Valley Of The Sun Server Rules

Anything not explicitly covered by these rules falls under The Golden Rule. The Valley of the Sun Roleplay Staff reserves the right to interpret, enforce, modify, or add to these rules at any time to protect the integrity of the community and ensure a high-quality roleplay experience. These rules are intended to promote fair, enjoyable, and immersive roleplay for everyone. If you have any questions on the rules in the following pages, please submit a ticket in our discord! Respectfully, VOTS Staff

To help maintain a high-quality roleplay environment, all new members are required to read this Rulebook before gaining access to the rest of the Valley of the Sun Roleplay Discord server. Once you have finished reading the rules, click the "I Accept & Verify" button. By doing so, you acknowledge and verify that you have read, understood, and agree to follow all server rules, policies, and guidelines. Failure to read the rules does not exempt you from them. Claiming that you did not know, understand, or read a rule will not be accepted as an excuse for violating it. It is every member's responsibility to remain familiar with the server rules and comply with them at all times. Staff reserve the right to take appropriate action against any player who violates these rules, regardless of whether they claim to have been unaware of them.

Valley of the Sun Roleplay is a strictly 18+ community. All members must be at least 18 years of age to join and participate. Anyone found to be under the age of 18 will be permanently removed from the community. If staff receives three (3) or more credible reports that a player may be under the age of 18, staff may require additional forms of verification such as being contacted by staff for a voice chat. It is at the discretion of VOTS Staff how we proceed from there.

Advertising other FiveM servers, discords, OOC businesses, or communities without staff approval is prohibited. This includes whether the advertisement is shared inside the city or outside. You will be banned.

Selling, purchasing, trading, or exchanging in-game currency, items, vehicles, businesses, services, or any other in-game assets for real-world money or other real-world compensation is strictly prohibited. You will be banned. The only exception is purchases made through the server's official VIP Shop. The VIP Shop is not pay-to-win or pay-to-play. Items available through the shop are intended only to provide quality-of-life or cosmetic benefits and are designed to make your experience more convenient. They do not provide an unfair gameplay advantage over other players and are never required to access or enjoy the server.

Attempting to bypass a punishment using alternate accounts or other methods will result in permanent removal of all associated accounts.

Do not contact staff privately regarding reports, punishments, or tickets unless requested. Please use the appropriate Discord channels.

Punishments may be appealed through submitting a ticket with a detailed description of your side of why we should consider your appeal, as well as all information, screenshots, videos, audio recordings, and any other proof you have to support your claim. Submitting false information or fabricated evidence during an appeal may result in additional punishment.

Staff is NOT required or allowed to show you "proof" of events. This includes clips, screenshots, tickets, reports, etc. If you were banned and are asking for proof of the events that lead you to get banned - no "proof" will be shown or given so please DO NOT ask! Any clips that are sent in are confidential between the reporting player and staff.

Bullying, harassment, or targeting will result in an immediate permanent ban, without the opportunity for appeal. While swearing is permitted, refrain from using slurs or engaging in general harassment outside of roleplay scenarios. Any form of discrimination, including racism, sexual harassment, or sexism, will be met with immediate ban, without the chance for appeal. Regardless of context, racial, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, or any other slurs are strictly prohibited. Threats made to individuals of the community are taken seriously. This includes direct messages (in city or out of city) intended to threaten, harass, or bully others. Such behavior will result in a permanent ban, with no chance to appeal.

Valley of the Sun Roleplay is a living, breathing community that thrives on active participation. To keep the city dynamic and fair for everyone, players are expected to maintain regular activity. Inactivity Limit: Players who are inactive without notifying staff may lose access to certain in-game assets based on the length of their absence. Consequences: • After 10 consecutive days of inactivity: Players may lose ownership of businesses, gang leadership or gang slots, whitelisted jobs, and other activity-based positions. • After 30 consecutive days of inactivity: Players may lose ownership of houses, apartments, custom properties, and other player-owned real estate. Preventing Asset Loss: If you know you will be away due to vacation, work, military service, illness, or any other real-life obligation, you must submit an inactivity ticket in our Discord before or during your absence. An approved inactivity notice will protect your eligible in-game assets for the approved duration. Failure to notify staff may result in your assets being reclaimed according to the inactivity timeframes listed above.

