The Solitude Code of Conduct contains firm rules about acceptable conduct at this LARP. If you are not willing or able to abide by the Code of Conduct, please do not attend Solitude. Failure to follow these rules will result in a serious discussion on preventing further unacceptable conduct, which may involve banning you from the game.
Our Guidelines for Play contain expectations for players to contribute to a fun and welcoming game for the whole group. If a player is falling short of these expectations, game staff and fellow players should help them improve their play. If you are unsure if you can completely follow these guidelines right away, we hope you come to Solitude, work hard to follow the spirit of good play, and are receptive to feedback if you have room to improve.
All Solitude players must be 18 or older.
You may not play Solitude under the influence of recreational drugs or alcohol, and you may not bring these to an event. If you wish to smoke, please excuse yourself from the game and smoke away from game activity (in addition to following park rules).
Staff and players shall not share any photos taken during events to public social media or advertising materials without the consent of the depicted players. Photos may be shared on the Solitude Discord server.
Do not take, use, or damage out-of-game property (e.g. car keys) belonging to other players without clear permission.
Do not use another player’s game props or costuming without permission. Even in game, you may not steal these items.
In-game props provided by the game staff may be stolen in game. Do not damage these props, and return them to game staff at the end of the event unless given permission to keep them. Do not rifle through someone’s personal bag or pockets to steal a game prop. If you are uncertain if an item belongs to the game or to another player, ask.
Derogatory behavior targeting race, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, body, national origin, age, ability, physical/mental health, or any other self-identity is not allowed. This encompasses all forms of language, actions, in-game and out-of-game communication.
Roleplaying prejudice against fictional groups within the game (e.g. against Elves) is acceptable. However, do not roleplay this prejudice in a way that evokes real-world bigotry (e.g., close analogs of real-world slurs).
Sexual assault or related themes should never be included in any roleplay, conversations, or backstories. It does not exist in this setting or game world.
The expected level of physical touch in Solitude includes foam weapons and a light tap on the shoulder/upper arm for touch-range effects. Any other physical touch, in or out of combat, requires explicit affirmative out-of-game consent (see the Consent and Calibration section of the core rules).
Any romantic roleplay requires explicit out-of-character discussion and consent from the other party.
Players may communicate personal boundaries on roleplay at any time. Other players should listen respectfully to these limits. If there is a conflict between someone’s personal limits and your enjoyment of Solitude, you are expected to discuss solutions, seek a reasonable compromise, and escalate to game staff if necessary.
You must conduct yourself with out-of-game respect and courtesy for all other participants. Whether intentional or merely callous, behavior that hurts feeling or that makes other players feel unsafe or unwelcome is not allowed.
In-game antagonism is not an excuse for behavior that causes out-of-game harm. Our guidelines on character antagonism are intended as a starting point to promote fun, rather than hurtful, antagonistic roleplay.
Solitude relies on public parks for our game space. Solitude players must politely share the park with the rest of the public, which in some cases may mean pausing the game or changing activities to avoid disruption. In addition, Solitude players must endeavor to keep the condition of the park as good as when we began play, including cleaning up any litter produced by the game and avoiding damage to the park.
This Code of Conduct does not exhaustively cover all unacceptable behavior. Conduct not compatible with the operation of the game and enjoyment of the participants will, at the discretion of the game staff, result in a ban from the game.
This Code of Conduct applies both at all Solitude events and in discussions on the Solitude Discord server. Conduct outside of Solitude (e.g. at other LARPs) that raises concerns about your likely conduct at Solitude may result in consequences for your participation at Solitude.
To report a violation of the Code of Conduct, reach out to game staff in person, on Discord, or by email.
Solitude staff will make decisions during events on both conduct matters and gameplay. These decisions often incorporate a subjective judgment call about what has occurred and what would be best for the game. The appropriate time to ask for a review and reconsideration of these decisions is after the event.
Nearly all of the time between the start and end of the game, players are strongly encouraged to stay in character, roleplaying as an inhabitant of Solitude’s world.
Raising a safety issue
Discussing consent for roleplay
Asking a clarifying question about the game rules or setting
Checking in on someone who appears out-of-game hurt or distressed
Discussing a real world logistics issue (“Hey can you pass me the sunscreen?” or “The bathroom is over there.”)
Being polite to members of the public sharing the park
While taking a break from the game and away from game space
During the game’s lunch break, some people remain in character while others take a break to have out-of-character conversations.
When breaking character, it’s often possible to discretely speak with one person and then seamlessly resume play without interrupting the game for others. Halting the game for everyone is appropriate for safety issues.
To tell a joke about things that don’t exist in Solitude’s world (e.g. “That monster looks like it dresses at Hot Topic”)
To point out the ways the game imperfectly represents the fiction (e.g. “That monster looks suspiciously like Jason in a silly hat”)
If you would like another player to stop their current line of roleplay, one option is to say “What would your mother say?” This is one way to communicate that the current interaction is crossing your personal boundaries, and you might find it easier to use because it can fit naturally into a conversation. You are also welcome to break character to communicate this sentiment more directly.
If you are told “What would your mother say?”, please treat that as a sincere request to drop the current topic. You should not respond in-character about your (fictional) mother, but should simply switch, without segue, to some other topic. Asking why they’d like to drop this topic is unhelpful, but it may sometimes be appropriate to ask what topic exactly they’d like to avoid if you’re unsure–but it’s often easiest to just change topics entirely. Please refer to the Code of Conduct topic on Personal Boundaries.
At times, Solitude PCs might find themselves at odds due to character conflict or competing faction objectives. Even when their PCs have conflicting desires, Solitude players are expected to always work together to help each other have fun.
If character antagonism is something you want to pursue in this game, you are expected to take an active role in making that fun for other players. It’s not enough to just play your character; you must be trying, as a player, to add to others’ fun.
Important ideas to keep in mind:
Think about what other players like. Be attentive to signs they are or aren’t having fun. Are they engaging with you and fighting back or trying to disengage? Also, think about what else is happening right now: are you interrupting something important to that player?
Not all character antagonism requires explicit verbal permission. But, asking creates trust, and trust lets you make the antagonism more fun for everyone. You can step out of game to ask a player if they are having fun with this in-character antagonism, or if they’d like you to back off.
Character antagonism should happen some, not all, of the time. Keep the antagonism limited to specific topics, rather than fighting about everything. Give yourself time in game to agree about things as well as argue.
You are playing heroes and adventurers, not school-age bullies. Teasing, insults, and bullying are rarely a fitting form of character antagonism for a fantasy adventure setting. The closer they are to real-world antagonism, the less likely they’re going to be a fun kind of conflict in this game. Instead, if you’re going to disagree, have your disagreements be the clash of heroes.
Don’t surprise people with an escalation to violence. If things are going to come to blows, be sure it’s something both players are expecting and enthusiastic about. Solitude’s combat rules are not balanced for fair fights between PCs, and so it’s not really possible to settle character antagonism fairly with violence. Since it won’t be fair, it’s especially important to make sure both sides are having fun.
Thanks to Cora Tobin for writing the Wellspring LARP code of conduct and roleplay etiquette rules, from which these rules liberally borrow.