As members of a supportive and inclusive community, we wish to create a game where a myriad of people can play and feel welcomed. This may include needing to sleep in a cabin with easily accessible outlets, sleeping Out Of Game, or other such concerns. We will handle all accommodations requested on a case by case basis. To discuss the possibility of certain accommodations, please email the Game Runners at gamerunners@cotvlarp.com.
Service animal allowance will vary by site. At sites where service animals are allowed, we allow service animals as defined by Title II and Title III of the ADA. Our game does not allow pets, companion animals, emotional support animals, therapy animals, comfort animals, and service-animals-in-training as they are not considered service animals according to the ADA.
In accordance with the ADA, the player may be asked if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.
Please familiarize yourself with policies and frequently asked questions regarding service animals at the ADA website.
We request that any ADA service animals brought to game be able to handle loud noises, crowds of people, and simulated conflict. This is for the safety of our players as well as the animals.
Please email Logistics to give notice if you will be bringing a service animal to game: logistics@cotvlarp.com
As part of our policy to accommodate our players, those who need to can sleep OOG. To sleep OOG, the player must wear an orange headband on their head as they sleep or other clearly identifying feature approved by staff. Please clearly indicate this so as to make it obvious to other players that you are OOG. It is your responsibility to establish where your character is while you are sleeping OOG. As with our other accommodations, this is to be used in rare cases so that those with needs can have them met. This should not be abused and especially not in any way be used to avoid IG consequences for character actions.
Call of the Void is offering a specific cabin every game for those with medical needs. This cabin will have as many amenities as possible to support those in need of particular necessities for their health. While we cannot promise that every site we use will have the same amenities, we would like to support our players to the best of our abilities. To reserve a bunk in the cabin specific to this purpose, you must email Logistics at least 48 hours before game. If you explicitly require someone for your medical treatment and care, you may request also to have them join you. However, those directly with medical needs will always be prioritized. If you would like a "plus one" to join you in this cabin, you may also request it from Logistics, but you must make it clear that this person is not required for your medical care. This "plus one" will only be added to this cabin if those in direct need of these accommodations do not take up the entirety of the cabin's capacity. No one may be added to this cabin without express permission from Logistics team.
This is a system of predetermined consent developed to designate which comfort levels our players have with physical roleplaying.
If you would like to use this system, make yourself one of three differently colored bands, either Red, Yellow, or Green. The color of this band indicates to players and staff your comfort level with physical role-play. This band should be worn around the upper arm, over any garb you wear. You decide what your comfort level is at the start of game, and may exchange your band at any time as long as you have another band on hand. The differently colored bands of our three-color system have the following meanings:
Red - Do not touch me - I do not accept physical roleplay except for combat and touches on the shoulder or arm for touch powers. For our Non-Combat Policy, please see the rules below.
Yellow - Please follow the “Do you accept physical roleplay?” rules of negotiation before initializing any physical role-play except for combat and touches on the shoulder or arm for touch powers.
Green - I am comfortable with normal physical roleplay*. For anything outside of that, please still ask for my consent through the “Do you accept physical roleplay?” rules of negotiation. This does not mean I am comfortable with all forms of physical roleplaying or heavier full-contact.
*Normal Physical Roleplay is defined as: touching arms from shoulder to hand, touching the back, touching legs from below the knee to foot. Please note that during combat, normal physical roleplay allows a player to be hit with appropriate weapons or ammo everywhere but the head, groin, feet, or hands.
If a player chooses to not wear an armband visibly, they are considered to be of the Yellow comfort level, indicating their consent must be asked for before any physical roleplay may take place. Players are responsible for confirming that their band is visible to others.
You must always ask for consent where dictated in the rules above. If someone communicates to you that you’re playing too rough or that they are uncomfortable with your physical roleplay, adjust your roleplay immediately. If you do not, you will no longer be welcome at game.
We believe in the agency of our players. We want them to have a fun, exciting, and adrenaline-filled game. In extreme circumstances, something may arise that will affect a player negatively. We allow at such a time for a player to leave the scene. The following is to be used in extreme cases of severe player discomfort, such as a PTSD episode, and should not in any way be used to avoid escaping IG consequences for character actions.
If a scene between players causes a player (not the character) to be made severely uncomfortable, the player has a right to go Out of Game and ask the other player(s) to stop, to rework the scene, or to address what is making them uncomfortable. The scene does not continue until all players are in agreement.
