Community Conduct

All standard rules of role-playing, etiquette, and common sense apply. Members are expected to treat one another with respect and remain civil both in and out of character. Hvalla does not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form, including conduct based on race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other personal characteristics. The moderation team will not mediate ordinary interpersonal disputes, and members are responsible for managing their own boundaries, disagreements, and personal relationships. Staff may intervene when a dispute begins affecting the wider community, violates Hvalla's rules, or develops into harassment, targeted hostility, or repeated disruption. Personal conflicts and out-of-character drama should not be brought into public community spaces.

Respect the boundaries and privacy of other members. Members may decline role-play, plots, relationships, private conversations, or other interactions without being required to justify that decision. Do not pressure another member to continue an interaction after they have declined or asked for space, and respect another member's decision to block, mute, or otherwise limit contact. Private conversations, personal information, photographs, account details, or other information shared in confidence should not be distributed without the permission of those involved. Information provided privately to staff for moderation purposes should likewise remain private.

Participate in Hvalla in good faith. Members are expected to follow both the wording and reasonable intent of the community's rules and game systems. Do not deliberately exploit loopholes, misrepresent situations, manipulate other members, submit knowingly false information, or otherwise use technicalities to circumvent established expectations.

We are a collaborative art and role-play community. Tracing, copying, or heavily referencing another member's work without permission is strictly prohibited. This includes tracing photographic resources that you do not have permission to use. References and resources may be used when their creator or license permits it. Stock photography, pose references, anatomy resources, 3D models, texture packs, and similar tools are acceptable when used appropriately. Members are responsible for following the usage terms established by the resource creator and providing credit where required. Resources intended for artistic study, including anatomy and pose references, are encouraged when used responsibly.

AI-generated or AI-modified content is not permitted. This includes generative AI text, AI-generated artwork, AI "enhancements" or filters, generative fill, inpainting, image-to-image edits, and AI upscalers or similar tools that generate, replace, or substantially alter details. Using AI to modify, reproduce, or build upon another artist's work is also prohibited. This restriction applies to written and visual content submitted to or shared through Hvalla. Using AI as an assistive tool for tasks such as proofreading, spelling and grammar checks, formatting, or accessibility is permitted, provided it is not being used to generate or substantially rewrite the creative work itself. AI-assisted music tools, such as Suno or Udio, are currently permitted for Hvalla-related audio and music projects.

You have the right to choose who you role-play with and what happens to your character. Role-play is collaborative storytelling, not a competition. Players are expected to communicate with their role-play partners and respect one another's boundaries. Any plot that may result in the death, serious injury, permanent disfigurement, or another significant lasting change to a character must be approved by that character's owner beforehand. Players may decline or step away from a role-play, plot, relationship, or other collaborative arrangement at any time. When possible, communicate changes that affect an ongoing plot with your role-play partners, but no member is obligated to continue an interaction they are uncomfortable with. The exception to player control over character outcomes is participation in activities, events, or other game systems with established mechanical consequences. By participating, players accept that health loss, injuries, status effects, and similar outcomes may be determined by the applicable game mechanics rather than player choice.

Hvalla is a mature role-play environment. You must be 18 years or older to join. Member-created content may include explicit language, adult themes, graphic violence, and other mature subject matter that may not be suitable for minors. Anyone found to be under the age of 18 will be removed from the community.

• Mild sexual innuendo and non-explicit references are permitted, including adult humor and references to taverns, mead halls, brothels, and other setting-appropriate subjects.
• Romantic content between appropriately aged characters is permitted, including crushes, courting, and safe-for-work physical affection. Relationships and character interactions should not exclusively revolve around or be established on a foundation of sexual content.
• Dark or mature themes are permitted where appropriate to Hvalla's setting, provided they remain within the community's content boundaries and are handled with reasonable restraint.
• Graphic content must be clearly labeled as NSFW (Not Safe for Work). This includes realistic depictions of physical conflict involving excessive blood, gore, severe injury, or death. Minor amounts of blood do not require a warning or spoiler. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.
• All member-created content must comply with the DeviantArt Terms of Service and Discord's Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and applicable policies.

