Conduct and Themes

While Emporium is a game centred on mystery and exploration, we are keen to ensure that players have an OC (out of character) understanding of the themes that may occur in game and those that are unacceptable within Emporium. To ensure that everyone feels OC safe and comfortable when playing the game, and to comply to our obligations as an official Oxford University Role Playing Game Society game, Emporium has a Conduct & Themes Policy, which is designed to inform you of acceptable conduct when playing the game, as well as potentially sensitive themes that may occur.

All society games, and hence Emporium, must at minimum adhere to the society's Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy, and it is expected that all players and GMs will be familiar with this policy when playing Emporium. This page details our expansion of these rules and clarifications of what they mean in the context of Emporium. When in and out of character, all players and GMs are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful manner toward all other players and GMs and in accordance with the Society's Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy, as well as the University policies mentioned within it.

We ask that above all, players and GMs uphold a supportive and respectful environment where participants can feel comfortable discussing sensitive themes both in and out of character. The spirit of the policy is always more authoritative than the exact wording, and so legalistic attempts to defend breaches of acceptable behaviour will be interpreted as being in bad faith and will not be accepted.

You must be 16 or over to take part in the game. Anyone under the age of 18 submitting a character form to Emporium is required to declare the fact that they are a minor in their application so that GMs are able to safeguard them appropriately.

It is important to have someone's consent before writing fanfic or making artwork involving their character or NPC. If you wish to draw artwork or write fanfic featuring another character or NPC, please ask the character's player or the relevant GM whether they would be alright with that, and you should give them a heads up as to the type of artwork or fanfic that you plan on creating. If they say they're not okay with it, you must respect their decision.

Given that this is a Discord game with no video element, photographs of the players will not be requested by GMs and will not be taken during sessions.

A list of OC safety calls that may be used during Emporium can be found here. You can use these to make requests for other participants to adjust their behaviour and/or the themes they are roleplaying if you feel uncomfortable at any point during the game, and these requests must be respected. If you have concerns about behaviour during the game that you do not wish to raise publicly, please do contact the GM team and we will do our best to help.

You may request not to roleplay with another player or GM before or at any point during the game, and we will do our best to ensure that you come into contact with that person as little as possible. You may ask us to inform that person of your request or you may keep your request confidential, though keeping the request confidential will prevent us from asking that person not to roleplay with you during the course of the game.

If another player makes you uncomfortable, please bring the matter to the GM team via email, which will be seen by all GMs. If a GM makes you uncomfortable and you wish to discuss it confidentially, then please contact the head GM Sophia via this address. If the head GM makes you uncomfortable then concerns should be raised with the Society President, whose contact details can be found here.

This section deals with potentially upsetting themes which may be present in the game. If you wish to play Emporium but have concerns about one of these themes, please get in touch to talk about your concerns or for any questions you may have.

It is expected that these subjects are treated in an appropriate manner and within the constraints listed here. Please keep in mind that these subjects should always be handled sensitively due to the potential real-life experiences of other players or GMs, and that any themes which require the explicit OC consent of another player are not introduced without this consent.

• Bullying or (non-sexual) harassment
  • Harassment in a sexual context is absolutely forbidden.
  • Mild forms of bullying or (non-sexual) harassment may occur. Players should be very careful to consider whether their character's behaviour could be considered either of these and must check in with the other player or the relevant GM before initiating or escalating that sort of behaviour. In particular, this applies to 'playground bullying', which involves exploiting an imbalance of power to exclude, demean or humiliate someone - often in front of a complicit group and sustained over time.
  • Open hostility, petty revenge and other forms of social PvP do not necessarily require checking in with the other player or GM beforehand, though it is important to be aware that these forms of roleplaying can be distressing - if in doubt, always ask!

• Cannibalism
  • Cannibalism is not a theme that this game sets out to explore.
  • While sapient, non-human entities may be able to consume one another, cannibalism in humans will not occur.
  • Please see our policy on extreme gore.

• Chronic/degenerative disease and cancer
  • Analogues to chronic/degenerative diseases and cancer may occur in this game.
  • We ask players to bear in mind the real-world experience other players and GMs may have with chronic/degenerative diseases and cancer, and handle any in-game analogues sensitively.

• Consensual sexual activity
  • What is sex for non-human ethereal and unknowable entities?
    • Analogues to sexual activity may exist, but we encourage interested players to define their own forms of intimacy between beings.
    • Everyone involved must understand both OC and IC that it is a sex act, and must consent to this happening both OC and IC.
  • All consensual sexual activity should be veiled (i.e. off-screen or through a “fade to black”) - as GMs, we don't particularly want to read about this in turnsheets or emails!

• Death
  • While entities in Emporium are functionally immortal, it may be possible for them to be killed or ejected from the game under some circumstances, such as if a player takes the Mortal or Death is Real Quirks. In such an event we will strive to ensure that they have a satisfying ending. We will inform a player if their character has died or become unplayable.

