Conduct & Safety

Treat each other in a friendly manner while interacting with GALAXY AWAITS. Harassment, discrimination, and intimidation based on, but not limited to, gender identity, sexual preferences, race and culture, politics, religion, and financial income, is NOT tolerated.

If you make other Players feel uncomfortable or unsafe, or your behavior is offensive, you will be asked to stop and receive a Warning. "Acting as your character" is not an excuse. If you do not stop, you will be permanently expelled without refund.

GALAXY AWAITS has a permanent ban of known white supremacists/Nazi's, Missing Stairs, and Toxic LARPers as maintained by the PNW LARP Owners Group.

• Missing Stairs
• 6 Most Toxic LARPers
• 5 Most Toxic LARP Runners
• 19 Truths about Harassment, Missing Stairs, and Safety in Larp Communities

Alcohol is not permitted at GALAXY AWAITS live-action events, excluding social parties and gatherings. If you are intoxicated at a live-action event, you will be pulled from play until you are sober and given a Warning.

GALAXY AWAITS is an ages 18 & up LARP, and explores tough themes as a form of conflict and personal exploration via pretend role-play.

SEXUAL ASSAULT

RACISM

SLAVERY

COMBAT

ABUSE / TORTURE

DEATH

GALAXY AWAITS includes intense Themes, powerful role-play scenes, and heavy chaotic battles. By playing GALAXY AWAITS, you are opting in to participate, using OK Check-In, OK Check Yourself, and OK Pre-Check for mental safety.

OK Check-In

OK Check-In is used by Players and Staff to discreetly check on a Player's well being without disrupting game play.

If a Player seems distressed, establish eye contact and hold up the OK sign. If they give you a thumbs-up, they are okay to continue playing. If they give you a thumbs down, or a wavy so-so, work with them toward a resolution, including but not limited to, escorting them to a Safe Place.

Safe Places are private areas that are either out-of-play, or can be out-of-play without disrupting game play for other Players. These areas include:
A) the Player's cabin,
B) the bathrooms and shower buildings, or
C) any OOG space away from other Players if privacy is desired.

The OK Check-In is for the personal safety of Players, and may never be used to escape your Character from role-play consequences.

OK Check Yourself

If you ever need to check yourself out of a scene, motion a thumbs down, say "please excuse me", put your hand on top of your head or put on an orange headband, and go to a Safe Place.

OK Pre-Check

If you want to do an intense scene with other Players and you are unsure of their comfort level, speak with them beforehand and plan accordingly. See Rule of Cool in the RULEBOOK.

Touching, and being touched by, Players is to be expected as required by the game mechanics. There are two instances where you will be touched:

• COMBAT - The light-touch form of combat means you will be tapped by foam weapons and shot with foam darts. Combat can happen any time and anywhere within the game space, and without warning.
• EFFECTS - The use of Character powers and abilities often requires Players to touch their intended target on the shoulder, hand, forearm, shin, or foot. This action can happen any time and anywhere within the game space, and without warning.

Do not touch another Player, outside Rulebook requirements, without their express permission. You can ask In-Game, Out-of-Game, or before event, as long as it is clear what you're asking. See Rule of Cool in the RULEBOOK.

If you absolutely do not want to be touched by anyone for any reason, you may wear a yellow armband signifying you are a Non-Combatant using Parlor Combat, see the RULEBOOK.

If you are sick with, or show symptoms of, or test positive for, a communicable illness included but not limited to Cold, Flu, COVID, Norovirus, etc. within 72 hours of an event, please DO NOT ATTEND! We are very sorry to miss you and look forward to gaming with you at the next event!

A mask is not required. However, if you wish to wear a mask during the event, please feel comfortable in doing so.

Powergaming is when a person leverages the game’s rules, system, and external information as well as their character to play in a way that consistently excludes the empowerment of others, and other considerations, such as storytelling, atmosphere, and camaraderie; all to gain an advantage.

Powergaming can take several forms, but it is generally rooted in “playing to win” or a focus on gaming the game, instead of honoring the creative roleplay for the community. A generalized description can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powergaming

Examples of Powergaming

Exploiting the rule mechanics, game systems, and intent of the game to gain an advantage, i.e. playing to win. Also:

• RULE-playing
  Purposefully searching for loopholes and focusing on the “letter of the rules” to gain an advantage. Examples: 1) finding a contradiction in the rules and using it, 2) asking “what if” and “what about” questions with intent, 3) persistence for explanations / justifications for why rules are the way they are.
• Metagaming
  Using In-Game information gleaned from Out-of-Game sources. Examples: 1) using In-Game role-play in Discord channels your character isn’t in, 2) learning something Out-of-Game and using it In-Game, 3) using website URL data as In-Game information.
• Gold Hoarding
  Hoarding ALL the Missions, ALL the plots, ALL the things, with no regard for the involvement of other players.
• Min-Maxing
  Calculating credits, points, character skills, game items, and other characters in order to have the “optimum” character and gear beyond the intended system, or to have an advantage over other characters in combat.
• Forced RP
  In text-based role-play on Discord, each player controls their character and only their character. Forced RP is writing actions / reactions of another player's character.
• Coercion
  Bullying Staff into making game changes you want for your advantage. Examples: 1) polling players for a “majority vote” for a rules change, 2) arguing / persisting your viewpoint with Staff, 3) pitting Staff against each other, 4) if one Staffer says no, going to another Staffer who may unwittingly say yes, 5) slandering Staff.

