Conduct and Themes

All games run by the Oxford University Role-Playing Games Society are subject to the Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy which can be found on the OURPGSoc website. It is expected that all GMs and players will be familiar with this policy when playing Redemption.

While Curiosity is not intended to be constantly dark in tone, there will be dark elements and GMs may wish to run adventures which deal with potentially upsetting themes. GMs should not, however, be attempting to make players feel OOC uncomfortable. Please find below a list of potentially upsetting topics which may be present in the game.

It is worth noting that while real-life prejudices as listed in the the Conduct and Themes Policy are not permitted in Curiosity, we do not wish to discourage characters from having any prejudices. Characters may be prejudiced based on fictional characteristics such as the presence or absence of cybernetics, they may be prejudiced against those from other planets, those holding certain jobs, or other aspects of the setting.

If another player is making you uncomfortable, please bring the matter to the GM running that week's game, or to the LARPO¹⁾ team either in person or via email (gm@curiosity.chaosdeathfish.com). GMs may (with the permission of the person raising an issue) pass any issue to one of the LARPO team if they are not comfortable dealing with it. If one of the LARPO team is making you uncomfortable and you wish to discuss it confidentially, then please contact the Head LARPO, Mike in person or via his personal email (dumbmuscle@googlemail.com). If Mike is making you uncomfortable then concerns should be raised with the society president, Matilda (matilda.tempest@mansfield.ox.ac.uk). As Matilda is also on the LARPO team, (INSERT PERSON HERE) has volunteered to act as an alternative point of contact for issues.

There is a wide variety of themes that may appear in Curiosity, but the LARPO team recognise that people have OOC discomfort with certain elements and GMs should respect this. Due to the nature of a game where anyone can GM a linear, it is not possible to guarentee that players will not be exposed to a topic which is not on the banned themes list. Where possible, GMs should warn if a theme is particularly likely to come up in the adventure they are running when sending out the brief.

Other players or monsters may bring up the topic, but in this case you should simply immediately request OOC to not talk about it to you (the phrase “I am uncomfortable OC” should suffice). We ask all players respect that request where possible, though we accept that there will be times when a theme is central to an encounter or adventure and it may be necessary for someone to sit out for an encounter if the theme is particularly distressing²⁾.

Themes listed here may occur during the course of Curiosity. They may be brought in by GMs or may be a result of PC action or monster improvisation.

• Death
• Extreme Violence
  • Curiosity is a combat LARP system. While the nature of violence is limited by what can be physrepped, it is inherently a world in which violence can and will occur. This theme may also occur in fic or narration beyond what can be physrepped.
• Extreme Gore
  • Again, this is limited by what can be physrepped, but occasionally fake blood or wound makeup may be used. This theme may also occur in fic or narration beyond what can be physrepped.
• Discrimination on the basis of nationality, religion or faith
  • Discrimination on the basis of in-setting characteristics is acceptable in game. Discrimination on the basis of any out-of-character or real world characteristics (including accent or real-world religious symbols) is not acceptable. Players may use fake accents to aid characterisation, but these should not descend into real-world stereotypes.
• Torture
• Slavery
• Other means of removing agency
  • Certain effects may provide temporary amplification or dampening of emotions, which can cause your character to act differently to how they would normally. The most obvious example of this is the ENRAGE call.
  • Certain effects may take physical control of your character, causing them to move in ways they do not wish to while being consciously aware that this is happening.
  • Other forms of mind control are not generally possible, and may only be added into adventures with permission of the LARPO team. Where such other forms appear in setting, they will be added to this list.
• Addiction
  • While there are no addiction mechanics or addictive drugs in the setting as written, GMs may add these into adventures.
• Self-harm
  • Self harm as a means of expression of emotional distress is disallowed. Self harm for other reasons (e.g. chopping off an arm to install cybernetics or escape from a trap) may occur.
• Eating disorders
• Discrimination on the basis of physical disability
  • While we are not banning this topic completely, the GM team consider it more appropriate for your characters to take physical disability as a sign of the severity of the situation, and for characters to moderate their language appropriately. Please note that the use of real-world slurs to describe other people is banned under the CAT policy.
• Incest
• Domestic abuse
• Mental illness
  • Mental illness may occur, but it should not be the reason behind any criminal or immoral acts, nor may this be implied about yourself or another character.
• Physical disability
• Suicide
• Cannibalism
• Pregnancy and Children
  • Due to the many issues surrounding the combination of violence and pregancy, PCs may not be pregnant while on an adventure (though they may be in fic, in backstory, or as a description of what they are doing between adventures), and pregnant NPCs should not feature in combat encounters.
  • Similarly, PCs must be at least 14, and human characters under this age should not feature in combat encounters

This list is not exhaustive. Themes that are not listed here or in the list below may appear in the game.

The following list of themes may be present in backstory or fiction, and discussed by characters in session, email, or actions, but will not occur during the game.

• Consensual sexual contact
  • You can do this in fiction, but it must be clearly marked NSFW and put in the appropriate namespace.

The following list of themes will not appear in Redemption. They may not appear in your character's backstory or during the game. The GM team will immediately reject any character concept that involves these themes.

• Sexual assault, sexual coercion, or any other form of non-consensual sex (this applies to all OURPGSoc games)
  • This also includes claiming that sexual acts happened when they did not occur.
• Sex with minors (this applies to all OURPGSoc games)
• Use of real-world discriminatory slurs (this applies to all OURPGSoc games)
• Miscarriage and stillbirth
• Forced abortion
• Genital mutilation
• Self harm as an expression of emotional distress
• Violence involving children under 14
  • Large scale indiscriminate events (e.g. magical accidents, bombings) may include children among the victims, but they may not be the primary targets and their involvement should not be described in detail or physrepped.
• Discrimination on the basis of mental health
• Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex
  • Society in Curiosity has always considered all genders equal. It does not make sense for your character to be prejudiced on the basis of gender or sex.
• Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (e.g. homophobia)
  • Society in Curiosity has always considered all sexual orientations equal. It does not make sense for your character to be prejudiced on the basis of sexual orientation. Technology has advanced to the point where it is possible for any two people to conceive, regardless of the biological sex or gender identity of those involved.
• Discrimination on the basis of gender identity (e.g. transphobia)
  • Society in Curiosity has always considered all genders equal. It does not make sense for your character to be prejudiced on the basis of gender identity.
• Discrimination on the basis of real-world ethnicity or race
  • Curiosity is not based on the real world. In addition, discrimination in Curiosity is based on culture, profession, physical characteristics of the person acquired due to their upbringing, or physical characteristics relating to elemental attunements, rather than genetic physical characteristics of the person (e.g. height or skin colour).