Safety at Games

This page is part of the System Policies and Ethos and holds important information about safe behaviour and combat at Death Unto Darkness games.

Safety and Time In

OOC Calls

You must never use ANY of these calls for an IC purpose as they have distinct uses for indicating situations where there is a need to act out-of-game.

TIME IN! : Indicates that an area has become 'live' and in-character. Cease any disruptive OOC activities or leave the area if you must continue them; otherwise, assume the role of your character.

TIME FREEZE! : Indicates that you are to drop OOC immediately unless there is a personal safety reason to do so do not move from where you are, close your eyes and do your best to ignore anything going on around you.

TIME OUT! : Indicates that the game is pausing or ending. You should drop OOC and cease roleplaying.

SAFETY! : Is used to indicate that while nobody has been hurt there is an emerging safety-hazard and the game needs to be stopped for a Ref to intervene. Stay where you are unless you are in danger or told to move by a member of the game team. Once the danger is resolved Time in! will be called.

MAN DOWN! : Is used to indicate that someone is in need of OOC medical assistance. Stop what you are doing immediately and ensure other players and crew do so as well. Be aware of your surroundings, move to allow first aiders access to the individual(s), giving space where told to. Once the situation is resolved, Time In! will be called.

Sleeping Areas and Time In

Where possible at a normal event (10am-1am time in), we will try to provide an area of the site for players wishing to remain in-character beyond 1am without disturbing others. In these situations, if you go to sleep you will not be excluded from any plot by doing so. Should an event have a 24 Time In we will try where possible to provide a safe and quiet OOC sleeping area for those who require sleep, and endeavour to engage you in other ways to allow you to fully enjoy the event.

Contact and Touching

If you do not declare yourself ‘Non-Contact’ you are consenting to allowing yourself to be struck with LRP-safe props. However it is important that all participants are aware that consent to be struck by props is not consent to be touched with anything else, including hands. Should roleplay require you to come into physical contact with another person you must have their explicit consent to touch them before you do so. If you need to retrieve something from their character's person, and they do not wish to be touched, they can hand the prop to you while you mime searching away from their body.

You should never engage another person in unarmed combat unless you are specifically aware that that individual is comfortable with it and you confirm it with their positive consent before carrying out the RP. You will both be held responsible for any injury as a cause of your actions.

Combat Safety

• All blows in Melee must be pulled.
  • For anyone not used to LARP combat, pulling a blow is the act of slowing the weapon before it strikes the target, so that it hits with a minimal tap.

(* Sometimes people will misjudge this – it happens – but you should always be trying your best to pull every blow, and slow down or back off from a fight if you begin to find it difficult.)

• • In melee combat, a blow should land with the minimum force required to indicate to someone they have been struck. If someone is hitting too hard, shout too hard at them or inform a Ref.
• Blows to the head are discouraged.
  • We believe they are more risky than other elements of combat, and you should avoid them unless the player does not present another valid target.
• The use of hands and grappling in melee is specifically restricted to controlled situations where both parties have exchanged enthusiastic consent immediately beforehand. This should never occur where there is a danger of running into other participants or terrain, e.g. near a mass combat, or in a cramped space.

This is a contact hobby, even with everyone trying to strike as safely as possible you can get hurt. Please do not engage in melee combat if you are uncomfortable with this. Certain people may be designated as ‘non-contact’ by their own request. These people will be indicated by the Refs at the start of an event and should NOT be attacked in a melee. Failure to observe this will be dealt with severely. Non-Contact individuals will state “Non-Com” and go to Subdued status if you engage them. The Game Team will do their best to ensure the safety of Non-Contact Individuals but cannot always guarantee safety from accidental blows from weapons.

Ranged combat is open to all but if you are being obviously engaged by a melee combatant and have chosen to be non-contact, please state ‘Non-Com’ to the individual and then go to the Subdued condition.

Prop and Weapon Safety

• All weapons intended to be used in melee must be LARP safe. This means they have been tested by a member of the Game Team and conform to our safety standards.
• Ranged weapons do not need to be LARP safe. However, if converted from firing props/airsoft/nerf weaponry they must be unloaded and made safe so they cannot fire and no ammunition for them may be brought to DuD games. If you fail to follow this you can be excluded from the event.
• Where you are using a ranged weapon and enter Melee you are responsible for making your weapon safe.
  • If you are not using a LARP-safe prop you must move your weapon out of the way. Props made of hard materials or not judged to be LARP-safe by the Game Team must be holstered or placed in a position where you can control their movement to prevent accidentally striking another participant. Charging melee combatants will always slow to give you time to do so; do not use this as a chance to retreat, be courteous.

The minimum length for a melee weapon should be seven inches (175mm) and care should be taken to ensure there is a good distance between the hand(s) holding the weapon and any striking surface as to avoid accidental blows with fists. Stab safe weaponry and flails are permitted, but will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Weapons are divided into two categories: 1-Handed and 2-Handed. DuD does not make use of specific weapon length restrictions, but the UK Weapon Safety standard of 42” maximum for 1-Handed Melee weapons is a good guideline. 1-Handed ranged weapons should be ‘pistol’ sized, which we feel is clear enough guidance. A 2-Handed weapon can only be used if both your hands are on the weapon. There is no trait required to wield a 1-Handed melee weapon in each hand. The Game Team reserves the right to re-classify a prop as 2-Handed if we do not think you are safely wielding it in one hand.

Melee weapons should be constructed from high-density closed cell foam, such as Plastazote or Evazote. Pipe lagging or upholstery foam would not be suitable as they are low-density, but can be used to ‘pad’ striking surfaces so long as the core construction is high-density foam. There should be a minimum of 12mm of foam between the core and any striking surface, but the ultimate test will be if the core can be felt through the foam.

Weapon cores should be fiberglass or carbon fiber and should be rigid, weapons should not ‘whip’ (unless they are flails). Any EL wire, gems or other hard elements of the weapon should be restricted to non-striking surfaces only.

Shields should follow similar guidelines to the above, but should not have a rigid core as part of their construction. Wooden/plastic shields (such as riot shields) are expressly forbidden, as all shields should be constructed primarily from foam.

Armour should be constructed from metal, foam, or plastic, and should not be constructed with any protruding sharp or hard elements. All edges should be rounded off for safety.

As with everything, the Death Unto Darkness team reserves the right to ban any prop from play if they feel it is unsafe. It is possible to construct a weapon within the best guidelines which is nevertheless entirely unsafe in practice. If you are making something and want assistance with construction, please talk to us in advance to avoid disappointment.

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. You can read more about the themes you may encounter on the Game Themes page.

• 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.