RPG Research Role-playing Game Players Code of Conduct

Revision: 20190130e

Participants join together to share the unique and enjoyable experience of role-playing. In order to maintain a fair and fun game environment all players are expected to honor the Code of Conduct. Please read the Code of Conduct carefully, paying close attention to each point. For younger players, please summarize the most salient parts.

Be Respectful

The Game Master (GM) will treat you with respect, and it is expected that other players will treat you with respect as well, so please in turn treat the GM and your fellow players with respect as well. Disrespect in any fashion is grounds for disciplinary action.

Arguing

Take it to GM. Intelligent debate is welcome, but when your emotions take control of your actions, you are in violation of this rule. Please do not kill the “suspension of disbelief” and the flow of the game by bogging it down with frequent arguing. If you can address it briefly for a ruling by the GM, that is fine. Otherwise please ask to speak with the GM in private, or pass a note asking to discuss the topic during a break or at the end of the session so that the GM may hear you out in full. Please always keep it civil and considerate of others.

Respect All Other Players and Their Right to Have Fun.

Role-playing gaming is a collaborative effort. It only really works if everyone is working together, not just in the game, but outside of it as well. Contribute to everyone's fun and not just your own, and as a consequence you will have more fun.

If you had a bad day prior to joining the game, please try to keep it outside of the game, don’t let it “bleed” into the game disruptively, and conversely if you have a frustrating session in the game, don’t let the negative “bleed” into your real life.

As part of being contributory, one must keep things like the following in mind: if over time your character is starting to cause resentment in the other players, it might be time to either make a new character or find an in-game way to alter the character in some way. We want to make sure everyone is having fun without being at the expense of everyone else.

Please remember that the game session's fun is not entirely dependent upon the GM, the burden also rests upon each player. Even an inexperienced GM can still end up running a fun session if the players are working with the GM and the other players, rather than simply expecting perfection from everyone else.

Show respect toward all property and possessions. Damage or theft of a Player’s, GM's, or Host's property is not tolerated. This also includes online reputations, accounts, etc.

Out-of-Character (OOC) physical abuse, discrimination, or verbal abuse is not tolerated. Everyone is to maintain common sensitivity. Out of consideration to others, public intimacy is discouraged. Descriptions of sexual acts in (or out) of the game is not allowed. If someone says “No” or “Leave me alone” and you don’t listen, that is harassment. Hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. Out-of-character racist, bigoted, or excessively vulgar or distasteful language is strongly discouraged. Do not harass, bully, threaten, harm or cause discomfort for other persons. Consider harassment to be a pattern of unwanted contact, attention, or behavior. For example:

• Use hate speech or racial, ethnic, sexist, homophobic or religious slurs

• Harass a specific person (repeated flaming or personal attacks)

• Troll or bait the participants in general with inflammatory statements, such as ones designed to elicit a negative response from the participants (in real life, in game, or online).

• Violence, threats of violence, or any other action or gesture that compromises the safety of participants.

• Harassment or hate speech of any kind.

Excessive in-character racist, bigoted, or excessively vulgar or distasteful language is discouraged, but may in moderate amounts be allowed if appropriate to the character and circumstances of the campaign, for example racial comments about orcs, or orcs vulgar threats to the Free People of Middle-earth might be allowed if appropriate to the circumstances and the predefined characters.

No pornography or otherwise rated "X" or “R” material is to be displayed. Do not use, post, distribute or link to obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, graphically or gratuitously violent, derogatory, demeaning, malicious, defamatory, abusive, offensive, hateful or discriminatory language or content. This includes "masking" language by using alternative characters/spelling /spacing to get around profanity filters or claims of profanity filter “testing."

Players are prohibited from making final rules calls or chastising others for improper role-playing. Players should instead politely call the rule or player actions into question and let the GM sort the problem out.

If a rule or player’s behavior is called into question, said rule is to be reviewed by the Game Master to determine its legality. Respect the authority of the Game Master. The GM is the final authority for all rulings.

Hygiene, Allergies, Dress Code, Alcohol, Drugs, & Smoking

Please be considerate of all the other participants. Some participants have strong reactions from allergies, asthma, and other sensitivities to strong chemicals, perfumes, or excessive body odor.

Please avoid excessively poor grooming, noticeable offensive body odor, or excessive perfumes out of consideration to everyone else. Severe body odor isn’t just unpleasant — it can irritate medical conditions like allergies, asthma and migraines, and is highly disruptive to the enjoyment of the game for everyone else. No participant shall have an odor generally offensive to others when attending a session. An offensive body odor may result from a lack of good hygiene, from an excessive application of a fragrant after-shave or cologne or from other causes. If there is an issue with another participant, please discretely inform your GM. If the GM is aware of an issue, the GM will discretely inform the person that needs to address the issue.

