Code of Conduct

We want Five Oaths to be fun, safe, and welcoming for all of our participants; whether they be players, crew, or members of our event team. This code of conduct is intended to explain what is expected of you and what you can expect from others at our events. All parties involved in Five Oaths should approach each other with the presumption of good faith and good intention first and foremost.

Five Oaths is planned, organised, and run by the Five Oaths Event Team. The Event Team are volunteers who receive no financial or material compensation for their time and effort. The Event Team invites players to participate in the game. Participants are not customers and monies collected from them by the Event Team are managed and processed on their behalf to provide the smooth and sustainable running of the game.

We aim to run a game that can be equally enjoyed by anyone irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender identity, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race (colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We expect event participants to adhere to this code of conduct at all Five Oaths events and event-related social activities.

Tone and Content Policy

Given the nature of our LARP event we expect there to be some IC competition and conflict between players but you should always avoid situations where IC conflict could be confused with OOC discrimination or harassment. To this end, please note:

Our setting does not include gendered roles and we will not accept character backgrounds which require this (No, you can’t be from a mystical island of Krieger Amazons). All roles in our game, IC or OOC, are open to all genders.
Discrimination on the basis of transgender identities (including non-binary identities) does not exist in this setting.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not exist in this setting.
Religion has a strong role in the game and most of the player characters will belong to the national IC religion of the Church of the Shaper. Players are encouraged to debate and criticise aspects of the IC religion and any heresies they run into, however they are asked not to criticise or insult OOC religions while playing our game. Players are also asked to refrain from using symbols associated with OOC religions in game.
There are divisions in the setting between the nine IC Species and a geographical split between the IC Five Realms, as well as some intra-species and intra-realm conflicts (e.g. Brand based prejudice among the Vartach, conflict between highlanders and lowlanders in Baol ), and prejudice against the Weeping. These are all valid targets for conflict or insult.
All of the species apart from the Krieger and Fathach have the same range of skin tones as humans, and this is not a source of conflict or discrimination in-setting.
If another participant declares Non-Contact or uses the “lay off” call or gesture, do not press them for details or make reference to it in character.
Sexual harassment and sexual violence are not themes that can be explored in this game.
Non-consensual or underage sex does not occur in this game in any way shape or form.

Anti-Harassment Policy

Five Oaths LRP is dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for everyone. We do not tolerate harassment of event participants in any form. Event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from events at the discretion of the Event Team.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

Discriminatory comments or behaviour based on some characteristic of a participant (see equality and diversity policy).
Sexual comments, banter, jokes, or innuendo in company that includes people who have indicated that they are not comfortable with that.
Repeatedly standing or sitting too close to or brushing up against a person without their clear consent.
Intrusively staring at or following a person
Touching a person in an intimate or sexual way without their clear consent
Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

In short, do not bully people out of character, continue to hit on other participants after they have indicated that they are not interested, or make sexual comments, or jokes if they’re making someone around you uncomfortable.

Claiming that an action was in character, intended as a joke or “banter”, or done while intoxicated will not make us less likely to consider your behaviour to be harassment.

Tent Policy

You may only enter a tent with the owner’s permission
Owners of tents may give standing permission, either to individuals or more generally (e.g. hanging a sign outside the tent)

Social Media and Electronic Communications Policy

We maintain and moderate the Five Oaths Facebook Page and Player Group. While using these channels (or any other official channels we create), the following rules apply:

We expect that people will interact over our online channels respectfully. Debate is fine, but personal insults are not.
If someone hasn’t clearly indicated that they want constructive criticism on their kit/roleplay/dodgy accent, don’t criticise them. If they have, keep it constructive. Remember, this is a fantasy setting, nothing is “authentic” here.
Threads that in the opinion of the moderators are becoming unhelpful (too heated, going in circles, an all out flame war) will be locked or deleted.
The event team will not give official answers to questions over social media. If you have a question for us, please ask it via email.
We will try to answer your questions as soon as is reasonably practical, but bear in mind that Five Oaths is run by volunteers and this may take some time.

Other Online Spaces

Aside from our official channels there are other online spaces devoted to Five Oaths (e.g. the Player-run Discord) where participants interact. While we do not set the moderation policies for these spaces, harassment, abuse and threats will not be tolerated. Breaches of the anti-harassment policy in these spaces or over private messages will be treated like a breach at an event and will lead to consequences up to and including exclusion from future Five Oaths events.