Prohibited Content

Hvalla's mature environment allows for darker themes and adult subject matter, but some content remains inappropriate for the community. The following restrictions apply to artwork, writing, role-play, character profiles, comments, linked material, and other community spaces:

• Explicit sexual content, including depictions or descriptions of sexual acts in role-play, artwork, or writing.
• Pedophilia, sexualization of minors, or romantic/sexual content involving underage or intentionally age-ambiguous characters.
• Rape, sexual assault, dubious consent, coercion, or other non-consensual acts.
• Characters whose defining traits or intended role-play involve pedophilia, rape, or sexual predation.
• Fetishized depictions of abuse, torture, captivity, slavery, or other non-consensual harm.
• Incestuous relationships.
• Soliciting, linking to, or sharing prohibited content through Hvalla spaces.

Dark subject matter may appear in character histories, lore, plots, and role-play where appropriate to the setting. References to mature subjects are acceptable when handled with restraint, but they must not become graphic, fetishized, romanticized, or used as a means of circumventing these restrictions.

Hvalla staff reserve the right to remove content that falls outside the intended boundaries of the community even when it is not explicitly listed above.

Discord Community Rules

Hvalla's Discord is a public-facing extension of the community and is open to both players and guests. By joining or participating in the server, you agree to follow Hvalla's Community Guidelines, these Discord rules, all channel-specific guidelines, and staff direction.

01. You must be 18 years or older to join our Discord. Hvalla is an 18+ community. Any user discovered to be under the age of 18 will be removed from the server. You do not need to be an active Hvalla player to join the Discord and may participate as a community guest. Guests are held to the same conduct and content standards as members. If a user's statements or behavior give moderators reasonable cause to believe they are underage, staff may take appropriate action to protect the community.

02. Conduct and respect. Our server should feel welcoming and approachable. Treat other members respectfully, remain civil during disagreements, and be mindful of how your behavior affects ongoing conversations. Harassment, hate speech or slurs, threats, stalking, dogpiling, baiting, targeted hostility, and repeated unwanted behavior are not permitted. Be considerate when participating in active conversations, particularly in artwork and creative-sharing channels. Avoid repeatedly derailing discussions, dominating conversations, or redirecting attention toward your own work immediately after another member has shared theirs. Personal conflicts should remain outside public community spaces. Staff will not mediate ordinary interpersonal disputes unless they begin affecting the wider community or violate Hvalla's rules. Use Discord's mute, ignore, and block tools when appropriate, and respect another user's decision to limit contact.

03. Keep public conversation appropriate. Hvalla is a mature community, but public channels are not unrestricted adult spaces. Political or religious debate, explicit sexual discussion, highly personal real-life matters, and other conversations likely to create discomfort or conflict should be kept out of general public channels. Casual references to real-world topics are fine when relevant to conversation, but Hvalla is not the appropriate venue for extended debate or advocacy. Heavy real-life subjects, venting, and emotionally charged personal topics should only be posted in spaces specifically designated for that purpose and must follow any additional rules established there.

04. Use channels for their intended purpose. Read channel descriptions, pinned posts, forum guidelines, and submission requirements before posting. Keep conversations reasonably relevant to the purpose of the channel. Staff may redirect conversations, remove misplaced content, or ask members to move elsewhere when necessary to preserve organization and visibility. Repeatedly ignoring channel-specific rules or staff redirection may result in moderation action.

05. Follow Hvalla's content and profile standards. Content shared through Discord must follow Hvalla's Community Guidelines and prohibited-content rules. Sexually explicit, excessively graphic, obscene, or otherwise prohibited material may not be posted or linked anywhere in the server. Graphic artwork permitted under Hvalla's mature-content guidelines must be appropriately labeled or concealed where required. These standards also apply to usernames, display names, avatars, banners, statuses, embeds, and other visible profile content. Names or profiles containing prohibited content, excessive profanity, slurs, explicit references, targeted insults, or other inappropriate material may be changed, removed, or required to be updated by staff. We recommend using a recognizable community or DeviantArt username when possible so other members can identify you.

06. AI-generated content is not allowed. AI-generated or AI-modified written and visual content is not permitted. This includes generative AI text, AI-generated artwork, AI "enhancements" or filters, generative fill, inpainting, image-to-image edits, and AI upscalers or similar tools that generate, replace, or substantially alter creative content. Using AI as an assistive tool for proofreading, spelling and grammar checks, formatting, accessibility, or similar non-creative assistance is permitted, provided it is not being used to generate or substantially rewrite the work itself. AI-based modification, reproduction, or extension of another artist's work is prohibited. AI-assisted music tools, such as Suno or Udio, are currently permitted for Hvalla-related audio and music projects.

