DD FAQ: Section 6

Clans and Pkilling

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[6.1]  What are clans?

Clans are groups of characters who share a particular philosophy and have banded together for friendship, protection and mutual support. New clans are formed on occassion, and old ones are sometimes disbanded; there are usually four or five clans active at any one time. The DD website contains information about the various clans.

Belonging to a clan allows you to become a pkiller [see FAQ 6.10]. This means that you will be able to murder other players who belong to clans, and can also be murdered yourself.

Currently, in DD4, there are no active clans.

See the help entries for CLANS and "CLAN COMMANDS".


[6.2]  Do I have to join a clan?

No. You must join a clan or become ronin (see FAQ 6.8) if you wish to pkill other players. If you don't wish to pkill, you can still join a clan, but you will be able to be pkilled by other players.


[6.3]  How do I join a clan?

You need to talk to the clan members and ask to join. A clan leader or high-ranking member will normally need to approve. You may need to convince the clan that you will be a worthy member: the policies of the various clans differ. You cannot force a clan to let you join.

Each clan has its own help entry online: type "HELP [clan code]" for more information.


[6.4]  What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a clan?

Being a clannie confers several advantages. Clans have headquarters hidden throughout the MUD. These headquarters are protected and have their own healers. Clans also have special pieces of equipment available to each member; these items contain good health and combat bonuses. Clan members can transport themselves directly to their headquarters using the HOME command. Each clan also has their own healing item, which improves the rate of healing for all those in the room. Clan items can be stolen from other clans and hoarded.

The most important change is the granting of permission to pkill. Members of one clan are vulnerable to being murdered by members of every other clan: very few locations in the MUD are safe for clannies. Clan members also lose their ability to recall to Midgaard after level 30, and must quest to regain it.


[6.5]  When can I join a clan?

You can join a clan at any time after level 19 and until you reach level 41.


[6.6]  I've just decided that I really want to join a clan, but I'm too high level: is there anyway I can get in?

No. Ignorance of this rule is no excuse.


[6.7]  How can I leave my clan? Can I join another clan?

You can leave your clan by using the LEAVE command. This will immediately remove your clanned status. Your clan equipment will disappear as soon as you leave.

Once you leave, you are invisibly flagged as a 'clan deserter'. You will not be able to be guilded by leaders of other clans if you are a deserter: you must petition an Immortal to guild you. Generally, once you leave and start to adventure, you will not be let back into any clan.


[6.8]  What are ronin characters? How do I become ronin?

Ronin are clanless characters who lose the benefits of a clan head-quarters and clan equipment, but are otherwise legal pkillers. Clanned players and other ronin may legally attack a ronin character; ronin characters may legally attack clanned players and other ronin.

Characters used to become ronin after leaving their clan without the permission of their leader, but now ronin status is granted exclusively by the Immortals. You must petition the Imms if you wish to become ronin and provide good reasons: irreconcilable differences with your existing clan, proven experience as a pkiller, etc. Your character needn't have been a clan member previously before becoming ronin.

To avoid possible conflicts of interest, once one of your characters becomes ronin, ALL of your existing clanned characters must leave their clans or become ronin too. You may not guild ANY of your characters to clans while you have ronin players. All of your ronin characters must hand in or destroy any clan equipment they have.


[6.9]  Can I start up my own clan? What do I have to do?

If you satisfy the Immortal community that you can organise one. You need to have a character of your own at least level 50 and have one or more players (not characters!) willing to join. You'll need to propose the clan's basic philosophy and background, and think about what the headquarters may look like. Talk to an Imm or a clan leader for more advice. There is also a practical limit to the number of clans that can be active at any one time.

There are several features of your clan that you need to finalise:

Clan Headquarters
You are encouraged to build your own headquarters. If you don't know how to build areas please refer to the Building section on the website for more information. If you don't want to build your headquarters then the Imms will design a basic area for you, but beware: it will be small and simple! Clan headquarters should not be larger than half a dozen or so rooms, and the Imms reserve the right to make alterations as they desire. You should chat to the Imms for more specific information about what can and can't be incorporated into clan headquarters.

Clan headquarters contain special mobs and rooms. You need at least two mobs: one clan healer and one clan guard. The clan guard has the ability to attack intruders who penetrate the headquarters; the guard stands at the entrance to your clan. When you design your area, you must indicate which mobs are your healer and clan guard; you also need to indicate which room clan members will appear in when they recall to the clan using HOME, which room the clan guard stands in, and which room the healer stands in. If you do not provide this information properly, bad things can happen (your healing item won't work, your guard attacks you, and so on).

Clan Ranks
There are three clan ranks to indicate a character's status within the clan. The names of the ranks must be chosen by the clan designers; the higher the rank, the more status the character has. Clan leaders can promote and demote clan members as they desire. How ranks are awarded is determined by the clan; usually people gain ranks as they reach specific numbers of pkills or gain a certain number of pkill points.

