INTRODUCTION
It is the responsibility of each Reality Simulations, Inc. customer to know the contents of this publication and all subsequent updates or revisions of the RSI House Rules. By the act of participating in any game produced by Reality Simulations, Inc. each customer agrees to abide by and be subject to the policies published in these rules.
The contents of these rules provide information on the policies under which we at RSI moderate all of our games. These policies have been established so that we may provide equal and impartial treatment, as well as consistent and professional service, to all of our customers. Please read the following rules and cooperate with them. This will ensure that all players can enjoy our play-by-mail gaming services and that we can provide them in a consistent manner.
RSI maintains an open ear to the concerns of our customers. Questions and suggestions for policy improvement should be directed to our Customer Service Department. All policy questions and suggestions are carefully reviewed by RSI for the purpose of continually improving the quality and fairness of our service. Customer feedback is taken into account with the publication of each successive edition of the RSI House Rules.
Please note that throughout this document, Duel2 or DM refers to the game formerly known as Duelmasters. Advanced Duel2 or ADM is the advanced version of the game.
CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS
The first time you request to be placed in an RSI game, you will be assigned an RSI customer account in your name. Each of our customers is assigned one permanent account number. One account number is all you need for all of your games. If for any reason you are ever assigned more than one RSI account number, please inform us and we will combine the two accounts into one.
Deposits. Your account balance is the amount of money (in U.S. dollars) that you have to your credit at RSI. Any time that we receive money from you, we will deposit it into your account. Deductions are made from the balance of your account each time we process one of your game turns or provide an additional service that you have requested. Each time we process one of your game turns we will provide you with a customer accounting statement with a record of your current balance along with recent account activity.
Many of our customers choose to make payments to their account with a credit card (see Credit Card Payments, below).
All funds that you send to us should be in the form of a check or money order payable in U.S. funds and drawn from a US or Canadian bank. Canadian or foreign customers may make checks payable in U.S. funds simply by writing U.S. next to the dollar sign printed on the check. Each check or money order that you send us should have your account number written and clearly visible on it. If the writer of a check is not the same person as the owner of the account to which the check is being deposited, the name of the account holder should also be written on the check, next to his/her account number. A maximum US$5.00 charge in addition to any bank return charges is applied for each check returned by the bank as uncollected due to insufficient funds, etc. We will not re-submit a check to the bank once it has been returned to us as uncollected. Cash deposits are strongly discouraged. While we can accept cash deposits, it is impossible to trace what has happened if currency somehow fails to be deposited to your account (for example, if your letter got lost in the mail), thus, we cannot be responsible for any cash funds. Please do not send us either U.S. coinage or foreign currency for deposit.
Payment Terms. We require that you have a positive account balance (US$0.00 or above) prior to any transaction with our firm. We reserve the right to refrain from providing services for any account which has a negative balance. Players may maintain a positive balance by enclosing sufficient funds for deposit along with each game turn. Players choosing this manner of payment will find that on certain occasions, when their game turn and deposit arrive on the same day as their turn is processed, that while their game turn will always be run, their customer accounting statement may not reflect the deposit they enclosed. This is due to the fact that daily deposits may be transacted later on the same business day than turn processing. Many players find it more convenient to pay for several turns in advance. All funds that we receive for deposit to your account will remain available to your credit until such time as you use the funds to pay for game turns or related services. You may request a prompt and full refund of the balance of your account at any time.
Credit Card Payments. We accept the following credit cards for payment: VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Customers who wish to pay for their turns with a credit card should first request a credit card authorization form from our Customer Service department. Once you complete and return this form to us, your account will be placed on automatic credit status. This means that any time your account balance drops to a point where there are not sufficient funds to pay for one of your turns, your credit card will automatically be charged the amount you specified on your authorization form (minimum US$25.00) and that amount will be added to your account balance. Automatic credit status ensures that you will never miss a turn due to having insufficient funds in your account. However, it is the player's responsibility to make sure their credit card will accept charges; if a player's credit card company refuses to approve charges to the card, resulting in their RSI account balance dropping below US$0, we may refuse services to that player. It is also the player's responsibility to notify us if they wish their account to go off automatic credit status or when their credit card expires or is lost.