• Discrimination on the basis of nationality, religion or faith.
  • No real-world nationalities or religions exist in the game.
  • While entities in Emporium may be worshipped by other beings or possess godlike powers, nothing in this setting is an intentional parallel to any real-world religion, and we ask players to avoid drawing such parallels in play.
  • Distinct organisations/factions/homeplane origins do exist, and conflict between these organisations may occur.

• Drug or alcohol addiction
  • The store in-game will not be pushing addictive substances on customers, and addiction is not a theme this game is setting out to explore.
  • However, while entities in Emporium cannot become addicted to drugs or alcohol, analogues to real-world addiction may occur, and must be handled sensitively.

• Eating disorders
  • Eating disorders in response to emotional distress are a forbidden theme.
  • Entities which require a specific or unusual food source, or experience severe hunger will occur in game.
    • Any parallels to real-world eating disorders must be handled sensitively.
  • The in-game store will not be selling any weight-loss or diet products and calorie counting is not a concept that is relevant to the entities in Emporium.

• Extreme gore
  • Any descriptions of gore will have appropriate content warnings attached.
  • Players who have taken the Horror playstyle Quirk may encounter extreme gore in-game.
  • Best efforts will be made not to include anything more than moderate gore (e.g. non-explicit descriptions of a battle scene) where unsuspecting players may come across it

• Extreme violence
  • This may occur, however portrayals will not be graphic.

• Gambling and gambling addiction
  • Gambling exists in this setting, but is not a theme this game sets out to explore.
  • Addiction to gambling falls under the theme of mental illness.

• Genocide
  • Genocide - acts of mass killing, deprivation, or other forms of violence committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, religious, cultural, linguistic, or other similar groups - will not appear in this game.
  • Given the nature of the game, and the fact that many characters are spiritual/theological entities, a number of similar but distinct phenomena may occur.
  • Apocalyptic violence and the destruction of a universe is a theme that may be discussed sensitively in game, and may appear in backstory and post-game eternity writeup. Apocalyptic violence with the intent to destroy or exterminate a population within that universe, in whole or in part, is considered genocidal, and something that we don’t want to appear in game.
  • Generic, sapient threats to all sentient beings (or large subgroups thereof) may exist but these threats will not be based on any forms of discrimination listed elsewhere in the policy (see Indiscriminate Violence).
  • The displacement (or threatened displacement) of sapient communities within the Store will be a feature; we will address this with sensitivity.
  • Real-world genocidal events should not be referenced.

• Homelessness and refugees
  • The following may occur in-game:
    • Entities whose home planes have been destroyed or otherwise compromised, and who may be unable to return.
    • Entities who have been deposed from their former position or function in their home plane, and may be unable or unwilling to return.
    • Entities who have forgotten where their home is, and may be searching for a new place to call home.
    • Entities who are living inside the store without official permission to do so.

• Indiscriminate violence
  • This may occur, however portrayals will not be graphic.

• Mental Illness and Physical Disability
  • Physical forms and ability vary tremendously among entities in Emporium, and not all characters will necessarily be equally physically abled.
    • As in-game entities are distinctly non-human, most real-world forms of disability will not make sense for player characters to have. However, analogues to real-world physical disabilities or mental health conditions may occur, and it is crucial that these are handled sensitively, especially if the player may be portraying characteristics analogous to a real-world condition they have no experience with.
  • Many of your fellow players and GMs have experience with disability; be considerate and think about whether what you’re doing may upset them.
  • No real-world slurs may be used. Discrimination and exclusion of other players or GMs on the basis of real-world disabilities are wholly unacceptable.

• Mind control or other means of removing agency.
  • Mind/body control will occur as a theme.
  • Player characters can only be mind/body controlled with explicit OC consent.
    • Please see the Mindbender Quirk for more detail.
  • Mind control for sexual activity, even with OC consent, is a forbidden theme.

• Pregnancy
  • While it may be (theoretically) possible for some entities to become pregnant, this is not something we want to explore in this game.
  • Entities' offspring may be alluded to but pregnancy should not be discussed in detail, and we ask players not to portray analogues to pregnancy in-game.

• Romantic obsession or romantic stalking
  • Stalking and harassment in a sexual context is absolutely forbidden.
  • Non-sexual, non-romantic forms of stalking, such as an assassin stalking their mark, are permitted.

• Self-harm
  • Self-harm as a response to emotional distress is forbidden.
  • Destructive modification of one's mind or body may occur for reasons other than emotional distress.
    • Examples include the removal of a body part or the erasing of a memory.
    • Such acts may cause emotional distress - of course, we ask players to handle this theme with sensitivity.

• Slavery or human (/sentient being) trafficking
  • We do not intend for slavery to be a theme of the game. Employees who have signed contracts with Emporium are not considered property and, while there may be consequences, are able to quit at any time.
  • It should also be noted:
    • “Souls” are a recognised form of currency in-game.
    • Souls are inanimate and do not have the capacity for consciousness, though the incarnation of a soul is a requirement for consciousness in living beings.
    • After incarnation in a body, souls are no longer valid as currency.
    • See this page for further in-character details.
  • The in-game store forbids the selling of sentient beings, and we ask players not to attempt to do so.

