excited

TLDR: Sexual FTBing has lead to a huge amount of Grooming, ERP, & distasteful roleplay and would benefit the server (and the minors on it) if it were banned.

I believe the following edits must be made to the current set of FTB rules:
- No Furry FTB
- No FTB with another player who is not of a similar out-of-character age to you - just to cover bases, not everybody who does this is some kind of "pedophile", it's weird but not evil - it's just the implications of the RP are too mature in my opinion for either people to role-play responsibly given the suggestive nature of this kind of RP. 

Also, no, FTBing does not lead to grooming. Groomers lead to grooming. FTBing for the most part is an inconsequential but cringe part of role-play where people type a phrase that omits sexual role-play from the server's game-play experience. Groomers do not go around omitting their experiences, they intentionally find ways to subvert ethical lines of communication with minors and then manipulate them. It's important to remember that the manipulations of a groomer/nonce/whatever far surpass just the in-game server. It is primarily done over Discord or outside means of communication (SnapChat, etc). They will leverage the presence of an in-role-play parasocial relationship to manipulate these people into relationships or other such situations. 

Moral panics over bathhouses or FTBs are not gonna do much. We need to address LoTC Safety and Screenshare policies as it pertains to people accused of these things, and continue to find new means of catching them. That requires socially reinforcing these things in our own communities on here and kicking out people who are found to have creepy or predatory behavior - something most groups on the server are hyper vigilant with, bar a few small outliers. 
 

The Heroes of the Petrine Laurel

It is with great pleasure that the Archduchess Renilde I and Grand Knight Paul Montalt of the Republic of the Petra announce the victory of the Loyalist partisans against the Rebel forces. Henceforth, in honor of the fallen Sir Arthur de Lyons and the countless knights who fell in service to The Penny Duke’s resistance movement, the position of Knight Paramount is henceforth dissolved. Sir Arthur de Lyons was the last Knight Paramount of the Commonwealth, and shall be buried with full honors, as well as Sir Brandt and Dame Livia. Sir Paul “The Tongue; The Unspoken” Montalt shall assume the position of Grand Knight and bring about Knightly Reforms.

The Circle of the Laurel

1. Dame Azrielle Vilac, Hero of the Petra

2. Dame Elvira de Vilain, Hero of the Petra

3. Dame Emma de Rosius, Hero of the Petra

4. Sir Joseph Vasile, Hero of the Petra

5. Dame Anna Lucilla, Hero of the Petra

6. Sir Milonir, Hero of the Petra

7. Dame Charlotte Roberta, Hero of the Petra

8. Sir Ilya Ivanovich, Hero of the Petra

9. Sir Onon of the Irrinites, Hero of the Petra

10. Dame Maude Fredericka, Hero of the Petra

11. Sir Stefan af Don, Hero of the Petra

12. Sir Miguel, Hero of the Petra

13. Dame Clementine Amadea, Hero of the Petra

14. Dame Avern of Petra, Hero of the Petra

15. Sir Laurens Henri, Hero of the Petra

16. Sir Paul Montalt, Hero of the Petra

17. Dame Renilde I, Hero of the Petra
18. Sir Valentin Mareno, Hero of the Petra

19. Sir Marius Audemar, Hero of the Petra

The Battle for the Commonwealth

From Castle Moere, nineteen-hundred soldiers under the banner of Renilde, the rightful Archduchess of Petra, sallied out to take the field of battle. The countryside of the Commonwealth was theirs -- the place of knightly estates, familial manors, and the homes and dwellings of those who had first built the Commonwealth. At her right side was Sir Paul Montalt, once a distinguished knight of the Commonwealth who had been driven out by those forces which sought to topple the Archduchess. At her left was the aged Sir Valentin Mareno, a man who had met a similar fate. Her two commanders strode forth and took the field of battle, atop the hills overlooking Valfleur, where the army of the usurper, Constanz, began their own arrangements.