How to Avoid Powergaming

Intent, or “Spirit”, of the Game
Galaxy Awaits is a collaborative story, “play-to-lose”, style of game. There is no winning. The intent and spirit is sharing, following the rules, and playing fair. If you follow the “spirit” of the rules, you understand the actual intent, but if you focus on the “letter” of the rules you've missed its true meaning. If your actions, or planned actions, take that away from players giving you an advantage, don’t do it.

Rulebook is Rules
The Rulebook is a set of rules of what you can do that must be followed. If the Rulebook doesn’t say you can do the thing, don’t do the thing. If the Rulebook doesn’t answer your question, don’t do the thing.

The Rulebook and the game system is NOT perfect. It never will be. We encourage you to ask questions, we're happy to clarify. However, once Staff makes a ruling i.e. answers a question, accept the ruling. By playing Galaxy Awaits, you are agreeing to our decisions, rules, systems, and policies.

In Closing…
Powergaming can be difficult to know if you're doing it or not. Think about what you are wanting to do in the game and if it feels too good to be true in giving you an advantage, then it probably is. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Cheating the Rules for your own benefit, to win, works against the collaborative storytelling of GALAXY AWAITS. Accidents happen and are forgiven — even the most experienced Players forget rules — but intentionally cheating will result in a permenant ban without refund on the second Warning.

Common Forms of Cheating

• Misuing Rule of Cool
  Using the Rule of Cool to completely ignore the rules, safety, and intent of the game.
• Rhino-hiding
  Continuing play after your Character has taken too much damage.
• Turtling
  Hiding behind a shield where your body cannot be struck in a safe manner.
• Gibbering
  Stringing together Signature Calls and attacks too quickly. Your opponent needs time to react to each attack.
• Ignoring / Changing Rules
  Knowingly ignoring rules or using the rules not as intended without initiating the Rule of Cool.
• Loopholes
  Using rules loopholes to benefit of your Character. Loopholes should be reported to Staff.

Meta-gaming

In-Character information can only be gathered from in-character game spaces during events, the Holonet, and online role-play if your Character is in the thread.

While at an event, out-of-character conversations during Game Hours in designated in-character areas can be taken in-character by anyone who hears it.

If you observe another Galaxy Awaits member breaking any of our Policies, Discord server rules, or Rulebook rules, please inform Staff as soon as possible.

This can be in-person at an event, the Contact form or private messaging on our website, DM on Discord, or Facebook Messenger. Choose any means available and the Staff member you are comfortable with. If you make report with a PC Leader, that Player will forward your report in full to Staff.

Please be as detailed as possible and provide all evidence of the non-compliance as well as names of all witnesses. Know that offering 'others feel the same' is too vague and won't be considered. Staff requires hard evidence and testimony to address grievences.

Your report, your name, and names of witnesses, is never made public, but will be shared with all Staff members for transparency while the team deliberates.

If you are reporting a Staff member for non-compliance, that Staff member will not receive a copy of your report and won’t be involved in the disciplinary decision process.

If you are found to be in non-compliance with our policies and rules, Staff may apply any of the following disciplinary actions upon you. These actions are permanently marked in your Profile on our website and shared publicly via Facebook/Discord post with the community for transparency.

Only Staff can issue disciplinary actions. Full Time NPC volunteers and PC Leaders cannot without express permission from Staff.

In total, you get 3 warnings where the 3rd and final warning is Banned from Galaxy Awaits.

Facebook / Discord Timeout
You are unable to post for a duration of time as permitted by the timeout systems of Facebook and Discord.

Chaperone
You cannot be alone with another member during an event. As this may not involve all members and situations, specific details of a Chaperone action are provided by Staff on a case-by-case basis.

Banned from Leadership & Volunteering
A permanent ban from being a Staff member, from volunteering as NPC, and from being a PC Leader.

Banned from Event
A temporary ban from Galaxy Awaits for number of events. If the ban is implemented during an event, the ban is immediate, you will be asked to leave without refund.

Banned from Galaxy Awaits
A permanent ban from Galaxy Awaits. If the ban is implemented during an event, the ban is immediate, you will be asked to leave without refund. Your name is also added to the PNW LARP Owners community ban list shared among all participating LARP groups in the PNW.

Appeals

Galaxy Awaits does not take issuing disciplinary actions lightly. The Staff team spends as much time as needed to determine if action is needed, and if so, which action to take. Still, sometimes mistakes are made or new information is brought forward.

If you feel you have received an unfair Disciplinary Action, you may request an appeal with Staff. You can appeal once and only once.

An appeal must be sent to Staff in writing via the Contact form or private messaging on our website, DM on Discord, or Facebook Messenger. Choose any means available and the Staff member you are comfortable with.

Staff will review your appeal, but there is no guarantee of a reversal of Disciplinary Action.