No alcohol or illegal drugs are to be brought or used at gaming sessions. Smoking must comply with Washington state laws (25' distance away from entrances and windows), and since some participants are known to have allergies and asthma, if you do need to smoke, please refrain from smoking until after the game session is over. Smoking just before a game, or during a break, tends to bring a strong unpleasant odor unto the game room afterward, and can trigger asthma attacks, so please try to wait until after the game session is over to smoke. No smoking is allowed at the gaming table. This includes vaping, e-cigarettes, etc. If you do have offensive odor, the GM and/or host will attempt to discretely let you know so that you can resolve any such issues.

Props and Costumes

Props are allowed, but brandishing of naked steel is generally discouraged, unless you ask for explicit permission in advance and the GM allows. Please consult with the GM before bringing any prop-type weapons to the gaming session.

Though you may wear costumes and props, when not at a convention setting, this group is not expected to dress in any costumes at all. All attire must be appropriately modest and considerate of others. Determination of “appropriately modest” is to be decided by the G M.

Be Respectful of the GM

Your character is free to do whatever you want (that is not evil, of course, since this will be a heroic campaign, not an evil one) so long as you are taking the GM's scenario seriously (but not too seriously) and following the GM's lead, at the very least in spirit. The GM works very hard to design a scenario to be exciting and so all that is asked is that you not make any intentional attempts to break that work.

Tabletop role-playing is about working together: the GM provides you with a scenario and helps you run through it, in return please provide the GM your sincere cooperation.

The Dungeon Master may arbitrate debate about the game rules or other such. The GM takes the approach of “beneficent dictator”, s/he will hear the concerns of those that wish to speak about an issue, but in the end all rulings by the GM are final.

The final word on game rules and house rulings are left up to the GM.

Take Turns, Pay Attention, & Avoid Distractions

Even if it is not your turn to speak, it is politely considerate, and helps speed up the flow of the game, if everyone is paying attention throughout the session. Please mute or turn off your cell phones. Please do not be engage in out-of-game chat, instant messaging, social networks, or other distractions not directly related to the GM, the players, and the adventure.

DO NOT USE CELL PHONES OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH SCREENS DURING GAME SESSIONS.

Research from shows that removing such distractions will not only improve your experience by not missing any details and being ready to respond to the GM and other players promptly and in a prepared manner, it also impacts the enjoyment, level of immersion, and potential experiences of flow state, of your fellow players and the GM.

Story First, Rules Second

Rules are tools. Use them, but do not let them trap you. If the GM chooses to make changes here or there to encourage the flow of the story, do not let the flow of the game be ruined by frequent rules debate. If you have a concern, then please write a note about your concerns and pass it to the GM, then the GM can opt to adjust a rule/ruling, or decide to discuss the topic at the end of the game session to make an official decision for future sessions. Sometimes a critical issue will be impacted by a ruling, so the GM may occasionally interrupt game play to quickly research, but these instances should be avoided as much as possible.

The Consequences of Violating a Rule(s)

This is only an example progression, and does not represent all cases. Additional consequences may be incurred, and the severity of any individual case may escalate the consequence. The consequence is usually at the Game Master’s discretion.

• 1^st Level Offense: A verbal (or passed note) warning.

• 2^nd Level Offense: Verbal reprimand (GM will try to speak with the player discretely away from the group if possible), and potentially a loss of turns or control of character for a given time

• period.

• 3^rd level Offense: kicked out of the day’s session up to being banned from a number of sessions.

• 4^th Level Offense: Banned from future participation in this group.

Player Character Campaign Guidelines

Since this is a HEROIC campaign, The character must be attempt to be good at heart. It is okay for player characters to be flawed, have eccentricities, and struggle with difficult moral decisions and actions (which can lead to some great role-playing). Take for example the extreme example, in The Lord of the Rings, of Boromir's temptation and loss of self-control caused by giving into the will of The One Ring, he completely lost control of himself.

In the long run the PCs must be well-intentioned towards the greater good. Boromir is an example of an heroic character that gave into temptation and a moment of evil action, and paid for it in the ways of the Song of Arda. If your character commits too many evil acts, the PC will increasingly lose freewill, succumbing to impulse and/or the will of others. Too much transition into this "shadow", as determined by the GM, will lead to the PC increasingly losing self-will. At the GM's discretion, if the PC performs too many evil or questionable acts, the player will no longer be allowed to control the PC, and relinquishes control of the PC to the GM, becoming temporarily or permanently a Non-Player Character (NPC). The player character must work as much as possible to be a part of the group working cooperatively. The character must fit the campaign style.

Attendance

Once a player participates with a character in a session, all players are expected to attend every subsequent scheduled session. It is important for the flow of the campaign that everyone does their best to be consistent in their attendance. If a you believe you will be unable to attend an upcoming session, you must inform the GM with as much advance notice as possible, prior to the next game session. An absent player’s character is to be controlled by the GM unless the GM allows another player to control the player’s character given said player’s permission.

This is one of many reasons why it is the policy of the G M to retain all character sheets between sessions.