A/B]) is prohibited and will result in disciplinary actions. 

[13.03] -  Pocket wiping is not allowed, nor do the mechanics for this exist for citizens. Only LEO are able to search people. 

Guidelines

[13.04] - When roleplaying as a criminal, it is important to make the roleplay and story-building experience enjoyable for everyone around you - This includes law enforcement, citizens, and your fellow criminals. Define a goal, or set of goals, to give your criminal character something to work towards, such as character growth and sense of purpose

[13.05] - Group Size Policy. 

When creating or joining an established criminal group, it is important to know New Haven's Group Size Policy.
While there is no limit of the amount of members a gang can have, a maximum of 6 members are permitted in any given scenario any group of players with criminal or aggressive intent are permitted to participate in an active scenario. Furthermore, when someone in an active scenario goes down, they can't supplement them with another person, as this would be considered power gaming.

[13.06] - It is okay to lose - Rather than only focusing on your character and your character's success as a criminal, be more open-minded to the possibility of losing. The more you are willing to lose and bounce off others' storylines around you, the more likely it is that you and other people will enjoy your character and your roleplay

[13.07] - Best criminal roleplayers are ones who are willing to tell a story. Practice leaving some details or other evidence of your crimes. Something as small in detail as the size of a footprint or specific brand of cigar can lead to further roleplay with civilians and law personnel, rather than leaving little to no evidence behind or relying on witnesses

[14.01] - Players should never create their character and immediately introduce them with an already established criminal backstory. You need to start from the bottom and work your way up from the beginning. Build your criminal reputation on the server and in the State of New Haven over a period of time. Failure to do so can be extremely damaging and confusing to other players. Remember,  tell a story!

[14.02] - Do not rush into conflict with law enforcement on the server. Deputies generally enjoy criminals they have to meet and slowly figure out, versus completely obvious criminals without any subtlety. Slow-burn roleplay is one of the more desired types of roleplay when it comes to criminal roleplay.  Law and Criminal roleplay go hand-and-hand and work best together when the stories aren't violently rushed

[14.03] - Having a character that is often "on-the-run" is permitted; however, should primarily serve as backstory flavor rather than main focus on the server itself. Create and tell a story here in New Haven, and don't be afraid of some confrontation from citizens or deputies!

[14.04] - Criminal roleplay does not have to be a "one-man-show". Do not be afraid to seek out other criminals and begin to network! If you want to get known in the underworld of criminals, you have to find the underworld and introduce your character. Sometimes working with other criminal roleplayers is the best way to go about learning and story-building. Be the student first, then become the master

[14.05] - Roleplaying as a criminal character does not make you above the law nor indestructible. Players who engage in criminal roleplay should always be prepared when it comes to in-character consequences for their unlawful actions. You are a criminal and there are laws set in place by authorities in the State of New Haven. If you break the law, you may find yourself in handcuffs and behind bars

[14.06] - Logging off or switching characters soon after committing a crime is considered combat logging, which is a server violation and may be reviewed in Server Rules and Guidelines. Players must wait at least 30 minutes prior to logging off. If you must log off or if an emergency rises, please inform those involved and the Staff Team using the New Haven Discord

[14.07] - It is highly recommended players should not make multiple "one-shot" characters within a short period of time. This can be unrewarding and confusing for players to frequently deal with one-shot criminal characters who have minimal story behind their interactions

[14.08] - Begin by committing minor crimes first, as this will allow you to learn how people will react to specific varieties of criminal roleplay. The first steps to criminal roleplay includes practicing taking some small losses and learning about how deputies will react to your character and the roleplay you are presenting. Expect to lose and get caught quickly if you jump directly into robbing well-known individuals or law personnel

[15.01] - Once you have established your character's story and have been accepted as a viable criminal of New Haven, you may attempt to go for the bigger prizes, or crimes. This includes the potential of creating your own organized crew for jobs or even officially becoming a member of an established gang

[15.02] - Players should avoid committing the most violent / deadly crimes the moment you become an accepted criminal of New Haven. Committing such offenses may cause a rush of your character's story and may result in a more aggressive civilian and law enforcement response. Slow-burn criminal roleplay is some of the best roleplay!