Custom MLO Imports: • Requests to import custom MLOs are subject to staff approval. • To import any MLO house, there is a $20 charge that is required via the VIP store that can be accessed in-game. • Imported MLOs must be optimized, lore-friendly, and may not negatively impact server performance. • Staff reserves the right to deny or remove any MLO that causes technical issues, exploits, or negatively affects gameplay.

All roleplay scenes must be respected from start to finish. Do not interrupt or derail an active scene by arguing about server rules, accusing others of rule violations, threatening reports, or engaging in unnecessary Out of Character (OOC) discussions. If you believe a player has broken a rule, complete the roleplay scene whenever reasonably possible. Once the scene has fully concluded, you may respectfully discuss the matter with the other player if you wish. All discussions, whether in-city or out-of-city, must remain civil and respectful at all times. If the issue cannot be resolved, submit a Player Report to the staff team. Reports must include: • A video clip of at least 2 minutes, capturing the entire scene from start to finish. Partial clips may not be accepted. • A brief description of the alleged rule violation. • The player's in-game name. • Their Discord username, if known. If you do not know their Discord username, their in-game name alone is sufficient. Staff will review all available evidence and determine whether a rule violation occurred. Players should never attempt to enforce server rules during an active roleplay scene.

Do not F8 quit/ leave the server mid scene. It is considered combat logging. If you crash mid-scene, you MUST fly back in at the last location! Punishments for combat logging will be given to people who crash and fly in elsewhere. If you crash in the middle of a scene, please try to let someone know as soon as you can so that everyone will know the circumstances and can pause the scene until you return. *If your game crashes mid-scene, and you do not communicate that in any way to anyone involved in the scene or server staff through any form of communication within 48 hours, you may be punished for combat logging. However, if you can provide evidence that the disconnect was genuinely outside of your control (such as a game crash, power outage, or internet outage) and there was a legitimate reason you were unable to contact anyone during that time, you may submit an appeal with any supporting evidence. The staff team will review all evidence submitted by every party involved and make a final decision based on the totality of the available evidence.*

Every interaction should have a purpose. Your goal is to create enjoyable roleplay—not simply to win encounters. Poor-quality roleplay, unrealistic actions, or intentionally ruining another player's experience may be considered Fail RP. Also, if your roleplay quality is deemed by staff as inconsistent with our rules, you may be further evaluated to dictate your access to the server. If your behavior is considered to be harmful to the quality of roleplay in our server, you will be met with actions that may include a BAN from our server.

Valley of the Sun Roleplay is a semi-serious roleplay community. We encourage players to have fun, joke around, and create entertaining moments, but never at the expense of another player's experience. Every player is expected to treat others with respect, both in-character and out-of-character. Intentionally humiliating, mocking, harassing, or disrupting another player's roleplay simply for your own amusement is not considered quality roleplay and may be treated as Fail RP or harassment. "It's what my character would do" is not a valid excuse for behavior that exists only to annoy, embarrass, troll, or intentionally ruin another player's experience. Roleplay should create enjoyable stories for everyone involved—not one-sided situations where a player is targeted, ridiculed, or prevented from participating in meaningful roleplay. If your roleplay only entertains you by negatively impacting another player's experience, it does not belong in Valley of the Sun Roleplay. The following are examples of prohibited behavior (including but not limited to): • Following players around solely to annoy or provoke them. • Using emotes or animations to intentionally humiliate, degrade, or mock another player without meaningful roleplay. • Interrupting players who are occupied in menus, businesses, or legitimate roleplay for the sole purpose of trolling. • Constantly attempting to bait players into reactions or arguments. • Repeatedly creating low-effort or "meme" roleplay that negatively impacts the experience of others. • Any roleplay whose primary purpose is to grief, troll, embarrass, or harass another player rather than tell a believable story. • Targeting players who are unable to reasonably respond (such as while using clothing menus, character customization, inventory menus, or other UI screens) for the purpose of trolling, harassment, or humiliation. Respecting another player's roleplay does not mean you are entitled to roleplay in a manner that intentionally disrespects, humiliates, trolls, or degrades others. Staff will always prioritize roleplay that enhances the experience of everyone involved over roleplay intended to disrupt, antagonize, or diminish another player's enjoyment. Staff will determine whether an interaction contributes positively to roleplay or is simply disruptive behavior. Players found repeatedly engaging in disrespectful or disruptive conduct may receive warnings, removal from scenes, or further disciplinary action.

