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Ignorance of any of No Way Out’s rules or unwillingness to engage with any of these rules is not an excuse for breaking, skirting, or otherwise not following these rules.

Roleplay RulesRoleplay Quality Management

It is essential to remember that we are not our characters. Behavior that occurs in-game is expected to be handled in-game and vice versa; behavior out of game is expected to be handled out of game.

0.0 The Golden Rules: The Three L’s

Play to Lift

Strive to write in ways that give others hooks, spotlight, and chances to shine. Don't just serve yourself.

Play to Logic

Keep your character’s actions consistent with the setting, the character's knowledge, and cause-and-effect. Don't break plausibility.

Play to Lose

Accept setbacks, defeats, and mistakes. Let tension exist by accepting that you won’t always win or even choosing to lose.

Maintaining immersion and a high standard of quality in our roleplay is an important value that we hold within NWO. As such, we have several rules in place to help us maintain these values. The actions listed below are non-exhaustive examples of behaviors that we consider problematic and antithetical to what we would like to see from our player base on NWO.

Staff reserves the right to issue warnings or other punitive measures for behaviors that are not explicitly listed below but fit within the following definitions.

1.0 Powergaming

We define Powergaming as:

Engaging in roleplay or behaviors that negate the agency of other players.

Some examples of Powergaming include:

• Imposing injuries, conditions, reactions, or death onto other players with no reasonable opportunity for counterplay. (ex. “I put my gun to his head and shoot him, killing him instantly.” or “I grab your arm and twist it, making you scream and yield to me.")
• Describing your character as engaging in feats that are unlikely or even physically impossible for a human to attempt reasonably. (ex. A self-described petite librarian character lifts a washing machine on their own.)
• Failure to respond to RP when prompted in scenarios that would call for it, such as being directly addressed, held at gunpoint, or threatened
  • Even if this is “what your character would do,” this is both Powergaming and FailRP due to reasons listed below

2.0 Metagaming

We define Metagaming as:

Utilizing information obtained out of character (OOC) to one’s advantage in character (IC).

Some examples of Metagaming include:

• PMing a friend or messaging a group OOCly for assistance during a situation they would not reasonably be aware of or have a reason to enter in-character
• Using pictures or videos that another player has posted to locate their base or assess their loot for raid potential
• Learning of an incoming raid OOCly and building defenses or relocating when you did not already have plans to do so
• Sharing information OOCly to the server during actively ongoing situations, including in our #media channels
  • Screenshots are cool! For this scenario, however, we ask that players wait until conflicts or events are “resolved” before talking about them or sharing screenies

3.0 RPQM/FailRP

We take our Roleplay Quality Management (RPQM) very seriously. As such, individuals may be cited as violating RPQM or engaging in what is called FailRP.

We define FailRP as:

Intentionally engaging in roleplay that is not realistic or grounded and is disruptive to the immersion of others.

Some examples of this include:

• Failure to respond to RP when prompted in scenarios that would call for it, such as being directly addressed, held at gunpoint, or threatened
• Improperly or neglecting to emote certain mechanical actions, such as looting and combat
• Referring to events, memes, or other cultural phenomena that would not have occurred in canon (ex., referring to the K-pop group BTS in the 1990s, describing someone as your “oomfie” in 2001)
• Using slang, abbreviations, or other writing quirks that would take someone out of immersion. Some examples of this include:
  • Emoticons such as “:3”
  • Abbreviations such as “LOL” or “LMAO”, “because” to “bc”, or “what do you mean” to “wym”
  • Improper grammar, such as shortening “though” to “tho” or various grammatical mistakes (you’re vs your, there vs their), for non-stylistic reasons
  • Slang such as “hoes” to “huzz”
• Using OOC chat for IC interactions or IC chat for OOC interactions
• Trope-y, stereotypical, or overly insensitive portrayal of a character’s race, ethnicity, sexuality, or other characteristics

We acknowledge that many of these may occur in one-off instances for even the best roleplayers. Genuine mistakes happen. That’s okay! Repeated RPQM violations can become concerning and warrant ticketing.

