Things EVERY Player Must Know!
This section deals with rules that do not necessarily pertain directly to the game but must be addressed. We ask that every player read and understand these rules as they are necessary for the proper functioning of the game and to ensure that everyone has a safe, fun and memorable time with us. Violation of any of these rules will result in disciplinary action being taken. We reserve the right to bar entry of any individual who cannot conform to our rules, or purposefully detracts from the atmosphere we are trying to create. These are in no particular order and are mostly common sense. In any case you are responsible for knowing these rules so please take a few minutes now and read them for everyone’s benefit.
Rules to Live by…
• Safety First
No one is here to get hurt. If you are going to perform any action, and there is any doubt in your mind as to whether or not it is safe, DON’T. It sounds simple and it is. We understand that accidents happen but these should not be due to negligence. Things like climbing trees and roofs should be avoided. Likewise always remember that the person/monster/whatever you are fighting against is not really your enemy. You are not trying to really kill or injure this person. A light tap does just as much damage as a hard swing, so go for speed not power.
• “Clarify: Consent?” | “Clarify: Revoked.”
Touching shall only occur at the game by explicit consent. The ONLY physical contact that should occur is with express prior consent of both individuals, and this consent may be revoked at any time whatsoever. The standard should be assumed that consent is NOT given, unless a specific verbal consent for a specified action or event is given.
Effects that have been permitted per the rules in the past, such as bandaging with first aid, intercept with a light touch on the shoulder, or standard boffer combat, are not affected by this ruling. This ruling is only applicable to anything further or beyond that. As always, if one cannot be struck with a boffer weapon or anything else, then the yellow arm band rule would apply here instead.
Consent may be gained by saying “Clarify: Consent?” (With a response of “Clarify: Yes/No”) and revoked by saying “Clarify: Revoked.” Nobody should be made to feel pressured to say yes in this situation, and should absolutely not be pressured to change their decision should it be no.
Implied Consent
If you offer someone a hand or a high five, and they accept that hand, there is implied consent because they have accepted the gesture. If someone offers you a hand for a handshake and you shake it, there is unspoken consent for that action. There is no need to break the RP to Clarify something as simple as that. If they want to not shake your hand, they won’t, nor are they obligated to. If you offer to help them up off the ground, it is their choice to accept it or not. If they don’t, you should not take it personally.
To be clear: If someone offers you a hand to help you up from the ground, if they offer you a hand for a handshake, if they open up their arms for a hug, etc., then if you do not feel comfortable, you are under no obligation to engage in these actions nor should you feel pressured to. Also, it is against the spirit of these rules to give implied consent and then turn around and accuse the other person of breaking the rules. If you feel uncomfortable with the contact, then do not engage in it.
Pre-Consent
If you know someone well and have an understanding with them prior, you do not need to Clarify: Consent each and every time since the two of you have already spoken of it. However, if they tell you Clarify: Revoked, regardless of your previous arrangement, you must respect that. Any further contact past that without regaining consent is in violation of the contact rules.
If you see two people engaging in RP and you did not see them ask for Consent, it is not your place to call them out or break their RP. Consent is between persons A & B and they may already have a standing agreement. The Consent rule is not in place for people to start policing casual contact between consenting individuals.
Final Consent Notes
You are NOT going to get in trouble for being friendly with your significant others and friends.
The rule is clearly meant to extend rather than restrict. It is not meant to take away anything already there.