Payment Policy. We require full and prompt payment for all game services that we render. Delinquent accounts are liable for all reasonable costs of collection in addition to the delinquent amount. RSI reserves the right to hold turn results and/or refuse service to anyone on the basis of their account history with our company. A complete listing of RSI service fees is provided below.
SERVICE FEES
Reality Simulations, Inc. reserves the right to change our service fees at any time, through publication and distribution of a revised set of House Rules containing a listing of the new service fees. Any such price changes will take effect thirty days after the publication of the revised listing. There are no charges for participating in an RSI game other than those listed.
| US$3.25 + US$1.50 per warrior. |
| Small Kingdom | US$ 5.00 | Kingdoms in exile: | 25% discount |
| Medium Kingdom | US$ 7.00 | Standby positions: | Š10% discount |
| Large Kingdom | US$ 9.00 | (Only the highest | discount may apply) |
| US$1.50 + US$0.50 per available order, up to a maximum of US$15.00. |
| Standby positions: US$1.20 + US$0.40 per available order, maximum US$12.00. |
| Duel2 (DM) | |
|---|---|
| First game set-up1 | Free |
| Additional game set-up1 | US$ 5.00 |
| Character Re-Overview (per warrior)2 | US$ 0.50 |
| 25 Extra Turnsheets5 | US$ 1.00 |
| Newsletter (back issues)3 | US$ 1.00 |
| Phone-In Strategy (per warrior)8 | US$ 0.50 |
| Replacement Character2 | Free |
| Hyborian War (HW) | |
|---|---|
| First game Set-up1 | Free |
| Additional game set-up1 | US$ 8.00 |
| Replacement Wall Map1 | US$ 2.50 |
| Phone-In Turn8 | US$ 2.50 |
| Forgotten Realms (FR) | |
|---|---|
| First Setup1 | Free |
| Additional Set-ups1 | US$ 7.50 |
| Replacement Wall Map1 | US$ 2.50 |
| Phone-In Turn8 | US$ 2.50 |
| All Games | |
|---|---|
| Duplicate Turn Report4 | US$ 1.50 |
| Replacement Rulebook1 | US$ 3.00 |
| Fax-in turn9 | US$ 2.00 |
| Postage Surcharge Outside North America7 | US$ 1.50 |
Notes to Fees
1.Your first time set-up (including complete rules and map) in any RSI game is always free. Additional set-ups that you request will be charged to your account at the listed price.
2.Replacement characters including character overview are free. You may request a re-overview of any of your existing characters for a nominal fee.
3.A subscription to the DM newsletter of your arena is included free along with your DM turn. Back issues of the newsletter for your arena or any other may be ordered at the listed price. Back issue orders are limited to availability.
4.One copy of your turn report is included in the turn fee. A duplicate of the report (in case of damage to the original, loss by the post office, etc.) may be ordered for a nominal fee. Duplicate turn reports are only available for the last two turns that your game has been processed for DM and Forgotten Realms, and last one turn for Hyborian War.
5.Five turnsheets are included in the price of the DM turn fee. If you wish, you may purchase a supply of extras as listed above.
6.A replacement starting kingdom report may only be ordered for a kingdom which you rule.
7.All turn reports are airmailed for fast delivery. There is no surcharge for APO/FPO or Canadian addresses. This surcharge will apply to each turn mailed.
8.Turns for all of our games may be phoned in to the RSI hotline at (480) 966-7698, (07) 32197152 in Australia (see Phone-ins).
9.Turns for all of our games may be faxed in to (480) 894-2028, (07) 3219 7152 in Australia (see Faxes).
DUE DATES
Due dates for all RSI games, unless otherwise specified in the game setup, are set as follows:
Turnsheets which have not arrived at our offices by midnight of the due date may miss the turn. Because of fluctuations in U.S. mail service, it is a good practice to mail your turn sheets to us well in advance of the due date. Allowing five days mailing time is usually adequate from most parts of the U.S., seven days from most parts of Canada. To gauge the amount of time it takes for mail delivery between your city and our offices, check the postmark of mail that we send you and then add a day or two to account for variation. Players are encouraged to mail turnsheets at the earliest opportunity during the holiday season and the tax season to compensate for slower mail delivery.