07. Respect creative ownership and give credit. Only share artwork, writing, photography, resources, or other creative material that you created or have permission to share. Reposting, tracing, copying, editing, or otherwise using another creator's work without permission is prohibited. Credit must be provided whenever required by the creator, resource provider, or applicable license. Sharing another member's work for discussion or reference should still respect the creator's ownership and any restrictions they have placed on redistribution.

08. Respect privacy, confidentiality, and identity. Do not share another person's private or identifying information without their consent. Private messages, support tickets, staff communications, restricted-server content, or screenshots of private conversations should not be publicly distributed without permission from those involved. Information shared privately with Hvalla staff for support or moderation purposes should remain within the appropriate channels. Impersonation of Hvalla staff, members, organizations, or other individuals is prohibited. This includes intentionally misleading usernames, display names, avatars, or profiles, as well as falsely claiming staff authority, approval, endorsement, or access you do not have.

09. Respect moderation and staff direction. Hvalla's Discord is actively moderated, and server activity may be logged for moderation and record-keeping purposes. Moderators may remove content, redirect conversations, issue warnings, apply timeouts or restrictions, or take other appropriate action in accordance with Hvalla's Warnings & Bans policy. Members are encouraged to be helpful, but moderation should be left to Hvalla's staff. Providing someone with a link, answering a routine question, or helping another member locate a resource is appropriate and encouraged. If you believe someone is violating Hvalla's rules, do not confront, police, threaten, or publicly call out the user. Report the issue privately through the appropriate support method, or ping @MODERATOR if the situation requires immediate staff attention. Do not deliberately test the limits of a rule, exploit technicalities, evade moderation tools, or argue active moderation matters in public channels. Questions or concerns about a moderation decision should be addressed privately through the appropriate support channel.

Auto-moderation may respond to spam or rapid message posting, mass mentions, duplicate messages, excessive line breaks or message flooding, prohibited sexual content, and other behavior caught by configured safety filters. An automated moderation action does not necessarily constitute a formal warning and may be reviewed by staff when necessary.

Chat Etiquette

01. Questions and staff responses. Questions are welcome and encouraged. Before submitting a new question, we recommend checking the website, FAQ, pinned resources, and searching the appropriate question channel to see whether the information is already available. If you still cannot find what you need, post your question in the appropriate question or support space.

02. Utilize pings. When a question channel requests a staff ping, use the role identified in that channel's instructions. Pings help bring your inquiry to the appropriate team's attention. If you forget to include the required ping, do not edit it into the original message, as Discord may not generate a new notification. Instead, send the appropriate staff ping in a new message beneath your question.

03. Be patient. Hvalla is operated by volunteers, and responses may not be immediate. Most routine inquiries receive a response within 72 hours, while complex questions, issues requiring internal discussion, holidays, staff breaks, or periods of high activity may require additional time. If you believe your question has been overlooked, wait at least one week before following up rather than repeatedly reposting or pinging staff.

04. Keep question-specific channels clear. Question and support channels should remain easy to search and review. Avoid unrelated conversation, repeated responses, unnecessary commentary, or extended discussion in spaces intended primarily for staff answers. Members are welcome to help when they know the answer to a routine question, but avoid guessing about rules, mechanics, or staff decisions when you are uncertain.

05. If you ping us, don't delete your message. By the time you delete a question, there is a good chance a member of the team is already working on a response, and deleted messages can leave staff searching for a notification that no longer exists. Your question may also be useful to another member who is looking for the same information. If you find the answer yourself or no longer need assistance, leave the original message in place and add a short follow-up letting staff know the question has been answered or the issue has been resolved.

06. Manage your notifications. Hvalla is an active community, and staff may use role or server notifications when important information needs to reach members. You are responsible for adjusting your Discord notification settings to suit your preferences. Individual channels, categories, roles, and the server itself can be muted or customized through Discord's Notification Settings.

Ticket System

Hvalla maintains a private support ticket system for questions, concerns, reports, account issues, and matters that should not be discussed publicly. Tickets may be used to report suspected rule violations or concerning behavior, ask about private account or character matters, raise concerns about community or staff interactions, request clarification that requires private information, or submit other inquiries that are not appropriate for public channels.

