Conduct and Themes

All games run by OLS are subject to the Conduct and Themes Policy which can be found on the OLS google drive. It is expected that all GMs and players will be familiar with this policy when playing Anabasis.

We would like to remind all participants that the spirit of the policy is to be considered more authoritative than the exact wording, and legalistic attempts to defend breaches of acceptable behaviour will not be treated as valid.¹⁾ We expect players to follow a general policy of treating other players with respect.

Unlike some games, Anabasis is not a contact LARP. This means you shouldn't intiate contact with another player or GM without checking in OOC first. This includes all forms of contact, such as hugs or performing medical roleplay. Anabasis is a strictly non-combat game - in the event you wish to initiate combat with another character pease speak to a GM (note there are likely to be severe IC consequences for doing so).

Players (and GMs) in Anabasis are expected to maintain a good IC/OC divide. This means understanding that feelings between characters (whether that's anything from hatred to romantic) are between characters, and not the people playing them. We encourage you to talk to players who you've had particularly intense interactions with before/after sessions to make sure you are keeping the character seperate from the player. See tips for roleplayers for more suggestions on this (including advice on character bleed).

As per the Conduct and Themes Policy, if you wish to raise an issue with regards to another player, contact the GM Team (gm@anabasis.oxfordlarp.com); if you wish to raise an issue with regards to a GM, contact the Head GM, Cameron, privately (calsop170@gmail.com), and if you wish to raise an issue with regards to the Head GM then please contact another member of the OLS Committee

Anabasis is an AI-free game. All content (including wiki pages, turnsheets, emails and images) will not be AI generated in any way. Players are also expected not to use AI as part of the game (though we doubt this is likely to come up).

Anabasis is a game focussed around death and the afterlife. As such, dark themes will occur - the GM team does not, however, want to make players uncomfortable. Therefore, please find below included a list of potentially upsetting topics which may be present in the game. If you wish to play Anabasis but have concerns about one of these themes, get in touch with the GM Team to talk to us about your concern - and, as ever, for any questions you may have.

Themes listed here may occur during the course of Anabasis. It is expected that these subjects are treated in an appropriate manner.

• Self-harm and suicide as an expression of emotional distress
  • People won't have died this way, but can give up their ticket to the living world for emotional reasons. We are aware that this features a lot of parallels with personal struggles, and encourage players to be cautious around these themes, both for yourselves and other players.
• Mind Control or other means of removing agency
• Manifestation of degenerative illness
  • This game will include portrayals of similar effects (e.g. memory loss), but not the real-world causes
• Portrayals of disabilities, including but not limited to sensory impairments, mobility impairments, and mental illness including eating disorders
  • Disabilities may be roleplayed, if done sensibly.
  • Participants are expected to be highly aware that roleplaying as a character with a disability does not extrapolate into a real-world understanding of living with that disability.
• Consensual sexual contact
  • This may occur during game, but will not be written up in detail - a “fade to black” approach should be taken.
• Portrayals of real-world religions
  • Specifically this game draws on inspiration from historical myth and tradition, particularly Greek myth. This will provide the backdrop for the game, and the context for the Underworld, but is not expected to come up much beyond that.
• Portrayals of real-world historical figures - character may come from any time period, so some cultural reference to historical figures may be present in this game, but real world figures will not be present in the game, and this is unlikely to come up much, if at all.
• Torture
  • Torture will mainly be psychological in nature, if it appears. Physical torture will more be in the form of back-breaking labour, rather more direct torture.
• Common phobia triggers, such as spiders or needles
• Addiction, such as drug or gambling addiction
  • These are tropes of setting - if they come up in game please think carefully about it
• Homelessness
• Extreme or indiscriminate violence
  • Violence when it comes up is likely to be directed at a single person, rather than something indiscriminate. Indiscriminate violence is most likely to appear through things like negligence than direct acts of violence.
• Slavery or human trafficking
  • This will not be “real world”, but the Underworld (and particularly Hades) is heavily involved in this.
• Domestic Abuse
• Child Abuse
  • Children may be present in the game (though all player characters will be adults) - everyone is in a bad situation here, children won't be specifically targeted due to their age.
• Animal Abuse
  • This is not a focus, but may come up in game.

The following themes will not be present in Anabasis. They must not be mentioned or otherwise introduced by players or GMs at any point.

• Sexual assault, sexual coercion or any other form of non-consensual sexual activity
• Sexual activity with those lacking the capacity to consent e.g. children
• Sexual harassment
• Use of real-world discriminatory slurs
• Discrimination on the basis of protected real world characteristics (e.g. gender/sexuality/race)
• Incest
• Genital mutilation or castration
• Portrayals of real-world events of an upsetting or traumatic nature
  • However some historical events around death may feature in character's backstories.
• Extreme gore
• Miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion
• Eugenics
• Cannibalism

When out of character, all players and GMs are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful manner toward all other players and GMs. In particular, any in-character portrayal of stalking or romantic obsession must not be initiated without the express out-of-character consent of the other player involved. Furthermore, all characters should be treated as the intellectual property of their players. Anyone wishing to depict another player's character in any way (e.g. drawing a picture with that character in it, writing a story in which that character features, etc.) must first get the express out-of-character consent of the other player. If the other person does not give permission, this must be respected, and never brought up again. This applies both to PCs and NPCs.