Clan Equipment
Clans receive special equipment to improve their combat statistics and healing times: see FAQ 6.17. When designing your clan you must decide what bonuses each of the items will have:

Level 20 item 1 of the following, or 2 of the
following with the bonuses halved:
+8 hitroll
+8 damroll
+150 mana
+150 hits
+4 to any attribute
Level 30 item 2 of the following bonuses: +8 hitroll
+8 damroll
+150 mana
+150 hits
+4 to any attribute
Level 60 item 2 of the following bonuses: +15 hitroll
+15 damroll
+250 mana
+250 hits
+5 to any attribute
Level 50 pouch 1 of the following: +5 hitroll
+5 damroll
+50 mana
+50 hits

Clan items may only be worn in the following positions (except for beltpouchs): body, head, legs, feet, hands, arm, shield, about body, about waist. The level 20 and level 30 items must be worn in the same location. You should choose a different location for your level 60 item.


[6.10]  What is pkilling?

The murder of characters by other characters. This type of kill gives the murderer a KILLER flag unless both she and the victim are clan members or ronin, or the murder takes place in the Arena [see FAQ 3.32].


[6.11]  What are the rules regarding pkilling?

The MUD enforces some level limits on pkilling other characters as some form of protection on lower level players. These limits are spelt out in HELP PKILL RULES. There are restrictions on multiplay and pkill: please refer to "HELP MULTIPLAY" for these.

There are also some rules that are not enforced by the game with regards to killing the same player multiple times. You cannot pkill the same character twice without them having gained 5 levels ('spam killing'), unless they have a FINAL pkill score greater than zero (seen on their WHOIS information), or they attack you, or they are inside YOUR clan headquarters.


[6.12]  Are there any safe places where I can't be pkilled?

Yes. Midgaard city is safe, including the MUD School and the Donation Temple. Most trainers are also safe, as are recall points and questors. Clan HQs are not safe, but they do have a tough level 60 guard by the front door.

You can use the command SAFE to check whether you are safe from being pkilled in your current location. You can also make your prompt display whether you are personally safe and whether the room you are in is safe in general. See help entries for SAFE and PROMPT.


[6.13]  How are pkill scores calculated? Do they mean anything?

Pkill scores are calculated on the level difference between the two characters involved in the pkill:

Level difference Pkill points
Victim 6 levels or more below pkiller 1
Victim 5-3 levels below pkiller 2
Victim 2-1 levels below pkiller 3
Victim 0 to 4 levels above pkiller 3
Victim 5 to 9 levels above pkiller 5
Victim 10-14 levels above pkiller 7
Every additional 5 levels... 2 extra points

Once you have a few pkills under your belt, your pkill score is one reflection of how succesful you are. Killing people around your own level most of the time will give you an average of 2-3 points per kill. Above or below this is some indication of how successful you are. If you see someone with a lot of kills and a high rating (see below), watch out!

You can find out which pkillers have the most points by viewing the pkill score table (type PKILLERS). This table lists the top 20 pkillers, the number of people they have killed and the number of points they have gained. Also included is their 'rating', calculated from the average number of points gained per kill. The ratings, from highest to lowest, are: Slayer, Predator, Assassin, Hunter, Stalker, Brigand, and Coward. Killing people your level will give you a rating of Stalker.


[6.14]  How do I stop player X, who's 15 levels higher than me, from pkilling me?

There is nothing to stop people doing this if they want to, but they have to catch you first! The WHERE and WHO commands are very useful in pkill to see who is on and who's in the same area as you. The golden rule of self preservation: recall or attack first, ask questions later! The other way is to ask for help from either your clanmates or an allied clan. You can get someone your predator's level on to keep them in line.


[6.15]  Where are the rival clan head-quarters?

Clan head-quarters are hidden, but are all in the outlying regions of Solace, Kerofk and Anon.


[6.16]  Can I invade rival clans?

Yes, although you'll need to get past the tough level 60 clan guard, who will alert the MUD if it spots you. Invasion and the stealing of clan healing artefacts is fairly common.


[6.17]  What are clan items, and can I take them or destroy them?

Clans have special worn items to improve combat statistics such as damroll, hits and mana (see FAQ 6.9 for what items and bonuses may be used). Clan items are created and distributed by clan leaders using the OCLANITEM command (see the online help entry).

Clans also have unique healing items. Only one of these items is loaded for each clan when the MUD is rebooted. The clan healing items each accelerate the healing of all those in the same room as it; these items can be stolen by other clans, but cannot be destroyed or sacrificed. Clan healing items will only work in the healing room of any clan headquarters.


[6.18]  Can I quit inside rival clan head-quarters?

Yes. It is legal to quit there, with mind to re-enter later and surprise whoever's there in their pyjamas. Careful 'tho, someone bigger than you might be waiting in there...


[6.19]  What's 'fair' in pkill? I think someone has killed me unfairly!

Anything goes in pkill! If it is within the rules, then it's fair. Players are encouraged to pkill 'fairly', but a rogue pkiller or two adds a certain excitement to the game. Spam-killing will not be tolerated, however. If someone pkills you, don't get mad, get even!


[6.20]  What commands do clan leaders have?

Clan leaders are able to guild new members and remove other members who are not leaders, they can promote or demote clan members to different clan ranks, and they can load clan equipment. Leaders should read the online help entries for "CLAN COMMANDS" and "CLAN ITEMS" for more information.


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