The Unofficial Banishment Rules

[Undyne]

Just to emphasize the tile once more: these are in no way official rules. They are not site-enforced, and mostly base on a "treat others the way you would like to be treated" maxime.

Credit goes to Thaal/BWNN for inspiring me to this with the PvP Flag system. Thread here, if you're wondering.

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to "shame" anyone who banished anyone else for any reason. If you feel offended by this post, I sincerely apologize and assure you that this wasn't my intention.


The Unofficial Banishment Rules, or UBR as we shall call them from here on, are a collection of rules intended on bringing some order to the touchy subject that is Banishment. To be clear with you all: I personally do not enjoy the system as it currently stands, that's why most rules are trimmed towards discouraging people from banishing one another. The UBR are not however intended to remove the mechanics of Banishment and the Underverse, or change any of them - that's a different subject that has been extensively discussed in other threads. The UBR treat the current system as it stands.

A brief explanation of Banishment for newcomers and those not well versed in the Omniverse yet:[spoiler]Banishment is a possible outcome after a fight. By using a consumable Banishment circle which you must first purchase for 250 OM, you can send the character you defeated to the Underverse instead of killing them. You can use this as a threat to the opponent if they intend to attack you, to rid the Omniverse of some rampaging Prime with a high bounty, or any other reason. The conditions to being able to banish somebody are winning a battle and having at least one Circle.

A banished character is sent to the Underverse, which is the Omniverse equivalent of Hell: it's an extremely hostile verse inhabited by powerful demons and their leader, the NPC Prime Diablo. Being there is horrid, and escaping it is nearly impossible. The only way to do so is through Diablo, who is able to open portals to the rest of the Omniverse to let you out. There are no Nexus portals or void gates, also Dataverse devices do not function and Communicators only do so within the Underverse. You are essentially cut off from the Omniverse beyond the Underverse.

In order to escape you must go through a hard quest (20-40k words) in which you gain the Lord of Terror's attention and get him to let you out. While it is not the only way to do so, becoming Diablo's agent is the most reliable way. If you have an idea, I personally recommend asking a mod if that idea is okay, so you don't waste your time on a quest that will not be approved.

Getting out of the Omniverse is thus a lengthy and time-consuming process on par with a void quest. Being banished will isolate you from the rest of the Omniverse for a long time - in any case, longer than the three days it takes you to respawn. That's why using a Banishment circle to get rid of a major PITA is a relatively reliable method.[/spoiler]

Now without further ado, here are the rules.

1. Don't banish if you're not willing to risk being banished.
While of course there's no guarantee that if you don't banish anyone you won't get banished yourself some day, you should avoid banishing others if you are not willing to eventually have your character banished as well. People will know you've done it, and someone who's done something once is likely to do it again. They may feel threatened and banish you so you can't do it to them. More of a common sense rule than a real one.

2. Don't re-banish. At least have grace periods.
Nobody has escaped the Underverse yet, but I am putting this out in the event that it happens. It eventually will.
If you encounter someone who was banished and has returned for whatever reason, do not immediately attempt to banish them again. They have likely gone through a ton of effort to get their character back into the real world, banishing them again immediately is going to be a kick to the shin for them.
You could allow them a grace period unless they threaten you, or warn them to stay away from your base, don't try to attack you, or whatever it is that prompted the initial banishment.

3. Keep in mind that the respawn is a punishment too.
If we compare death and banishment to prison, banishment is a capital sentence. Think about it: is what the other person did really so bad that they deserve the worst possible punishment that the Omniverse has to offer? Is it sufficient to send them back to the Nexus with a while of being unable to do a thing? They just might be scared off after that first time of being beaten by you.

4. Don't trivialize Banishment.
As said in rule 3, banishment is like a capital sentence. Think it over twice, three times, a dozen if you have to. Do you really want to associate whatever your opponent did with sending them to Hell? Or will you start using Banishing Circles for more and more petty crimes until you banish someone for bad-mouthing you during a spar? Well, I might be going over the top here but you get the idea.

5. Don't banish bountied ones on their first infraction.
Kind of related to rules 3 and 4. Of course that person likely did something to get a bounty on their head, and of course your Banishing circle will get refunded if you use it on them. But unless it's something really really bad, maybe you could let them go with a warning? You kill them, you cash in the bounty and move on. If they proceed to mass-murder people and rack up a new bounty, that's a different story.

6. Discuss it OOCly.
When in doubt, try speaking to the other person privately, ask them about what you are considering. Do they want to get their character banished so they can meet their Lord and Savior Diablo, or did they at least realize that it might happen, and proceed with what they did regardless? Or did they just want an interesting rivalry between your character and theirs? What would they do if they were in your skin? Would they banish as well?
Remember that the Omniverse is intended to be a fun site where we make up amazing storylines by cooperating. Banishment might be an opportunity, a challenge to the other person, something they will welcome with open arms even though their character might not - or it might be a character destroyer that makes them switch or even leave the site with a bitter taste in their mouth. A brief OOC talk might clear things up and help you make a decision that benefits everyone.

7. Allow for negotiation.
Banishment is a last resort. There's plenty of options in-between which will make for great roleplay stories as well. Did they destroy your base in an assault? Instead of banishing or even just killing them, have them help you rebuild it. Did they try to kill you and leave you injured? Have them carry your heavy backpack and accompany you on your journey to wherever. Was what they did not so bad after all? You could just forgive them this once and let them off with a warning. You could have them give you that awesome weapon that they used to attack you so you can make your own move out of it, or teach you about casting that neat spell they had up their sleeve. You get something out of it this way and it might be the start of something entirely new and amazing, like a rivalry or a frenemy-ship.
Just like Vegeta became Goku's frenemy after Goku didn't murder him when he had the chance.

8. Be prepared for retaliation.
Okay, so you've decided that that opponent you defeated is a terrible person and deserves to be banished, you got a circle at the ready, then you notice the hateful look in their eyes. You see that they'll find a way out of the Underverse, and when they do they will be back for you no matter the consequences. Think about it, do you really want to go through with it? They can track you down and take their revenge, and if they have made it out once they will do so again. They may even get some friends to gang up on you with. Do you really want that?
And even if they don't escape, maybe they had friends. Powerful friends, dangerous friends. Friends who will hate you for what you did. You might get attacked when weakened and exhausted from that fight you just won, by three or four very angry Primes, one of which has just purchased a circle to send you plummeting right behind that person you just ripped out of their lives.

9. Hypocrites are the worst of all.
If you agree to follow these rules and expect others to apply them to you, follow them yourself as well. Don't be that person. Because nobody likes that person. If you tell others to follow these rules then you break them as soon as it becomes conveniant to you, we're going to ask Omni to make an Underverse for you where the ground is made out of lego bricks.


I might be getting overly dramatic here, but I think I got the point across. Do you have any suggestions for this?

[Ganondorf]

Looks fine to me.

[Lubbock]

Yang, you pulled the words out of my mouth and turned them into something persuasive, powerful and beautiful. *Raises hand* I solemnly swear to follow these rules and do my best to persuade others to do the same.

[Amaterasu]

Thank you both! Really appreciate it

[Moon]

I certainly approve of this.

[Demetri Malius]

-actually reads the fine print- I approve! Still waiting to get banished though :T