Sins of our Creators

This is a collaborative larp where participants shape the drama together. While there are certain expectations and predetermined outcomes to the game, the most important thing to remember is that you can never be forced, by any participant – player, NPC or organiser – to play anything that you are unwilling to play. This means that sometimes, things may happen in-game that defy logic – the stake may have missed your heart, the Discipline used on you may simply not work this time for some esoteric reason, or the gun simply jammed. People, after all, are more important than the consistency of the story.

Baselines for “high intensity” interactions

Having said that, this game has certain baselines for potentially intense interactions. All participants are expected to be OK with such interactions being initiated with them (although they have the possibility to opt out when this happens).

During this larp, we distinguish four separate types of high intensity interactions:

• Feeding scenes
• Intimacy (bear in mind that there are to be no depictions of sex at the larp)
• Social violence (like bullying, rejection, ridicule and ostracization)
• Physical violence

There is a baseline for these types of interactions at the larp that every participant is expected to be comfortable with:

• For feeding, the person who wants to take the drink non-violently and noticeably reaches for the wrist of the other participant. They take the wrist in their hands, place their own hand over the wrist, and bite the back of their own hand.
• For intimacy, light touch on the arms, neck, outer legs and shoulders is part of the baseline.
• For social violence:
  • anything that happens in a one-on-one or sufficiently intimate setting and otherwise follows the rules of the game (for example, does not play on any excluded themes is allowed. (The litmus test here would be this: if de-escalation mechanics can easily cover the emotional safety of all participants, that would fall under this baseline)
  • anything that does not constitute or result in a prolonged public scene is allowed.

For example, a public break-up is clearly above this baseline, as is a forced atonement session. A one-off chiding remark from your superiors, however, is  absolutely permitted.

• For physical violence, Raising your voice at someone. Getting close to someone in a threatening fashion. Light touch on shoulders and arms with little to no force. Interaction with larp boffer weapons in scenes where violence is clearly present; stabbing someone during a ritual, getting hit with a lead pipe during a struggle on the final night.

By participating in this game, you agree that the above interactions, when performed or initiated in good faith, will not require pre-negotiations, nor be construed as transgressions (it bears repeating that it is always possible to opt out of them when someone initiates by using one of the designated mechanics).

Note that even with these baselines in place, you are still expected to “go slow” when starting such an interaction, to allow your fellow participant to “ease into” the interaction – don’t immediately go for the full 100% intensity version of what’s allowed within these baselines, but give them time to notice and understand what’s going on.

Escalation

Whenever a player wants to escalate the intensity level beyond the given baseline, they have two options to establish consent to do so:

1. calibrating the intended scenes or play with the player beforehand
2. using a telegraphing system to establish consent on-the-go (this works best for simple and unambiguous escalations; if you have a strong sense of what you’d need from the other player in a scene, calibrating with them beforehand would probably be simpler)

Checking for additional consent through telegraphing

During play, you might want to escalate or de-escalate a scene you’re in beyond the baselines mentioned above (it bears repeating that we encourage pre-calibration of at least the intensity level of certain expected interactions with a fellow player – it’s always a good idea to talk to someone off-game before springing high intensity scenes on them).

Escalation happens through telegraphing. This involves a verbal and a physical cue. For example, if you want your character to feed from another character’s neck, you might say, in a sensual tone: “Oh, I am absolutely starving – and the pulsing artery in your neck is becoming a true distraction for me…” while slowly and visibly moving your body and face towards their neck.

The target of such an interaction can simply deny the request by physically pulling away from it. Alternatively, they can also signal their consent and willingness to engage in the interaction by physically moving towards it.

Note that while the movement of the receiving player signals whether or not the player wants to engage in the proposed interaction, their words should be interpreted in the context of the game – they might, for example, say “oh no, my Sire will get so angry if you feed from me” while physically exposing and moving their neck towards the initiator to demonstrate that they, as a player, do want the interaction to take place (note that we will provide an escalation request keyword for such interactions as well; while the exact phrasing is not yet selected, it will be possible for the target of the interaction to clarify that they have an off-game desire to escalate the scene, even if their character is not into it).