The host under Constanz numbered greater, boasting around twenty-four hundred themselves. However, where they may have had the advantage in manpower, they did not have the leadership. The two sides initially began a duel of arrows, but as the projectiles rained upon the respective armies, few were felled. Sir Paul and Sir Valentin ordered the line be held, while Prince Marius of Haense, having pledged his sword to Renilde’s cause to restore his honor, and Joseph Vasile, a former squire of Petra who had ventured north to fight for his old liege again, took two-hundred dismounted men-at-arms to the left flank. Fierce fighting erupted through the suburbs, but as the rebel force attempted a countercharge, they were caught in a trap! One of their principal commanders, Gregor Malinov, was surrounded and, in a fierce duel with Prince Marius, was wounded and carried off the field of battle.

With one of his great commanders mortally wounded, Constanz knew that disorder may break his ranks. Thus, he decided on a fateful charge. Still at an advantage of numbers, he hoped to smash through the divided lines of his wife’s army and win the day. Around an hour after the battle had begun, the call to charge was made.

The two ranks crashed into each other, steel meets steel as the bloody melee raged around them to decide who would carry the day. It was no easy fight- first Sir Paul was wounded by a spear to the leg; but his valor allowed him to fight on with his cries of “Do not relent!” and “Warhammers, warhammers!” Sir Valentin was struck next, taking an axe to the chest; but he too remained near the front, urging his men on to victory. Even the Archduchess herself, in the heat of battle, was unhorsed five times and urged to fall back, for none could know how the battle would go. Still, she fought on. 

However, no matter how dire the fight, the true men and women of Petra pressed on. As Prince Marius took charge, the Loyalist ranks pressed forth and forced the rebel lines to bend, then buckle, then break. As the rebel Constanz tried to bring order to the line, he was struck in the back by the sword of Dame Charlotte Roberta, the sister of the Archduchess. As he was carried off the field as well, the ranks of his followers began to flee. A final, last-ditch effort was made by Sir ‘Wings’ von Draco to save the day for the rebels, but after a whirling duel with Joseph Vasile he too was wounded and evacuated from the field. Without the time to even swarm into Valfleur, the rebel ranks scattered throughout the field, running north to Haense or south to Aaun to find refuge.

Although it was not without loss, the battle had been won for the Archduchess and her supporters. They entered the town of Valfleur to cheering crowds, thankful that the bloodshed of the day had not reached them. All counted their lucky stars that no siege was to come, and that the war was finally over. As Prince Marius and a few infantrymen secured the city, the Archduchess and her loyal few returned to Castle Moere to celebrate those who had fought and died for the rightful heir of Paul-Salvian.

God bless thee, Renilde I.

A second battle for Petra had been won.

Atop the walls of Valfleur, seven-hundred men, led by the Ruslter bandit Elsil, stood to try and stop the advancing host of fifteen-hundred led by Sir Paul Montalt. For all their cries of the Archduchess hiring a foreign army, their thinned ranks were led by a bandit from the woods, while the men of the Petran Republican Army had at their head one of the most storied knights of the land.

The first volley of arrows, from the archers led by Sir Paul, thudded against the wooden stakes of the hastily erected wall surrounding the city. Around the back, Vyllaenen and the Ferrymen freeriders sought a way to flank the town’s defenders. After several minutes of searching, they broke through and cut down many hundreds of the rebel ranks. Sir Paul and his archers hastiled climbed up the palisades and joined the fray. Within minutes, the rebels lay dead or surrendered.

The captured were taken back to Castle Moere, to be dealt with in the manner that traitors are - summary execution. As the bandit captain, Elsil, was put up against a wall, crossbows lined towards his back, the man wet himself out of fear of what was to come. The others with him cringed and shied away in fear as their captain was filled with bolts.

Another captured rebel, ‘Wings’ von Draco, hurled insults at the Petran Republicans and proclaimed proudly that, at any moment, a rescue party would come to free him. Ready for another fight, the Petrans waited. Minutes passed, then hours, but there was no sign of any rebel forces. Fear had gripped their hearts, and they did nothing to rescue their comrade. The laughs and jeers of the rebel von Draco turned into cries of anguish and pain as his arm was lopped off by Prince Loran of Mardale.