[16.01] - The moment your character is highly wanted by law personnel for multiple offenses, it would be realistic for you to avoid populated towns or large groups of people to prevent being captured. The only time you should be entering populated towns should be when you are gathering vital supplies, information, or actively committing a crime. Even then, a smart criminal would more than likely be in disguise

[16.02] - Turning yourself into law enforcement personnel may result in reduced sentencing if you have not personally committed violent or deadly crimes. Some deputies may only be willing, if at all, to reduce your sentencing in trade for information leading to the potential arrest of other criminals

[16.03] - It will be understood by other players that you may utilize violence to escape when being a highly wanted criminal. Even so, you should still avoid going on senseless murder sprees. It makes little sense for an extremely violent psychotic murderer to be the most common type of criminal. As previously mentioned, extremely severe and major crimes require a lot of planning and organization

[16.04] - Using a voice changer to disguise your character's voice is permitted. However, the voice changer you are using must not differ significantly from your character's normal voice and should always remain within realistic standards. Any unrealistic or dramatic voice changers are strictly prohibited

[17.01] - Maim and torture roleplay is permitted in New Haven. With this being said, consent must be given out-of-character by all parties involved, agreeing to all injuries their character may obtain. Injuries including ripping out vital parts of the body, bleeding excessively, and scalping will always realistically lead to death

[17.02] - Players may never force permadeath or injuries on the player they are torturing. Players may not harm a character in a way that would result in death, unless mutually agreed upon through out-of-character discussion. The person being tortured will decide which injuries they will realistically keep afterward

[18.01] - Allow wanted criminals who remain in New Haven will more than likely eventually get caught. The area is modernized and the federal government has too much invested to allow rampant criminal influence to run wild. In the end, it is difficult to avoid a warrant or a bounty without someone recognizing you and turning you in

[18.02] - In most cases with law personnel are not witnesses to the crime(s) you have committed, they will begin by pursuing criminals after conducting an investigation and compiling a file of offenses and charges. When dealing with major crimes, law enforcement may utilize putting out a warrant for your arrest or posting a bounty

[18.04] - Never be afraid of getting caught by law enforcement, as getting caught is great for roleplay! It allows a storyline to come to a natural conclusion and forces character progression across the board for all characters involved in the story. Take this time to push  your character in a new direction and potentially have an even bigger story

[18.05] - Once law personnel catches a criminal, they will disarm the criminal and temporarily restrain them until detainment within a local cell. Once you are detained in handcuffs, please limit how often you run around and mess with law enforcement. Keep in mind that New Haven functions in a serious roleplay environment

[19.01] - Players should never complain to the New Haven Management or Staff Team about serving jailtime for the crimes they committed. Being a criminal roleplayer has its realistic consequences and serving time is one of the main ones. Being jailed should not be looked at as a stop of roleplay, rather a continuation of a storyline and a place to continue character development

[19.02] - When serving jailtime, be cognizant of the environment you are in. Sisika Penitentiary should be treated like a maximum-security penitentiary. Guards will be watching your every move at all times. Contraband should be difficult to move and escaping the prison is nearly impossible. Be mindful about crimes committed behind bars, as this tends to apply to a harsher and longer punishment

[20.01] - Players should not be committing a significant amount of crimes multiple times a day. You need to give law personnel and civilians time to react to your crime and recover from your acts. Constantly breaking the law without any sort of break in-between is extremely taxing on deputy characters and may cause other players to burn out from your story. No one is the main character in New Haven!

[20.02] - Execution by hanging, firing squad, or life in prison is always a good option for ending a criminal career. This ending can be very rewarding for not only your own story, but for law enforcement as well. No player will be forced to permanently kill off their character. If you would like to pick one of these more permanent options, open a ticket using our #create-a-ticket tool in the New Haven Discord