Plot Team is a collection of staff members who generate stories, scenarios, and activities for PCs to engage with at game. We are happy to run great events for and with our players. We prioritize creative and collaborative storytelling between members of the community and wish to ensure fun, interesting, and dynamic plots that bring out the best roleplaying in everyone.
We prefer that all communication with Plot Team be made either through email (plot@cotvlarp.com) or by asking questions on the #plot-questions channel on the Discord server. This is to help us both organize responses and keep information available for all team members.
On rare occasions, a team member may reach out to you through DM for a clarification. On the player side, please refrain from DMing a member of Plot Team regarding plot unless it is to ask a quick question. If you would like to DM someone on Plot, please first ask on the #plot-questions channel and tag either the entire team or the specific member.
If you have a conversation with a member of Plot Team in person about something you’re involved in IG, either during an event or between events, please send a follow up email to Plot Team so that the discussion can be recorded and remembered.
Plot Team and all members of staff are volunteers and everyone must prioritize their real life before a LARP. We ask for your patience, understanding, and help to make sure that no unreasonable expectations are placed on the team.
Hearing back from Plot Team may take time but will rarely take more than a month. We will communicate with you or the greater community when there are delays. This is the best way that we can support the wellbeing of the team.
We ask that all interactions with our team, both collectively and individually, be carried out with respect and thoughtfulness for everyone involved.
Plot always wants to prioritize collaborating with players to tell their stories. The goal is always creativity, support, and understanding. To reinforce this, we make the below promises to and requests from the players at Call of the Void events.
Plot: Anyone can participate in a plot. No matter how long a plot has gone on or who is already involved, we believe that everyone can engage. Storylines may be complementary to certain characters, backgrounds, factions, skills, or groups, but any players interested are welcome to have their characters interact. No plot should be monopolized by one character or group. If you feel shut out, please speak to Plot Team. In the event that your response from Plot Team is sub-ideal or something you don't understand, please reach out to Game Runners to help bridge the communication gap.
Players: Please encourage others to join your stories and the plots that go out. Including others and sharing participation is always encouraged. If you are involved in a plot, always consider bringing more people into the dynamic.
Plot: No player will be forced or overly facilitated to interact with a plot, except the overarching plot of the game. If a player chooses not to interact with the plots offered, they miss out on affecting said plots. Plot lines will continue to move forward as they are interacted with by other characters. We are unable to hold off on a plotline at a player’s request and cannot wait for a player to decide whether or not they want to be involved.
Players: Please engage with the plots that go into game as much as you can. Involve your character with your own agency if you wish for your character to participate. We put your level of interaction with plot in your hands. If you feel like you aren’t experiencing or engaging enough, please ask for assistance from other players or bring it up to Plot Team so that we can help.
Plot: Plot Team will always strive to assume that players want to interact in a positive way. Creating an interesting and overall fun environment for all players is always our goal. We want to reinforce that this game is about characters working through the hardships or complications of the game, not players working against Plot Team or vice versa. Doing our best when working with players and improving along the way is our goal.
Players: Assume the best in each other and assume positive intentions from Plot Team. If there is discomfort or concern, please assume that this is a misunderstanding. We encourage you to talk to Plot Team as soon as possible so that we can help resolve the issue.
Plot: As a horror LARP, many of the plots will be dark, difficult, or be tied to loss. We will strive to keep successes as successes, but they may factor in differently as the world continues to evolve. Additionally, while some characters pursue one thing, other characters may pursue the opposite with just as much determination. Plot cannot always guarantee a win, just as they cannot guarantee a loss.
Players: One of the best pieces of advice we can offer is that ‘playing to win’ is often not as engaging as ‘playing to lose.’ While there is a lot of glory in winning at something, playing true to a character when they lose a situation can be just as rewarding and significant to the story. And, additionally, ‘playing to lift’ is key to fun for everyone. Lift each other up, support each other’s stories, and share the limelight of the plots that are created.
Plot: If we cross a line, we will always try to fix it. Horror games bring a lot of complex themes to stories and there will be discomfort. But we endeavor to never make a player feel unsafe, even if their character may be. Any crossed line will be fixed as soon as time allows. We will update the trigger warnings to cover as much as possible before each game to reinforce this. We will also always abide by and uphold the policies of this game, including Disallowed Roleplay as detailed in the rulebook.
Players: If you are concerned about a boundary being crossed, OOG safety, or a violation of the game policies, please talk to Plot Team as soon as possible.
Plot: We will always try to make the lore of the game as accessible and clear as possible. Certain parts of the lore may only be accessible through developing story or plotlines in game space, but we can clarify certain topics if requested. There may be times we cannot share certain information, but there is a great deal of information that your character can unlock through playing and talking with PCs or NPCs.
Players: Please read as much of the player-facing lore as possible before game. This will help in adjusting how you play and make it easier to acclimate to the setting. When you submit a character backstory, be as detailed as possible so that we are aware of anything of importance to your character. If you have questions about the lore on the website, please contact Lore Team. If you have questions about the lore as the game progresses, please let Plot Team know.
In addition to downtimes, there are a number of reasons to reach out to Plot Team. We are very active on the Discord and welcome any questions and appreciate the emails we receive. When in doubt, always reach out to us through commenting in the #plot-questions channel in the Discord or emailing us for anything regarding our team. Below is guidance on two specific situations that we request email specifically for.
There will be a form after every game to collect player feedback. If you are not comfortable leaving feedback in the form, or have feedback specifically for Plot Team, please email them directly. Your email may be shared with other staff members if necessary to address your feedback.
Please be aware of LARP Drop (the emotional and physical drop that takes place after events) and Bleed (when a player's feelings and thoughts are influenced out of character by character experience, or a character is influenced by out of game player experience) when sending feedback. Sometimes after an event it can seem like Plot singled out your character, contradicted your character’s goals, or even punished your character in some way. It can be hard to appreciate that this was not our intent. We ask that you understand that Plot Team never means to make a player feel unwelcome or unappreciated at our game. If you feel you are unable to write to us with this understanding, please reach out to a fellow PC or a member of staff you feel comfortable with to address these feelings.
After each game, Plot takes a week off from responding to emails to recuperate from the prior game, as does the rest of staff. We also strongly suggest waiting for at least a week after game before sending emails to Plot Team to help mitigate both LARP Drop and Bleed. If your feedback cannot wait, please be prepared to wait for a response.
If you were part of a plot that does not fully make sense to you as a player, you can always ask for clarification. Clarification may be given only to the extent of what your character has learned up to that point. There is a balance Plot Team wishes to uphold between remaining accessible and maintaining the narrative. If emailing for this reason, please detail what parts of the plot (including NPCs) you have interacted with at game and clearly state your question(s).
Additionally, requests for explanations of OOG details, such as policies and decisions, are always welcome.