Rules

City rules

Everyone in the city plays by the same rules. Read them before you load in, and quote the number when you report something.

1. General Rules

Baseline requirements every player must follow on the server.

  1. 1.1

    All players must have working clipping software (NVIDIA, AMD, Medal, Outplayed, etc.).

  2. 1.2

    A working microphone is required, and Push-to-Talk must always be enabled.

  3. 1.3

    Holding E while dead will permanently forfeit all items with no refund.

  4. 1.4

    Any form of discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, or intentional misgendering is strictly prohibited and will result in a permanent ban.

  5. 1.5

    Every kill must be clipped for potential POV requests.

  6. 1.6

    Real Money Trading (RMT) is strictly prohibited.

  7. 1.7

    Exploiting, cheating, or using third-party software that provides an advantage is prohibited.

  8. 1.8

    Server rules are subject to change at any time.

  9. 1.9

    No props must be removed.

2. Roleplay Terminology

In-character words to use in place of out-of-character terms.

TermIn character
2.1 GreenZoneGreen Grass
2.2 DiscordEmails
2.3 MicrophoneVoicebox / Throat
2.4 RestartStorm / Tsunami
2.5 F8 QuitPop Your Head / Go to Sleep
2.6 StaffGovernment (Gov)
2.7 KeybindMuscle
2.8 Server IDPockets / Lucky Number
2.9 AFKIn My Head

3. Character & Roleplay Standards

Expectations for staying in character and keeping roleplay realistic.

  1. 3.1

    Stay in character at all times.

  2. 3.2

    Males are not allowed to play on female peds unless they are assigned the LGBTQ+ role. This is to prevent exploitation when it comes to female perks and opportunities while still allowing for inclusivity for our LGBTQ+ community members.

  3. 3.3

    Breaking character during a roleplay scene is prohibited.

  4. 3.4

    OOC threats such as "I'm reporting you" or "You're getting banned" are considered Fail RP.

  5. 3.5

    All roleplay should be realistic and immersive.

  6. 3.6

    Metagaming (using Discord, streams, or outside information) is strictly prohibited.

  7. 3.7

    Character deaths (CKs) are permanent within roleplay.

  8. 3.8

    Female Harassment/Disrespect will not be tolerated.

4. Green Zones

Locations where criminal activity is not allowed, and how they work.

The following areas are permanent Green Zones unless otherwise announced:

  1. 4.1

    Hospitals

  2. 4.2

    Police Stations

  3. 4.3

    Town Hall

  4. 4.4

    Casino (including parking lot)

  5. 4.5

    Drug Locations

  6. 4.6

    School Campus

  7. 4.7

    All Garages

  8. 4.8

    Banks

  9. 4.9

    Paintball

  10. 4.10

    Mirror Park Plaza

  11. 4.11

    All Clothing Stores

  12. 4.12

    Hair Salons / Barber Shops

  13. 4.13

    Family Blocks

  14. 4.14

    All Spawn Locations

  15. 4.15

    All Player Businesses (Open & Closed)

  16. 4.16

    City Events (unless staff announces otherwise)

Green Zone Rules

  1. 4.17

    No shootings, robberies, kidnappings, scams, or criminal activity.

  2. 4.18

    No initiating roleplay inside a Green Zone.

  3. 4.19

    If a scene starts outside and moves into a Green Zone, it becomes a Grey Zone.

5. Civilian & Gang Roleplay

How civilians and gangs interact, including scams and robberies.

  1. 5.1

    Civilians and gangs should avoid unnecessary conflict.

  2. 5.2

    Criminal roleplay such as gun or drug deals allows scams.

  3. 5.3

    Vehicles and houses may never be scammed.

  4. 5.4

    Gangs may rob civilians or rival gangs with valid roleplay.

  5. 5.5

    If you scam and rob someone and they kill you before dying themselves, your character is CK'd.

  6. 5.6

    Civilians must have two negative interactions before attempting a robbery. The robbery becomes the third interaction and must include quality roleplay.