Again falls those who betray the rightful Archduchess of the Petra.

There Is But One Archduchess

Victory had come for Petra's loyalists.

As Constanz of Balian and his followers sought to put Archduchess Renilde on trial, despite her absence and innocence, given their attempted, but failed, usurpation, those loyal to the rightful Archduchess, along with the assembled armies of Almaris, stood outside Castle Moere in wait.

It took only a moment- a flash! And in came pouring legions of men bearing arms and standards from across the world. At the front of them all rode Sir Valentin and Sir Paul, both scorned knights of Petra seeking to reclaim the Republic from those who wished to erode it.

Only Sir Arthur de Lyons stood his ground bravely and acted in the manner becoming of a knight of Petra- the rest, among them their traitorous liege, took to hiding. One by one they were captured and felled, many of them were too scared to even draw their blades. As Constanz of Balian huddled in the basement of the castle, the sounds of the advancing forces of the rightful Archduchess doubtless caused him to soil his breeches. His moment of valor stolen by other men, just as his wife was, Constanz of Balian was soon taken prisoner and brought back to Valfleur, which had also been taken.

Although all bayed for the blood of the traitor, it was Father Blackwater who instead advised a softer path. Peace, not civil war, was desirable, and he resolved to sit and make terms until it was had. For hours the two parties argued back and forth, but after nearly a day, it seemed that terms could be made. Petra would be divided into two administrative halves, a split befitting of the coming dissolution of the marriage that once bound Petra together. To govern both halves and ensure their safety and vitality would be Dame Catherine of Furnestock, she who could be trusted to repair the Commonwealth as she had so many times before.

However, it was not to be. Despite his verbal agreements, and the signatures by the Archduchess, Dame Catherine, and Father Blackwater, Constanz of Balian denied the chance of peace, instead condemning Petra to civil war and proclaiming his intent to lead his people into demise and ruin, instead of peace and mediation as he has previously agreed to. Despite calls to execute the man, once again Father Blackwater intervened, instead arguing for only a maiming to happen. It would be of ill-faith to kill a man who had surrendered, certainly a man who was legally the Archduke-consort of Petra. The men agreed, and, finding the part of Constanz’s body that would see the most use with women, they gouged out an eye.

Such is the tale of those who stood against the Archduchess of Petra, and such will be the tale that is told for many years. Despite her victory over her faithless husband, Renilde showed magnanimity and mercy, which was soon twisted against her, just as her love and devotion were twisted against her in the halls of her council. Peace could have been had, but by Constanz of Balian’s hand it was rendered impossible.

"The Cuckold's War," pronounced Sir Paul with a bit of eccentric gallows humor. 

Alrighty, the verdict has been reached and the vote has concluded. 

Your appeal has been denied.

Intentionally throughout our personal discussion of the ban you have deflected responsibility to instead discuss the fact that the player in question (whom you zealously attacked in retaliation for goading you) is themselves not free from error. That much is true. However, in the Lord of the Craft community we do not have a tolerance for stereotyping, slurs, and transphobic language. In your very appeal you deride that the Moderation Team did not look deeply enough. The truth is the responsibility for reporting somebody for harassing you falls to you. However, given your behavior here many on the team are very off-put by this notion that instead of taking responsibility for wildly lashing out at this person like a toddler, you're trying to defend your own behavior and numerous times have phrased it in such a way that you're describing a "social experiment" or "what happens when the turn-tables". 

In turn, you intentionally refused to use the woman's pronouns when deliberating on your own ban with me over personal messaging. You paint a very candid picture for the type of person that you are and for that we are grateful, and we are here to inform you that you have some growing to do prior to your next appeal. This could be days, weeks or months, it is entirely up to you - but I would like you to actually consider your actions thoughtfully and with tentative care. You're over the age of twenty. You are not a child any longer. 

Just as she should not have made jokes about your faith, you should not have sent this. It will be spoilered.

“That which is hateful to you, do not do to others” (Shabbat 31a)

We wish you luck and hope that you will have candid reflection before your next appeal.