Escalation Policy

Escalation Policy

This policy lays out how conflicts are expected to be resolved, and any breaches of this policy will be classified as either over-escalation or self-antag depending on the severity of the breach.

Escalation Steps

1. Completely non-harmful and unarmed actions such as shoving into a wall or table
2. Unarmed but harmful actions such as punching and kicking, or armed but non-harmful actions such as using a disabler or stun baton.
3. Armed combat - using any item as a weapon to cause harm to someone
4. Crit - you are responsible for seeing that your victim receives medical treatment.
5. Kill - If you properly escalate to this step, no medical attention is required.

Key terms

Aggressor: The person who initiated conflict. The aggressor may not escalate conflict to the next level, however they may stand their ground and match the force used against them.

Defender: The person who has had conflict initiated with them. Defenders may use a level of force one step above what an aggressor has used. This also allows the aggressor to match your force, so don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

Types of Escalation

Normal escalation: Normal escalation is followed step by step, an aggressor that shoves you may be met with unarmed combat + incapcitating weaponry. If a player is incapacitated and unable to fight back you may not continue to harm them under normal escalation. If the fight continues and they stand their ground, you may escalate to armed combat. If they still do not back down, you may crit them so long as you see that they receive medical treatment. If two players are having an unarmed brawl with neither willing to back down, it is not over-escalation when one eventually falls into crit, however medical treatment is still required.

Lavaland escalation: Means you can skip any conflict in which you are not the aggressor immediately to step 5. It is still generally bad taste to immediately kill someone that shoved you once, and you may be told it’s excessive if you’re found to be baiting people so you can kill them.

Antagonist escalation: Antagonists may kill their objective targets, players interfering with the completion objectives and witness to their crimes even if the other player does not initiate conflict. For any conflicts unrelated to objectives, antagonists follow Lavaland escalation - be careful who you mess with. Being intentionally obvious in order to chase down and kill “witnesses” will be classified as murderbone.

Murderbone escalation: Antagonists that are allowed to kill anything they are not explicitly allied with.

Special Cases

Security Clause: Security officers, the head of security and captain may escalate and skip to lethal force in accordance with Space Law's use of deadly force. Non-antagonists may not use lethal force against security until after they have used it against you without being baited or forced into using it. This means critting or killing security that is doing their job properly is always over-escalation for non-antagonists. As a non-antagonist, you are expected to disable/bamboozle security and run away or submit to the arrest.

Trespassing: Trespassing is defined as being in any department you do not have appropriate permission to access (stolen access is not permission). Players who are trespassing are automatically the aggressor in any conflict that starts with someone who is assigned in the current department. As usual, the aggressor may not escalate beyond the level of force used against them. If you wish for a trespassing player to be removed from your department, contact security before taking matters into your own hands whenever possible. Normal escalation follows when a trespasser is immediately aggressive.

Repeat aggressors: Once you have been the defender in a conflict with the same player three times, you may escalate immediately to step five for the current and all future conflicts in which they are the aggressor. This means you may not revenge kill them on sight if they receive medical treatment, but you may immediately toolbox their brains out again if they decide to shove you.

Dying to crit: If the defender is unable to render aid before someone in critical condition dies, but a genuine effort was made, it is not over-escalation. They are still expected to resuscitate or clone the other player, unless the station is in such a state that this is deemed not reasonably possible. If you ghost out of your body early and then report that the other player killed you, you will be slapped for ban-baiting.

Breaking up a Fight: If you witness a conflict in progress or wish to come to the aid of a co-worker, you may follow normal escalation to do so by attempting to shove players apart. You may not take sides in a fight if you do not understand the context for it unless one of the players chooses to intentionally escalates against you.

• This means stunning one player while openly allowing the other to mortally wound them is over-escalation.
• Obviously if you try to break up a knife fight, there's a reasonable chance you will be accidentally stabbed, and you should not retaliate
• If security is involved in a conflict, it is always self-antag to side against them when breaking up a fight, unless you can identify them as an imposter. Legitimate shitcurity should be reported via ahelp.

Pursuit: If you pursue someone that is attempting to escape a conflict, even if they are the aggressor, you become the aggressor and may no longer escalate. Use reasonable self-defense, but once your attacker is repelled it is no longer self-defense. The captain and identifiable members of security are never classified as aggressors by this clause - it is their literal job to protect the station even if the perpetrator flees the scene.

Guerilla: If you retreat only to attack again immediately (within five minutes), you are the aggressor of a fight even if you attempt to retreat again and are pursued as described above. Don't try to be a little shit and expect a fair fight.

Station Response: How station crew is allowed/expected to respond when seeing certain factions on station or meeting them when exploring. In many cases, outsiders are allowed to be treated more harshly than they are allowed to treat the crew. For example: Golems must follow normal escalation in their interactions and should not be provoking or engaging in conflict unless ordered, but crew are allowed to immediately terminate Golems which are acting out of line. Golems may then defend themselves in response to the attempt on their life.

• N/A - This is just crew from an outside perspective. Normal escalation applies because you aren't going to know what they are.
• Normal - Station crew should follow normal escalation when engaging
• Lavaland - Same as lavaland escalation above; crew may treat any apparently hostile intent from this entity as if they are a hostile threat. This does not necessarily mean whack the valid, use common sense to decide if your character should be fearful of them because they're a decked out murder machine, but you don't have to call security to break a sentient pet's neck if it's being a little shit.
• Hostile - Station crew should view this entity as inherently hostile on sight and act accordingly. Again this doesn't mean whack the valid if you aren't in a combat-oriented role.

