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Safe Play at LARP

Our team believes strongly that LARP should be, above all, a safe experience physically, mentally, and emotionally.

We believe a strong Anti-harassment policy and sensitivity in how conduct concerns are handled as a requirement for all community experiences. 

We believe in helping the greater community to adopt policies and procedures which reflect a safe, respectful environment. The Policies below are abridged, but speak to the heart of our mission at Enkindle storytelling. We encourage all participants to read the policies document, located in our Resources Page (Link)

Our policies, located in our policy document and below, are available for any LARP to use, free of charge, as long as that LARP credits the Enkindle Storytelling Team, and any other teams we attribute in our policy documentation.

Our policies have been adopted, in full or in part, by other area games including Divine Intervention, Battle Saints, Capri Sunset, and others. 

Please contact us at attawaystaff@gmail.com to learn more!

Anti-harassment Policy and Disciplinary Action

We have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, or harassment based on race, gender, background, orientation, religious belief, ability, etc. 

 

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion.

  • Sexual images in public spaces

  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following 

  • Harassing photography or recording

  • Inappropriate physical contact

  • Unwelcome sexual attention

  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

 

Harassment is grounds for expulsion from the game. 

 

This policy includes any public forum created/run by Attaway staff (Facebook, Slack Channel, Forums, etc)  Cyberbullying will not be tolerated.

Reporting Harassment

If you ever are made uncomfortable by a participant, we encourage you to make a report. 

You can report harassment through a personal report or through an anonymous report.

 

Confidential reports can be made Here. We will do everything in our power to investigate reports we receive in a confidential manner.

 

Personal reports can be made to attawaystaff@gmail.com. Or directly to staff at events. Please do not contact staff via their personal social media accounts to make reports.

 

When taking a personal report, our staff will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we'll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we'll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won't be asked to confront anyone and we won't tell anyone who you are. 

 

Our team will be happy to help you contact local law enforcement, local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event. 

We value your attendance.

 

This anti-harassment policy is based on the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers.

Disciplinary Action

While we hope to not have any of the following occur, we wish to be transparent about disciplinary responses to disruptive behaviors or harassment. 

 

Attaway is open for anyone to play, however if participants cause significant disruption to events or the enjoyment of other players, staff reserves the right to suspend or expel participants from the game at the discretion of the directorial team.  

 

Admission will not be refunded for players expelled for disruptive behavior or harassment. 

 

Please note that behavior on forums and game-related social media is taken into consideration as well. Cyberbullying will not be tolerated.

Warning from Staff/Mediated Discussion 

  • Cheating (first offense, if behavior continues across a whole weekend)

  • Significant out of game complaints from other players

  • Frequent pvp requests met with “no” responses 

 

Suspension from Combat 

  • Repeated indication that player cannot fight in a way that makes other participants feel safe (second offense)

 

Suspension for One Event

  • Cheating or unsporting behavior (second offense)

 

Expulsion from Game 

  • Sexual Harassment 

  • Harassment

  • OOG physical violence

  • OOG alcohol or drug use on site

  • Non-consensual PvP

  • Cheating (third offense)

 

Issues that must be handled at game will be mediated by the following directors: Reyna M, Meg H, and Brittany S 

 

Issues can also be brought to the attention of Ryan C, Kay W, or Steve R, who will be on the field as a staff-driven PCs.

Physical Safety

Physical safety and comfort is a top priority.

If you feel unsafe at an event for any reason, please alert a staff member immediately.

Combat

  • Combat is not the main focus of this game, but will be present when appropriate.

  • We are a lightest-touch combat game. Swings should, at maximum, feel like a firm tap. 

  • Weapons MUST adhere to safety guidelines, and MUST pass safety check at check-in. 

  • You may be asked to prove you can fight safely with your weapon.

  • Melee weapons MUST have a compressible tip of 2” or more

  • Melee weapons must have at least ⅝” wall thickness foam padding around the core.

  • Gun props MUST have a bright orange tip. Guns with no orange tip WILL NOT be allowed on the field. This is an insurance and legal issue and we appreciate your cooperation.

  • If a player is unable to indicate they can consistently fight in a way that is safe, Staff reserves the right to suspend their combat privileges for the duration of this game’s run. Players will be welcome to continue to play as a noncombatant

 

Noncombatants

  • Players can opt out of combat for medical or personal reasons.  A player does not need to explain to anyone why they choose to be noncombatant.

  •  If you do not want to be involved in combat, please inform staff before game

  • Noncombatants are asked to wear yellow armbands and bring yellow glow-sticks for night time for their own safety. 

  • We cannot take responsibility for noncombatant players actively putting themselves into combat scenarios; please use common sense.

 

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Recreational drugs and Alcohol are banned at Attaway.  

Any players found consuming recreational drugs or alcohol on site will be expelled from game.

Physical Roleplay

Never touch another player unless you have been given permission to.

 

In lieu of simply asking “permission to physically roleplay”, we ask that you briefly speak with the player off-game about what, exactly, you are going to do.

 

Example: “Off-Game: May I wrap a bandage around your arm?” 

    “Off-Game: May I put a hand on your shoulder?”

 

See "Consensual Play" for more information and help talking to players about what they feel comfortable with.

Emotional and Mental Well-Being

The staff of Attaway encourages players to be aware of the negative effects of “bleed”— the phenomenon of out of game or in-game feelings crossing over into the opposite world and affecting the players' quality of life/play.

 

Examples of Bleed 

  • Getting upset in real life because your character is upset 

  • Taking out your out of game frustration about a person on their character 

  • Feeling emotionally down after your character experiences a traumatic event, etc. 

