NERO CODE OF CONDUCT

Loyalty Above All Else

Absolute Loyalty to Nero is expected and demanded. Nero treats its Family members very well, very fairly, and gives you the best shot in life. Therefore, you are expected to treat Nero very well, very fairly, and with utmost priority. You are to prioritize Nero's well-being over your own, because Diamante Nero takes exceptional care of its members.

Omertà

All active and former members and participants in Diamante Nero's activities are sworn under an oath of silence & secrecy. Keep it secret, keep it safe. Never allow your identity to be discovered. Never jeopardize the family. Never disclose Family secrets or locations. Protect the Family with your life, and never let yourself be discovered as a Family member. Behave modestly. Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

RESPECT

You proffer respect first. It is not earned here, it is automatically offered. You are welcome to have your dislikes and your grudges, but there shall be no disrespect. You are to treat il Padrino as if they are a God. All Capo are to be treated as if they are Royalty. All Braccio Destro are to be treated as if they are Royalty. All Sotto la Mano are to be treated as if they are Nobility. All Soldato and below are to be treated as if they are Your Family. Because they are your family. You live with them. You dine with them. You rage with them. You mourn with them. You share joy and merrymake with them. You suffer with them. You grow with them. You protect with them. You destroy with them. Their loss is your loss. Your loss is their loss. Your joy is their joy. Their joy is your joy.

Family Forward

The interests of the family take precedence over any personal matters. All active, current, inactive, and former Family members should avoid actions that could jeopardize the family's business, reputation, safety, or stability. You place your personal needs second to the Family's needs, and then you will be handsomely compensated and your happiness and needs prioritized after. Nero takes care of it's own, so you are expected to take care of Nero.

Disputes

Any disputes between Family members are to be handled within the family, internally, quietly and peacefully. They are not to be advertised, alluded to, or otherwise shared with any outside individuals. Nero has a reputation to protect. Do not jeopardize it.

Approval

Significant decisions, such as hits, turf disputes, clan disputes, large deals, and other reputation-affecting decisions, require approval from the division's Capo, Braccio Destro, or il Padrino if the Capo and Destro are unreachable. No one can act unilaterally, especially when it affects the Family.

Do No Harm

Diamante Nero protects the peace. Do not enact senseless violence, bloodshed, or savagery. Do not harm women and children. Protect those who cannot protect themselves; prevent those mad with power from bringing unjust harm to others. Embody the best version of yourself, so that tomorrow may be brighter under your care.

Romantic Relationships

Romantic entanglements with law enforcement agents, rivals, or those connected to competing families are strictly prohibited. You are not to touch another Family member's spouse. You may attempt to find romance within the Family, but please move with all caution and logic. Do not place the Family in the path of danger by acting with stupidity. After all, Diamante Nero keeps you safe, so keep it safe.

FC (OOC) CODE OF CONDUCT

Age Restricted

We are a 21+ FC. Due to dark, mature themes and the potential for DD:DNE extremities for the dark and mature themes, we require all members to be adults.

Respect Is Proffered, Not Earned

Similar to the Family rules, we operate on respect is automatically given. Many of us are working individuals who are pursuing education at the same time. We do not have the time nor energy to tolerate drama-mongering. Take it elsewhere.

Communication is Key

If there is something you are uncomfortable with, talk about it. Bring it up to Moa(FC Owner) and see what can be done to fix the uncomfy feelings. If someone you cared about was in your position, you'd speak up for them, right? Speak up for yourself so you can enjoy yourself and find a compromise to whatever issue you're having. You'll be heard here.

Mun =/= Muse

Just because some individuals may write characters that are clinically insane murders, that doesn't mean they condone such actions IRL. If you are an individual that suffers with being unable to separate IC from OOC, we recommend you locate another home to settle into.

RP is a HOBBY. NOT a job.

If you need time away, or you're overwhelmed, or you just need something to change so you can enjoy yourself, talk to Moa(FC Owner) about it. You're not here for an 8 hour shift, I'm not an over-demanding boss. Talk to me and we'll work something out.

RP Etiquette

Honestly, it's self-explanatory. If you don't know by now, you'll learn fast enough. This is another no-tolerance rule.

POWERFUL/OVERPOWERED PCs

This FC has a large number of incredibly strong characters, due in part to the lore of the FC. Because Diamante Nero is an incredibly large-scale and powerful mafia that has roots in three nations, it has to have several powerhouses to support itself and force the hand in case any outside parties attempted to threaten Nero's stability and reputation. These characters are also written as PCs by some of the members in the group. These rules have been established to protect both the strong characters and weak/noncombatant characters. Please adhere to these if you have a character with considerable martial prowess—both IC and OOC.

