CODE OF CONDUCT

All include any online spaces run by this group. (Discord, Facebook, etc)

I will listen to and follow the directions of all marshals and GMs. I will always speak to game officials with respect at all times.
At all times, I will conduct myself in a mature and respectful manner.

This includes using in game excuses to attack or disparage someone. I will not be the reason someone has a bad time.
If need be, I will check up on another player before, during, and/or after a situation has occurred.

I will always ask permission before touching another person with anything other than a boffer. When I do touch other people, I will not touch them in any inappropriate places, and stop touching them if they withdraw their consent or look uncomfortable.
I will treat all Camp & LARP property and equipment with respect.
If I have a problem, concern, or issue with another player or marshal, I will discuss it solely with a staff member in private or at an appropriate time.
I will check in as close to on time as possible as the GMs will try to start as close to the designated start time as possible.
I will keep LARPing a positive and fun experience for all players.
I will place the out-of-game emotional and physical well-being and safety of all players, staff, and myself above all other in-game considerations.
I will read and seek to be informed about the rules of the game.
I will refrain from using or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol while the game is actively running.
THE LARP SOCIAL CONTRACT: I will be an NPC. I will clean up my own messes. I will assist with setting up upon arrival and cleaning up the campsite before leaving.
You can promote things in our spaces but you should always ask first and have attended an event.

INFRACTIONS

Any person or persons who fail to uphold our code of conduct or act in a way that is seen as unreasonably putting themselves or another person in harm will be reprimanded in the following ways.

Minor or Initial Infraction: A GM or Marshal will ask you to talk about the situation (aka. Step 1). You may be asked to sit out of a situation for a time.

Major or Repeated Infractions: You will be told to leave the site immediately. If warranted this may result in a short, long, or permanent uninvite from events.

Extreme Case: The police will be called.

HARASSMENT CLAUSE

We all share the expectation that our members and staff will refrain from engaging in any and all forms of harassment (including but not limited to physical, sexual, verbal, discriminatory, psychological, and bullying) and support efforts to eliminate this scourge.
Intervening/Witnessing Harassment — STOP. SUPPORT. REPORT. Whether during an event or at related activities, it is the collective responsibility of our members and staff to act as active bystanders and supportive colleagues when we witness or learn of acts of any and all forms of harassment or retaliation. To end the pervasive culture of inaction and silence, we must not look the other way.
We must intervene to STOP the conduct when we can, SUPPORT those who speak up, and REPORT the conduct to the appropriate GM and/or staff members.

Reports will be treated confidentially and prohibit retaliation.

Safety

These rules are designed to keep all combatants safe and to keep play stoppages to a minimum. Please follow them at all times, politely correct other players who are breaking them, and if you see repeated offenses, don’t engage with them and report the violators to the Staff.

Intentionally breaking any of these rules will IMMEDIATELY result in you being sent home.

Touching Policy: You must always gain Out Of Character (OOC) verbal consent from somebody before you touch them with anything other than a boffer. If you don’t have their consent but you must perform an in-game action that requires you touch them, pantomime the action about 6 inches away. If you want to avoid having to do this every time you touch somebody, negotiate it with your team before you go on a mission. Never be weird about a person saying that they don’t want to be touched.

Bow Out: If you need to step away from a scene because it is upsetting you OOC, simply duck your head, shield your eyes, call “Bowing Out” and leave. You can re-enter the scene if and when you feel ready for it.

If you see anyone else bowing out, don’t engage with them, and carry on the scene without making mention of the fact that the character has left.

If you need to make up a reason for why that person is gone, it was an Eternal Gate glitch that caused them to shift from this location to another.

OK Check-In: The OK Check-In is designed to check in on a person without breaking a scene. If another player that seems upset and you can’t tell if they’re good at acting or if they’re really upset out of game, flash them the OK sign (index finger and thumb making an O with the middle, ring and pink fingers extended.)

The other player should either give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down. A thumbs up means they’re fine, keep going. A thumbs down means they would like to deescalate the scene. Any other sign or the absence of a response should be interpreted as a deescalation. If a person needs to deescalate, be sure to check in with them afterwards to see if they want to talk through it.

Bright Lights: If you are carrying a flashlight or other directional light, don’t shine it into other people’s eyes. Hold it at a 45 degree angle DOWNWARDS at all times to prevent this.

Non-Combat Players: Some people cannot or do not want to participate in combat. They should not be hit with boffers or shot with darts. We’ll identify those people at the start of the game during opening ceremonies so that everyone knows who they are. It is not required, but it is suggested that non-combatants also wear a bright-orange arm-band to help remind other players to not hit them.

Because combat will not be occurring inside any of the main buildings, it is suggested that non-combatants go inside if a fight breaks out that they don’t want to participate in.

You are still allowed to participate in missions and scenarios where combat is happening if you are non-combat. Other players will simply point their weapons at you from a reasonable striking distance and call Effects. The non-combatant assumes they are tagged properly and take those Effects as usual.

If you can shoot and be shot by blaster darts but not boffers, that’s allowed! Tell staff and your fellow players and we’ll do our best to remind everyone what the specifics of your situation are.

If you are a non-combat player and somebody starts hitting you, immediately call a Hold to resolve the situation.

Calls

Hold: When a Hold is called, everyone must immediately freeze, echo the by also yelling, “HOLD!” and then stop talking. Holds are called for safety reasons, to resolve mechanical effects, or to narrate what is happening. When a Hold is over, either a staff member or the person that called the hold will ask if everyone is ready, then count down to a Lay On.

Lay On: A call made to indicate that regular, in character play has begun. Usually a person calling Lay On will count down from 3. “3, 2, 1, Lay On!”

