We would like to note that portions of our Community Statement have been informed and in many places copied directly from similar guidelines/documents at Altered LARP and Mystfall LARP, and we greatly appreciate their assistance in helping us find the words to express our desires to continually improve our community and make it a safer place.
We are a community. Each and every LARPer shows up to events to have a good time, role play, hang out with their friends, and to tell great stories. Our goal is to lift our community up. We want to tell the greatest stories and while we may go home exhausted and emotionally spent, we want everyone to count the days until our next event. We want to explore topics that can be challenging but do so in a respectful way. To this end, we want everyone who attends to knows our community standards on the following:
We deal with mature themes in our science fiction/survival setting, and as such we mandate that players be of at least 18 years of age to play.
Though in-game conflicts based on decisions your character makes are a cornerstone of the game, we do not permit discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, physical/mental disabilities, religious/cultural identities, etc. Essentially, no one in our community, under any circumstances should be insulting, belittling, or otherwise behaving poorly towards another community member based on their OOG identity. Even in-game hostility is subject to our Character versus Character guidelines detailed below. To avoid allusions to real-life discrimination practices, we’ve made efforts to establish that conflicts in the Empire 6 universe are based around the actions of characters, not their specific species, gender, sexuality, physical/mental disabilities, religious/cultural identities etc. These are concepts we simply don’t feel the desire to explore.
At Empire 6, we recognize the extensive harm that has been caused by cultural appropriation and the silencing of BIMPOC voices in regards to their cultural heritages. As such, players are strongly discouraged from using culturally significant components in their character composition, whether it is backstory, equipment or costuming. Painting your skin or altering your features in such a way as to suggest/imitate another race is grounds for immediate denial of service.
People of Colour (POC) and other marginalized groups are frequent victims of cultural appropriation, in which elements such as symbols, images, traditions, etc. are taken and used by people outside of that culture. This presents an obvious source of harm to those from that group. As such, we reserve the right to direct the removal of any such items or roleplaying characteristics that DO or MAY constitute appropriation from groups outside your own cultural identity.
Instead, we encourage that players seek out non-appropriative ideas, especially encouraging that our community instead draw from the world we are creating together. If you require clarification on whether something could be perceived as harmful, please reach out to empire6.larp@gmail.com.
Similarly, all creations put forward by staff- be they props, factions, mods or individual NPCs- must have a member of the community represented leading that project should they draw on real life inspirations.
Under no circumstances shall you have intentional physical contact with another member of the community without explicit and enthusiastic consent from that person.
We recognize that character versus character (‘PvP’ or CvC) interactions, be it stealing, fighting or simply even verbal altercations, are an important part of the game for many people. However, as our goal is to have a strong community of like minded comrades/friends, it is essential that we consider the person behind the character whenever CvC actions are undertaken. Thus, we mandate that in any sort of CvC situation, out-of-game discussions must happen where both sides acknowledge what has been happening and ask one another "what do you want out of this?" If the situation does not allow for an out of game conversation, the activity that took place must be reported to directors.
It is essential that we take accountability for ourselves as members of a community, and for the community at large. Accountability means recognizing when we act in a way that harms others, and taking steps to redress that harm however possible. Often, this will simply mean offering a quick apology and resolving to seek education and betterment to prevent causing a similar situation again. Regardless, the most important thing to do is not dismiss the concerns of others, but to acknowledge their discomfort/pain and seek to help them heal. After all, they are members of the community too, and we need to take care of those in our community who are hurt.
Hand-in-hand with accountability is growth. We do not expect any member of the community to be perfectly versed in what might or might not upset others. Learning is a lifelong activity that we must all remain committed to for the well being of ourselves and our community.
When you make a mistake, we encourage considering the following course of action to address the issue and use it as a chance to grow:
We expect that all members of our community are capable of self-care. This entails being able to judge one's own well being and seek steps necessary to address any issues, both mental and physical in nature. We do not employ healthcare or mental health professionals, and knowing when to step away from game for some time to process what's going on, when to drink water, when to feed yourself, when to speak to someone in order to debrief something that happened because you're having difficulty keeping it in game, etc. are all skills that you must have in your 'toolbox'. While we are a community that works to support one another, you should not under any circumstances be placing responsibility for your mental and physical well being solely on other community members, as this is dangerous for you and unfair for them. Remember: This is a game and we’re here to have fun.