Code of Conduct
It is your responsibility to know, understand, and abide by the Code of Conduct. The following rules are not meant to be exhaustive, and may be updated by Gothic: Runeheim when deemed appropriate.
This Code of Conduct is applicable to all spaces where Gothic: Runeheim community members interact and is not limited to official game spaces. This includes both online and in person.
Participants may not violate any applicable law or regulation in connection with their participation. This includes any applicable law or regulation that is otherwise not listed or covered within this Code of Conduct.
We reserve the right to exclude any individual from Gothic: Runeheim based on their past and present behavior, including behavior outside of our game space and behavior towards people who are not within the community.
Expectations
Gothic: Runeheim is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience, and does not tolerate discriminatory actions by or towards its participants. We will not tolerate harassment of community members in any form.
In-game actions between characters are expected to be fictitious, and not directed at the actual people involved. If a community member believes that a character’s in-game action is being intentionally used to sidestep the Code of Conduct, an individual may report the behavior to be investigated. When in-game action unintentionally causes real distress or discomfort, players & staff are expected to attempt to find a reasonable resolution.
Cheating will not be tolerated. Examples include but are not limited to: falsely changing a character sheet or an item tag, intentionally falsifying information relating to the game, not properly reacting to in character hits or damage, modifying rules without the written consent of staff.
It is expected that while participating, attendees and staff will practice safe conduct, including refraining from combat while intoxicated by any substance which may impair judgment or physical function.
Corrective Action
Anyone who violates the code of conduct may be sanctioned at the discretion of the Staff team. Sanctioning may include any action up to the removal from the game. Staff reserves the right to require any individual to leave the event site.
Safety/Rules Warning
Players may receive a Safety Warning if they routinely violate or endanger the safety of other players or staff members. This includes but is not limited to accidental strikes to illegal body areas (head, groin), swings that are too hard, behavior that breaks or damages personal equipment of other players or the game site, unnecessary physical roughness with other players. Players may also receive a Safety Warning for poor fire safety, such as leaving a large fire unattended.
Safety also includes interpersonal misconduct, such as bullying, berating, intimidating or otherwise overly rude or abusive behavior between one’s self and any other player or Staff member.
Players may receive a Rules Warning if they routinely make mistakes relating to the way their character should behave given the game rules. This includes but is not limited to using abilities improperly from the way they are written, not properly accounting for the expenditure of mentally tracked attributes such as how many Defenses one has, not taking fair hits in combat, and using injured body parts normally.
Safety/Rules Violation
Repeated safety warnings can result in a Safety Violation. Safety violations can also arise from abusive behavior of any kind. This behavior may take the form of emails, verbal or physical expressions directed at Staff, Rules Marshals, or Participants. A Safety Violation carries with it punishment, at Staff discretion, that may include temporary removal of combat privileges, or suspension from one or more events.
Rules Violations occur from frequent or repeated Rules Warnings, as well as intentional misuse of the game rules. This includes but is not limited to changing a character sheet or item tag, falsifying game information including misrepresenting staff calls, behaving in a way that is impossible for your character to do such as using abilities they do not have, and any other flagrant misuse of the game systems.
Reporting
Confidentiality
We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent. Though given the nature of investigating reports, we can not guarantee absolute anonymity.
The Check In System
The check in system refers to a series of hand signals that all Gothic: Runeheim players are expected to implement and use throughout the course of the event intended to manage character interactions. If at any time players are engaged in an intense scene or a scene dealing with potentially disturbing subject matter, it is expected that players will check in with the following signals:
An “A-okay” sign can both signal the question “Are you okay to continue?” and a response of “yes”.
A wavering flat hand (a so-so hand gesture) means “I’m not sure.” In these instances, offering to pause a moment, alter course of the scene, or getting a staff member is recommended.
A thumbs-down sign indicates that the player is not okay, and the scene should immediately pause or fade to black while the player can take whatever appropriate actions are necessary to restore their comfort. These could include handing over their sheet to a staff member to have them resolve the scene, or switching the scene to a purely narrative one.
