Discrimination on any real-world basis is unacceptable in Aeon events. This is a broad subject which we would very much like to cover with the phrase “Don’t be a dick”. However, in the interests of making things clear we state the following:

All players pay to participate in events and, as such, all players have the right to feel comfortable and as though they have had fair access to the game’s contents. All Refs and Crew members give their time and effort to making events occur and, as such, the same philosophy must extend to them. Refs will not take kindly to slurs, abuse, or practices that display OOC discriminatory attitudes and will intervene if they witness such a thing occurring.

All players, Refs, and Crew are entitled to ‘escape routes’ in scenarios where they are made to feel uncomfortable or threatened. Discomfort and threat should only be experienced by characters. Refs will provide quiet spaces for players who wish to temporarily remove themselves from the scenario.

Aeon events are horror in genre. As ‘horror’ can encompass a broad range of subjects, players should enter into events aware that games can and will explore mature themes with gory imagery. Based on the responses of players in booking forms, we will endeavour to ensure that players are not exposed to anything which will upset or trigger them OOC. Where we feel this will not be possible in the scenario, we may advise that a player does not participate.

Discrimination on the basis of OOC characteristics or distinctions is unacceptable. Aeon events are designed to be as inclusive as possible, and an individual’s characteristics are inherent to the player and not the character. Aeon will not permit discrimination on the basis the following, inclusive of, but not limited to: race, gender, sexuality, disability, or religious beliefs. It is unacceptable to discriminate on the basis of OOC qualities, traits, or attributes. It is, however, acceptable to discriminate people on the basis of fantastical IC qualities, traits, or attributes providing these do not have any real-life grounding.

Aeon events can take place in any historical period. However, while we do our utmost to ensure that accuracy is maintained in props and costumes, we do not seek to embrace the attitudes or discriminatory practices of the time in games. We will not write events that pretend such prejudices never happened, but we will look to explore how they can be subverted or overcome. When there’s a Shoggoth at the door, it doesn’t matter what gender you present as.

Such attitudes or discriminatory practices may be explored in props (such as diaries), but we will seek to write characters that do not themselves have these attitudes. We seek to find ways to make – for example – male and female (or nonbinary) characters equally literate in the case of medieval events, or equally competent in the use of firearms in the case of ‘Wild West’ events. We seek to never lose sight of the fact that although we will ground our games in real historic periods, we are running fantastical games and the scenario is our own to build.

Organisers will do their utmost to ensure that all players have equal access to plot and situations within an event, however, we may be limited by our venues. Mobility is frequently an issue given the age of the buildings we use. In order to overcome this, we aim to write a balanced group of characters with those players who – for example – may be unable to access certain locations in the venue given other non-location specific key plot clues or experiences to interact with.

The Aeon system is no-contact and this philosophy extends beyond combat. This also extends to respect of players’ personal boundaries which can include touching and acting aggressively in someone’s immediate space (such as shouting or gesticulating in a threatening manner directed towards them).

We respect that it is impossible for players to know the boundaries of others and that it would interrupt the flow of an event if, prior to each circumstance where a boundary may be impacted, one person must ask another if it is all right for them to cross it. In order to mitigate this, we ask that if – for example – a character wishes to confront another character verbally, they opt to do so at a respectful distance which allows the other person to back off or escape the situation. Similarly, rather than bodily grabbing someone, a gentle touch on their shoulder will suffice. It is acceptable for players who are concerned for their personal boundaries to drop out of character and request that others give them space.

Sexual harassment is unacceptable. This extends to inappropriate touching, pressure, or repeated attempts at conversation with someone about sexual subjects which they are not comfortable with.

Should you participate in an event and be made to feel uncomfortable by the actions of another player, you are encouraged to speak to the Refs or Crew. You will never be made to feel as though you are causing trouble, and we will handle any/all complaints confidentially. If, in the instance, you are made to feel uncomfortable by a Ref or Crew member, then please don’t feel as though you cannot speak to a different Ref or Crew member. We aim to learn from events not just in their mechanics and running, but also in how we can make them safe and fun for everyone.