Overview and Disclaimer
The content of this document cover all of our outlets, including this website, our official community discord, and our DeviantArt group/ This documentation exists to outline player behaviors and our actions we take to handle behaviors that go against this document. This is a document that can be edited under any situation to add new portions, clean up wording, or change rules that need be updated or changed. If you have questions please feel free to ask in our Discord, on this website, or on DeviantArt. Players are encouraged to review this documentation so that they may refresh and understand our rules!
By registering on this website, being a member of our discord or DeviantArt, or interacting with seasonal sales/player held sales you are agreeing to this terms of service and are accountable for understanding our rules! We are more than happy to help you understand the rules, but "I didn't read them" is not an answer if you break a rule.
Under no circumstances should this document be copied/referenced without first contacting a developer (Either Livard or Cryptid-Horror) for prior permission. We are happy to help other ARPGs and affiliates out, but please do not simply copy and paste our work.
When in doubt, if something doesn't make sense, or you don't understand a rule, ask us! We are happy to explain!
From here forward the following refers to specific things:
- Developers- Cryptid-Horror and Livard
- Creations - Artwork, Literature, and other creative pieces by players.
General Rules, Bans, and Conduct
General Rules Overview
- Treat others with respect. It costs nothing to be kind and we strive for a community of people who are kind to each other and are willing to help each other out!
- All names, personality, and content put on our outlets for your dragons (imports/etc) must be pg-13 in nature and not include any content that would be classified as hate speech, racist, or otherwise harmful to others.
- Adult rated content is Not permitted on our website or in our galleries! The Adult chatroom of the discord is the only place for these, and you must be 18 years of age or older to access this channel.
- Do not share your sensitive personal information in any form through the website, discord, or posts to our group. This includes, but may not be limited to:
- personal identifiable information (phone numbers, addresses, etc)
- Medical history/situations that are heavily detailed
- Please be mindful when you are aiding another player with a question, or recieving an answer from a non staff member about a question! The information may be outdated or wrong and if staff corrects the information it is most likely because of this.
- Creations submitted to the group that are excessive in violence, blood, or gore must have the mature filter on deviantart, and be labeled as such in claims/prompts. Some staff may be uncomfortable with certain subjects and we take this seriously, please respect this and let staff know if your piece may be sensitive in nature.
- All submissions to the group must involve Souls-Between either in its species, items, creations, or commissions. Including Souls-Between somewhere as an accepted group for your commissions or other journals suffices, but please do not abuse this to simply add your journal for extra exposure!
- I'm not part of Souls-Between anymore, how do I sell/trade/etc my items if I don't have an account? -- Pending Staff Review, but we will have a method for you to take!
- One account per player, so please make sure you assign it to your active deviantart account or the account you want it connected to (main or ARPG etc.) Having multiple accounts is grounds for suspension or a ban.
- Abusing any exploits in the game, or refusing to report them, is prohibited. Please let us know of errors or exploits!
- Names and all content you use for yourself on the website needs to be pg-13 in nature.
- Use of the website to avoid bans another player has against you on another outlet is prohibited.
User Icon Rules
- All user icons must be pg-13 or lower in nature. Use of nudity, or other adult themes is prohibited.
- Icons must follow our general rules of conduct and be respectful to all.
To view the entirety of our community discord's rules and standards, please join our discord!
- Do not DM admins or Developers without their explicit permission. We are all working very hard to make Souls-Between a fun and enjoyable game and keep its mechanics running! We have time on and off our ‘clock’ of work and would appreciate that we are given that breathing room.
- Treat each other with respect and act kindly towards one another. If you have a problem with someone, take it to DMs.
- Discussion and posts should remain ‘safe for work’ and all NSFW posts may only be posted in the Adult Chat.
- Topics of religion, politics, serious health conditions, or mental well being should be avoided. There are other discords for these topics.
- Use channels as they are intended. Admins will politely direct you to the correct channel if you have gotten lost. Read the description of the channels, and heed any rules they may have.
- Respect the admins when they give you warnings or steer the conversation away from a topic.
- Use common sense about your actions, just because it’s not listed here doesn’t mean you won’t be reprimanded for a behavior that is considered against the rules.
