Guidelines for Testing Mortals Hat

1)      No testing of anyone below necromancer.
2)      No testing by combat of anyone below legend.
3)      When the test is complete, you tell the player concerned:
        a)      that they were tested
        b)      whether they passed or failed
        c)      if they failed, then what they failed; if they failed combat and died as a result, then what they should have done to prevent it.

        As usual, these guidelines can be overridden in exceptional circumstances; for example a necromancer may stay a few points below legend and taunt you that you can't test them by combat, or a necromancer may be an ex-legend well known to you who will benefit very well from a trial by combat.

        If a test is conducted where the participant is under wiz protection, then this fact should be announced publicly. If it is not announced, then the mortal is not under wiz protection. For long and involved tests, the mortal should preferably be placed under wiz protection.

        Wizzes playing as mortals can still kill for the normal mortal reasons, so long as they don't later claim it was for testing purposes. They should be treated by wizzes exactly like other mortals. In particular, attacking players at much lower levels for no good reason, or persistently attacking an individual player, or practically emptying the game by indiscriminate killings, can all be treated by the wizzes as bad behaviour if the action concerned was not part of a test. Archwizzes will be especially annoyed by wiz mortals that misbehave in this manner - if wizzes can't play mortals responsibly, what hope is there that the rest of the mortals will do so?

                Richard the arch-wizard.


Copyright © Richard A. Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk)
21st January 1999: bl10c.htm