Missed Turns. If despite precautions you miss a turn, you will not be charged a service fee for the turn. Hyborian War players may elect to receive Kingdom Maintenance, in which case their kingdom will be issued maintenance orders if no turnsheet is received by the due date. Kingdoms receiving maintenance orders will be charged a service fee for the turn. A DM maintenance program is also available, where the last strategy is run for each warrior on the team, for the normal turn charge. We automatically save any DM turn sheets received too late for one turn and run them on the following turn unless otherwise instructed.
Making the Due Date. Be sure to put enough postage on your envelope when you mail anything to us. Mail that arrives postage due will be delayed at least one day in arriving to us, which could cause you to miss the turn. A simple formula is to remember that one stamp will pay for mailing five 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets of paper. The post office also charges an extra 10 cents for exceptionally bulky letters, weird sized, or oversized envelopes.
Phone-In Turns. If you are concerned about making the due date for a particular turn, you can phone in your turn any time, day or night, to the RSI Game Hotline (480) 966-7698 or (07) 3219 7152 in Australia. A phoned-in turn will generally cost less than a special mail service and will arrive immediately! Be sure to speak clearly into the machine. (Please note, however, that we cannot correct any errors on phoned-in turns even if the mistake was our fault.) We must receive your phoned-in turns before midnight of the due date. We cannot accept DM team or warrior rollups, or Forgotten Realms first turns, by phone!
ŠFaxes. Turns for all of our games may be faxed in to the RSI fax line at (480) 894-2028, or (07) 3219 7152 in Australia, any time, day or night. Turns must arrive before midnight of the due date in order to be processed. We cannot accept DM team or warrior rollups, or Forgotten Realms first turns, by fax!
Express Mail. No matter which of our games you play, another option for getting a turn to us extra fast is by using the US Postal Service's Priority or Express mail. Priority and Express mail is delivered directly to our post office box and is therefore an acceptable special mail service for our customers to use. Priority mail is fairly inexpensive and takes two days to reach our offices from most places. US Postal Service Express Mail guarantees overnight delivery from most places. Check with your post office. Do not use any other type of express mail unless it can deliver to our post office box! If a mail delivery service cannot deliver to our post office box, they have to contact us to find our street address, and that may take an extra day or two, which can result in your missing the turn. It is a better idea to phone-in, fax-in, or use the US Postal Service's Express Mail Service to get your turns to us in time.
E-Mail. Turns for Forgotten Realms and Hyborian War may be e-mailed to fr@reality.com and hw@reality.com respectively. Personal ads and spotlights for the DM newsletters may be e-mailed to ads@reality.com. Turns must arrive before midnight of the due date in order to be processed. There is no extra fee for e-mailing turns or ads. We cannot accept DM strategy sheets, team or warrior rollups, or Forgotten Realms first turns, by e-mail!
Slow Games. If you live outside the continental U.S., if your address is an APO/FPO, or if you know you have slow mail service in your area, then you should seriously consider requesting to be in a slow game. Slow games are also for those players who enjoy interacting with overseas players or who find a slower pace less demanding of their time and budget.
RSI CUSTOMER SERVICE
RSI is dedicated to providing fast and accurate processing of every game turn. For those rare occasions when a problem or question develops, an RSI Customer Service Representative is readily accessible to resolve your concerns in a prompt and courteous manner.
Service By Mail. All of the services that RSI provides are provided by mail. All of our systems and procedures are geared towards handling problems by mail. Our Customer Service Department is no exception to this primary orientation. In virtually every instance we are better able to serve you via written communication through the mail than over the telephone. Whether you have a game question, would like to request a service, or need a problem resolved, the best way to communicate with us is to send us a note or letter. On a separate piece of paper (not on a turnsheet) labeled "CUSTOMER SERVICE" you should describe in detail how we may serve you. In addition to the details, you should always provide us with your name, your account number, and the game number to which your communication pertains. With the appropriate reference information, we are most able to serve you quickly and efficiently. Some problems take longer to solve than others, but usually within two days after you have contacted us we will mail to you a written reply to your question or resolution to the problem that you have brought to our attention.
Service By E-mail. Questions and problems may also be sent to us via e-mail at csr@reality.com. Please be sure to include complete information (including your name and account number) when e-mailing us.
