Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy

We as the Ex Nihilo GM team wish for the game to be an enjoyable and memorable experience for all players involved. The following page concerns various sensitive themes and topics and how we intend to handle them, and advises a sensitive approach for players on dealing with these same themes within the Society Game.

The Conduct and Acceptable Themes Policy, also known as the CAT Policy, is the method by which we set out what themes we expect will or may come up in play, providing players with full knowledge of what themes to expect and how they will be handled. As an official ORPGSoc game, Ex Nihilo is subject to the ORPGSoc CAT Policy, and it is essential that players familiarise themselves with this policy before playing for awareness of what themes are allowed and disallowed. This page in some cases reiterates this, and in some cases adds more specific restrictions and clarifications that apply to Ex Nihilo. Regardless of the CAT Policy, all players and GMs should treat each other with respect. If someone else asks out of character that you stop roleplaying a particular theme or topic around them, for any or no reason, respect their boundaries and stop.

We aim to create an environment in which all players can feel safe and comfortable. Whilst we use the following policy as a guideline in how themes in our game will appear and be handled, the policy should not always be taken literally and attempting to reason to the wording instead of the spirit of the policy will not be tolerated.

Many of the themes presented here and in this game are complicated and nuanced. If you have any questions about our explanations or presentation of certain themes, please feel free to contact the GMs.

If you feel the CAT policy has been breached, you can reach out to any member of the GM team. If you have a concern about a particular GM, you can reach out to the head GM, Harry W, via Email. Any such issues will be handled with the specific case in mind and we will do our best to account for the safety and comfort of all players. If you have a concern about the head GM, please contact the Society President, Ben O-R, either on Discord or through Email.

All Ex Nihilo players must be 16 years or older to play. Most players will be between the ages of 18 and 30. If you are under 18 years of age, you must disclose this to the GM team for safeguarding reasons. While Ex Nihilo characters have only just come into being and lack knowledge of the world around them, they should behave equivalently to adults in the real world. This means demonstrating emotional intelligence and capacity for reasoning, and being capable of understanding the consequences of their actions.

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.

Society Games have certain safety calls that players must familiarise themselves with and respect in-session.

Due to the nature of Roleplaying Games, it is necessary to maintain a strong divide between In-Character (IC) and Out-of-Character (OC) issues. This is generally referred to as the OC/IC divide, and means that all arguments, tension, or other in-character feelings should not spill into the real world. Similarly, OC feelings should not be brought IC. For more information, see the Tips for Role-Playing in Ex Nihilo page.

These themes are allowed within the game and are likely to occur, typically as aspects of the setting or plot.

• Extreme violence
  • Characters may die in quick and violent ways, but gore will not be described.
  • Direct violence is expected between PCs and creatures in the world. Player characters are allowed to take actions that contravene each other or put others into dangerous situations but are not allowed to engage in physical conflict directly.
• Childbirth
  • Depiction or description of childbirth is prohibited, but discussions surrounding childbirth (the origin of the PC species and their inability to reproduce) may occur.
• Consensual sexual activity
  • As with childbirth, depiction or description is prohibited, but discussions surrounding reproduction may occur.
• Discrimination on the basis of fictional religion or faith
  • PCs may hold contrasting faiths and beliefs which may conflict. Depictions of real-world religions are prohibited.
• Cannibalism
  • The effect of the Ravenous Core may lead to cannibalistic acts, but only with the OC consent of all involved characters. Because of the physiology of the PCs, gore will not occur.
• Mind control or other means of removing agency
  • All PCs are likely to experience altered perceptions, with their senses not necessarily reflecting objective reality, and experiencing visions of uncertain truth. This does not compel the player or character to act a certain way.
  • Direct loss of agency is strictly opt-in through Quirks and Cores. Where relevant, a GM will give instructions to the player to make their character act in a certain way, which will typically be because of the character's Core. When asked to do something in this way, if you have concerns or there are specific things you do not want to do for OC reasons, you can inform the GM of this and it will be treated (IC) as if it did not happen.
• Animal abuse
  • Animals may be harmed. This will not happen in a gratuitous or graphic way.
• Genocide
  • Species-level extinction of the PCs will be an external threat in the game, but PCs are not permitted to enact (or capable of enacting) genocide.
• Suicide and self-harm as anything but an expression of emotional distress, e.g. self-sacrifice
  • This may occur in different circumstances, one of which is a result of the Dedicated Core.
• Indiscriminate violence

Effects in Ex Nihilo may resemble aspects of the following themes in the real world. For example, the Manifold Core may resemble multiple personality disorder. However, Ex Nihilo is not a game about exploring these real-world conditions. Using these themes as a direct analogy (i.e. comparing the concept in Ex Nihilo with the real-world resemblance to offer commentary or explanation on the real-world phenomenon) is prohibited:

• Mental illness
  • Several Cores have effects which resemble real-world mental health conditions (e.g. schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder).
• Physical disability
  • Some Cores (notably the Infested Core) may resemble physical disabilities. Characters will not receive any injuries that leave them disabled.
• Discrimination on the basis of physical disability, mental health condition, or neurodivergence
  • Characters may be ostracised or distrusted due to actions and beliefs that may occur as a result of their Core, which may resemble the above.
• Degenerative diseases or cancer
  • The Infested Core will result in a progressively altered being, which may resemble a degenerative disease. Real-world diseases will not be depicted.
• Chronic illness
  • Most Cores have permanent effects, which may be seen as negative.
• Dieting
  • Situations resembling dieting will only occur as a response to the Ravenous Core, as characters by default don't need food.
• Eating disorders
  • The effect of the Ravenous Core may resemble real-world eating disorders.

These themes are allowed within the game, but there are no GM plans to introduce them.

• Gambling
• Homelessness
• Terrorism in all its forms, including state terrorism
  • Reference of real-world political goals is prohibited.
• Drug and alcohol addiction

These themes are not allowed within the game, and discussion of them in spaces surrounding the game should be avoided or given suitable content warnings.

• 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
• Use of real-world discriminatory slurs
• Suicide and self-harm for reasons of emotional distress
• Extreme gore
  • The Infested Core will not be explicitly gory, but will involve body horror.
• Miscarriage and stillbirth
• Medical malpractice
• Discrimination on the basis of gender or sex
• Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation e.g. homophobia
• Discrimination on the basis of gender identity e.g. transphobia
• Discrimination on the basis of real-world ethnicity or race
• Discrimination on the basis of real-world nationality, religion or faith
• Forced abortion
• Incest
• Torture
  • Characters may experience repeated emotional distress or suffering, but torture (using pain or abuse to coerce or punish) is prohibited.
• Slavery or human trafficking
• Emotional/physical abuse, e.g. domestic abuse or bullying
• Genital mutilation
• Child abuse
• Eugenics
  • Characters may believe that they are artificially and intentionally created. Implementation or suggestion of eugenics is prohibited.
• Genocide denial
• Real-world current figures and events
• Real-world historical figures and events
• Other real-world biases and discrimination not covered within Appendix B
• Pregnancy