6.34 Rivals

What are rivals?
----------------
The rivals system in Achaea allows you to mutually recognise others as your
rivals. Unlike enemies (see HELP ENEMIES), the rivals system is based on mutual
agreement. That is, you can request to be formally recognised as a 'rival' by
anyone you like (with some exceptions), but the rival status will not be formal
until he or she recognises you as a rival in return. None of the implications
of mutually recognised rivalry will be in effect until then.

You can only mutually recognise 20 people maximum as your rivals.

You must be level 30 or over to enter into a formal rivalry with another.


What are the implications of rivalry?
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Please do not simply enter into a rivalry with anyone until you've read and
understood the following! With anyone you have entered into a formal rivalry,
you:

 - Can attack each other at will for as long as the rivalry lasts. Neither
party can issue the other for PK reasons. It basically means that you two have
officially agreed to brawl it out, for as long as the rivalry lasts. Once the
rivalry ends, so too do ALL pre-existing roleplay reasons for attacking one
another. If the rivalry ends in the middle of a fight, the fight can continue
until one party escapes or dies, at which time the rivalry conflict is 
considered complete.

 - Do not gain infamy when attacking each other, as if you had both indemnified
each other (see HELP INFAMY).

As far as other parties not involved in the rivalry are concerned:  They do not
have any roleplay reasons to intervene in the conflict.

Adding and removing rivals
--------------------------
If Jim wants to add Sally as a rival, Jim uses the command: RIVAL SALLY. Sally
will get a message about Jim's request, and she can also check for pending
rivalry requests with the command RIVALS REQUESTS (or just RIVALS R). To accept
Jim's request, Sally can simply type RIVAL JIM, and the rivalry becomes
official.

Using the syntax above results in a rivalry that lasts an indefinite amount of
time. To enter into a time-limited rivalry, the person initiating the rivalry
request would type RIVAL <hated wretch of a person> FOR <x> DAYS, where DAYS is
in OOC time. This time would begin counting down after the person receiving 
the rivalry request accepts it, NOT at the time the request is initiated.

If at any point, either rival decides to nullify the rivalry, he or she can
request it by typing RIVAL REMOVE <rival>. For example, if Jim changes his mind
about being a rival of Sally, he can RIVAL REMOVE SALLY. However, this does not
mean that the rivalry is removed. Entering into a mutual rivalry is serious
business, and you cannot just decide to cancel it anytime you please. For the
rivalry to be fully nullified, one of two things needs to happen: your rival
must also RIVAL REMOVE you from his or her end, or a full Achaean month (25 RL
hours) from the time you initiated the rivalry removal must pass, whichever
happens sooner. Of course, if you were in a time-limited rivalry where the
rivalry was scheduled to end sooner than 25 RL hours, it would still end at
that scheduled time.


Syntax
------
RIVALS - see with whom you have mutually acknowledged rivalry.
RIVALS R(EQUESTS) - see outstanding requests for rivalries from or to you.
RIVAL <person> - request or confirm mutual rivalry with another.
RIVAL <person> FOR <amount> DAYS - same as above, but time limited.
RIVAL REMOVE <person> - withdraw the request for/initiate the end of/end a
rivalry.
RIVALRIES <person> - see whom others have declared formal rivalries.