- ‘Salting’ other groups or players can and will result in warnings and bans.
- To gain access to our server tag a moderator in the welcome lounge and post either your DeviantArt account or a Dragon that you own from Souls-Between!
- To Gain access to the Adult Channel, tag a moderator. Understand that by asking for this role you are being truthful that you are 18 years of age or older. If you are found to not be 18 years of age and have asked for this role, you will be given a third strike automatically.
Staff Interaction and Staff Rules
- Be patient and kind to each other, both players and staff. We interact heavily and it goes a long way to be nice and communicate politely.
- Mini modding or otherwise trying to do admin duties while not a staff member is not permitted. Please let staff handle it!
- Should you have a problem with a staff member, please contact a developer directly! We will work with both parties to resolve the parties.
- Staff are expected to follow our Staff Working Agreement and NDA which is available to them 24/7.
Bans and Warnings
Bans and warnings are generally held on a case by case basis. Developers are the only members of staff who have the authority to ban players, however all staff members can issue a warning.
- Warnings are a three strike system! If you have three strikes, and then you get another warning, you will receive a ban depending on the severity. Bans come in different levels:
- General - 24 hour ban. This is for minor things and usually equals the time out/shhh role in our discord.
- Moderate - A two day ban from the game's outlets. Take some time to cool off because you probably were already banned before or you've gone off on some staff/players.
- Severe - A week ban, usually becuase you're breaking rules on purpose. Continuing to break these same rules ends up with a month long ban.
- Permanent - You're a danger to the community in some form, and are not welcome in the group.
- Warnings, or "strikes" are not permanent! Having good behavior and appealing a strike is the best way to get a strike removed from your name. To appeal a strike, submit a claim or note to a developer and we will review your strike and determine if it should be removed. This goes for warnings you feel are made in error, or without enough evidence/warrant for one.
- The only bans that are permanent are those that involve people who are a danger to the community. Being violent towards community members with threats, stalking, or other criminal activity will get you a permanent ban. Along with this, known scammers are permanently banned.
Ownership of Characters and Items
The ownership of character does not give you rights to the species! Instead you have rights o the characters and the designs you create for your dragons! Under no circumstances will the ownership of a dragon be removed from you over being banned!
- Dragons belong to their owners and can only be owned by one player at a time. Bouncing character ownership back and forth is not allowed.
- Dragons may be traded to other players freely, be it for money, art, or a trade of other digital goods.
- Dragons obtained from the adoption center may not be traded until they are of Ancient Rank (previously it was Primoridial rank).
- Advent dragons that are purchased may not be sold for more than they were bought for + the value of any artwork created for them.
- Bullying others over dragons have purchased or otherwised obtained is prohibited.
- Harrassing members to sell their characters, slots, genos, or other items in the game is prohibited.
- Characters marked as Deceased may not be used in the game activities, however, you can "revive" a character the same way you deceased them.
- To decease a character, send in a claim wishing to decease the character. Understand that this means they cannot particpate in activities!Any slots written out to players for the dragon will be uphelp and allowed to be used, be it nesting or leasing. (Leasing permission cannot be "infinite" in this case).
- To revive a character, simply do the same for a Deceased dragon.
- Deceasing/reviving should not be used for lore purposes (i.e. deceasing your dragon only to revive them later. Just say they are undead!)
- Breaking game rules that result in a ban does not remove the character from your ownership, nor does it decease them (previously it deceased them). Instead, you now simply cannot interact with requests or use them in activities with the game.
Items are player bound unless otherwise stated or applied to a dragon.
- Items can be traded freely among players so long as they are not in use on a dragon (activity submissions, on imports, etc)
- Items can be sold for their sell price, or more/less.
- Coins can only be sold for their sell price in game or lower. They cannot be sold for more than they are worth if purchased from the game.
- Users who are permanently banned from the game may sell/gift/trade their items (and dragons) as they would have no use for them.
Handling Harrassment and Abuse
We take harassment, bullying, and all other forms of abuse very seriously! If you see it happening, if it is happening to you, please speak up and inform staff or a developer! Player safety is always our number one concern when it comes to the community!
- Do not use our outlets to spread drama about other players or groups! Keep it in private spaces and only for those who need to be involved.
