RELICS OF AELAMOS SAFETY, CONSENT, & INCLUSION POLICIES

 

Relics of Aelamos is driven by characters, events, and settings. The rules we do include focus heavily on safety (physical and emotional), consent and communication, inclusion, and immersion. 

Questions or concerns? Email us: relicsofaelamoshr@gmail.com

PHYSICAL SAFETY

Every larper has the right to feel physically safe at LARP events. That means they should find the setting free of:

• Danger
• Abuse
• Harassment
• Threats
• Unwanted behavior
• Harmful real-world events and ideologies, unless they are directly part of the game’s subject matter

Our in-person games follow all laws and include required coverage.

ACCESIBILITY

Our larp is high accessible for people with disbilites both mental and physical. We take the utmost care to ensure that those within the disabled community are treated with diginity and respect, as well as making sure they can still participate. Rules for different ability levels are built into the system and we are able to accommodate for situations that aren’t listed, just ask! 

EMOTIONAL SAFETY & BLEED

We place a priority on emotional safety, providing a framework for identifying and processing the emotional impact of immersive role play and confronting (or avoiding) potential triggers. We also provide guidance for managing bleed, or the transference of emotions from character to player and vice versa. We do this through workshopping before and after the game, as well as though a set of non-immersion-breaking tools.

INCLUSION

We strive to make a welcoming environment for all participants. We do our best to select fully accessible venues, design larps with inclusive language, and include input from the greater larp community through transparent design practices to root out problematic language or concepts as we design.

CONSENT & COMMUNICATION

Consent and communication are important facets of safe larping, and our games have tools to carefully negotiate scenes and to communicate levels of comfort. LARP is often a tool we use to explore new and different facets of our true selves, and we value the sensitivity and safety required for players to experience the growth they wish to pursue.

PRONOUNS

Out of game, we often refer to each other as “they” if unsure of pronouns. If you have other pronouns, please feel free to share them. We use this in game as well. It takes some time to adapt to this, but it’s the most inclusive and immersive way to play together and refer to each other.

PROHIBITED SUBJECT MATTER

Our games will not explore the topics of sexual assault and rape. As a community, we will do our best to warn others of potentially triggering content via our established safety methods, for example: graphic descriptions of physical violence and war, detailed discussion of bullying, etc.

COSTUMING RESTRICTIONS

No skin darkening or black face. Regardless of your skin tone, making your skin pale or grey-toned (according to your preferences and what you feel like you would look like as a supernatural, if you choose to play one) is welcomed, but no one is required to lighten their face to play this game or portray a supernatural being, nor does “lighter skin” represent improved age, power, or status in any way. We ask for some representation of a supernatural character for NPCs or as a player; instead of changing your skin tone, you could paint darker veins, wear fangs, or use contacts with unnatural color. Please focus on what makes you comfortable and what is accessible to you.

SENSITIVITY IN PORTRAYAL

We require sensitivity in portrayal. Note that our games are designed to empower players, but will explore themes of power, control, and powerlessness.. As a result, we’re creating characters together – characters who have experienced racism, homophobia, sexism, or a feeling of powerlessness or loss of control due to addiction, chronic pain, and other very real ailments. We ask for sensitivity and understanding in that many players are playing close to home here. We encourage players to consider exploring their own feelings of marginalization and powerlessness.

Those wishing to explore struggles other than their own must think hard about this decision, perform precise research, and proceed with extreme empathy. You will not need to justify anything you want to play, but playing another’s experience is extremely sensitive subject matter when it comes to marginalization. Participation means understanding and acknowledging this point.

VERBAL AND SYMBOLIC RESTRICTIONS

Derogatory language and symbols of any kind are prohibited. You cannot ‘play an anti-Semitic character who wears a swastika.’ You will be immediately ejected and banned with no refund. Marginalized players wishing to play empowerment scenes may do so, but some scenes may require a content warning for other players. An example: two players have consented to playing out a competitive brother-sister relationship in which sexism was involved.

They decide that the woman character is more powerful than the male character, and the player wishes to play out her empowerment arc through the exploration of this in reaction to a sexist comment from her brother, changing the power dynamic in their family. In this case, all participants would receive a content warning about potential sexist language, and as a group you would determine limits on this language.

 

Always consider real life contemporary context.