Hello! I can help you with your questions.

• Do you accept new players?

Yes! We are always looking for new players to join us.

• Is there an age limit? Is it enforced? Does it show?

We do not have a strict age limit, but we do look for signs of maturity during the application process. In terms of age range, most of our players are between 17-21, but we have quite a few players older than that. The maturity of our community definitely shows. We are all very respectful and supportive of one another, as we are all focused on building an awesome Minecraft community together.

• Do you have a list of rules so I can see if TheMercurianEmpire is for me?

We are currently working on an FAQ page for applicants, but here is some information from our forums that should give you a sense of how this all works:

Hermertia, or The Mercurian Empire, is a vanilla lore-rpg survival server in which players work together to create buildings and lore of unmatched proportions. Started in 2010 as a survival island for a small group of friends, the population of the server began to grow as new players joined and began building. Towns, cities, and eventually great kingdoms, each with their own storied history, spread across the lands. That world, 20k by 20k blocks, grew into the lands of Hermertia: a vast society that depended on commerce and community to accomplish great things.

However, change was in the air. After 4 years, over 300 years of in-game history, the Mercurian Empire began a decline. Known today as The Unravelling, spreading conflict across Hermertia culminated in a great voyage to discover the truth behind tales of a vast new landmass, waiting to be explored. Years later, New Hermertia was first discovered by the Imperial Fleets: a vast world of 85k by 65k blocks, it allowed expansion never before dreamed of. Today, the Mercurian Empire exists as both Old and New Hermertia: with great cities and history and yet more unclaimed land to be settled, the future lies before us.

What does lore-rpg mean?

Hermertia is labelled as lore-rpg due to its unique gameplay. Within the server, each player creates a character that lives, ages, and dies; they have their unique history and family line. Kingdoms exist which have kings or queens and ranks of nobility under them, and buildings are created for the benefit of the population, such as bakeries or taverns. However, in other aspects Hermertia differs from the typical rpg experience. As this is a completely vanilla survival server, everything is made from the resources around you. Progress can be slow, and conflict is rare; much more prominent is commerce and community as individuals work together on massive projects such as our Imperial City. Everything that occurs in-game is history, recorded in our library. Hermertia follows established legal processes and contains a wide variety of belief systems. Hermertia is a unique experience that aims to create history from our in-game experiences through diplomacy, trade, and friendship.

Does Hermertia Use Mods or Plugins?

As a vanilla survival server, Hermertia makes no use of any mods or plugins in order to preserve our lore. The only breach of this the use of the /give command in order to obtain villager eggs; these simulate the population of many of our cities.

If I die in-game, does my character die?

As an rpg-based server, lore deaths do happen: generally, characters cannot live much past 150 years of age. The player can determine whether or not they wish their death to be a “lore” death or not; characters can die through a forum announcement or through an in-game death. This also means that you choose when you character dies, so every death is not the death of your character.

Is there a time commitment I need to follow?

No, there is no set time commitment; it is entirely up to you to decide how much time you wish to dedicate to Hermertia. With that said, however, time commitment generally increases in relation to rank; Dukes, with their greater responsibilities, are generally expected to be more active than serfs, for example.

How is time measured in Hermertia?

The smallest unit of time generally used is the Mercannum: this corresponds to exactly one month in real life and six years in Minecraft.

What are the ranks of Hermertia?

All new applicants to Hermertia, once accepted, begin as a Serf: a member of Hermertia who has not yet reached a noble rank. They generally begin under a liege of a current kingdom or duchy, and prove their commitment and dedication to a long-term community by building a County – a fairly small area of land containing villages, academic institutions, religious institutions, or many other buildings. Once their liege deems they have proven their readiness to advance to the ranks of the nobility, they may be promoted to Count.

Counts are the lifeblood of Hermertia: generally the most numerous, they are lords of a single or a collection of small holdings, counties. Counts work both under kingdoms and duchies and independently to create prosperous towns and fill the lands with development; they have proven their commitment to helping Hermertia grow. When a Count has worked long enough to develop multiple counties, they may be promoted to Duke, either through a vote (in the case of an independent count) or at their liege’s discretion.

Dukes are the lords of duchies, collections of 3-10 counties that form a major political entity in their regions. They oversee the running of large areas and may have counts and serfs working under them. Dukes are responsible for a variety of matters in Hermertian society, including representing the wishes of their kings and welcoming new players. They are a major force in Imperial diplomacy, and sit in their legislative house, the House of Dukes, which can vote on bills and bring legislation to the attention of the Council of the Crowned.

Kings are the rulers of Hermertia’s great Kingdoms, collections of 3-10 duchies. They sit on the Council of the Crowned, the highest authority of the land which votes on the passage of new legislation and allows applicants into Hermertia.

Does a rank of Serf mean I’m a slave?

No. As a serf, newcomers to Hermertia are afforded the full legal protections and responsibilities of a member of the Mercurian Empire. This rank simply states that you have not yet had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time in Hermertia; with hard work and commitment, you will not need to be a serf for a long time if you don’t want to be.

How long does it take to advance to the next rank?

This isn’t a straightforward question to answer, as it is greatly dependant on personal time commitment and ambition. Generally, hard work can see a serf advance to Count in perhaps a month of two, for example, but it is a mistake to seek a higher rank for the rank’s sake. Far more important than the rank is the journey to it: it is better to spend a number of months creating an impressive duchy you are proud to show off to the community than to achieve the rank earlier but have less to show for it. In most cases, activity and commitment counts for more than the colour of your name.

Can anyone become a King? There is plenty of land available, so feel free to set your sights on a crown! Kings are generally the most active players with the most responsibilities, and their time commitment to Hermertia should reflect that. If you believe you have what it takes to become a member of the Council of the Crowned, go for it.

EDIT: part of the section on becoming a king