Generative AI Policy

Art, text, music, or other media created by generative “AI” tools may not be used or displayed at Five Oaths events.

Combat Safety Policy

Participating in field LARP carries an inherent risk, and with the best will in the world injuries do sometimes happen. As a participant it is your responsibility to read the safety rules in the rulebook and follow them to the best of your ability. As an Event Team it is our responsibility to assess risk, ensure adequate referee and first aid cover, and to intervene where we see that a participant is doing something which endangers themselves or someone else.

If a referee becomes aware that a participant is striking too hard or otherwise fighting unsafely, the referee will review the situation and may speak to that participant and ask them to be more careful.
If this does not improve the situation, we may ask the participant to switch weapons or sit out the rest of the combat. Once that combat is resolved they may resume playing as normal.
Further instances in the same weekend may result in the participant being declared Combat Disqualified.
We expect players who have been approached by a referee about unsafe fighting to make an honest attempt to fight more safely and refrain from arguing about whether their blows were appropriate. If a participant believes that a particular referee made an unfair decision, they may speak to a member of the event team after the combat has ended.
If we receive consistent complaints about a particular participant fighting unsafely, the Event Team may impose sanctions. These may include restrictions on using a particular weapon or weapon type pending retraining, permanent restrictions on using a particular weapon or weapon type, or being permanently Combat Disqualified.

Safety Calls

Five Oaths includes a number of calls which are intended to keep participants safe. These include “Man Down”, “Fire”, “Non-Contact” and “Lay off”. Participants are expected to familiarise themselves with the appropriate responses to these calls prior to attending their first event. If you need any clarification with regard to these rules, please ask a member of the Event Team or a referee. Deliberately disregarding these will be treated as serious misconduct by the Event Team.

Cheating

All participants are required to follow the rules of the game. Players must not make public accusations of cheating. If you suspect another player of cheating, bring the matter to a member of the Event Team or a referee.

Banned Items/Substances Policy

Substances which are illegal in the Republic of Ireland are banned from Five Oaths events, both because of the potential health risks and the risk to the livelihood of participants working in professions requiring Garda vetting. If we find that you have brought an illegal substance, we will ask you to leave the site.

As we regularly have participants with serious nut allergies, peanuts and peanut based foods (e.g. nut bars, peanut butter etc.) are banned at all Five Oaths events. We would also ask that care is taken in eating other nuts or products containing other nuts to do so away from common spaces.

Other events may have additional restrictions based on the requirements of the site or participant allergies. If an event you have booked for has these restrictions you will find them listed in the event guide. If you find that you have accidentally brought something other than an illegal substance which should not be on site to an event, please notify the Event Team and we’ll be able to advise you on what to do with the item.

Policy Enforcement

Depending on the severity of the behaviour involved, if a participant is found to be in breach of these policies, they may be given a warning, banned from future events, or in the case of very serious incidents, asked to leave the site immediately.

Event participants that are asked to cease behaviour outside of the code of conduct are expected to comply immediately. The Event Team will keep a record of reported incidents and warnings issued to participants.

The Event Team may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants.

Reporting

If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. The Event Team will be identified in the documentation for each event and on our website. Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the enjoyment of our event for everyone. We want you to be happy at our event. People like you make our event a better place.

You can make a report either personally or anonymously.

Anonymous Report

You can make an anonymous report using this form

We can’t follow up an anonymous report with you directly, but we will fully investigate it and take whatever action is necessary to prevent a recurrence.

Personal Report

You can make a personal report by:

During an event, contacting an Event Team member. If you can’t find one of us, you can ask anyone to point one of us out or help you find one of us.
Outside of an event, contacting the Event Team at the info@fiveoaths.com email address.

When taking a personal report, our Event Team will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other Event Team to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we’ll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we’ll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won’t be asked to confront anyone and we won’t tell anyone who you are.

Our Event Team will be happy to help you contact An Garda Siochána (Irish police), local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance at our events.

In the event that you wish to make a report about someone who is a member of the Event Team, please approach whichever member of the team you are most comfortable with to make your report. We will take any report regarding a member of the team seriously and treat it with discretion.

Five Oaths setting, rules and policies licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0