6. Police & Criminal Roleplay

Rules for criminal roleplay involving law enforcement.

  1. 6.1

    Criminals are expected to provide quality roleplay when interacting with law enforcement.

  2. 6.2

    Police officers may only be kidnapped with a valid roleplay reason.

  3. 6.3

    Do not shoot at police without meaningful escalation.

  4. 6.4

    If you initiate lethal force against PD and die, your character will receive a CK.

  5. 6.5

    Unrealistic GTA driving, impossible jumps, or swimming away during police pursuits is prohibited.

  6. 6.6

    If your affiliate is detained, do not interfere by attacking officers.

  7. 6.7

    Selling under highways, bridges, or tunnels is prohibited.

  8. 6.8

    If officers witness you possessing or firing a weapon before entering the death state, they may confiscate it.

7. RDM (Random Deathmatch)

Attacking or killing players without proper initiation.

  1. 7.1

    No attacking or killing another player without proper initiation.

  2. 7.2

    Random violence or "loot boxing" is prohibited.

  3. 7.3

    Gang initiation rules differ from civilian initiation. Follow all faction-specific rules.

  4. 7.4

    Must be a 2 min interaction before killing someone.

8. Robbery & Initiation Rules

What a hostile interaction or robbery requires.

  1. 8.1

    Hostile interactions must include meaningful roleplay.

  2. 8.2

    Robbing and killing during the same scene is prohibited.

  3. 8.3

    If you are clearly outnumbered or caught lacking, you are expected to value your life and comply.

  4. 8.4

    Electric vehicles may not be used to slide into roleplay situations.

9. VDM (Vehicle Deathmatch)

Using vehicles as weapons.

  1. 9.1

    Vehicles may not be intentionally used as weapons.

  2. 9.2

    Purposely disabling vehicles through unrealistic collisions is prohibited.

10. Fail RP

Behavior that breaks realistic roleplay.

Examples include:

  1. 10.1

    Continuing to fight after being incapacitated.

  2. 10.2

    Driving Police or EMS vehicles without authorization.

  3. 10.3

    Shooting from rooftops or unrealistic elevated positions.

  4. 10.4

    Ignoring fear for your character's life.

  5. 10.5

    Breaking character during active roleplay.

  6. 10.6

    You must roleplay your injuries and any physical limitations they cause. While using a crutch, you should not engage in negative or illegal activities such as scamming, stealing vehicles, or similar behavior. Failure to properly roleplay your injuries will be considered Fail RP. If you are killed while engaging in these activities, you cannot use a report as retaliation. Again, you must roleplay your injuries.

11. Powergaming

Forcing outcomes or using mechanics unfairly in roleplay.

Powergaming includes:

  1. 11.1

    Exploiting game mechanics for personal gain.

  2. 11.2

    Entering Green Zones to escape roleplay.

  3. 11.3

    Identifying masked players solely by voice.

  4. 11.4

    Forcing unrealistic outcomes on other players.

12. Not Valuing Life (NVL)

Your character must act like their life matters.

  1. 12.1

    Your character must fear for their life.

  2. 12.2

    Do not rush someone holding a firearm with a melee weapon.

  3. 12.3

    Failure to value your life resulting in your death may lead to a Character Kill (CK).

13. Combat Logging

Leaving the server to avoid roleplay or punishment.

  1. 13.1

    Logging out to avoid roleplay or punishment is prohibited.

  2. 13.2

    Disconnecting during an active scene requires you to return and continue roleplay.

  3. 13.3

    Combat logging results in a ban and inventory wipe.

14. Exploiting

Abusing glitches, duplication, and clipping through the map.

  1. 14.1

    No duplicating items or abusing glitches.

  2. 14.2

    No clipping through doors, walls, or locked interiors.

  3. 14.3

    Report exploits immediately.

15. New Life Rule (NLR)

What your character remembers after death.

  1. 15.1

    Upon death, your character forgets all events leading up to it.