• The /me command is intended only for actions that cannot be performed using an existing emote or animation. • While downed, /me may only be used to describe your injuries or physical condition. It may not be used to communicate information or influence an active roleplay scene. • Do not spam, excessively repeat, or automate chat commands. Repetitive /me, /ooc, advertisements, business promotions, or similar messages that clutter chat, disrupt roleplay, or create unnecessary spam are prohibited. • /ooc should be used only for necessary out-of-character communication. Casual conversations, arguments, advertisements, or unnecessary chatter should be kept to the appropriate Discord channels or other designated methods of communication.

Random Death Match (RDM) is the initiation of violence without sufficient roleplay. Prior to any violent action, players must: • Have a valid in-character reason for the conflict. • Engage in a minimum of 60 seconds of quality roleplay that naturally leads to the escalation. • Provide the opposing party a reasonable opportunity to respond. *Initiating violence without meeting these requirements may be considered RDM.* After the scene has fully concluded, there is a 30-minute interaction cooldown before either party may initiate another roleplay interaction with the same individual or group, unless the encounter occurs naturally through unrelated roleplay.

Vehicles may not be used as weapons. Purposely hitting players or ramming vehicles to injure or kill others is prohibited unless it is an unavoidable part of an active roleplay scenario.

Your character should fear death and serious injury. Examples of NVL include: • Fighting someone who already has a weapon pointed at you. • Ignoring reasonable commands while outnumbered. • Charging into clearly unwinnable situations. *Use common sense and roleplay realistically.*

Abusing bugs, glitches, animations, or game mechanics for an advantage is prohibited. Knowingly exploiting server mechanics may result in a permanent ban. The following are prohibited: • Animation exploits • Inventory exploits • Stash abuse during active role play • Combat exploits (like spam punching, spam tackling, etc.) • Glitching through objects • Duplication glitches • Any mechanic used to gain an unfair advantage. If you discover an exploit, report it to staff immediately.

Green zones are safe areas where hostile roleplay is prohibited. Examples include: • Player owned businesses • Clothing stores • Barber shops • Hospitals • Police stations • Any government building • Any spawn point for new players Examples of hostile actions are robbery, kidnapping, assault, murder, vehicle theft, and gang retaliation. Do not enter a Green Zone to escape an active roleplay scenario. You cannot deliberately provoke a player into a fight outside the zone and then retreat inside to gain the upper hand.

Players are prohibited from exploiting their job positions to steal from the businesses. Anyone found using their job menu or position to steal from stashes and harm businesses will be punished. Impersonating server staff and/or in-city government officials (For example anyone in the DOJ, law enforcement, etc.) is prohibited. Quitting jobs must be fully roleplayed out in the city. This must include a full scene.

Although we are an adult community, ERP (Erotic Roleplay) and SRP (Sex Roleplay) are not permitted in this server.

Graphic packs and sound packs that provide an unfair advantage or unrealistic are strictly prohibited in this city. If found to be using them you will receive a ban and will be required to remove them. If not removed you will not be allowed back into the city. i.e. no props, no vegetation, no nights/always daytime, sound packs with hearing advantages (loud footsteps), stretched FOVs, kill effects that give any tactical or combat advantages, etc.

If you have more than 1 character, each one of them is completely separate. Information, money, vehicles, businesses, relationships, and items may not transfer between characters.

Character names should be realistic and not NSFW. Offensive names are strictly prohibited.

Characters should maintain a realistic appearance. Using invisible body parts, bugged clothing, or intentionally glitched outfits is prohibited.

Impersonating Police, EMS, or other government agencies without authorization is prohibited.

When there is an EMS clocked in, remain down until an EMS worker arrives on the scene. Do not use commands that bypass roleplay while an active scene is taking place. If no EMS is on, but you're in the middle of a scene and you are injured at least to the point you are on your side or your back, you must wait until the scene is over before you use /localparamedic. You are not allowed to return to a scene if you left to get medical attention or have received medical attention.

IF you were injured and bleeding out and received medical treatment, you still retain your memories, but when you are treated if the current scene is over please wait 30 minutes before starting another scene with the same people to retaliate. However, if you were injured to the point of being dead and flat on your back, no matter if you respawned at the hospital or if you received treatment from EMS or the Local paramedic, you still died and have lost all of your memories of everything that happened for 30 minutes leading up to your death. DO NOT return to the scene, and if you are revived at the scene of your death, DO NOT retaliate on either the people contributing to your death or innocent people, and DO NOT go hunt people down to retaliate against them. Since you died, you do not remember who killed you, or how it happened. *Exceptions - IF someone else that was at the scene did not die, they are able to remind you what happened, and you can RP it from there, but otherwise that information IC is gone to you.*

Body cameras exist only for administrative evidence. They may not be used to influence roleplay unless required as evidence for official legal proceedings for the San Andreas Department of Justice.