Dice is Law

You WILL be subscribing to utilizing dice rolls for any interaction where there is tension or combat of any kind. You WILL take the results of the dice rolls without complaint (do NOT guilt trip the other party for a reroll), because your character has to have the ability to be beaten by another person, so that way those with weak characters can feel relatively safe and secure, that their character will not die. You may use Grindstone rules: roll to attack, roll to dodge; dodge rolls higher than attack? Dodge, and write your own attack. Dodge rolls lower than attack? Write up how you take the hit, then write your own attack. The default is first to 3, but if agreed upon by both parties, you can go first to 5 or 6. Three would be a healthy spar, five or six (or more) would be a true limit-testing combat. Obviously, if both parties completely consent to a narrative fight or a narrative ending, please do what you desire. There must be complete consent from both sides to decide an outcome that is against Grindstone rules.

Take The Losses As They Come

If your character is, somehow, overpowered through Grindstone ruleset, or otherwise outsmarted, take the loss as it comes and do not guilt trip nor complain. I am NOT stating to let your overpowered PC be walked over. I AM stating to let other people have their wins if they manage to get them, without making that person feel guilty for winning. Take the dice RNG as it comes.

Do Not Flaunt, Brag, Or Overshare Your PCs Power Level

It is perfectly acceptable to say "I have an overpowered character! Are you comfortable with me sharing more?" And then proceeding to do so if you have been given consent; it is NOT acceptable to say "My character is so super strong that they can kill absolutely anyone and get away with it!" If you are caught using statements like that in any manner, you will receive warnings. It is NOT fair nor comfortable to players who write weaker characters or noncombatants to be at the mercy of hearing how utterly overpowered your character is.

The Guild Master Is A Failsafe

For those of you with overpowered characters (and not just powerful/strong), your character will have met the guildmaster. She is set up in such a way to assure that the overpowered PCs do not run around slamming the weaker PCs. Utau is an NPC above anything else and will not be written as a PC because of the absurd power level that surrounds her. However, she is still a force that presides over overpowered PCs, and she will punish and remove any issues that disrupt the flow of the guild. For example: some random recruit goes around killing Soldato for fun. Utau will expunge their character, and the mun ejected from the FC.

With all that being said, we welcome and allow overpowered characters into the guild, we just ask that they and their muns operate under these specific rules. It is for the safety and benefit of all members that overpowered and powerful characters are regulated in such a manner. You are still allowed to write your character as you please, just be mindful that there are people in this FC who write noncombatants, and these rules are set into place to protect both parties. Thank you for adhering to them.

il Padrino

"The Godfather"
The current overseer of Diamante Nero. Unfortunately, the last known holder of this position was a dreadfully intelligent woman by the name of Utau Hoshina. This woman passed some fifteen summers ago, beheaded by a rival clan. The position has been unfulfilled since, though the work that belongs to this position seems to still be finished...

EXPECTATIONS

BALMUNG RESIDENCE

This is a Balmung FC. We do have a CWLS for associates, but we are primarily recruiting individuals for the FC.

Age Restricted

We expect you to be 21 years of age or older. No one under the age of 21 is permitted into the FC.

Respect

Don't be an ass. Don't overstep. Just be kind.

Activity

While there aren't any super outrageously hard activity checks, we do wish our members to have a decent streak of activity. A few times a week, say hi and maybe try to interact ICly once a week. We understand that time gets harsh for everyone, though, so it isn't a hard rule.

Voidsent & Yokai

Voidsent and Yokai are allowed, however, there are a certain set of rules they'll have to abide by. If you have a voidsent or yokai of considerable power, please see the "powerful/overpowered PCs" rules. Those will apply to you, even if you are at a general, run-of-the-mill Soldato rank. Most of the time, we do ask voidsent and yokai to find a different home to settle into. But we are willing to take in voidsent and yokai that fit well with our company both ICly and OOCly.

Open Communication

As not only a community leader, but also as a person, I would prefer open communication with me. If there's something or someone you don't like, or something you'd like to suggest, I'd really prefer you have the courage to reach out to me about it rather than let it fester. Likewise, I will openly communicate, as a leader, with you, when the need arises. For the most part, that won't be commonplace (I hope, no news is good news, generally).

Lore-Abiding [Bending, not Breaking]

Diamante Nero subscribes to "rule of cool" rather than rules as written. While we abide by lore, we do bend for flavor in harmless matters to make things a little more fun. However, we do not tolerate lore-breaking whatsoever. If you're looking for a community that allows broken lore, you may look for another home. Shard-hopping is not allowed in this FC. For characters from other shards, please find a home elsewhere.