A player may call for a fade to black or give any of the hand gestures to signal their comfort level during play at any time.
Safety Holds
It is expected that players attempt to look out for the safety of one another. If at any time an unsafe situation or injury has occurred players should call “Hold”, at which time everyone within earshot should stop and remain silent until the situation is resolved. Once a staff member has investigated or all players agree the situation has been resolved, a “Game On” call should be made for players to resume play.
Fade to Black
If at any time a player is outside of their comfort level and needs to address the situation out of game a player can fade to black or call a hold. Sometimes players can mediate what happens in the scene out of game amongst themselves. Should a scene fade to black for any reason and players can not resolve the situation out of game they should immediately seek staff. Staff will mediate to find a resolution or run the player’s character sheet on their behalf.
A player should always respect a player’s need to fade to black or request for a staff member to be present.
Player vs Player
Antagonism between characters is an expected and normal part of the game, up to and including physical violence using the in-game rules. Normal and spontaneous violence is allowed and acceptable within the game’s policies, though for any scene involving premeditated character death or prolonged violence or violation such as torture, capture, jailing, or otherwise, a Staff member should be present to oversee the scene. Players of characters subject to such scenes may take advantage of any of the Player Comfort rules discussed above.
Sexual and Romantic Roleplay
A player-controlled character can only be seduced or otherwise put in a sexual situation if the player actively consents.
Quiet Time
During our weekend events we want to maintain a safe environment and that includes sleep. From 2am until 9am there will be no combat events inside personal cabins. Staff sleeping cabins will also be unavailable during these hours except in case of an emergency.
Kitchen/Cook Area
The kitchen or cooking area of the camp is a non combat space. Players that are in the kitchen when combat breaks out have the option of joining the combat immediately, or waiting until five minutes after combat has resolved. Players may not retreat to the kitchen or temporarily store items in the kitchen.
In Game Spaces
The last category of concern is Genre, or the sanctity of the immersive environment we are trying to create. While most game activities support the immersion of others, some behaviors are disruptive to the environment, and thus the enjoyment of other players. It can sometimes be tempting to begin to speak out of character, or to use modern conveniences in a place where you interact with others. In such cases, players may use the out of game call “Decorum” to quickly and succinctly request that others return to being in character.
Brief asides to speak with Staff or Rules Marshals about game related matters are acceptable, but should be conducted away from ongoing roleplay and should be as brief as possible.
Playing spaces are expected to remain “in character” as well in order to assist in the immersive environment of the game. It is expected that participants will not turn on electrical lights, unless there is a safety or emergency issue. Lights that have gel filters, flicker bulbs, fake fireplaces, or other effects which create a more natural or flame-like lighting are allowed and encouraged.
Gothic maintains a “Quiet Hours” from 2am-8am. During this time, the interior of cabins is considered to be an OOC space, and Genre restrictions can be dropped at this time. The space may remain an IC space if the participants in that space wish it and agree it to be for their own enjoyment.
In Game Theft
An Item can be stolen in character if the thief can take either the Phys-Rep prop for the item or the item tag, or both. All theft should be recorded as a Task. If an item is stolen, the physical prop may be used (responsibly) by the one who stole it for a period not to exceed one event. Before the event is over, any stolen props must be returned to Staff, wherein the prop will be returned to the player and the thief will keep the item tag, having to provide their own Phys-Rep going forward. At the owner of the prop’s explicit option, the thief may be asked to use and retain responsibility for the original prop so that its distinctive appearance remains the same and that it is more difficult for the thief to conceal their action.
If the item being stolen is an untagged decorative piece (for example: bedding, wall hangings, candlesticks, mugs, etc.), then it will have no resale value for the thief, and the physical prop will be returned to the owner by staff. Staff will inform the owner that the object was stolen, and the owner is expected to roleplay the theft. In character belongings required for personal comfort (such as bedding) can, of course, still be used regardless of their in character possession.
Photography
By attending any Gothic: Runeheim event, participants consent to having photos or video taken of them. It is the responsibility of the participant to alert staff in writing if a photograph or video has been taken of them that they do not wish to be tagged in or displayed.