  • Not trusting a player because their character made a decision you disagree with

  • Not trusting a player because of characters they have played in the past

 

This happens to even the most experienced players, and we will implement a few options to allow players the opportunity to reflect and refresh if need be. 

 

Decompression

  • Post-game decompression will be run by a player or a member of staff as a group session to talk about the weekend’s experiences. 

  • Decompression groups can take many forms; staff will recommend some options and let players decide what is most helpful for them.

  • A room will be allocated in the Community House for decompression. This room will have decompression worksheets available to players throughout the weekend and will be considered “out of game” at all times.  

 

If you would like to help run a decompression circle, please email attawaystaff@gmail.com

The Decompression One Page is linked here.

 

The weekend is not an endurance test-- if you feel you’d like to take a break to sit and reflect on your experience, the decompression room will be available to any player for any duration of time, no questions asked. We ask that you respect and do not question a player’s choice to enter the decompression room. Out of respect to players who need the room, please keep roleplay outside this space.

Content Warnings 

 

Please alert staff to any mental health triggers you might be concerned about encountering at game, or any content warnings you would appreciate having ahead of time. 

 

Staff will do their best to avoid triggers in plot, and where staff deems necessary, alternate plot options will be run for players who have indicated discomfort with a topic.

 

No plot, under any circumstances, will include themes of sexual assault or domestic violence. 

 

You may ALWAYS walk away from a situation by engaging the “RED LIGHT” rules or hand gestures, noted on the next page. 

 

Staff can’t accommodate triggers we are unaware of, so letting us know what they are in advance, and being aware of the red light rule on the following page, is crucial.

 

A Note on Horror

Attaway may contain some horror or thriller elements, however staff’s goal is to do everything for a reason. 

 

No horror plot will be presented for shock value alone, and staff is taking great care to ensure that plot in this category is handled with the utmost respect and proper warnings as needed for all players involved. 

 

This game will stay at roughly PG-13 rating for general plot, with infrequent and well-telegraphed exceptions.

Safety Calls

While we hope we will never need these terms, having them in place is crucial for player safety and enjoyment. These are the 5 most important calls you need to know at Attaway

 

Yellow light and Red light are treated as no-questions-asked safety calls, in the same fashion as an emergency call would be.

 

You may ALWAYS leave a scene silently if it is too much. No questions will be asked.

 

EMERGENCY

Immediately stop game. Used in cases of medical or other emergency where it is necessary to get staff or medical assistance. Take a knee if you are not medical assistance or going to get help. If you are indicating for someone to call 911 or get a staffer, do so by name. Do not attempt to move an injured player if they are not in immediate danger and you are not trained in first aid or emergency response.

 

Example: 

“EMERGENCY” <All players drop to one knee> “Emily, go get our First Aid Kit and a staffer, and Joey, go Call 911”

 

CAUTION

Used to prevent accidents. (Dropped glasses, fighting near fire, near a known allergen, non-combatant or non player on field, etc) Game continues, but proceed with caution

 

Example: 

CAUTION: There’s a bee nest here, let's move combat this way

 

CLARIFY

Used to clear up questions without breaking game. Clarify is NOT meant to editorialize what is happening, and is not permission to have out of game discussions about what is happening in game. Please reserve clarify for use to make rules or situations more clear.

Example: 

CLARIFY: how long does this effect last? 

CLARIFY: What does this do?

 

GREEN LIGHT

Indicates that the scene is at the player's comfort level, and play can proceed.

A "thumbs up" gesture is the equivalent of a verbal "green light".

YELLOW LIGHT

Indicates a scene is getting intense for a player, and other parties should not escalate beyond this point. 

 

It does not stop play, but indicates the scene is moving toward a “red light” situation for a player and should not progress further down that path. 

 

As another player, try to find a way to steer the scene in another direction.

 

A “thumbs middle” gesture (Halfway between up and down) is the equivalent of a verbal “yellow light”

 

RED LIGHT 

Indicates a player would like to stop and step away from the situation. RP will stop and all parties will wait for the player to remove themselves from the vicinity before the scene resumes. 

 

Staff will work with you, at your convenience, to determine what happened during the scene and where your plot will pick back up.

 

A “thumbs down” gesture is the equivalent of a verbal “red light.” You may ALWAYS leave a scene, no questions asked.

Staff Procedure after a Harassment Report

 Staff policy is to wait for a formal report via channels such as an email or the confidential form before taking action. We do not take action on private messages to staff members or facebook posts that are made outside our organization.

 

The only reports we are able to act on are firsthand accounts and witnesses, and as an organization we have an obligation to act in situations where we feel the report may create risk for the community.

 

When we receive a report, it is brought to the directorial team members, who consider the situation, compare the report against the conduct list, and issue the appropriate response if we determine there is a potential risk to the community. We respect a reporters right to consent to only specific directors seeing the report, and directors have a right to recuse themselves in situations where they do not feel they can make a call.

 

If a counter report is presented, we investigate that separately with the same gravity.

 

We are a volunteer team who are not legal investigators and may recommend some reports be presented to authorities if they have not already done so, but we are bound to act by Enkindle's zero tolerance policy and bylaws for our own community.

 

We do a review of these bylaws each season and our most recent one was December 28, 2019.

Action is taken privately, concealing the names of those involved, with the reported party allowed to disclose their own situation in the way they see fit. We do not name either party involved for the sake of both parties. Staff reserves the right to issue a statement clarifying this if we receive significant inquiry afterward; staff cannot name the parties involved and cannot divulge specifics as this could encompass safety or legal concerns.

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