Equality and Themes

All games run by the Oxford University Role-Playing Games Society are subject to the Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy which can be found on the OURPGSoc website. It is expected that all GMs and players will be familiar with this policy when playing Firmament.

Firmament is a game which, while having dark moments, is intended to be bright and heroic. So while a number of the topics listed below as will/may occur, they will not be the major focus for the game, and will unlikely be the major focus for a turnsheet or action. We will attempt to give some signalling when a bit of plot will contain more potentially distressing themes, through how the information is given to players OC and IC, so that players can hopefully avoid interacting with themes that would make them uncomfortable.

If another player is making you uncomfortable, please bring the matter to the GM team either in person or via email (gm@firmament.chaosdeathfish.com). If a GM is making you uncomfortable and you wish to discuss it confidentially, then please contact the CAMPO¹⁾, Rose in person or via their personal email (agjas17@gmail.com). If Rose is making you uncomfortable then concerns should be raised with the society secretary²⁾ via (andrew.kenyon-roberts@merton.ox.ac.uk).

If you have any phobias, please let the GM team know so that we can do our best to ensure you are comfortable at all points in the game. Additionally if there are specific ways in which things are likely to be an issue (such as detailed description in turnsheets vs. a verbal description that doesn't go into detail) let us know so that we can work around things where possible.

Unfortunately, the GM team has limited resources and occasionally errors occur. While we will do our utmost to ensure everything on this page is adhered to as possible, in the event you think something has gone wrong please bear with the us, and alert us to the issue as soon as is convenient, so that we may try and resolve things a quickly as possible to avoid any unnecessary discomfort for anyone involved in the game.

Themes listed here may occur during the course of Firmament. They may be brought in by GMs or may be a result of PC action.

• Self-harm
  • While Self-harm as an expression of distress is a banned theme in this game, self harm in the form of ritual bloodletting forms a part of some magic, as Alchemy in the world of Firmament is powered by blood.
• Consensual Sexual Contact
  • This happens, but it will not occur in sessions or be described in turnsheets.
• Extreme Violence
• Extreme Gore
  • This is not a major tonal element but may occur.
• Discrimination on the basis of Nationality
• Discrimination on the basis of Religion
• Discrimination on the basis of Class and Parentage
  • Note that all Nationalities and Religions in this game are purely fictional.
• Torture
• Slavery
  • This will most often be approached through the relationships between the nobility and the peasantry.
• Mind Control
  • Certain elements of this will be present, but things approaching full loss of agency is a theme which is banned.
• Cannibalism
  • As with self-harm, imbibing human blood is an part of alchemy, and thus brings connotations of cannibalism.

The following list of themes will not appear in Firmament. They may not appear in your character's backstory or during the game. The GM team will immediately reject any character concept that involves these themes.

• Sexual assault, sexual coercion or any other form of non-consensual sex
• Sex with minors
• Use of real-world discriminatory slurs
  • Real-world discriminatory slurs do not exist in setting.
• Miscarriage and stillbirth
• Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex
  • Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex does not exist in setting, and never has done.
• Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation e.g. homophobia
  • Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not exist in setting, and never has done.
• Discrimination on the basis of gender identity e.g. transphobia
  • Discrimination on the basis of gender identity does not exist in setting, and never has done.
• Discrimination on the basis of real-world ethnicity or race
  • Discrimination on the basis of real-world ethnicity or race does not exist in setting, and never has done.
• Genital Mutilation
• Forced abortion
• Incest
• Domestic Abuse
• Violence To Children
  • Although violent things may well happen to children outside the focus of the game, we will never treat this directly in Firmament. The GM team requests players follow suit in this regard.
• Unwanted conception

If there is another player in the game that you feel uncomfortable roleplaying with, under Section 4.4 of the CAT Policy anyone has the right to request to be kept apart from another person, as far as is possible. We will do our best to honour such requests, but would like players to note the following:

The game takes place in one room and it is not possible to keep people apart physically. The GMs will do our best to keep people apart in turnsheet actions. We can agree that two people will have a mutual avoidance policy and will do their best to not stray into each others' areas of game. No blame is attributed to either side because of this.

However, due to the format of the game, it may be possible for people to inadvertently interact with similar plots, potentially leading to characters appearing on the same action, or needing to talk to the same NPC, without knowing that the other person is also doing so. When and if this happens, the GMs will try and minimise any interaction, and we expect players to deal with it sensibly, for example, not talking directly to each other in large group conversations.

Anyone who makes such a request about another player or GM should also act to respect that request. Should either party feel for some reason that the request is not being respected, this issue should be raised promptly with a relevant person as per Section 6.1.

If you have any questions about this please contact the GM Team.