Unwritten Rules

“The code has been there since the beginning. If a bigger threat shows up, we band together. We don’t distract each other with attacks or murder attempts, we don’t take advantage of the situation to fuck with civilians. The truce is there for a reason, and it has weight because everyone knows that they can’t handle the trouble that gets express-delivered to their doorsteps when they’ve defied it.”

The Unwritten Rules were an unofficial code of honor adopted by capes. It existed in multiple countries, including much of North America and Australia, but not Russia or the CUI.

Rules

Respect people's secret identities.
No violence during a meeting of multiple parties.
Try not to use lethal force.
No widespread attacks against civilians.
The Endbringer Truce must be respected, the same apply to other S-class threats.
- No attacking people who volunteer, no matter how much you hate them.
- No taking advantage of an attack for personal gain or to advance your faction.
- Medical care is provided without discrimination for past deeds.
If anyone breaks the rules, everyone bands together to crush them.

Examples

The ABB were fought by both heroes and villains after they began enslaving civilians and bombing the city.
Releasing the identities of the Empire Eighty-Eight was a violation of the unwritten rules.
Armsmaster was considered to have broken the unwritten rules by steering villains into the path of Leviathan without telling them.
Skitter was accused of breaking the unwritten rules by allegedly taking advantage of the Battle against Leviathan to learn Shadow Stalker's secret identity.
- As a compromise, it was suggested that she could reveal her identity to Shadow Stalker.
With the arrival of the Slaughterhouse Nine the capes of Brockton Bay met to convene a strategy.
The Elite were destroyed for raiding civilians for resources and pushing others out of their claimed territory during the Golden Morning.

References