- If you are being harrassed or otherwise bullied in any form by another member please alter staff or a developer. We will handle it and put an end to it to the best of our ability.
Cases of abuse and harassment are not taken lightly. All members are encouraged to bring any case of harassment or abuse to the admin team and group. The admin team will review both sides and make a determination. Harassment and abuse, be it verbal or otherwise, is not taken lightly and can result in banishment if severe enough. Name calling, hate-speech, discrimination of any kind, cyber-bullying, or otherwise is grounds for being removed from the game. These rules carry over to the discord, the website, and any other platforms that Souls-Between is using to facilitate game play, discussion, or other business.
Anything involving the game assets or mechanics of Souls-Between in an argument can be considered grounds for admin involvement in a situation of harassment. We ask you try to work out problems amongst yourselves, but if staff is necessary to be involved, simply let us know and we will step in to help!
Group Seasonal Sales and Selling Among the Communtiy
Group Seasonal Sales
Souls-Between hosts Four standard sales per year called "Seasonal Sales". Each sale is done once per season and will often last an entire month. On most occassions these sales have specific things for sale and the quantity per player. However, all of these sales follow the same standard of rules.
- "Add on" items (coat types, markings, base coats, etc) that are upgrades cannot be used on existing dragons, current unregistered customs, or for future customs/dragons. They must be purchased and used for a dragon you obtain in that sale.
- All purchases must be completed within 24 - 48 hours unless a payment plan is agreed upon. Failure to pay your invoices on time may result in your orders not being accepted for a season, or longer.
- Payment plans have to have a downpayment, with up to three months time to pay off the plan for large orders. We are very generous, so just ask and give us an idea of your plan!
- Sales where a dragon species or item was not available cannot be used to obtain these items. I.e. Sapiere dragons were not available during the 2020 Summer sale, and cannot be redeemed as a custom/egg or slot permission (outside of specific cases) from prior sales.
Advent Dragons and Midnight Sun
Advent dragons are special dragons that often break rules in their markings or design, or may have special features you can't get normally. This can be anything from a shade of base coat not available, to things such as special edits or markings that are recessive that look dominant. Advents are obtained sometimes in sales, but often times are raffled to the community without the need for USD!
- Advent dragons cannot have do-over kits applied, only touch up kits.
- Advent dragons can be edited with large and small item kits
- Advent dragons sold for USD cannot be sold for more than the original selling price + the value of their artwork.
Midnight Sun refers to Ravagers and Greater Emperors that came from the closed species "Eon-Eclipse." Only a few exist, but those that do are given the midnight sun mutation so that their base colors are explained. These dragons are only giving markings based on what they have, and only customs (registered and not registered) and registered dragons can be transferred to Souls-Between.
- These dragons can be sold/traded/etc to and within the community.
- Their designs must be as close to the original design as possible.
- All of these dragons have the following geno template:
- Sex chosen by player, Ravager Wyvern (Greater Emperor in the case of Emperors), Timid or Aggressive Temperament, Healthy
- Common Coat, Traits Listed (Ravager), or 1 Common and 1 Uncommon (Emperor), only listed mutations if they are in Souls-Between
- Umber Base Coat (Uu/hh/oo/vv+) and any markings they have that match current Souls Markings. If no match can be found/etc you will be allowed to design them with a choice of mark that fits best (case by case basis).
- No breaths/skills (these weren't available in Eon Eclipse)
- Second Generation unless they have a lineage available
- These dragons are not given color modifier markings for their base coats, but can present the color of their coat regardless that they are Umber (i.e. green base coat, but not Jade in geno/pheno).
As of 8/4/2020 (and prior to it), Midnight Sun is not an obtainable mutation in any other form, as dragons that break rules for designs fall under the "Advent" Category.
Souls-Between features a community led market, where dragons, items, genos, and dragon nesting slots are traded among the communtiy for in-game items/currency, real world currency, other dragons or slots, and creations (Artwork/literature,etc). While the seasonal sale guide exists to price customs and other items, players are encouraged to use their knowledge of the current state of the market to price their items and goods in a fair manner. Staff and Developers do not dictate the prices players must adhere to! You are free to price your belongings how you wish.