Player reports must include: • A minimum 2-minute clip. • Audio from all parties involved in the scene. • Clear evidence of the rule violation. Incomplete reports may be closed without action. We recommend using clipping software such as Medal, SteelSeries Moments, NVIDIA ShadowPlay, Outplayed, or OBS. Clips must be submitted in .mp4 format. If you need assistance uploading your clip, simply ask in your ticket and a staff member will be happy to help.

Players may only rob others when there is a legitimate roleplay reason. During a robbery: • Only take items that are physically on the player. • Do not force bank transfers. • Leave the victim with their phone, radio, any IDs, Credit Cards. • Do not repeatedly target the same players. *Robberies should enhance roleplay—not simply be used for profit.*

During a valid hostile interaction, you may rob OR kill another player. You may not rob someone and then kill them solely to eliminate witnesses unless the roleplay naturally escalates.

Criminal civilians may participate together in criminal activities, in groups of no more than 5, but may not operate as unofficial gangs. When being stopped by PD for simple traffic stops, you MUST roleplay out the scene. Do NOT immediately lead to a chase. Criminal groups (6+ people) must become an approved gang to be able to do crime together. Please see the #Gang Applications channel in our discord server under the Gangs category to apply.

Vehicles should be used realistically. The following are prohibited: • Using unrealistic jumps or terrain to escape. • Only realistic usage of a vehicle. (Ex: 4x4 climbing a big mountain, and a porsche could not!) • Exploiting vehicle mechanics.

Drug transactions must occur on foot unless another server rule states otherwise. Selling drugs directly from vehicles is prohibited.

Criminals may not camp, stalk, or repeatedly hunt the same player after they have been downed or respawned. Once a roleplay scenario has concluded, players must allow the victim a reasonable opportunity to continue roleplay without being immediately targeted again. Repeatedly killing or attempting to kill the same player without new and valid roleplay is prohibited.

Civilians MAY NOT run in groups (6 or more) conducting themselves in a manner considered GANG-LIKE. This is considered "Super Civing" and it is strictly prohibited.

Gang members must wear identifiable clothing or colors during official gang activities.

Gang clothing and identifiers must accurately represent your affiliation. Civilians may not pose as gangs. Gang members may not impersonate another gang.

Gang roleplay should prioritize storytelling over constant violence. Meaningless turf wars or random shootings are not acceptable.

Players leaving or being removed from a gang must observe a 1 week (7 IRL days) grace period before joining another criminal organization.

After defeating the police during an interaction, gangs should leave the area once the scene has concluded. Camping downed officers or waiting for EMS is prohibited.

King Pins are the police for gangs and should be treated as such. If a King Pin shows up, all RP may be put on pause if instructed by the King Pins. Follow all commands from the King Pins as you would from an Angel.

Hostages must be uninvolved players. Friends, gang members or players assisting the robbery may not act as hostages.

Hostages must be treated realistically. Do NOT unnecessarily kill, torture, or abuse hostages without roleplay.

If there are players online, you must have hostages for all robberies and heists. You are limited to 2 hostages for Fleeca Banks and Store Robberies. All other heists are limited to 3 hostages. If there are not enough uninvolved civilians available, you may roleplay having 1-2 fictional hostages to negotiate your demands. However, fictional hostages may only be used when there are genuinely not enough eligible players online. You may not combine real hostages with fictional hostages to reach the maximum hostage limit. You cannot make a hostage wait until a heist/ robbery cooldown is over. You may hold a hostage for 5 minutes, after this you must release them. You may take PD hostage but only if there are 3 or more officers online & clocked in and if it contributes positively to the scene. But it is prohibited to take any EMS hostage no matter how many are clocked in.

When any criminal/gang/ faction takes a hostage, it must be with a weapon (for realistic rp) and the hostage must value their life, therefore they are not allowed to refuse being taken as hostage unless IRL issues should arise (for example game crashes, internet/ power outages, etc.). In these circumstances, please see our rule above on combat logging.

Emergency vehicles, aircraft, and unrealistic escape methods may not be used unless permitted by server events.

