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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 Night Knights.
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.
Conduct
Unlike some games, Night Knights is not a contact LARP. This means you shouldn't initiate contact with another player or GM without checking in OOC first. This includes all forms of contact, such as hugs or performing medical roleplay. Night Knights is a strictly non-combat game - in the event you wish to initiate combat with another character please speak to a GM (note there are likely to be severe IC consequences for doing so).
Players (and GMs) in Night Knights 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 separate 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@night-knights.oxfordlarp.com); if you wish to raise an issue with regards to a GM, contact the Head GM, Tamsin, privately (tamcoton@gmail.com), and if you wish to raise an issue with regards to the Head GM then please contact the Society Chair (michaelchester1989@gmail.com).
AI Policy
Night Knights 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).
Themes
Night Knights is a game focussed around fighting monsters and facing fears. As such, dark themes may 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 Night Knights 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.
Potentially Sensitive Themes That May Occur
Themes listed here may occur during the course of Night Knights. It is expected that these subjects are treated in an appropriate manner.
- 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.
- Antagonistic characters may be disabled, but disability or deformity should not be treated as a sign of villainy, and should form a core aspect of the character beyond simply adding to the “villainous aesthetic”.
- Natural disasters, wars, terrorism, or other fictional parallels to real world events of an upsetting or traumatic nature
- These may occur in nightmares or within the “monster-level” of the fiction. In the IC “human world”, such things will not occur during the game.
- Bullying
- There may be mentions of bullying
- Torture
- Manifestation of progressive illness
- i.e. illnesses which worsen over the course of the game
- Common phobia triggers, such as spiders, needles, or clowns
- Violence and gore-equivalents against toys and monsters
- e.g. descriptions of a teddy bear losing stuffing, or of the breaking of parts of a plastic toy.
- Monsters will generally “bleed” ichor or shadow, rather than actual blood.
- Some depictions of “body horror” in environments or monster appearances may occur, e.g. an environment which appears to be made of meat, or a monster which is covered in blood.
- Mind Control or other means of removing agency
- Characters will always be aware that any such influences are external - this does not change the character's own “internal monologue”.
- This may take the form of:
- “Body puppeting”, where the character is not in control of their body, but still in control of their own thoughts.
- External influences/compulsions/restrictions, where a character is aware that the influence is external, though may not be able to resist it in the moment.
- Players will only be able to use such powers on other players in a temporary manner
- Animal abuse
- Cannibalism
- Violence specifically targeting minors
- This is a game about a child being under threat from the monsters under the bed. While there will be no physical harm to Jordan as a direct result of these attacks, there will be perceived threat, and potential psychological consequences.
- Some toys will be depictions of minors (e.g. baby dolls). These will be under the same threat as any other toy.
Forbidden Themes
The following themes will not be present in Night Knights. They must not be mentioned or otherwise introduced by players or GMs at any point.
- Domestic abuse
- Consensual sexual contact
- Romance between toys is fine, but should be limited to a children's cartoon understanding of romantic relationships (i.e. kissing and hugs, but no heavy petting)
- Extreme or indiscriminate violence (against people or animals)
- Extreme gore (involving people or animals)
- Addiction, such as drug or gambling addiction
- Slavery or human trafficking
- 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)
- This includes any discrimination based on perception of which gender a toy would typically be intended for. All toys in Night Knights are considered gender neutral.
- Incest
- Genital mutilation or castration
- Portrayals of real-world religions or historical figures, or specific real-world historical events
- The setting of Night Knights is limited to the house and the toys' experience of it. While the wider world is similar to our own, making reference to actual specific real-world elements is inappropriate.
- Self-harm and suicide as an expression of emotional distress.
- Note that self-harm and suicide may appear in the form of e.g. ritual sacrifice, heroic sacrifices, or as a necessary act to complete a task.
- Miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion
- Horror elements related to pregnancy, or any non-human pregnancy
- Child abuse
- Eugenics, genocide, and genocide denial
Out-of-character Behaviour Guidelines
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.