4.0 Bugs & Bad Faith

Project Zomboid is a flawless game without any bugs, issues, or cheese.

…Says nobody ever.

If you have spent any amount of time with Project Zomboid, be it 1 hour or 1000 hours, it does not take long to be reminded that this game is very much a work-in-progress at the best of times and downright broken at the worst. We are completely empathetic and understanding of the fact that bugs, destructive and beneficial, not only can but will happen.

That being said, we will not tolerate any of the following behaviors, as they break immersion and offer unique and unfair mechanical, roleplay, or other advantages.

4.1 Exploiting

We define exploiting as:

Using bugs or game limitations to gain an advantage, be it mechanical, meta, or for any other purpose.

Examples include:

• Duplicating items
• Building into or breaking your way into areas that you are not supposed to access

Again—We acknowledge that Project Zomboid is a very special game with…interesting quirks. If these happen on one-off, accidental occasions, that’s fine! Please open a ticket so we can rectify things.

If you are found to be taking advantage of an exploit, or if you are repeatedly caught doing so, punitive measures, up to and including a ban, may be issued.

4.2 Griefing

We define griefing as:

Harming other players, their belongings, or the server experience without proper planning, reasoning, or justification.

Examples include:

• Duplicating items.
• Destroying bases or vehicles outside of raid tickets.
• Unauthorized raiding or other bad-faith actions.

Furthermore, to keep the server running smoothly and the world furnished, the following will also be considered griefing:

• Dismantling structures, containers, or furniture to level up skills
• Dismantling vehicles with engine quality above 20%
• Excessive litter (this includes leaving behind car parts, logs, pipes, etc.)

See In-Game Rules 2.3: Dismantling for more information.

5.0 Character Portrayal & Immersion

All characters must be 18 or older and portrayed in a realistic, immersive way appropriate to a post-apocalyptic setting. This includes:

• Clothing: Outfits should make sense for survival conditions, not mimic modern fashion trends or meme aesthetics. Staff won’t strictly police clothing, but anything excessively out of place may be addressed to preserve immersion.

• Names & References: Characters must have realistic names typical of the era they were born in. Avoid symbols, numbers, modern pop-culture references, or names directly taken from existing media franchises.

• Behavior & Speech: Characters should fit the tone and social norms of the setting. Avoid modern slang, unrealistic backstories, or behavior that breaks world immersion.

• Depth & Personality: A character’s personality shouldn’t center solely on a single trait or aspect of their identity.

• Intent & Development: Characters should be fully realized individuals; not self-inserts or personas created only for ERP, romance, or wish-fulfillment. Relationships can form naturally, but every character should have believable motivations, flaws, and goals beyond seeking intimacy or attention.

6.0 Sensitive & Explicit Roleplay Topics

NWO is strictly an 18+ server due to the mature and potentially distressing themes present in a post-apocalyptic setting. Players may encounter violence, trauma, death, and other dark themes. This section outlines sensitive topics and is required reading for all members.

While we aim for an immersive experience, the following roleplay may only occur in secluded & private settings with the permission of all involved:

• Torture
• Graphic or excessively gruesome depictions of injuries

Explicit sexual roleplay or erotic roleplay (ERP) is strictly forbidden in publicly accessible chats on our server under any conditions. Any use of a public chat to engage in this style of RP is subject to punitive action up to and including a ban from the server.

We largely hold no responsibility for interactions that occur in direct messages or on non-NWO-affiliated servers. Any engagement with players through means of communication outside of our officially moderated chats is a decision to be undertaken with the consent of each participant, and not subject to our typical moderation guidelines in most cases.