Support tickets and their contents may be logged and retained for administrative, support, and moderation records. To open a ticket, visit the server's designated support channel and follow the instructions provided there. Once your private ticket is created, explain your question or concern and provide any relevant information. A member of the appropriate team will respond when available.

For situations requiring immediate moderator attention, ping @MODERATOR in the appropriate location.

Warnings & Bans

Hvalla uses a progressive moderation system intended to address problems fairly and in proportion to their severity. Most rule violations will follow the warning process below, but moderation actions may be adjusted based on the nature of the offense, prior conduct, and impact on the community.

The moderation team is happy to help resolve issues involving Hvalla, its rules, and conduct within community spaces. Staff will not mediate private interpersonal disputes unless those disputes begin affecting the community, involve violations of Hvalla's rules, or create an unsafe or hostile environment for members.

Warnings are not intended to punish members for honest mistakes. They are used when behavior requires formal correction or when previous guidance has not resolved an issue. Members who repeatedly create conflict, disregard staff direction, or demonstrate an ongoing unwillingness to follow community standards may face escalating moderation action even when individual incidents would otherwise be considered minor.

Hvalla reserves the right to bypass any stage of this process when an offense is sufficiently serious to warrant immediate restriction or removal.

01. First Offense — Formal Warning

A formal warning is generally issued for a first significant or repeated rule violation.

• The member or guest will be informed of the behavior or rule that resulted in the warning.
• Staff may provide clarification or expectations for correcting the issue.
• Formal warnings remain active for six months from the date they are issued.
• If no further violations occur during that period, the warning expires.

Minor issues may be addressed through staff guidance or reminders without receiving a formal warning.

02. Second Offense — Final Warning and Restrictions

A second significant violation while a previous warning is active may result in a final warning and temporary restrictions.

• Final warnings remain active for twelve months from the date they are issued.
• The active warning period resets from the date of the newest formal moderation action.
• Additional violations during this period may result in membership termination.

Depending on the circumstances, moderation actions may include:

• Temporary Discord timeout up to a period of one week.
• Temporary restriction from specific channels or community spaces.
• Temporary restriction from activities, events, submissions, or other game systems.
• Removal of specific community privileges.
• Additional conditions that must be met before normal participation resumes.

Restrictions will be proportionate to the offense and clearly communicated to the member or guest. Repeated violations do not need to involve the same rule. A pattern of disruptive or inappropriate conduct across multiple areas of the community may also result in escalation.

03. Third Offense — Membership Termination

A further significant violation while a final warning remains active may result in removal from Hvalla.

Membership termination may include:

• Permanent removal from Hvalla's Discord and associated community spaces.
• Loss of access to Hvalla accounts, characters, game systems, or services where applicable.
• Removal from official Hvalla activities and communities.

Offenses Subject to an Immediate Ban

Some behavior is severe enough that Hvalla may permanently remove a member or guest without previous warnings.

Immediate bans may be issued for conduct including, but not limited to:

• Credible threats of violence or harm.
• Doxing or intentionally distributing another person's private information.
• Severe or targeted harassment.
• Hate speech or discriminatory harassment.
• Sexual harassment or predatory behavior.
• Deliberate impersonation of Hvalla staff for malicious or deceptive purposes.
• Serious attempts to compromise Hvalla accounts, systems, staff, or members.
• Deliberate distribution of confidential or unreleased material with the intent to harm the group.
• Severe art theft, plagiarism, fraud, or other intentional deception.
• Ban evasion.
• Conduct that presents a serious risk to the safety or wellbeing of the community.

Warnable or Bannable Conduct

Moderation action may be taken for conduct including, but not limited to:

• Art theft and literary plagiarism.
• Impersonation of any member of the development team.
• Sharing confidential, private, or unreleased Hvalla content without authorization.
• Discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, targeted hostility, or hateful conduct.
• Sharing another person's private or identifying information without their consent.
• Deliberately provoking conflicts or repeatedly attempting to involve the community in interpersonal disputes.
• Ignoring or circumventing staff moderation actions.
• Repeatedly disrupting community spaces.
• Repeated refusal or inability to follow Hvalla's rules and community guidelines.
• Attempting to exploit Hvalla's systems, rules, or moderation process in bad faith.

How do I appeal a ban?

Permanent bans issued as the result of a third strike are final and are not eligible for appeal.