  2. 15.2

    You may only regain that information if another surviving participant reminds you through roleplay.

16. Female Exclusive Items

Who may use female-exclusive clothing and items.

  1. 16.1

    Female-exclusive clothing and items may only be used by female characters.

  2. 16.2

    Abuse of gender-locked items will result in punishment.

17. Reports & Refunds

Evidence needed for reports and refund requests.

  1. 17.1

    Every report must include a minimum 2-minute clip with audio.

  2. 17.2

    No clip means no staff assistance or refunds.

  3. 17.3

    Refund requests without sufficient evidence will be denied.

  4. 17.4

    Some items are non-refundable regardless of circumstances.

18. Community Conduct

How to treat staff and community members in and out of the city.

  1. 18.1

    Hate speech, harassment, discrimination, or real-life threats are not tolerated.

  2. 18.2

    OOC toxicity on Discord, Twitch, TikTok, or any platform associated with The Palms may result in removal from the community.

  3. 18.3

    Respect staff and community members at all times.

  4. 18.4

    Staff decisions are final unless appealed through the proper channels.

19. Rules of Engagement

When and how violence, robberies, scams, and retaliation are allowed.

  1. 19.1

    No shooting or killing while EMS is on scene.

  2. 19.2

    No shooting inside or into green zones.

  3. 19.3

    No shooting or pulling out a weapon inside ANY clothing store.

  4. 19.4

    No Pop-Out RP—you must have a valid RP interaction before shooting.

  5. 19.5

    No shooting or killing on ANY family block.

  6. 19.6

    :You are outnumbered and must fear for your life if your weapon is not already drawn. If your weapon is already drawn, you may attempt to defend yourself.

  7. 19.7

    :You may attempt to draw your weapon, but you are responsible for the consequences.

  8. 19.8

    Once you surrender, you cannot suddenly draw a weapon.

  9. 19.9

    :You must have at least two minutes of valid roleplay interaction before robbing another player. The interaction must be meaningful and cannot be stalled, forced, or dragged out just to meet the time requirement. No immediate robberies or "hands up" on first contact.

  10. 19.10

    :Civilians and gang members may not interfere with, provoke, or bait faction members.

  11. 19.11

    Official Legacy Family members are also prohibited from interfering with or engaging with faction members.

  12. 19.12

    :Civilians must value their lives and respect faction roleplay. Faction members may order civilians to leave their block. If a civilian refuses after three clear warnings and reasonable time to comply, faction members may rob or kill them. Civilians should not intentionally loiter, provoke, or bait on faction blocks.

  13. 19.13

    :Civilians may not slide on or attack gang/faction blocks, participate in gang wars, or behave like gang members without established and approved gang/faction roles as well as identification. Civilians must value their lives and respect faction RP.

  14. 19.14

    :You cannot scam someone and then rob them during the same scene. Choose one interaction—scam or robbery. Failure to follow these requirements will make the retaliation scene invalid. You will be required to return all stolen items and may still face additional consequences.

  15. 19.15

    :You cannot kill someone and rob/loot them within the same scene. If the scene results in the individual being killed, they cannot also be robbed.

  16. 19.16

    :Legacy Family members must have the required amount of documented negative interactions before initiating attacks, shootings, kidnappings, or other forms of violence against another Legacy Family. Without the required negative interactions, the violence is considered invalid. Families will be punished if they engage in violence without the required interactions.

  17. 19.17

    :Negative interactions should develop naturally through RP and cannot be forced, rushed, or created solely to meet the requirement for violence.

  18. 19.18

    :If someone scams you, you have up to 24 hours to locate and retaliate against them. You must have valid proof of the scam and confirm the person's identity through RP. This does not automatically authorize a permanent Character Kill (CK); all CKs must follow the server's official CK requirements. Once retaliation occurs, the situation is considered concluded. You should receive a reimbursement, or the individual should give back the money or items they scammed from you.