Species and Faction Escalation

Escalation Guidelines

Role and Faction	Escalation to follow	Station Response	Special notes
Station Crew (Nanotrasen)	Normal	Normal	Includes Charlie station crew and all cases of crew which has been transformed into other entities. Yes you must still act like you are crew after being transformed, you are not an antagonist now.
Slaved Golems	Normal	Lavaland	Allied with the station and Nanotrasen until explicitly informed otherwise by your master.
Free Golems	Normal	Lavaland	Owe a debt of gratitude to the research director that freed them. Do not create conflict with NT.
Silicons	Lavaland	Lavaland	Never break your laws. Crew escalating against silicons should seek to have the units repaired.
Malfunctioning Silicons	Antagonist	Lavaland	May completely ignore other laws due to law 0. May not murderbone freely until doomsday, but is allowed to defend itself from hostile crew.
Internal Affairs (Nanotrasen)	Antagonist	N/A	You are working undercover for Nanotrasen, but they will disown you if you try to make this claim.
External Affairs (Syndicate)	Murderbone	N/A	You are a special agent hired by the syndicate to sow as much chaos as possible on the station.
Traitor (Syndicate)	Antagonist	N/A	Having an objective to Hijack the shuttle or die a glorious death changes this to Murderbone
Blood Brother (Syndicate)	Antagonist	N/A	Having an objective to Hijack the shuttle or die a glorious death changes this to Murderbone, but you must still ensure the safety of your partner.
Changeling (Syndicate)	Antagonist	Hostile	Having an objective to Hijack the shuttle or die a glorious death changes this to Murderbone
Nuclear Operatives (Syndicate)	Murderbone	Hostile	Do not wear a syndicate hardsuit if you don't want to be treated like an operative.
Heretic	Antagonist	N/A	Becomes Murderbone/hostile after heretic acension
Blood Cult (Nar'sie)	Antagonist	N/A	Prioritize converting/deconverting until Halo stage is reached. Becomes murderbone/hostile at Halo stage.
Clockwork Cult (Ratvar)	Antagonist	N/A	Prioritize converting/deconverting when possible. Becomes murderbone/hostile when portals announce.
Space Wizard (Federation)	Murderbone	Hostile
Space Ninja (Spider Clan)	Antagonist	Hostile	You have more than enough tools to evade just about anyone. Kill in self-defense, not at random.
Revolutionary	Antagonist	N/A	Prioritize converting/deconverting when possible. Revs may freely kill anyone with flash protection/mindshields
Xenobiology Slime	Normal	Hostile	Slimes spawned from Xenobiology are not antagonists unless their master directly orders hostility. Crew cannot tell Xenobiology slimes apart from Pyroclastic at a glance - expect to be treated as hostile.
Sentient Simplemob	Normal	Lavaland	You are allied to the station by default until explicitly ordered otherwise by your master - No master present means you are allied to the station.
Sentient Monkey	Lavaland	Lavaland	Reminder that transformed crew must still act like crew. Adminspawn or naturally sentient monkeys are allowed to cause some mayhem however.
Maintenance Teratoma	Lavaland	Hostile	Make people's lives miserable in creative ways, but don't do any lasting harm except in self-defense.
Other Teratoma	Antagonist	Hostile	Make peoples lives miserable in almost any way you wish, but don't massively grief the server even if you can pull it off. Just be a hostile monkey. You have no loyalty to the changeling that spawned you or anyone else.
Pyroclastic Slime	Murderbone	Hostile	Slimes spawned from pyroclastic anomalies may act as antagonists.
Morph	Antagonist	Hostile	You have an unending hunger and seek to consume everything. Crew will not take kindly to seeing you.
Swarmer	None	Hostile	Consume resources and reproduce. Stun and teleport lifeforms. Do not make the station unlivable.
Abductors	Normal	Hostile	Do not kill unless forced to, and do not drop abducted crew into dangerous places.
Obssessed	Antagonist	N/A	This is your pass to act crazy and get away with it. Nothing will get in between you and your senpai
Xenomorph	Murderbone*	Hostile	Killing should be done in the form of attempting to reproduce
Space Pirate	Murderbone*	Hostile	Cut down anyone in your way, but don't go out of your way just to murder people. Focus on looting.
Nightmare	Murderbone*	Hostile	Remember your ultimate goal is spreading darkness across the station, not directly killing crew.
Ashwalker	Murderbone*	Hostile	Kills should be sacrificed to the necropolis tendril. Do not seek entry to the station, do not seek to befriend outsiders or invaders; You worship the necropolis itself.
Lifebringer	Normal	Normal	Lavaland podpeople are on a mission to spread the life and seeds of their master.
Veterinarian	Normal	Normal	Spawns on lavaland confused about what has happened.
Beach Bartender and Bum	Normal	Normal	Do not seek entry to the station, nobody can understand you anyway.
Lavaland Syndicate	Murderbone*	Hostile	Do not leave your base, but kill anyone not affiliated with the Syndicate that seek to enter it.