If the movement of the “receiving” player is ambiguous, then so is their consent – please verbally check in to verify whether there are misunderstandings about the intent or disengage.

Telegraphing can also be used by players who wish to physically join an ongoing scene – for example, to “break up” or get mixed up in a fight that they are witnessing – but note that all participants involved in that interaction need to be able to witness the telegraphing, so that they all have the chance to signal unwillingness to engage.

Checking for additional consent through calibration

Additionally, there are some types of play that must be pre-calibrated beforehand with any players involved:

• any in-game “shock moments” 
• any scenes that include prolonged bullying or social ostracization (more than a one-off insult), especially public ones
• any scenes that involve “stage fight” style physical violence or abuse
• any scenes in which a participant will be physically restrained in-game
• any scenes in which a participant will have one or more senses inhibited or taken away (blindfolded, muzzled etc.)
• any scenes in which a participant will have one or more modes of interaction restricted or taken away (for example, have a hand placed over their mouth to “forcefully” keep them quiet)

Calibration with your fellow participants is simply done through an off-game conversation in an off-game space. For this purpose (and others) you can use one of the “living rooms” in the location. One of them will be off-game at any and all times; you can always take a moment there to talk to other participants about scenes you want to play with them or to plan some of the development of your character relations.

Work together in these talks to find the level of detail you need to pre-discuss for all participants to feel comfortable. Obviously, you may never pressure another participant into consenting or keeping things more vague than they are comfortable with. If needed, player support can guide your calibration.

De-escalating or opting out of play

The game has several techniques that can be used to de-escalate or opt out of a scene, and any participant – player, NPC or organiser – may select the one to use based on their needs at any given time.

De-escalation through a designated phrase

During the game, players will be able to signal discomfort by using a clear, off-game phrase. While the exact phrasing for this is yet to be determined, it allows a player to tell the other players in the scene to tone down whatever it is they’re doing to a more manageable level. In many cases, this adjustment will be enough for the participant to continue playing without further interruptions.

Keep in mind that this tool is designed to facilitate de-escalation in small settings where the participants themselves are actively involved; for bigger scenes or scenes where the player is only incidentally present, there might be more suitable tools below.

No play

If a participant needs a scene to stop abruptly for any reason, they can use the signal phrase “No play” by saying these words as loudly as needed for the other participants in the scene to hear it. When this happens, the scene immediately stops for everyone involved.

The participant using ”no play” may indicate their reasoning for stopping the scene, but is not obligated to do so. If they choose, they may leave the physical location of the scene and go elsewhere and have the scene continue without them. Other participants may not stop them from doing so or try to engage with them in an in-game manner. Alternatively, they may attempt to express their needs and/or negotiate with the participants present about a way to resume play.

If the participant chooses to leave the scene and no members of the player support team are present, the remaining participants should decide amongst themselves how to resume playing; if anyone feels the need to do so, please fetch a member of the player support team to talk about what just happened. By the same token, if you are worried about a player who used the ”no play” mechanic, please let a member of the Player Support team know and they will take action if needed.

Please refrain from using the off-game moment before resuming the scene to talk about the participant who just left. Remember that as in many other aspects of emotional safety, it is probably not about you.

Lookdown

If a participant wants to enter or exit a scene that’s being played without interrupting it, they may choose to use the lookdown technique. This is done by placing a hand horizontally just above their eyes. It can be used to:

• enter a space without having any consequences about you being late/interrupting
• leave a space because you do not want to witness certain events or for other off-game reasons, or
• move past/through a scene which you can otherwise not avoid (for example: two people fighting in a door opening while you need to pass by without getting involved)

Whenever someone uses a lookdown, other players must not reprimand this player or request an explanation, both in-game and off-game.