Caution: If you see another player (usually somebody you’re fighting) about to trip, fall, or otherwise move into a dangerous situation, yell “CAUTION!” and point out the hazard. Everyone in the immediate area should move the fight to a close area away from the hazard. Nobody else needs to stop for a Caution call, but play is suspended until the situation is resolved. Count down to a Lay On when you are ready.

(Name) Hit, (Effect): If your target doesn’t notice that they’ve been tagged (very common with dart blasters), point at them and shout, “(TARGET’S NAME) HIT, EFFECT!”

Combat Safety

Repeatedly breaking any of these rules, regardless of intent, will result in not being allowed to participate in combat. Any illegal actions done by a combatant do not count mechanically.

Eye Protection: Eye protection is not strictly required but, because it is possible to get shot in the eye with a blaster dart, it is highly encouraged.

Target Zones: You may only attempt to hit the arms, legs, and torso of your target with weapons of any kind. Strikes to the hands, feet, groin and head are NOT LEGAL. If you accidentally hit somebody in the head or groin, immediately stop the fight and check on the person you just hit. Let them recover as long as they need, and let them count you back in for a Lay On.

Lightest Touch: When attacking with a melee weapon, never strike with more force than a light tap. Your opponent should be able to tell that they’ve been hit, but it should never hurt, knock them around, or make a whack sound.

If you find that your opponent is hitting you too hard, remind them by saying, “Check your swings.” If you are told to check your swings don’t take it personally or argue, just lighten your swing.

Close Quarters & Charging: Never move closer than arm’s reach to an opponent. Never run towards an opponent within 10 feet because it’s very likely that you won’t be able to stop in time.

If an opponent is too close, remind them by saying, “Distance,” or “Charging.” Then reset and re-engage.

Poor Visibility: If you can’t see your opponent clearly, don’t attack them.

Swing Arc: Every time you attack with a melee boffer, you must fully retract your weapon before swinging again. For one handed weapons, this means the boffer should travel at least 90 degrees for each swing. You may not “bounce” the weapon across your target.

Machine Gunning: You cannot repeatedly attack the same location. You must target a different location for each strike in an exchange.

Thrusting: Thrusting can only be done with weapons that have a thrusting tip, and never with a latex weapon. Thrusting is one of the most dangerous combat maneuvers, even with a thrusting tip. Never thrust firmly, never attempt to pass a guard with a thrust, and never stiff-arm a thrust. Be cautious of people blocking downward, because it is very easy to stab them in the groin.

Trapping: You may not grab an opponent's weapon with any part of your body or capture it with your weapons or shield.

Tripping: You may not attempt to trip anyone by any means, or put your weapon between their legs for any amount of time.

Turtling: Never hide behind your shield in a way that only exposes illegal targets. Hold the shield off of your shoulder at all times so that attacks won’t deflect into your face.

Shield Bashing: Never hit somebody with any part of your shield. Any Equipment that allows you to “shield bash” will be done by Point Target (below).

Weapon Standards

All Weapons, Armor, and Shields must be checked by a Weapons Marshal or Staff for safety before they can be used.

Not all Weapons are viable. If you want to use something out of the ordinary, please check to see if it is covered. If it is not covered it will not be approved.

The use of unapproved weapons is grounds for expulsion from the game.

Melee Boffers and Latex Weapons

Melee boffers and latex weapons are the only acceptable item to hold in the hand and strike another player with. Latex weapons are preferred because they look cooler, and may offer some mechanical benefit (See AR00100 Melee Weapon).

Minimum length 24”
Max length 84”
Weapons longer than 38” must be used two-handed
Solid core throughout the length of the weapon (no moving or whipping parts).
No part of the core may be exposed other than on the grip. (This includes pommels!)
Weapons must have a round-capped core and a 2 inch, open-cell foam thrusting tip in order to be used for a thrust in combat.
The foam must not “slap” or otherwise be too stiff (certain brands of latex weapon have an issue with this)

No hooks that could catch or tangle with it damage other weapons

Dart Blasters and other Ranged Weapons

Blasters of any brand may be used, but unless your Equipment specifically specifies that it uses a certain ammo type, only use Nerf compatible full or half length darts.

Must fire 120 FPS or lower (the highest velocity for stock Nerf)
Flywheels cannot be loud enough to interrupt casual conversation. (We are trying to reduce too much sound in combat, it’s already hard enough to get your target to hear your combat calls.)
BRIGHT ORANGE TIPS must be present and clearly visible at all times on ALL blasters.
DO NOT modify darts, and dart tips must be completely soft (NO stingers!)

Thrown Weapons

Thrown weapons must completely leave the attacker’s hand before hitting the target.

Entirely soft foam construction/no core.
Less than 2lb/square foot

Shields

Shields must be used passively, and never used to hit, push, or contact another combatant at any time.

Shields may not be more than 30” wide or 70” tall.
Shields may not exceed 10lbs.
The entire outer edge of the shield must be closed-cell foam.
There may not be any protruding materials such as screws, bolts, wood blocks, etc.
The shield face must be in good condition, with no cracks, splits, splinters or other damage.
All handles must be firmly attached to the frame of the shield.
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW IF YOUR SHIELD HAS BEEN HIT WITH A DART. If you come with a giant shield and you can’t tell if you’ve been hit or not, we’ll make you stop using it.

Armor

Generally speaking, we prefer that armor be foam, leather, or some other semi-rigid material. We would outright ban metal armor, but it looks too cool so you just have to promise to be chill and not overheat or cut yourself.

No sharp or unfinished edges.
No metal, plastic, or other hard protrusions like screws, spikes, etc. Protruding decorations should be foam.
Anything around your neck should be break-away.
No hoops or other jewelry that might get ripped out of your body in combat.
No loose or dangling cords, straps, etc, that can get caught on vegetation, boffers, or present a trip hazard.