  19. 19.19

    :If you are the individual robbed, you must be the same person to kill the person that robbed you for it to be deemed valid. You MUST have your own POV of the kill as well as the previous robbing scene. If you were robbed, you must personally carry out the retaliation for the kill to be considered valid. You must provide your own POV of both the original robbery and the retaliation. Friends, family members, or affiliates cannot carry out the retaliation on your behalf. Again, you must provide clear proof that the individual you retaliated against is the same person who originally robbed you. Failure to provide sufficient proof will make the retaliation invalid.

  20. 19.20

    Scamming involving real estate or family properties is prohibited, regardless of the amount involved. This will be treated as a bannable offense.

20. Powergaming - In Game Abuse

Abusing green zones and server mechanics to gain an unfair advantage.

Players may not abuse green zones or other in-game mechanics to gain an unfair advantage during roleplay.

  1. 20.1

    You may not enter or retreat into a green zone solely to avoid an active conflict or prevent another player from continuing an RP scenario.

  2. 20.2

    You may not initiate conflict from within a green zone or use the green zone as protection while engaging players outside of it.

  3. 20.3

    You may not shoot into or out of a green zone to engage in conflict.

  4. 20.4

    Players may not intentionally use green zones, safe areas, or other server mechanics to force an unrealistic outcome or avoid consequences of an ongoing RP situation.

Green zones are intended to protect roleplay and provide safe areas — they are not intended to be exploited as a shield from conflict. Using them to manipulate an RP situation will be considered Powergaming and may result in punishment.

21. Government Officials & Emergency Services

How to treat government employees, their vehicles, and EMS scenes.

  1. 21.1

    :Stealing, taking, or intentionally using a government-issued vehicle without authorization may result in punishable actions.

  2. 21.2

    :Intentionally interfering with a government official while they are performing their job may result in punishable actions.

  3. 21.3

    :When EMS is actively treating or responding to a scene, all shooting and active violence must stop in the immediate area. Failure to comply may result in punishable actions.

  4. 21.4

    :Government employees may not be intentionally targeted, harassed, kidnapped, or attacked solely because of their government position.

22. Government Official Impersonation

Posing as police, EMS, or other official roles without being hired.

You may not impersonate or roleplay as PD, EMS, Real Estate, DOJ, Family Management, or any other government or official position within The Palms unless you are officially hired, appointed, or authorized for that job role. This includes:

  1. 22.1

    Wearing restricted uniforms, badges, or other official identification.

  2. 22.2

    Driving or using department vehicles without authorization.

  3. 22.3

    Possessing or using restricted job equipment.

  4. 22.4

    Performing job duties, such as conducting traffic stops, making arrests, providing official medical services, selling properties, or issuing legal orders.

  5. 22.5

    Claiming an official rank or using false authority to give orders, collect payments, gain access, or obtain information.

  6. 22.6

    Impersonating an official through your character name, messages, or documents.

Having access to a uniform, vehicle, or equipment does not give you permission to use it. Former employees may not continue acting in their previous role after leaving or being removed. Any storyline involving impersonation must receive owner approval beforehand. Violations may result in a ban. Impersonation used to scam, harass, or abuse authority may lead to additional punishment.

23. Rules Enforcement & Staff Discretion

Staff can act on behavior that is not specifically listed in this rulebook.

  1. 23.1

    The Palms Rulebook is not an exhaustive list of every possible rule violation or punishable action. Just because a specific action, situation, or violation is not explicitly listed in this handbook does not mean it is permitted or that no punishment can be issued.

  2. 23.2

    Players are expected to use common sense, good judgment, and respect The Palms' roleplay standards at all times. If a player engages in behavior that goes against The Palms' rules, roleplay standards, community expectations, or negatively impacts the roleplay experience, staff reserve the right to take appropriate disciplinary action, even if the specific violation is not directly listed in this handbook.

  3. 23.3

    Not listed does not mean allowed. Staff may review each situation based on its context, intent, severity, and impact on the community when determining appropriate consequences.