Service By Telephone. For problems of an immediate nature, specifically for those problems which must be resolved before you can complete your next game turn, you can speak with a service representative simply by calling (480) 967-7979 between 10:00 and 4:00 MST, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). If you are unable to phone during these hours or if, due to special circumstances, a representative is not available to take your call, simply leave a detailed message describing the problem along with your name, game number, and account number on our answering machine. Telephone messages will be transcribed on the next business day.
The RSI Game Hotline. RSI maintains a 24-hour game hotline, which allows you to leave a message of any length by calling (480) 966-7698 or (07) 3219 7152 in Australia. Players who wish to may phone in game turns simply by calling the Hotline and reading us all the information that is listed on the turnsheet. No other turn items such as personal ads, replacement characters, or diplo notes may be phoned in.
SERVICE POLICIES
Turn Changes. If you want to make a last minute change to a turn you have already mailed to us, you may send us a list of the changes which you want to make to your turn. Be sure to tell us your game number, account number, name, and your position in the games. Do not send in another turnsheet for the same turn.
Multiple Positions in the Same Game. Each person may play only one position in any of our games. There are only two exceptions to this policy: 1) In DM, arenas 71-73 are "transfer arenas" and arena 82 is a "tournament arena," and players may play multiple teams in these arenas; 2) In Advanced DM (ADM), players may play multiple teams. Attempts to abuse this policy are considered cheating.
Starting an Additional Game. If you want to play in another of our games, simply send us a note asking for set-up in whichever game you are interested in. Be sure to indicate your name and account number. Your first set-up in any RSI game is always free. A set-up fee is charged for each additional set-up in the same game. Fill out the set-up and return it to us (be sure to put your name and account number on it), and we will enter you into a game as soon as possible. It can take eight weeks or more to get into a game, but a wait of four weeks is most common. We cannot accept photocopies or faxes of DM or Forgotten Realms game set-ups. DM and Forgotten Realms set-up fees are charged when the set-up package is mailed from our office. The set-up fee for Hyborian War game positions is charged when we receive your set-up form. Once you have been placed in a game position, you cannot transfer your position to another game.
Starting a New DM Team in a Current Game. If you wish to start a new team in DM in the same arena as you have previously played, simply request a set-up as above and indicate on the bottom of the set-up form the particular arena in which you wish to be placed. As no player may manage two DM teams in the same arena at the same time, your old team will automatically be destroyed upon processing of your new team. This is a way to get a fresh start in DM without having to move to a new arena.
Change of Address. If you wish to change the address to which we send your turns, the best thing to do is to send us an old Customer Account Statement (you'll get one with every turn) with the new address written on it. Alternately you can send the new address to us on a slip of paper, along with your name and account number. If your change of address is temporary, you will need to send us another change of address whenever you move back to your original location.
Turn Processing Errors. While RSI takes every precaution to minimize errors in turn processing, they nevertheless occasionally occur. If you notice a possible error in one of your turns, please send us a note along with your next turn. Because these investigations take time, we prefer you to notify us by mail or fax of any problems, rather than by phone. Regardless of the nature of the problem or error, we will be happy to look into it. We have established procedures for handling problems. Usually a problem can be solved easily, with a minimum of effort on your part. In every instance where you believe there is a problem with your turn, let us know your name and account number, the game number and turn on which the problem occurred, the nature of the problem, and what the correct situation should be.
When describing a problem, please give complete details. We cannot resolve a problem which is only generally detailed, such as "My warrior's strategy was entered wrong" or "My army moved to the wrong province." We can however, resolve any specifically defined problem such as "On turn 34 my warrior Grimlock 12-245 had his strategy entered with a desperation offensive effort of 6, when it should have been a 9" or "On turn 6 for Turan in HW 61, my IA-1 moved to province 252, instead of 253." Notice that in the correct examples above, all ID numbers were specified. If a particular problem did not occur in a specific game (a missing deposit, for example), then tell us the approximate date on which it occurred.
Error Corrections. Any error detected in a game turn must be reported to us prior to the running of the very next turn for that game. Errors reported after an intervening turn has elapsed cannot be corrected. It is the responsibility of the player to provide appropriate documentation as to the occurrence of an error by mailing us a photocopy of the pertinent area affected in the turn.