If an individual is attempting to coerce, pressure, threaten, or otherwise manipulate you into participating in ERP or any other roleplay-related activities, you should report this individual to Discord, block them, and open a concern ticket with us. They are in direct violation of Discord’s ToS and NWO Discord Rules 0.0 and 1.0, and can be banned or even face legal action.

The following topics are strictly prohibited in all forms, including active participation, explicit or detailed reference, or accusations within roleplay:

• Rape
• Pedophilia
• Beastiality
• Necrophilia

6.1 IC Prejudice and Bigotry

Characters may portray bigoted attitudes as part of their roleplay, but:

• The use of slurs in-character is strictly forbidden.
• Prejudice should be expressed through nuanced roleplay, not offensive language.
• Bigotry must be one aspect of a character, not their defining trait. Prejudice cannot be used to target or harass other characters beyond reasonable in-character conflict.

7.0 Broadcast Rules and Use

The radio system in NWO exists to support immersive storytelling, not to serve as an out-of-character chatroom or social media feed. Communication is a powerful tool, and needs to be used properly. All in-character radio communication must occur in-game or through approved RP beacon posts in the designated Discord channel.

We define improper radio use as:

• Using radio systems for purposes that break immersion, stretch plausibility, or replicate out-of-character communication platforms.

Staff reserves the right to remove or moderate radio content that does not align with immersion standards or that misuses RP beacon systems. Repeated misuse, including OOC discussions, excessive posting, or low-effort “spam signals,” may result in warnings or temporary restrictions from radio-related features.

The goal is not to limit creativity, but to ensure that radio remains a meaningful storytelling tool rather than background noise. The examples below are **non-exhaustive** and serve as general guidance for acceptable use of the in-game radios and out-of-game Discord channel.

7.1 Rules for In-Game Radio Use.

Mechanically owning a Walkie-Talkie or radio will give access to communicate with other survivors. In Project Zomboid, only two-way capable devices allow for player conversations (transmitting and receiving), while standard radios, such as car radios or a typical “home radio,” are receive-only. For player-to-player communication to work, all involved parties must have a two-way radio and be tuned to the same frequency. Each Walkie-Talkie or radio has a Broadcast Range shown in Kilometers. Mechanical use of these items in-game will already consider the Broadcast Range to see if communication is possible. In other words, when two players are too far from each other, they will not be able to communicate.

However, these cannot be used in certain ways:

• Characters will not be able to /whisper while communicating through the Radio. Attempts to do so will result in broken broadcasts and sentences, which will be nearly impossible to understand.
• Because of the obvious difference between Dice Combat and Gameplay, walkie-talkie use is limited once combat has been initiated. Using a walkie-talkie to send a message during a hostile situation but before combat can count as hostile intent and the beginning of initiative.
  • If a character wishes to, they can roleplay using the radio during combat, but the actual message must be sent or posted after the end of combat, regardless of its result.
• Characters must have their name or the name they’re commonly referred to by visible when using the radio. Avoid messaging on the radio with pseudonyms.

Please note that, at any time, players can agree to forgo these rules in the context of combat. Player agreement or Storyteller exception may supersede combat-related radio rules. If an agreement is not reached, default rules apply.

7.2 RP Beacons

RP Beacons are short, atmospheric “signal flares” players may post here to indicate ongoing RP opportunities or events. These are intended as hooks, not conversations; they should be interpreted as something your character can stumble across or be aware of in the world to incentivize RP engagements.

Please strike out your post when its expired. like so ~~you can read this??~~

Examples include:

• “The jukebox echoes through the canyon walls - The Salty Spitoon is open tonight.”
• “Gunshots echo far to the west of Penance-- perhaps someone is fighting a horde?”
• “Flyers litter the town, they speak of a gathering to occur on [Insert Date Here].”

These posts are meant to invite RP, not replace it. Avoid OOC commentary, meta-information, or prolonged back-and-forths.

7.3 Major Radio Broadcasts

Full radio transmissions are reserved for players who have established in-character access to broadcasting equipment, such as functional antennas or radio stations. These should be treated as major events, with a reasonable degree of effort, preparation, and risk involved.