• Yellow Arm Bands
Most people want to come to Realms of Adventure to experience the excitement and fun that a weekend of LARP brings. Sometimes people have extenuating circumstances that make participation in combat inconvenient or impossible (A broken limb, pregnancy, sprained ankle etc.). These individuals have the option of becoming a noncombatant by wearing a yellow arm band. If you see someone wearing a yellow arm band YOU MAY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES STRIKE THEM WITH A WEAPON, A SPELL PACKET, OR IN ANY OTHER MANNER! DOING SO COULD RESULT IN EXPULSION FROM THE GAME! This is done to provide the safest possible environment for all our players. For all intents and purposes these individuals function as any other character would, and may be killed. In order to kill a noncombatant you must simply get next to them, point your weapon at their torso and say “I kill you.” The individual must then drop to the ground (so long as doing so is safe in their condition) and begin their death count. They can still be administered a killing blow and are bound to all the rules of death etc. In fairness, non-combatants may not strike any other individual with a weapon, spell packet or any other way. You may only wear a yellow armband and be a non-combatant with approval from RoA, and should supply your own, RoA will not supply them. If you feel you need to be a noncombatant, please contact staff here.
• It is just a game
This one is sometimes easy to forget in the heat of the moment and occasionally adrenaline, lack of sleep or what have you can get the better of you. If you feel this happening, step back, take a deep breath, and remember it is only a game. We are here to have fun. If it is no longer fun, something is being done wrong.
• Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages are strictly forbidden at Realms of Adventure events. This applies to ALL PLAYERS EVEN THOSE OF LEGAL AGE. Because of the fact that there will be players under legal drinking age and the fact that alcohol impairs judgment and heightens the risk of accidents alcohol will never even be allowed on site. Likewise many of the camps and locations Realms of Adventure uses forbid alcohol. The policy is zero tolerance and will result in you being asked to leave the event at the very least and in the case of it breaking rules of the camp Realms of Adventure is a guest at, you will also be turned over to someone in authority to be dealt with.
• Drugs
Absolutely NO illegal drugs are permitted at any Realms of Adventure functions including regular game weekends and any Realms of Adventure sponsored events. This includes the intentional or illegal misuse of prescription or nonprescription drugs. THOSE FOUND IN VIOLATION OF THIS POLICY WILL BE PERMANENTLY BANNED FROM GAME AND PUNISHED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF LAW. Drugs impair judgment, damage health and present a precarious legal situation that will not be tolerated. No warnings will be given.
• Health Concerns
If you have any medical conditions or allergies or you are taking any medication, please let the staff know so we can be aware of it.
• “Live Steel”
No real weapons of any type will ever be allowed at Realms of Adventure events. This includes but is not limited to guns, knives, swords, axes, arrows, nunchaku, throwing stars, etc. There will be no reason for you to have any of these items in the camp, and in most cases they are forbidden in the camps we frequent. If you are unsure about something, do yourself a favor and leave it home.
• Cleanliness
This applies to your person, the area you are staying in, and the campsite in general. The first part should be obvious. Please try your best to maintain good hygiene. Everyone will thank you for it! On the second and third points, “Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it.” Make sure your tent/cabin is clean and you leave your area in good order and take away all your garbage. Everyone must pitch in at the end of the event and help cleanup. At the end of the event you must sign up for a clean up duty on the sheets provided after the post-game meeting. If you forget to have this done, do not complete your task, or leave without helping, you will not get points for the weekend.
• Stay in Character and Role-play
Realms of Adventure has a great reputation for its players and cast helping to perpetuate full immersion. In order for the atmosphere of the game to be truly fun and allow everyone to get into the game, everyone must stay in character. You must act as the character you are playing at all times during game is on. Always look, speak, and act the part, even when you are alone; you never know who may be watching from a hidden spot ready to engage your character. Do not talk about out of game things like cars, mutual funds, hockey games, computers, watches etc. When you do this it instantly brings us out of game and ruins the moment. You may not go out of game without authorization from staff. This is reserved for medical conditions or other similar situations. Do not sit in the tavern and have an out of game conversation as that ruins the role-playing for everyone around you. Since there is no “out of game” in this manner, do not expect that if you are attacked, surprised or what have you that you can just say “Out of Game!” That will not work.