Do not interfere with robberies or heists unless your character has a legitimate roleplay reason to become involved.

Do NOT begin major criminal activities within 30 minutes of a scheduled server restart.

You may follow bank robbers, but start with roleplay interactions before violence and plan it out. Don't just go and ram their car and tell them that you want the loot. Have a proper interaction with a good story.

You ARE allowed to hit a heist with another gang and/or with civilians. But each gang must be in their own gang clothing, and the civilians must be in any kind of civilian criminal outfit they have chosen.

You are NOT allowed to use Helicopters, Airplanes, PD vehicles or Emergency Vehicles during a heist.

You are NOT allowed to conduct a heist without at least 1 hostage. Doing so would be considered NVL.

With any Heist you must have someone stay with the hostages with firearm pointed at the hostage (only at the Hostages, not at any police officers) while the heist is being performed. Officers may communicate with you asking your demands (1 demands per hostage only allowed 3 demands). After you have completed any heist you tell officers when you are ready and they will tell you to get in your car and wait for 3 car honks; on the third you are allowed to start your escape. MUST wait at least 3 minutes after the heist is complete for police to arrive, if they do not, you can leave. List of Demands: • Los Santos Special - No spike strips & Free passage (3 minutes without pitting) • No Air 1 • No Heat car

PD & EMS are neutral parties. They MUST not participate in any criminal activities.

EMS should provide realistic medical roleplay whenever possible.

EMS must wait for scene clearance before entering dangerous situations unless instructed otherwise by law enforcement.

Do not pull weapons if at gunpoint; value your life.

High-quality RP is required when killing a cop.

Do not explain police SOP's during a scene, complete your scene and file necessary complaints.

No drastic appearance changes at plastic surgery with an active warrant.

All police officers must have a working microphone and be on the proper PD radio frequency.

Police equipment (weapons, items, etc.) are not to be exchanged with players outside of PD, this will be considered corruption.

Tasers (non-lethal force) should be used unless there is a direct danger to surrounding officers to civilians or otherwise instructed by high ranking officers.

Lethal force is only to be used to terminate the danger.

When going off-duty as an officer, you are to dispose of any equipment and vehicles that are from the police department. You may not get equipment from PD while off-duty. If you are fired from PD but still have PD roles, you may not walk into PD and steal equipment. This is considered exploitation and will be met with, but not limited to a BAN.

Negotiators are not to be taken hostage. If you find yourself in this situation, make sure to make a ticket after the scene has played out with a 2 minute clip.

During a robbery or heist, law enforcement may assume that any suppressive fire from criminals is an act of aggression and does not require additional verbal communication before responding. If criminals initiate suppressive fire, law enforcement is authorized to respond with lethal force. Likewise, once suppressive fire has been exchanged, both law enforcement and criminals may return fire with the intent to incapacitate or neutralize the opposing party. Exception: If a hostage is present and their safety may be endangered, this rule does not apply. All parties are expected to prioritize the hostage's safety and continue roleplaying the negotiation accordingly.

Law enforcement officers may not abuse their authority or position for personal gain or to create unfair roleplay. This includes, but is not limited to: • Excessively stacking charges or filing unnecessary police reports. • Over-sentencing or over-jailing individuals beyond what is reasonable for the roleplay situation. • Using police powers to harass, retaliate against, or target specific players without a valid roleplay reason. Officers are expected to act professionally, fairly, and in accordance with department policies and the spirit of quality roleplay.

Government employees are expected to uphold the integrity of their position at all times. Any use of a government position for personal gain, favoritism, abuse of authority, or any form of corruption is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: • Accepting or soliciting bribes. • Providing unauthorized assistance or information to criminals. • Misusing government resources, equipment, or privileges. • Falsifying reports or records for personal benefit. • Using a government position to unfairly benefit yourself or others. Any player found engaging in government corruption will be permanently banned from the server.

RDM (Random Death Match): Killing or attacking another player without valid roleplay. VDM (Vehicle Death Match): Using a vehicle as a weapon. NVL (No Value of Life): Failing to realistically fear injury or death. Fail RP: Unrealistic or low-quality roleplay that negatively affects immersion. Power-gaming: Forcing unrealistic actions or abusing game mechanics to gain an advantage. Meta-gaming: Using information your character would not realistically know. Combat Logging: Leaving the server to avoid roleplay. Character Bleeding: Sharing information, items, or progress between separate characters.