Examples of acceptable major broadcasts include:

• Emergency alerts or public warnings.
• Organized news segments or community bulletins.
• Faction-wide announcements or story-driving transmissions.

Please always include where you are broadcasting from, ex; Penance City. And if the broadcast is only audible within a specific region (Such as if you're making a intercom broadcast.) Using radios as personal diaries, gossip boards, or “Social Media feeds” is not permitted. Radio should sound like radio: sparse, atmospheric, and believable.

7.4 About Voice Changers and Voice Recognition

Because of the technology level and resources available, in normal circumstances, characters will not be able to mask their own voice through artificial means. Other means might be used, but it's up to the listening characters to recognize the voice or not. Basic disguises or performances are acceptable, but they rely on skill and plausibility.

Examples of acceptable behavior:

• A character speaks through a weak or damaged radio, causing natural static or distortion that makes their voice harder to discern.
• A player shortens transmissions or uses vague phrasing to avoid directly revealing identity.

Examples of unacceptable behavior:

• A character uses a digital voice changer or pitch modulation software over the radio to sound like someone else.
• A player insists that nobody could ever recognize them because they’re “using a voice changer.”

Many examples of voice modulation that are unacceptable rub up against powergaming concerns. For more information on this, see Roleplay Rules: Powergaming. These rules exist to keep the setting grounded in realism. Radios are meant to add mystery and tension, not serve as tools for perfect anonymity, futuristic voice modification, memeing, or long-form storytelling.

RP Etiquette and Best Practices

Many of the below facets are things we take into account when handling ‘RPQM,’ known as roleplay quality management. Basically, at NWO we are looking for a strict experience of realistically portrayed people-- not just characters, but people. We expect full sentence to multi-sentence narrative posts that aren't just engaging with the character you write, but the world around it and paint a narrative and engaging experience to help enhance the theatre of the mind.

That all might sound elitist, or a bit prissy, but it helps make for an immersive and engaging experience. View the following sections and recommendations through that lens as you read through this list and try to put yourself in the shoes of the experience we're trying to curate.

Take them into consideration yourself as you write; always take a moment to consider whether you are engaging in best practices or not before writing. The best thing for the server is when everyone is on the same page about both how to engage with scenes and with one another to create the most cohesive narrative experience possible as we all write a story together.

As a generalized piece of advice to help you follow these guidelines, sometimes writing posts can be done out of game in Notepad or another Word document so you can proofread your posts in real time. Enter a quick line in the PZ chatbox to engage the writing prompt– then finish your post out of game so you can be mindful of any faults you may have made while writing.

• Ctrl + A - Select all text in a field. Useful for pulling your text out of Zomboid or for selecting your text in an external process for use in zomboid.
• Ctrl + C - Copy your selected text. This leaves the text you are copying in the field you are copying it from.
• Ctrl + X - Cut your text. This removes text from the field you are copying it from.
• Ctrl + V - Paste your selected text.
• Up Arrow- In Zomboid’s chat box, this will pull back the last typed emote you inputted. Continuing to push Up will pull prior emotes as well. Helpful for last-minute grabs before an unfortunate restart.
• Down Arrow - In Zomboid’s chat box, will scroll to the most recent emote if you are scrolling through your last chat box inputs.
• Home Key - Takes you to the start of the line/Zomboid’s chat box.
• End Key - Takes you to the end of the line/Zomboid’s chat box.

These are some of the best practices and agreed upon preferences in roleplay recommended not only by staff but also the majority of the playerbase. We’ve taken multiple concerns from the playerbase into account when writing these out, including multiple different writing styles, examples, and generalized feedback. Adjusting and moulding to accommodate one another is the best way to create an engaging experience for everyone.

