Racial Gates & Blanket Bans
You will find that some settlements of the server, such as The Dale, have banishment listings that are not supported by our racial lock system. This is intended, as there are some things that guards cannot magically know about your character. If your character is not known to be a person who falls into one of these banned categories (for example, your character is a Sharran but no one knows that), you will not need DM oversight to enter these areas if the gates allow you through mechanically. If your character has been "outed" as a person who falls into one of these banned categories (like a Banite who wears his faith on his sleeve), then you'll need to get a DM to oversee your entrance into the city if you wish to bypass these gates, as the guards would indeed bar your entry. I'll explain more below.
The Situation:
There's currently an in-character system of blanket banning by alignment and deity that acts against what the gate guards can actually check. Generally, those who are banned from a city have to request DM oversight to enter the city from which they are banned. However this leads to confusion for subjects of blanket bans who are undiscovered. Should they have to get DM oversight, even when they are cleverly disguised and/or haven't ever been flagged as being in these categories by any authority?
Blanket Ban = Any ban from the city that targets a wide group of people. Alignment-based bans, religious bans, etc. **NOTE: A ban on an individual, even if vague and non-descript still functions as a normal ban, and is thus not included in these 'blanket ban guidelines. If your character is listed individually due to consequences of IC actions, then you must get DM oversight to bypass the gate.
The Solution:
If you play a character who falls under one of the city's "Blanket" bans as described above, but have not actively been discovered as evil/belonging to factions that are banned, walk through a few simple 'Checklist' steps when approaching Racial gates. If you can pass all four steps, you may enter without DM supervision.
If your character is able to pass these checks, they don't require DM oversight to get into a city where a blanket ban is placed against him.
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Important notes:
This checklist does not apply to anyone that has been actively banned by a city. They must still ask for DM permission to attempt entry into a city. Those who are actively banned are stopped at Step 1 of the checklist, so they consequently require DM oversight. This checklist is subject to change. In times of war, emergency, crisis, you can bet that security measures would tighten. But when they do, there will be a notification. And these tightened security measures may change on a city-to-city basis. Step 4 of the guard process is based on physical characteristics. At racial gates, they ask you to remove your helmet. This is more than enough for guards to determine that something is up. If you possess a class that alters your physique (such as Pale Master or Dragon Disciple), you won't pass Step 4. It is possible to hide these traits, but because they are difficult to hide, it requires DM oversight as you do attempt to enter a city in which your class/racial-type is banned. Just because you got into the city past the Racial Gate guards doesn't mean that you're in the clear and immune from guard attention for the rest of the time spent in a city. This checklist is a tool to be used to avoid metagaming Gate Guards. Don't go running around Fort Cystana setting up idols to Bane, just because you managed to get past a gate unnoticed. This is still metagaming the other guards. You entered in a condition/appearance, you shouldn't deviate too far from it while in the presence of guards (If you've got something to hide). PC guards also have the full capability to arrest/expel as before. If you ever have any concerns, or if anything is unclear, its best to ask a DM.Specific Examples
1.) A player decides to play a Sharran, but learns that as whole the faith is banned from The Dale. The character wears no signs of her Sharran faith, she's a human female, and has never been OOCly informed that her character was banned from the city. The player looks at the checklist, learns that her character would pass all steps, and enters the city. GOOD
2.) A player has a character that was banned from Ridgewood for murder. He walks up to the gate in complete disguise, looks at the checklist, and decides that the guards wouldn't be able determine that he was the same murderer as before, so he enters the city. BAD -- Get DM supervision.
3.) A player creates a Pale Master and tries to slip him into Fort Cystana, believing that he's concealed all of his Pale Master features. BAD -- Get DM supervision. You may very well have concealed all your features, but the DM's need to make sure.
4.) An Eilistraeen drow attempts to enter an area where Underdark (Evil) drow are banned. She sees that she would be stopped at step three, but she knows she has a legitimate authorization and clearance to enter the city. So she does, as normal. GOOD Please note that this doesn't actually change the mechanics of the Racial Gates, this is just used as an example of specifically authorized races/religions.
Remember, this checklist can be changed as necessary by the DM's. Players can also try to take initiative and change them if they so wish. The Guards perform these duties as a regular part of their routine IC. Sure, some guards are capable of casting things like Detect Evil, but they can't reasonably cast it on every person who enters a city, so please follow these guidelines.