However, the staff does wish to make clear a few rules regarding the sales and safety of certain items and the players purchasing items!
- Sales Journals - The DeviantArt group allows sales journals to be posted and accepted to the group.
- Journals must involve selling, buying or otherwise handling Souls-Between goods, creations, etc.
- Crowd Funding is allowed, however we ask that if you are posting these to the group you keep your sensitive information limited.
- Journals that are clearly for other groups are not allowed -- We are a group about Souls-Between, please respect this and take other ARPGs/etc that are not involved with us to the respective groups! This does include generic dragon art, only our stuff please!
- Journals can be reposted to the group every 24 hours.
- Raffled Rewards can only be gifted or traded unless money was involved in obtaining them, in which case they can be sold for what you got them at + any additional value from creations tied to them.
- Adopted Dragons can only be sold/gifted/traded when they reach Ancient Rank (prior to this it was Primordial). This is to keep them from being flipped quickly back to the community for money. Adopted dragons are free to the community, and players can adopt one dragon from the adoption center once per month.
- Be Responsible! Keep track of your sales records and make smart choices in buying and selling. If something doesn't seem safe, it might not be! Developers and Staff can only do so much, but we cannot compensate you for time or real world currency.
- Selling Slots to Dragons has a few parts to it. Dragons obtain nesting slots by obtaining their nesting rites, and then ranking up. A dragon has only so many slots per rank until Primordial in which they will have unlimited.
- It is highly encouraged to utilize the website page for your dragon to track written slots! We only track used slots!
- You cannot sell slots you do not own/have. There is only one exception to this rule, and it is in the case of unlocking slots (nesting rites, creations to level the dragon, etc).
- Slots can be written to other players in the Nesting Permissions journals/areas.
- The max amount of slot permission you may post per a comment is Five.
- Unlimited till x/etc slots are not permitted, however we do allow players to make these deals. You just can't write the nesting permission as such.
- Posting a lot of permission that are 5 per user to get around the rule is prohibited, just right a new one as it is needed!
- Abide by the rules of a slot permission, if the seller says you can't sell/trade/gift it, you cannot do so, etc.
- We only accept slot permissions that are posted in official avenues (nesting permission journal/etc). Screenshots/etc are not enough and will not be accepted as they can be faked and not tracked.
- The group features full and split nesting
- A split is classified as a nesting where two parties are getting something out of the nesting. You get 2 per month (+1 with book of Empyrean)
- A full is classified as a nesting where all the results go to you and no one else is involved (outside of slot perms). You get 3 per month (+1 if you are Master Rank, +1 if you use a Book of Empyrean).
- Wording full slot permissions such as "if you get x trait It goes to me" etc is not prohibited, and will classify as a "split" slot.
- Demanding you get a slot to dragons hatched from your given permissions is not prohibited as we cannot enforce this rules (and will not).
Artwork, Literature, and Other Creations
Souls-Between hasa Zero Tolerance Policy on Plagarism! This goes for art and literature pieces and all forms of artwork submitted to the group. This also includes Dragon Imports! Copying someone elses design will require you to change the design and you will be given a warning.
Credit those you take inspiration from if you reference their work! This is important and fosters a community of learning and trust and even includes referencing or using another artists Style of artwork!
- Copying or otherwise referencing another person's character imports too heavily is not allowed and grounds for rejection in design approval. If you are caught doing this multiple times, you may be banned from import approval, or the game.
- If you are caught stealing designs from other ARPG species the same rules apply.
- Changing import information after approval but before upload in an effort to include above PG-13 information will result in a warning.
- Stock images/photos/bases/other media is not allowed for events, quests, or otherwise facilitated activities of the group. They are allowed for your own personal use or artwork, and provided they are credited appropriately, will be allowed in the game.
- All works must be unique. If we find you are using the same works or too similar works for activities, we will reject it and inform you of why.
- The exception to this is "your character/dragon here" bases (they can't be used for activites/etc if you are reusing the base)
- Images that do not meet minimum requirements for activities or full experience points will be either rejected or halved in experience value respectfully. While we understand certain disabilities and handicaps, we must hold everyone to the same standard of rules. However, we are more than willing to look at our policies and accomodate where we can if a requirement is to high!