1.0 Scene Flow

When engaged in a scene with multiple participants, or even in 1:1’s, it’s best practice to try to engage in what is in most RP communities– an unspoken rule, but one upheld for best scene flow: the turn order. This is something akin to merging on a highway when joining a scene– you pick a person you post after in the unspoken turn order, and you keep posting in that order for the whole scene. To break it is akin to not returning a shopping cart (or trolley) to the cart return at a grocery store.

Generally, much as might occur in dice combat, scenes flow naturally and best when person A emotes, then person B– and then C. Repeat. This allows for a natural narrative structure to emerge. It also prevents overspeaking, or people of different WPM speeds from being overtaken by faster typists.

At the same time, you should try to be considerate of others and not make a massive wall of text that has many different things they could have responded to. Eventually, that type of behavior may lead to someone feeling like they're a character in your story, instead of being what should be a co-author situation. And in some cases, can even be tantamount to soft powergaming. There are obviously exceptions to this rule, but in group scenes it helps things not get lost in the flood of emotes.

This brings us to our next point, rapid-fire messages.

Rapidly sending out double, triple, or even quadruple messages in a row can overwhelm other players who prefer to send one singular chunk of dialogue or an emote in one combined message. Ultimately, it’s best practice to keep your emotes condensed. Take your time, think about what your character will say and do, and send it all in one message.

Obviously, this also comes with specific exemptions. Rapidly sending a number of messages for a specific comedic purpose of meta-humour is allowed within reason:

“Just.”
“Like.”
“This.”

Use this in moderation, not to disrupt scenes or message flow, and not to fourth wall break or wink at the camera.

1.1 Fourth Wall Breaks

Fourth wall breaks, while at times funny, can often become too excessive and break immersion as well as narrative integrity of a scene. Especially when done to garner an OOC reaction or purely for baiting specific players with injokes or winks at the camera. These are something we may more harshly RPQM if spotted or reported. Try to keep them to a minimum, especially during serious scenes or group settings.

1.2 Grammar and Perspective

When writing, especially in group settings, there are some best practices to ensure legibility and understanding. Ensure you always include an explicit reference to the character you are addressing– if you cannot get an exact name try to include a verbose description as best as possible. Avoid confusing phrasing such as;

• “/me regards the woman”

This can be confusing if you are in a scene with multiple women, your emote becoming lost or unaddressed by the intended player. As a potential example of being verbose, you can try something like;

• "/me tilts their head toward the towering woman in front of them, raising a brow in curiosity."

This specific example is toward an incredibly tall woman ahead of your character, but you can also go further and describe their self-explained expression, posture, et cetera, for the sake of being explicit.

Try to avoid using second-person perspective when addressing another player. Much as above, not only can this be confusing for group scenes, but it can also be considered a form of yourself writing in the first person perspective, which is something we prefer to avoid. Examples below:

• “/me passes you a lighter.” versus “/me hands CrystalChris a lighter.”

Additionally– sparking off the confusion the above can give in group scenes. Try not to use /envs without explicitly naming your character in group scenes. And effectively never use /envs in an event to avoid confusion of both players and Staff on who is emoting.

1.3 Consistent Portrayal

While character development can certainly occur, and characters can dramatically change as RP unfolds and moulds them into different personalities. Unrealistic portrayals or immediate, dramatic shifts in personality or breaking your own written portrayal of your character in your application are things we may pull you into an RPQM ticket more explicitly for. Character justifications and core tenets are something that should require significant/traumatic events or longer periods of development to change.

1.4 Leaving Room To Respond

When leaving a scene, it’s courteous to wait until your character’s exit is acknowledged by the other players you’re writing with. This is most important when in a scene involving disagreements of some kind. Should another character mean to keep you from leaving the scene, exiting mechanically without giving them a chance to do so is strictly powergaming and will be met with an even firmer repercussion than a simple raising of an RPQM ticket.