If we make an error on any of your DM fights, with consequences such as the fight being lost or your warrior slain, the loss will be removed from your warrior and team record. If necessary, your warrior will be resurrected. Additionally, the cost of one fight, US$1.50, will be refunded to your account. If we make an error on your game turn and the situation can be corrected without affecting another player, then we will make a correction in our game files. In cases where your next turn orders would differ if we make a correction, you should attach a sheet of paper to your Command Sheet with a list of such changes to your orders as you wish made in the event that we are able to correct the previous turn's error. If we are unable to correct the error without affecting another player in the game, then we will make no alterations to the game file and we will not input the alternate orders you have attached to your command sheet. In this case, for Hyborian War games, your kingdom will receive a gift of game wealth as compensation. The size of the gift will vary with the seriousness of the error that occurred.
Discontinuing Play. If you intend to stop playing in a particular game, please drop us a note to let us know that your position is going inactive. Please note that if you are on Kingdom Maintenance in Hyborian War, or team or warrior maintenance in DM, and you wish to stop playing a particular game, merely not filling out any more command sheets is not sufficient to be dropped from the game; you could continue to receive (and be charged for) several turns before you are dropped from the game. To avoid this, simply drop us a line telling us your position is going inactive.
If you miss two consecutive turns in DM without contacting us and your warriors are not on maintenance, your team will automatically be placed on inactive status. The records of all DM teams and warriors are kept on permanent file. From inactive status, any DM team may be re-activated immediately and without any special notice to us simply by sending in turnsheets for that team. This option is available regardless of the time lag. Thus, even after an absence of several years, a DM team may rejoin play with all records intact. The team may not make any challenges on the first turn on which it fights after returning from inactive status.
If a player misses two consecutive turns of Hyborian War or Forgotten Realms, and/or does not have sufficient funds on account, that player will automatically be removed from the game. (Hyborian War players with Kingdom Maintenance will continue to be processed until their account balance drops negative.) Dropped positions, if in good condition, may be given over to the rulership of a standby player. If in poor condition, the rulership of the position will be taken over by our computer. Once removed from play, a player may not ever rejoin that particular game in any other position.
Standby Positions. Any player may request to be placed into a game of Hyborian War or Forgotten Realms as a standby. In Hyborian War, after turn five, standby players are given a complete list of addresses for all players in the game who have not requested privacy. This is in order to place standby players in a position to engage in player diplomacy without delay should they wish to do so. No such list is provided to standby Forgotten Realms players. Players requesting a standby position in HW may stipulate exactly which kingdom they wish to play and they are guaranteed to receive it. Alternately, they may request exactly which game they wish to be placed in (HW players also need to state the size of the kingdom they are willing to accept). A standby player may NOT specify both game number and kingdom--only one of the two options may be selected. All kingdoms which are given to standby players are guaranteed to be in good condition. Forgotten Realms players may request a specific game number, and will receive the best position available in the game. HW standby positions are excellent for those players who wish to play one of the hard-to-get kingdoms. Standby positions are also excellent for players who want to get into a game that a friend is playing in but has already started. Standby positions are an excellent value for players who appreciate savings: HW standbys receive a 10% turn fee discount; FR standbys receive a 20% discount. HW standby players will be charged for the first turn they receive (even though they did not submit orders for that turn).
Player Decorum. Each game participant is expected to behave in a seemly manner towards other participants and the game moderator. Uncivil remarks should be directed towards game personalities only. Real individuals should at all times be treated with appropriate courtesy. The use of profanity and unrestrained abusive language is subject to censure, up to and including refusal of service.
Cheating. Intentional attempts to deceive the moderator or otherwise circumvent or abuse the policies of Reality Simulations, Inc. is construed as cheating. RSI maintains extensive records of all actions in our simulations as well as all player transactions. Players caught cheating are subject to immediate disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from games and refusal of continued service. Please report all known instances of cheating.
CONCLUSION
Rules and policies are dry and onerous to read--certainly not the stuff of exciting battles and adventures! We therefore thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with our House Rules. As the moderator, it is our responsibility to establish and enforce policies under which all players may enjoy themselves while each receives fair and impartial treatment. Now that the hard work of reading these rules is all over, please allow us to extend to you our sincere appreciation for your interest in our play-by-mail gaming services.
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| Reality Simulations, Inc. | |
| P.O. Box 22400 Tempe, AZ 85285 (480© 967-797¹ ª faø (480© 894-202¸ | |