Long-term Availability

While we absolutely will not ask you to commit to us if you aren't happy, after your trial period as an Allievi, if we decide you're a good fit for us and that we are a good fit for you, we would like you to stay with us rather than leaving in the first month. Otherwise, it would be better for you to have parted ways during your trial period as an Allievi. This means sticking around for the extended future, because you'd like to make a home here with us. We do not want a large family, just a small, close-knit community of writers working towards character development rather than large-scale group plotlines.

Mature & Reasonable

We would like you to be a mature and reasonable individual, that is able to take criticism when necessary (if conflict or character-wise), and likewise we will be mature and reasonable. Please bring your criticisms directly to me, Moa/Ren, the FC Owner, and not anyone else. I will do my utmost to work with you on any criticisms you have with me or another member.

HOW TO CLIMB THE LADDER

CONTINUAL ACTIVITY

If you show your loyalty to Nero and continually be active in the group, making bonds, interacting ICly and OOCly, it will be a matter of /when/ and /not if/ you rise through the ranks ICly. If your character wants power in the FC, then your respective division will see what open positions are available, and work on moving your character up the ladder ICly IF your character's personality is a good fit.

Characters Who Fit

Not every character will be suited for a position of power in a grimdark, brutal, ambigiously immoral Mafia organization. Please remember that this is ORGANIZED CRIME that very often subscribes to the motto "The ends justify EVERY mean, no mater how immoral, unethical, or gruesome the means are."Not every character is suited for a position of power in this type of setting.

Responsibility, IC & OOC

There is a level of responsibility that will be assigned to you both IC and OOC when you move up the ranks in the FC. Because your character has a position of power the higher you go, the more responsibility your character will have--more gruesome work, nitty-gritty that the base level Soldato and Allievi will never see (murder, theft, torture, drug trade, etc).You will essentially be given a "mananger" position at a standard workplace to put some better framing on it. While modwork decisions and general management will still fall to me, Moa, you will be a little more responsible for your respective division the higher you climb the ladder.This responsibility is something you should consider, as I may ask you for help running and managing events, activity for your division, etc.

Comfort Level

The higher the ranks, the more gruesome their tasks, and the more corruption you will find. The standard Allievi and Soldato will have minimal contact with the upper echelons of the company. When you rise higher in rank, you will encounter this corruption. Here's an example.- "Culling Weeds" (Murdering potential threats to peace, even if they are red herrings. Age is no factor whether they get culled, and most bloodlines are culled to extinction if they may potentially cause a problem. Think the "would you kill Hitler as a child?" philosophy.)
- Torture for fun, geneva suggestions (R&D Capo)
- Drug trafficking
- Murder for fun
- And other grimdark / dead dove types of themes.If you as a person are not comfortable with these themes and able to consume them, then moving up the ladder is not a good idea.

Upper Echelon Availability

While at the moment we have plenty of unfilled upper echelon ranks, they may not be available in the future when we have enough members that are able to climb the ladders, providing their characters are a good fit for power, and that they are comfortable consuming grimdark/dead dove do not eat types of themes.If you wish to join expressly for a position of power, you can always ask Moa in advance if there are any positions available! It will be a very slow burn and you will not achieve that position of power in less than two months of activity, so please keep that in mind.

ALLIEVI SYSTEM

Probation Period

This system was put in place both to protect you as an individual and to protect Nero as an FC.When you first join, you will be on a "probation period" as an Allievi, this gives you time to see if you like our FC to call it your home, or if we feel you are a good fit for our family.After the probation period ends, if you like us and we like you, you will be graduated up to Soldato as a permanent member of the FC.

Mentor System

The Allievi rank is a "Trainee" rank, in which you will be assigned an upper-echelon individual to "mentor" your character on the ways of Nero. This will allow you to grow close with one connection, and to see if you're a good fit for the FC, and for your character to see first-hand the type of work that they will be doing and what are good guidelines on how to complete that work.Your character will have lodging provided to them via the FC rooms. Your character will be using the "break room" to sleep, and then after graduating to Soldato, you will be given 300k by Moa to purchase your FC room in the house. Your characters lodgings are ICly covered, so I will OOCly cover the cost as well.

Time Duration

There is no hard limit on the duration of being an Allievi. I would like to say two weeks is how long, but obviously, life gets in the way and isn't a hard time limit. You can take longer if you need to, or we will assign someone else to mentor you if it is a time availability issue with your mentor.

3 IC Meetings To Graduate

While time duration has no hard limit, there are a minimum of three IC interactions between you and your mentor that are required before you can graduate to a Soldato. So three interactions in two weeks, in which you should be meeting people between those interactions to see if you like the other characters and writers in this FC. This is a trial period for you, and this is also a trial period for us. If you don't like someone or some of the characters, then it's better you know before you hard commit to the group.

If you have questions, please ask

This is the general system put in place to protect both you and Nero. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask Moa, the FC leader, directly. My door is always open, no matter what it is.