Artwork and Collaboration

Hvalla is an ARPG (Art Role-Playing Game), with a strong emphasis on visual artwork and player-created content. Artwork is one of the primary ways characters progress, participate in the world, and earn XP, so members are expected to accurately represent their own contributions and respect the work of other artists.

Character Application Artwork

Your character's application artwork must be original artwork created by you, and only you. This is mandatory for all character applications. You may request assistance from another player through redlines, critique paintovers, anatomy guidance, composition suggestions, or other constructive feedback, but another player may not complete, redraw, line, color, shade, or otherwise finish any portion of the application for you. References and permitted artistic resources may be used in accordance with Hvalla's Community Conduct rules. Stock photography, pose and anatomy references, 3D models, textures, and similar resources may be used for study and guidance. Sketching over a permitted 3D model is acceptable, but direct tracing of photographs, screenshots, another artist's work, bases, templates, pre-made lineart, adoptables, or other existing artwork is not permitted. The finished application artwork must remain your own original work.

Collaborative Artwork

Outside of character applications, we strongly encourage collaboration between players and love to see artwork that is a culmination of multiple artists' skills. Artists who actively contribute to a collaborative piece through sketching, lining, coloring, shading, rendering, background work, or other meaningful artistic contributions are eligible to receive XP credit.

Each participating artist must contribute directly to the creation of the finished piece in order to receive collaboration XP. A player's contribution should be substantial enough to be identifiable as part of the finished artwork. Minor corrections, small touch-ups, signatures, or similarly incidental changes are not considered collaborative contributions for XP purposes. Characters who are uninvolved in the scene, or who are included without any additional artistic contribution from their player, do not receive XP simply for appearing in the artwork. Providing a character reference, suggesting an idea, approving a character's inclusion, or offering feedback does not count as an artistic contribution for XP purposes.

Collaboration Credit

When submitting collaborative artwork, all participating artists should be clearly credited and their individual contributions identified where required so XP can be awarded accurately.

Using Another Player's Character

Players may earn bonus XP for including another player's character in a standalone, non-collaborative piece. However, they must respect the character's established design and the owner's boundaries, and must ask permission before using the character for this bonus.

Permission should be obtained before depicting another player's character in situations involving significant injury, permanent changes, romantic interactions, sensitive subject matter, or anything else that could substantially affect how the character is represented.

Including another member's character in your artwork does not automatically make the piece a collaboration. If the character's owner did not contribute to the creation of the artwork, they are not eligible for collaboration XP.

Plot Approval

Like any game in the RPG genre, we have worked hard to develop an in-depth world with a multitude of stories to be explored. Quests may take you to far-off places and into the very depths of the world, but our overarching player-driven story is the heartbeat of Hvalla. Players are encouraged to communicate and collaborate with our Game Design Department to tell their stories. By joining Hvalla, you do so with the understanding that your characters will naturally be influenced by events occurring around them. We welcome your story ideas that have the potential to shake up the world, and suggest you be open to the idea that it may not play out exactly how you envision. The actions of other players will also have an impact and create a living, breathing tapestry of changing scenarios, and this collaborative storytelling is what we strive for. Plots and their approval requirements are categorized as follows:

Character Plots

Character plots involve a small number of players and are unlikely to have large-scale, world-altering effects. Character plots will never require approval from the Design Team. What you do with your character is your choice – we feel that the fewer hoops a player must jump through to tell their stories, the better.

Regional Plots

Regional plots involve many players in a specific area and are guaranteed to have lasting ramifications within that region. Regional plots are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Players developing or proposing regional plots are expected to collaborate with the official Design Team.

World Plots

World plots involve every player in Hvalla and are guaranteed to have large-scale, world-altering effects. World plot suggestions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are typically developed by the official Design Team. If approved, players interested in developing world plots are expected to collaborate with the official Design Team to ensure consistency within the current timeline, as well as the theme of Hvalla.

Beta Activity Waivers

As of August 2026, Beta Activity Waivers have been retired and are no longer available.

The waiver system was originally introduced to provide flexibility for members who were unable to meet activity requirements due to unexpected circumstances. As Hvalla's activity system has evolved, individual monthly waiver requests are no longer part of the current process.

Any previous Beta Activity Waiver policies, limits, request deadlines, or approvals should now be considered retired and no longer applicable.