*Note – Game runs from 10:30 pm Friday night until 3 am. It is game off from 3:01 am – 8:59 am Saturday. Saturday game runs from 9:00 – 3:00 am, and game off is again from 3:01 am – 8:59 am. On Sunday game runs from 9:00 am until approximately 1:00 – 2:00 pm (sometimes later). During game off you cannot be attacked, robbed etc. This is so everyone (including cast and staff) has adequate time to rest and recuperate. If you are on a cast led module past 3:00 am, the game on time for you may be extended. Best judgment is used here.
• Taking items in-game
The only items you may steal at RoA are in-game items. In other words you may take game coins, gems, jewelry and props that are properly tagged or stamped. Coins, potions, scrolls and gems will be identified for you at the new player briefing; all other items must have tags. The way tags work at RoA is like a stop light; a red tag means “STOP, you may not remove this item,” a yellow tag means “CAUTION, you may remove this item but must hand it back in at the end of game,” (if the item is a valuable item it will be held by cast and given to you at the beginning of the next event you attend. This is to prevent valuable props from leaving the game and getting lost), a RoA stamp means “GO, you may take the item and hold it in your possession.” If an item has no tag on it, consider it a red tag and leave it alone. In your many adventures with us you will come across valuable items that you can take and use or sell. Many items however are merely props used to enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.
• Theft
Similar to the above item but this is the really bad one. You may not steal anything that is considered an out of game item. This includes food, drinks, clothing items, real world money or valuables, and prop items. While searching you may come across an amulet. If there is no tag on it consider it a prop item and leave it alone. It probably belongs to someone who is using it to enhance their character costume or cabin and is not meant to have in game value. This rule also applies to boffer weapons! This is important because we know some games allow you to take these. We at RoA debated this for some time and the ruling is that since boffer weapons are personal property they cannot be stolen. Some people put a lot of time and effort into making their weapons or spend a lot of money buying them, so to avoid any issues it is better if they aren’t taken. Also someone may have put a weapon away in their cabin because it has a flaw that makes it unsafe. If you take that weapon you may not know this and cause an inadvertent injury. No one wants that. Finally, we try to promote something of a family atmosphere at RoA, and this family has no room for real world thieves. Just like you learned when you were a kid, if it doesn’t belong to you don’t take it!
• Searching Out of Game Areas
You may not search areas that are designated as out of game. This includes the areas underneath someone’s bunk as well as any bags bearing a red tag clearly labeled “OUT OF GAME”. All this is where people store their out of game gear and don’t want you going through it. Likewise, if you hide in game items under your bed with the intent to safeguard them for your use later in the game, it is cheating. All items you wish to bring into game at a particular event must be carried or hidden in game. If you left some healing potions out in the car or under your bed and by Saturday you realize you wish you had them, they cannot magically appear. Cheating of this form will not be tolerated.
As some places (such as the tents) don’t have bunks, all players are permitted to keep in their sleeping area a maximum of one bag to serve as out-of-game storage. It is your responsibility to procure and affix to that bag an easily visible red tag with the words “OUT OF GAME” clearly written or printed on it. Realms of Adventure will not provide you with any of these materials.
Additionally, please keep in mind that should you choose to use in-game looking furniture (provided by either yourself or the campsite), while players may not steal your out-of-game props and accessories as outlined above, individual containers within the furniture itself are not exempt from being searched for in-game items unless they bear an “OUT OF GAME” tag as described above. Any in-game items you place inside such containers will be considered in-game, so understand that should you choose to use these areas as storage you do so at your own risk.
• Destruction
If you intentionally or negligently break anything at the camp we use you will have to pay for it and depending on severity may be asked to leave the event or banned permanently. Remember that we are guests at the campsites we visit, and they can revoke our privileges at any time. If you accidentally break something please LET STAFF KNOW. It is much better than us getting an angry phone call from the camp ranger.
• Sexual Harassment
RoA is a coed game. Sexual harassment is a crime and criminal charges can be brought against you if you perpetrate it.