If an agreement cannot be reached between these players, staff may be contacted to diffuse and arbitrate the situation. If a player has to be consistently taken OOG to dial back their role playing due to causing discomfort in other players, there may be consequences.
A flub occurs when a player fails to properly deliver an ability to attack. Failing to clearly indicate the attack’s target when necessary or clearly say the call for an ability results in a flub. In the case of a flub, the cost of the ability or effect is still spent, but the ability or effect is not successful. However, if the wording isn’t right but the effect or ability is still obvious enough to be understood, the effect or ability is still successful.
Combat shall not be initiated on main paths. Combat shall also not take place in places where it will block access to or egress from buildings. NPCs will adhere to this guidance, and players are expected to assist by paying attention to where they are initiating combat. In the event that combat begins or spills into one of these two places, any player may call a “HOLD” in order to relocate combat out of these places.
We have created a policy for players who cannot physically engage in combat for safety or personal reasons. In this way, a non-combatant character can still participate in the dangers of the game without physical danger to the player themselves or others.
All players who wish to identify themselves as non-combatants must wear an orange sash. Wearing this sash marks that they have opted out of the physical contact involved with in-game combat. The sash should be worn across the body of the player and must be visible at all times. Reflective tape is highly recommended for added distinction during the night- if the sash cannot be seen, then players cannot effectively follow this policy. Note that wearing the orange sash opts the Player out of being struck physically in combat situations. Their character can still take damage, suffer conditions, and be killed by the dangers that abound at Call of the Void.
For non-combatants, Call of the Void utilizes the “point-and-click” method of combat. Those targeting Non-Combatants will follow the steps below, as will Non-Combatants who attack those who are not wearing a Non-Combatant sash. Attack calls using these rules can be made no more frequently than once every three seconds.
An attacker with a melee weapon, brawl boffers, or claw boffers must maintain a 10 foot distance from their target (no closer and no farther)
An attacker with a ranged weapon or packet of any kind must maintain a 15 foot distance from their target (no closer and no farther)
The attacker must point their weapon or packet at the target, not touching them with it in any way.
The attacker will call their attacks as “Strike: [Damage and/or Effect Call]!” for weapons or “Packet: [Damage and/or Effect Call]!” for packet attacks. They may name or describe their target at the end of the call in the event that there is uncertainty regarding who is being targeted by the attack. (e.g., “Strike 2, you in the big hat!”)
The target will take the damage and/or Effect exactly as if they had been struck by the attack’s standard delivery mechanism
When the 10- or 15-foot range of Point-and-Click combat has been established, neither participant may attempt to close the distance for any reason other than the physical safety of the players involved (e.g., to step toward another player in order to get away from a bench or pit that could be tripped over). Players are encouraged to call a “HOLD” in order to cleanly establish these ranges as needed.
The 10- or 15-foot range of Point-and-Click combat is established at the time that a weapon or packet is drawn and brandished to explicitly begin combat. Players attempting to use Touch effects are not required to announce their intentions and establish a Point-and-Click range. If a Non-Combatant player believes that they are under threat from such an effect, they may draw and brandish a weapon to defend themselves. This initiates the need to establish the 10- or 15-foot Point-and-Click range, which must happen before further combat can be pursued.
Attack calls are only valid at within the mandated distance, and this distance does not pass through physical objects (e.g., if a Non-Combatant can be seen through a glass window, or is barely visible through the gap in a wooden wall, this does not allow an attacker to affect them with a packet effect as it could not pass through the barrier under ordinary circumstances).
Any party involved in Point-and-Click Combat may decide to flee the situation. Participants in Point-and-Click Combat should not move faster than a brisk walk in order to escape or to pursue. If all Non-Combatants flee from an engagement, leaving only those who have not designated themselves Non-Combatants, then the players involved may call a “HOLD” in order to reset the battlefield in keeping with relative positions now that no Point-and-Click ranges must be maintained.
All players are required to respect the designation of Non-Combatants. If you are a Non-Combatant and are physically struck by a weapon or packet, you may call a “HOLD” in order to make clear to the attacking player that you are a Non-Combatant. During this hold you will then establish the Point-and-Click distance in keeping with the rules above.
Please see the Three-Color System for more information on rules regarding physical roleplay.
Last Updated: April 2022