Safety

We wish Tenebrae to be a safe and secure environment for all participants, whether they are STs, NPCs, or players. We are also required by law and by our insurers to put steps in place to avoid or mitigate risk. To balance this with our desire to support immersion, we are applying the following safety policies. These will be kept under review and may be updated at any point.

Medical Emergency

  • If any participant experiences or witnesses a medical situation, they should decide whether or not it is an emergency. If they consider it might be, they can announce a “Time Freeze”.

  • Once a participant has decided whether or not a situation might require a time freeze, they should locate the nearest ST and notify them of the situation.

  • Safety takes priority over immersion, so under these circumstances participants may interrupt an ST even if they are currently NPCing.

  • The ST team will not criticise someone for calling a Time Freeze or highlighting an issue where it later proves not to have been necessary.

Potential Hazards

  • If a participant spots a potential hazard, they should decide whether or not it poses an immediate threat of injury. If they consider there is an immediate risk of injury, they can announce a “Time Freeze” then find the nearest ST and notify them of the situation.

  • If they do not consider there is immediate risk of injury, they should find an ST and notify them of the situation.

  • Safety takes priority over immersion, so under these circumstances participants may interrupt an ST even if they are currently NPCing.

  • The ST team will not criticise someone for calling a Time Freeze or highlighting an issue where it later proves not to have been necessary.

Weapon Props

  • Participants are not allowed to bring weapons with a sharp edge into the game area. This includes sharp weapons that are in a sheath.

  • Blunt weapons/props are permitted. However, where they can be sheathed, they must be sheathed and secured into the sheath in some way (e.g. peace cord).

  • Participants are not allowed to bring arrows into the game area, even if they are LARP safe.

  • Participants must not brandish or wave props and must maintain an awareness of their surroundings (including behind them) when carrying a weapon prop.

  • Where a specific exception to the no-contact rule is agreed (see below) any weapon props used during that interaction must be fully LARP safe.

  • The STs decision on whether a weapon is permitted in the play area or on whether it is LARP safe is final.

Acting Out Fights

  • Tenebrae is a non-contact LARP so combat results will always be determined using tests with an ST adjudging whether or not another character/point is within reach. Therefore the usual expectation is that participants will not wield their props.

  • In limited circumstances (for example, a duelling contest that forms a key part of the session IC), the STs may agree that participants can act out the combat. The STs may choose not to permit this even if acting out similar combats has been allowed in the past. Even if an ST agrees a combat could be acted out, it will not be acted out unless every participant gives consent.

  • Where a combat will be acted out, the participants involved will meet with an ST to undertake the tests to determine the results and to agree the choreography of the simulated fight. This ST can withdraw permission for the combat to be acted out at any time if they are not utterly satisfied it will be safe for all involved.

  • A single ST will take on the role of supervising ST for the duration of acting out. They will have full discretion to end the acting out at any point if they have any concerns.

  • Participants may not bring any non-LARP safe weapons into the area of an acted-out combat, even if they are not wielded. Where time and availability permit, the supervising ST will arrange a temporary LARP-safe stand-in prop if a participant does not possess one.

  • Participants may not throw weapons while acting out a fight even if using LARP-safe throwing props.

  • When a combat is being acted out, all non-participants will remain at least 1 metre back from the area in which it takes place.

  • If a non-participant wishes to involve themselves in a combat that is being acted out (for example, interrupting a duel) they must clearly announce “Time Freeze. Interrupt”. The acting out of the fight will immediately end, the supervising ST will inform the current participants of their condition based on how far through the combat they were when interrupted, and the combat resume as a standard combat from that point on.

Decorations

  • Only members of the ST team and those they have specifically authorised to put up or take down decorations may do so.

  • If a participant wishes to provide their own decorations (for example, the session is held in the court where they hold praxis), then they must approach the STs to ask whether those decorations can be put up. The STs have complete discretion to decide whether they can be put up and by whom.