• General Harassment
Any sort of harassment based on out of game reasons such as race, age, sexual orientation, handicap, appearance, weight, income, athletic ability or any other reason will not be tolerated. This does not include a Dwarf making a derogatory comment about an Elf. This is regarding real world situations and attributes. If you feel someone is harassing you for an out of game reason please notify staff IMMEDIATELY.
• Disrespect and Disobedience
This includes but is not limited to lewd conduct, excessive swearing, fighting and arguing out of game, arguing with or purposely disregarding staff, and causing any situation that is deemed unsafe or disruptive. This will result in disciplinary action ranging from a warning to complete expulsion from the game based on the particulars of the offense. If you feel someone is being unfair to you, notify a staff member and they should be able to resolve the situation.
• Using Skills You Don’t Have
This game is based on the honor system. When this starts to break down the game loses its fun for everyone involved. If you use skills your character does not possess, or use skills you have more times than you are allowed to, you are cheating. You may get away with this once, or twice, or even more, but rest assured you will get caught. If people know you as a cheat they will not enjoy playing with you. If staff receives complaints about you, you will be observed. If it is discovered you are cheating you will face disciplinary action ranging from a warning to complete expulsion from the game based on the particulars of the offense. You must carry your character sheet at all times and the particulars must match the skills you are using. If you say “parry” 9 times and only bought the skill twice, you will be called on it.
• Counterfeiting
Again, this game is based on the honor system. We try to obtain a variety of coins, and props representing “treasure” and other items for you to enjoy during your adventures with us. If you reproduce, create or purchase any in game money, gems, alchemy components, scrolls or any other items you are cheating. This applies to a person obtaining items, OOG, without having the Ig means to do so. For example if you have some skill that allows you to “create” an IG item, the particulars of the skill should be followed. If it is discovered you are cheating you will face disciplinary action ranging from a warning to complete expulsion from the game based on the particulars of the offense.Most likely if you are caught red handed you will be banned on a permanent basis. You have been warned. Sorry to be so blunt, but this undermines the game and our honor system to such a level it cannot be tolerated.
• Disguises
You may not use fake beards, wigs, teeth, ears, masks or any other disguise to conceal your in game identity unless you have permission of staff to do so. The reason for this is that since we need these items to portray the multitude of people you will meet in a given weekend when someone else sees you in a beard or something of that nature they will naturally assume you are a different character. If you wanted to put a cloak over your head and conceal your face, or cover your elf ears with a headband to appear human that is legal. If however you removed your ear tips and you are an elf who wanted to appear human, or were a human who wears a fake beard to appear to be a dwarf that is not legal. These are considered cheating. Lastly you may not change your costume without approval from staff. If you are wearing a different costume people will assume you are doing NPC duty or otherwise portraying a different character. You may add to or enhance your costume over time, but it must be made inherently obvious that you are still portraying the same character.
• IG vs. OOG
At Realms of Adventure, as with any role-playing game, there is often a fine line between in game and out of game scenarios and knowledge. What is very important for all players AND cast to do is separate the two. For example if you are on cast duty as a Goblin and one of the Goblins you are with decides to rob your cabin, you may not stop him. Additionally when your cast duty shift is over and you are back out as your character you should act as though you do not know what has happened. If you overhear two players at the pizza place after game talking about how they robbed the mages guild you cannot run to the authorities next game based on this information. This is in poor taste and is considered metagaming, sometimes referred to as “cheese” (short for cheesy). When people use information they gained out of game for in game purposes it damages the integrity of the game and makes a lot of people upset. For this reason METAGAMING IS CONSIDERED CHEATING! If you are caught metagaming and do not correct your actions you will face disciplinary action based on this. This does however strengthen the point about staying in character at all times during the game. If you and a friend are talking about how you killed a merchant out in the woods, you never know who might be listening! If someone hears you during game it is considered that your character said it! There are no take backs, and no “I meant that OOG!”