Game Themes

This page is part of the System Policies and Ethos and explains the themes which you can expect to encounter at Death Unto Darkness games, as well as themes which are unacceptable to roleplay at our games.

Controversial Themes and Dark Roleplay

Death Unto Darkness is set in an interpretation of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k setting. This is a totalitarian far-future dystopia where the dominant human culture is a theocratic, authoritarian dictatorship which does not value human life or freedom. Players and crew should be prepared to encounter grim and dark themes as part of their roleplay.

This is a non-exhaustive list of themes which form part of the Death unto Darkness and the wider 40K setting, and which may be encountered as part of your play:

• Violence, injury and death
• Slavery, imprisonment and coerced/forced labour
• Unjust legal systems
• Execution
• Mind control, telepathy and loss of autonomy
• Coercive power and class dynamics; use of authority to intimidate
• Creation of false and unreliable memories
• Discrimination on the basis of fictional characteristics such as IC religion, mutation or IC social class
• Religious themes including appeal to religious authority

When booking for an event as crew or player, you will have the opportunity to specify triggers or phobias which you would prefer not to encounter in play (for example, spiders or enclosed spaces). The Game Team will make best effort to ensure you are not exposed to material which you have listed. However, we cannot guarantee that you will not encounter such material in play, including from other players. We therefore recommend that all players make informed decisions about their safety and enjoyment in playing the game, particularly if they find any of the themes above troubling or objectionable to encounter in a fictional context.

Unacceptable Themes

The 40k setting is one filled with darkness and despair, but some topics are simply best avoided as in-game subjects because we believe that they add nothing to our game and can impact severely on players who may have had to deal with these subjects in real life.

However there are limitations and there are certain subjects that add nothing to our world by being touched upon and are therefore forbidden as subjects to be discussed and covered in both uptime and downtime play:

• Sexual assault, sexual coercion, sexual abuse, sex with minors and all forms of non-consensual sex including forced pregnancy (such as immaculate conception).

• Harm or the Death of Children.

• Sexism, Racism, Transphobia and Homophobia including, but not limited to, use of pejoratives and slurs.

• Nazi/WW2 German symbolism, imagery and uniforms are expressly forbidden as are other [linked] . The knowing use of these in your kit is subject to an immediate ban and removal from games. The use of other real life political imagery is generally discouraged with the exception of imagery associated with gender equality and pride in gender/sexual identity. If you're unsure about a symbol or image you are using, Contact the game team and we will provide guidance on avoiding mirroring the symbology of hate groups.

There are also some restricted themes that we ask everyone to be cautious around using, if you intend to use these you should consult with the Game Team;

• Mental Illness/Learning Disabilities (Please note this does not include ‘Cosmic Horror’ effects so long as those effects have no relation to a diagnosable mental condition)

• Self-Harm

• Suicide

In addition, DuD is a sex-positive and kink-positive setting and game - however we will not include anything about sexuality, gender and sexual acts in any mechanical effects or any event theme. We don’t want to force players who are uncomfortable to interact with such themes. While we don’t discourage you from roleplaying them as part of your character's story, we suggest they are better contained to controlled spaces where only people who consent to interacting with them have to.

The Traffic Light System

There may be dark and sometimes disturbing imagery and themes used in the game, and we respect that some participants may find themselves affected by this. To this end you may use the ‘Traffic Light’ system to inform players, crew and refs of discomfort without needing to stop the game:

• Red should be used to indicate that you are extremely uncomfortable with the scene, and indicates to all participants to stop and move away from the subject matter being used/discussed.

• Amber indicates to others that you are affected by the subject matter and that they should be careful or back off from a subject to allow you to settle.

• Green can be used to indicate to others that you are comfortable and happy to move on with a subject.

If you are overwhelmed or completely unable to deal with a subject and need to bring an immediate end to it, you may call Stop the Game at any point. At this point all participants should cease roleplay to allow the participant in question to remove themselves from the play area and talk to a referee.