Please make all reasonable efforts to respect the wishes of other participants regarding their desires to be included or excluded from photographs, video, and other recordings
Age of Play
Gothic: Runeheim is an 18+ game and will not make exceptions to this ruling. If we suspect a player is under age, we may request unexpired government issued identification.
Non-Combat Accessibility and Other Accomodations
Gothic: Runeheim is a game where combat is frequent, but avoidable under most circumstances.
Those who wish for any reason to not be physically struck may wear a safety orange headband, belt or sash in order to indicate this. Those wishing to aggress against characters marked liked this may approach to within striking distance for their weapon and call “Strike” (see Core Rules). Defending against, or suffering, such Strikes is resolved as normal.
While wearing a non-combat headband, belt or sash, players may not physically strike others, although they may make use of abilities and items that would allow them to call Strike. If you wish to engage heavily with the combat system and plan to wear a non-combat marker, we recommend discussing how to build an effective combat character using skills and abilities that allow you to call Strike, such as Magic, Firearms and Archery, with Staff at character creation.
Gothic: Runeheim also offers a number of other options for those who don’t wish to participate in the more physical aspects of the game. These include Farming, which is designed to be contained to the near side of Middleground’s creek, the social system, magic, various knowledge skills, and numerous Flaws which will give you the xp needed to advance your character in unique and exciting ways.
We recognize that these systems cannot address all of our players’ needs, and we encourage disabled players to reach out and discuss any necessary accommodations with Staff. We believe that Gothic’s system-level ability to provide content and engagement for non-combat characters is extensive, and we are always happy to assist new or returning players in finding the concept that gets them the most out of the game and the setting.
Weapon Safety
Gothic: Runeheim will be checking all weapons for safety at check in and may restrict how the weapon is used or disallow the weapon entirely if it is not suitable for play. Even if a weapon is approved for safety, it is the player’s responsibility to wield it in a safe manner. Players should be especially aware that certain weapons from Calimacil and other distributors are made of very hard foam and may not be allowed. We recommend checking reviews, when available, before making a purchase.
Covid-19 Policy
Gothic: Runeheim requires all staff and participants to show proof of vaccination before participating at in person events. At this time we are requiring all participants to send staff proof of a negative test no sooner than 24 hours before the beginning of an event in order to attend.
Administrative
Gothic: the Lion Age allows a forward credit of attendance fees in the event that players must leave game early, such as due to an emergency. Players who leave on the first night of the event are eligible for a credit toward their next attendance. Fees paid for other services such as additional Glory may not be refunded. Players who are subject to Code of Conduct violations such that they must leave the event as their administrative punishment are not offered refunds or credits of any kind.
Glory is an out of character currency which is awarded for various measures of assistance to the game such as help with set-up/tear-down and donations. Glory can be spent for a variety of purposes, including certain character concepts.
A Player may only have one active Character at a time. Players may voluntarily choose to “shelve” their active character. This requires between 0 to 2 games notice, depending on the prominence of the character and the amount of heat and attention on them currently, to give current storylines a chance to resolve and to avoid shelving being used to avoid consequences. Players may also voluntarily retire a character at any time, and doing so is not reversible.
If a character is permanently retired, either voluntarily or by being driven out of play by death or other coercion, any Experience point and Glory expenditures from between last event and the current one are refunded.
One character rewrite is allowed before the submission deadline before your 3rd game of play. This rewrite may address any parts of the character that the player felt were not working as they imagined, or were less fun than expected, or whatever else, but may not change the core concept of the character (including entering or leaving Organizations like knighthood, magician guild, noble house, priesthood, etc) or remove things from story elements already engaged in play and difficult to reverse.
Acknowledgement
To attend any Gothic: Runeheim event, as either a player, volunteer or staff member, you are required to acknowledge that you’ve read and understand the most recent version of both the Code of Conduct and the Policies. Without this, you will not be permitted to enter play.
By completing the form below, I acknowledge that have read and understand both the Code of Conduct and Gothic: Runeheim policies as outlined above.
