Rules of Conduct

In order to keep a healthy environment for players, joining AEther RPG means that you agree to abide by all of the following rules:

1. Be kind and respectful to other members. No slurs or hate speech of any kind, including in casual conversation will not be tolerated. Harassment is also not acceptable from anyone on the server, and will be dealt with privately if mods are contacted.
2. Please keep all rebuttals, arguments, and discussions civil. Respect others opinions, listen to their requests to either be left alone, change the topic, or if they seem bothered just leave them alone. Please do not actively seek fights, also realize if you're both angry you'll probably not be able to convince each other.
3. Do not spam. This includes any of the channels in the AEther game server or on the wiki page or discussion boards. Spamming includes sending anything repeatedly in quick succession in either any text channel or in private messages, or anything in private messages without being asked or after being told not to.
4. Do not make complaints in the chatrooms. If the staff or moderator of AEther pings you for any reason, or if you have any other completely reasonable complaints please contact a higher administrator.
5. Do not advertise other groups unless done in a specified channel or area. Advertisements elsewhere will be considered spam and dealt with as such.

Base Expectations

1. We’re all here to have fun. The most fundamental rule is that everybody, including the DM, is at the table to have fun. Rules disputes, tactical debates, and even those tough in-character story decisions can cause the game to come to a screeching halt if people start to take things personally or become antagonistic or abusive. When you feel yourself getting angry or upset, we ask that you make a conscious decision to step back, take a deep breath, and find a compromise so that the game can continue. If all else fails, the DM makes a final decision, and the argument is officially over at that point. Players should not pressure GMs into doing anything and should always be acceptive to the response to being denied something.
2. We're all here to play Pathfinder. This means the core of the game. While sources from outside of Pathfinder are situational, all players are here to play the paizo game Pathfinder, and in joining you are expected to enjoy the game as it is.
3. Remember that it’s a team game. While creating a brooding loner character can be interesting, every character should still be able to function well in a team environment. 4th Edition D&D is all about working together to overcome challenges, and the mechanics of the game reinforce that aspect. Roleplay your character however you like, so long as you remember the importance of assisting your fellow adventurers. There are players of varying degrees of experience, so everything that may work best for you may not work well for others.
4. You can’t intentionally attack, damage, or hinder other PCs without the player’s permission. If you are in control of your character and want to use a power that could include other PCs in its area of effect, always ask the players controlling the affected characters if it’s OK to damage or otherwise hinder their character before you make the attack. If they agree, you may proceed, but if any of the affected players does not want you to attack or otherwise hinder his or her PC, you must respect their wishes. This could mean retargeting the power so that it doesn't include the other PC in the area of effect, or choosing a different power altogether, depending on the situation. This also means that you can’t steal items from other PCs, even if the item is unattended (perhaps because the other character dropped it during a battle).
5. Sometimes PCs can be forced to attack other PCs, such as when a monster dominates a character, but in that case, the attacks are decided by the DM, not by the player of the dominated character.
6. You can play an adventure more than once, but you have to use a different character every time. Unless otherwise specified, you may play any AEther adventure multiple times, so long as you use a different character each time you play. You can even DM a game and then play it at a later date. If you have prior knowledge of an adventure, you are required to let the DM know at the beginning of the game. You're on the honor system: don’t ruin the surprises for anyone else that might be experiencing the adventure for the first time.
7. Play where you want to play. Where you live isn't a restriction on what you can play. AEther adventures do not have real-world geographic restrictions. You can play AEther adventures at home, in retail game stores, at libraries, at conventions, online, or any other way that you like to play D&D. When you play online, we do ask that you not make the full record of the game publicly available to anyone who wasn’t a participant.

Excluded Content

Certain D&D game material cannot be used in AEther at all, even if other content from the same player resource is allowed. We exclude anything that falls too far outside the core themes of the AEther campaign setting, or that would require so much DM adjudication as to be effectively unusable in a shared-world campaign or difficult for new players to get a hold of. The table of player resources on page 3 lists the specific elements, if any, that are excluded from each player resource. The following content is not allowed, regardless of source:

1. Any background that requires your character to be from a specific location that is not in the AEther.
2. Any rules content, even if it is found in a player resource, that is based on excluded content (such as dragonmarks or arcane defiling), or that has such content as a requirement or prerequisite (such as a requirement to worship a non-Realms deity)
3. Any content that specifies it requires DM adjudication in order to be used by a character. This includes Spheres of Magic/Might/Alchemy/ect., new rule systems, or first-party variant rule systems that are not already present in AEther.
4. Inherent (level-based) enhancement bonuses.
5. Any material that specifically states it is not intended for use in Organized Play.

TYPES OF GAMES

There are two different classifications of games in AEther.

• Quests: Quests are small missions that you can to net rewards, experience, and roleplay opportunity. They can usually be fufiled with much smaller parties, requiring minimally 2 characters (1 of which can be a GM controlled NPC) and can be completed at your leisure.
• Adventure: Adventures are shorter journeys that typically take characters around their general area. They are seperated into different parts - most adventures having 3-4 parts total. Each part is often a session, though some shorter parts can be brought into one.
• Campaign: Campaigns are a series of connected quests that are meant to be completed over the course of multiple sessions. Each session typically lasts 2-5 hours. Campaigns usually span across a wider area and can even take characters away from their vicinity.

Difficulty

• Local Heroes (Heroic): CR 1-4
• Heroes of the Realm (Paragon): CR 5-10
• Masters of the Realm (Champion): CR 11-16
• Masters of the World (Epic): CR 17-20

Variant Rules

The variant rules allowed in AEther are:
Allowed

• Affiliations
• Bar Fights
• Background Skills
• Called Shots
• Chases
• Corruption
• Downtime
• Duels
• Sandbox Exploration
• Fear and Sanity
• Harvesting Monsters
• Hero Points
• Honor and Honor Points
• Investments
• Kingdom Building
• Settlements
• Mass Combat
• Performance Combat
• Reputation and Fame
• Occult Rules*
• Stamina & Combat Tricks

Learning

• Caravans
• Creating New Races
• Mythic Rules

Not Allowed

• Creating New Classes
• Spheres of Power