• Suicide or suicide attempts
  • Suicide as a sign of emotional distress is forbidden.
  • Self-sacrifice for reasons other than emotional distress may occur.

• Terrorism in all its forms, including state terrorism
  • This game does feature themes of violence by powerful actors against infrastructure and individuals, in order to enforce a socioeconomic status quo or bring about change, in line with historic use of violence and coercion in labour relations.
  • Violence by organised criminal networks below the level of terroristic violence may appear in this game.
  • This will be handled with extreme care, and it will be easily avoided by players.

• Torture
  • Torture may occur but will not be described in detail.
  • The torture of a player character by an NPC or another player character requires OC consent from both parties.

The character creation process for Emporium involves disclosing any phobias players may have so as to ensure that these will not be visible to them in-game. Themes of horror will be present in-game for players who have chosen the Horror playstyle Quirk, but as GMs we are very keen to avoid such content where other players may accidentally come across it, and ask players to use content warnings attached to spoiler text in Discord channels when discussing content which may be upsetting to other players.

If you think of any further phobias or themes that make you uncomfortable that you have not disclosed during character creation, please feel free to let us know at any time so that we can make sure you avoid them to the best of our ability - for example, by avoiding these themes in excursions or turnsheet responses that you receive, and by moderating discussion of these themes by other players.

The following themes will not be present in Emporium. They must not be portrayed, mentioned or alluded to by players or GMs at any point during the game.

Please note that the first four themes should be given extra consideration due to their severity.

• Sexual assault, sexual coercion or any other form of non-consensual sexual activity

• Sexual activity with those lacking the capacity to consent (e.g. children)

• Sexual harassment or sexual stalking

• Use of real-world discriminatory slurs

• Animal abuse
  • While animals may be killed for reasons such as self-defence, we will not write about the suffering of animals and ask players to do the same.
  • While the in-game store may sell animal products, it is understood that no animals were abused in the making thereof, and no live animals are sold at Emporium or kept there for commercial purposes.

• Child abuse
  • Child abuse is a forbidden theme in this game.
  • There is no single common ageing process for the beings of Emporium, however, all characters (PC and NPC) should have a capacity for decision-making equivalent to that of the average human adult.
  • Intentionally childlike appearances, mannerisms and speech patterns will not be permitted, regardless of the character's psychological age.

• Discrimination on the basis of ability, physical disability or mental health condition (e.g. ableism)
  • Discrimination on this basis is not a theme this game sets out to explore.

• Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex (e.g. sexism)
  • Discrimination on this basis is a forbidden theme.

• Discrimination on the basis of gender identity (e.g. transphobia)
  • As above, this will not occur as a theme in the game.
  • Transphobia is a forbidden theme, as is discrimination based on perceived discrepancies between physical and psychological features.

• Discrimination on the basis of real-world ethnicity or race (e.g. racism)
  • Player characters in this game are not human and do not represent real-world ethnicities and races, which do not appear in this game.
  • While Entities do take forms with different capabilities, and Entities in turn have different capabilities and positions in power relations relative to inhabitants of their Homeplanes, these are not analogous to ethnic or racial identities, and discrimination on the grounds of Entity type will not occur in this game.
  • Discrimination on the basis of race, or characteristics analogous to race, is a forbidden theme.

• Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (e.g. homophobia)
  • Discrimination on this basis is a forbidden theme.

• Discrimination on the basis of real-world biases not otherwise covered in this policy
  • Other forms of discrimination, such as those based on age, name or language, either do not occur or do not make sense within the game.
  • We ask players to be aware of real-world conditions that may influence how others play the game, including difficulties reading, spelling, and interpreting tone from written conversation. It is not acceptable to exclude or discriminate against others based on these OC characteristics.

• Domestic abuse
  • Familial disputes may occur.
  • Unhealthy family dynamics may exist in-game, but these will not be described in detail.
  • Prolonged attempts to cause harm or distress in a family setting are a forbidden theme.

• Eugenics
  • While Entities may be able to create life in Emporium, we do not wish to see eugenics or analogues thereof explored in this game.

• Forced abortion
  • Forced abortion is a forbidden theme in this game. See our policy on pregnancy.

• Genital mutilation
  • Genital mutilation is a forbidden theme in this game.

• Genocide denial
  • Genocide denial is a forbidden theme in this game.

• Incest
  • While entities in Emporium are unlikely to have explicitly familial relations, incest and relationships analogous to incest are a forbidden theme in this game.

• Miscarriage and stillbirth
  • Miscarriage and stillbirth are forbidden themes in this game. See also our policy on pregnancy.

• Non-consensual feeding (e.g. during hunger strikes)
  • Non-consensual feeding is a forbidden theme in this game.

• Real-world current figures and events
  • Real-world figures and events will not be present in this game.
  • We aim to handle anything that could reflect current real-world events with appropriate sensitivity.

• Real-world historical figures and events
  • While the use of OC terminology that references historical figures (e.g. Potemkin AI) is unavoidable, this should be treated as an abstraction. We do not intend for any real-world historical figures or events to exist in this game and ask players to avoid making references to these wherever possible.