1.5 Respect - Don’t be a Greedy Writer

Make sure your replies, messages and emotes, are a ‘back and forth’. RP should be viewed as a call and a response. You are giving room for other players to actually work off of your writing and are not just simply writing for yourself– purple prose can be nice– but make sure it actually is providing something for others to properly engage with and build off of you. Don’t be a ‘main character’ or a greedy writer, and be conscientious of your fellow writers when in a scene. Engage with them, be engaged with, and create a scene and a narrative together, rather than as an individual.

1.6 Keep it Realistic

Your character can’t hear conversations through walls just because you see it in the chatbox– can’t hear whispers, etc– or see actions taking place behind them without looking over their shoulder. Your character’s limitations also need to be taken into account - a 5’0” bookworm isn’t likely to be able to lift a machine gun with ease; someone who’s been heavily injured isn’t likely to be heading back into the dunes immediately after their broken leg was set– and even the jacked bodybuilder isn’t going to Herculean lift the semi truck off it’s wheels. There’s a hundred examples we could list in specific detail, but they all boil down to a simple directive - keep in mind your character’s current state, mental faculties, emotional wellbeing, and abilities and skills when roleplaying.

This also applies to events– we won’t reward players who are ‘first to arrive’, and many of our events feature no mechanical incentive but rather exist purely for a narrative experience and to provide ‘walls’ for our player and community to climb collaboratively. There is no reward system for being the quickest when it comes to our events. So try to take the time to have your characters engage with the events and the environment and realistically react how a person might, address them first before speeding off to the finish line of the event.

A meteor crashing and sonic booming overhead? Stand in awe for a moment– talk with others, plan, then run off to engage with the crash site if it is something they would do. Sandstorms finishing or starting up– your character would bundle up to protect their eyes and skin from blistering sands, and be dissuaded from prolonged exposure to the environment.

1.7 Keep it IC

Everything your character does– within reason excluding horrific game bugs, crashes, other common sense issues where it wouldn’t make sense to enforce IC, should be considered IC. Your character unfortunately trips on a cactus and rips their pants? Embarrassing and annoying OOCly sure, but take it as an opportunity for RP with a Tailor or engagement and a conversation starter. Mistakes happen, engage it as a story beat instead of OOCly running up to a tailor and OOCly asking them to fix your clothes. Make it an opportunity for engagement. This can apply to other scenarios and instances as well beyond the example above.

1.8 Mechanical Vs Canonical skills

Zomboid is a game at the end of the day. It’s a vessel for story with a dopamine loot collector attached to it. Our characters can– for hours on end, slice and dice through thousands upon thousands of hordes without tiring or exhausting. This is something called ludonarrative dissonance, you might’ve heard your favorite youtuber making a video essay about it once or twice.

Our mechanical characters are not our canonical characters. On NWO, virtually the only thing to truly be considered canon is often our dice encounters. They hold the stakes and narrative weight that the infinitely capable murder machines our mechanical characters lack.

In order to not wholly discredit our mechanical actions– a rule of thumb I often abide by is dividing mechanical kills by the hundredth value. AKA; every 100 kills is a canonical kill of a nightmarish entity.

1.9 EVENT ETIQUETTE – BIG ONE

Writing in large group events is hectic. It becomes even more hectic when players aren’t courteous of the experience of others. Everything mentioned above matters significantly more when writing in large groups, as well as the specifics mentioned below:

• Use /w and /low where possible to avoid clogging up the chatboxes of players on the other end of the event. Admins can see all messages, regardless of syntax used.

• Avoid purple prose (fancy, long-winded writing) if you intend for your character to be engaging in conversation with or taking action in regards to another player. There’s nothing wrong with it outside of large group events, but in these instances it can hold back other players, event staff, and yourself.

• Be understanding. It’s incredibly easy to miss an emote from a particular person when there’s twenty other people also writing.

• Do not use /envs during events to avoid confusion of both other players, and event runners. The lack of immediate comprehension on who is doing an action can snowball into frustration for players and Staff alike and slow the progression of events down.