Access, Equality & Diversity

Corpus Christie LRP wants to be accessible to everyone, but, as a game of creeping eldritch horror, set before World War Two, we will be dealing with some unsettling themes, and are working with a world inspired by some problematic source material. We therefore aim to strike a balance between representing our source material and the historical period which informs our fictional world and creating a space which is only going to horrify you in character. Bearing this in mind, please be aware of the following.

 

Sexual abuse/violence

This does not exist in our world. As it is not a theme at all in either Christie or Lovecraft, and as it is so easy for this subject to become hugely problematic and painful for players out of character, we would prefer to simply remove it from our reality. Character tropes will be given to players and you are welcome to add to the backgrounds, but we will not accept any additions in which sexual abuse or violence is a theme.  Likewise, please do not reference it when talking to other PCs, or behave in a way that suggests it is an element of the game world. For clarity’s sake, this ban covers rape, child abuse, coerced sex, and harassment.

Racism/sexism/homophobia

These are themes within the game world and will appear within our game world – we wish to include colonialism and its after effects, patriarchy and the pressure to hide who you love as aspects of the game. We aim to do so sensitively and with a focus on oppressed and not oppressor but they will be present. If you encounter one of these subjects and feel uncomfortable, we will be using safe words and signals, and we hope that all players will respect those and try and manage each other’s comfort levels responsibly.  These will be set out in the rules section.

Gender

As a theme of the source material is gender, including individuals trying to present as a gender not their own for purposes of disguise etc, we will be handling this slightly differently. First of all, you are extremely welcome to play a PC of any gender. Equally, you may wish to play a young woman who has disguised herself as a man in order to be a pilot. In order to prevent confusion between these we will be offering the option of wearing a visual signifier set out in the rules section which indicates that your character is of a specific gender and this should not be questioned IC. Those will be optional. If you are playing someone who is, IC, one gender but posing as the other you should not wear said badge and PCs may be able to figure out your secret IC. Or you can not wear a badge at all. They are fully optional. We just want to make sure there is good game for people who are playing a PC of a gender that they may not be read as, AND people who are playing characters trying to present as a different gender IC.

Disability

We would very much like our game to be accessible to disabled people. However, sadly, our venue is unlikely to be fully wheelchair accessible. There will be some ground floor sleeping space and we will try and make sure that the action keeps rolling downstairs as well as upstairs. We also cannot guarantee that all plot will be accessible to those who are of limited mobility – some plot will be physical in nature. We can guarantee, however, that you will be able to impact on the story and outcome without engaging in physical action.

Mental health

If you suffer from mental health problems, we really want this game to be as comfortable for you as possible. Two of our refs are mental health first aiders (there was a course!) and will be tagged at the start of the game so you know who to talk to if you’re not feeling OK. We will also have a designated ‘quiet space’ set aside where you can retreat if you’re feeling at all wobbly until you are ready to step back into game. We don’t think that any of you want your mental health to be a reason for you to be spared all the horror you’ve paid for, but you might sometimes need a few moments to take a breath before stepping back into IC bloodshed and sanity loss*. Please don’t feel bad about doing this.

The game will be using safe words. If someone says ‘RED’ then this is a sign you should back off entirely and potentially drop OC to check that they are OK. If someone says ‘YELLOW’ then this means you should change the subject and move on from whatever you were doing, but you can remain IC and just integrate that into your role play.
 

*Not that we’re saying there will be IC bloodshed or sanity loss. But, you know.

If you have any other questions, please ask us via email at corpuschristie.ref@gmail.com