There will be 6 sessions on Tuesdays Weeks 1-6 of Trinity term, from 7 pm to 10 pm. There will also be a Character Creation on Thursday Week 0, which is optional, but might be helpful if you want us to answer any questions you might have about the game. The sessions in Weeks 1-6 will be Uptimes; this is when role-playing actually happens. Finally, there will be a Debrief on Tuesday Week 7, which is when all the secrets are revealed and all the beans are spilled.

During Uptimes you will be live-action roleplaying your character in real time. What this means is that, for the most part, everything that you act out is something that your character is actually doing – that could be chatting, dancing or planning your next trip.

The flavour of roleplaying used in Society Games is non-physical – it includes no combat. Other forms of physical contact (such as holding hands) may occur, but you must ask for OC consent before doing so.

Each Uptime starts with a short introduction, during which the GMs will remind everyone about welfare and safety calls. They will also ask the players to introduce their OC names and pronouns, as well as their IC pronouns and names. Finally, the GMs will put the game in motion and begin the roleplaying part of the Uptime.

Your characters will start the Uptime in the Haven, spending most of their time there. However, they may also choose to embark on an Expedition.

GM calls are a phrase that has some kind of effect on the game. Here is a list of the calls:

• Time In: Used by the GMs to announce that roleplaying can begin or be resumed, either at the beginning of the session or after a Time Freeze.
• Time Freeze: Used by the GMs to pause roleplaying to let them announce something, such as an event happening.
• Time Out: Used by the GMs to announce that the Uptime is over and that it is time to drop out of character.

Pointing upwards with the index and middle fingers, the OC Gesture is used by players to show that they are temporarily dropping out of character. This may be to ask a question OC, to pass through the playing space unimpeded, or even to laugh at a joke that your character wouldn't find funny. When someone is doing this, it may also indicate that their character is not there.

Making a T with two hands, the Interact Gesture is used by the players to ask the GMs to interact with an environment (e.g. observe the walls of a cave) or embark on a journey. If there is no GM nearby, but a few GMs are not busy, feel free to stretch your hands up in the air with the Gesture to ask for one to come over. This Gesture is also used by the GMs to interrupt the player or describe something that is happening in the world around them. Think of this as a brief Time Freeze just for the few players who are talking to the GM. For example, the Interact Gesture might be used if the GM decides that a creature gets really hungry and attacks the players. A player might use the Interact Gesture to ask for a GM to inscribe something onto the walls of the Haven, to embark on an Expedition or to pet a creature they found outside.

Additionally, there are a number of calls that can be used at any point to act as formalised ways to remove yourself from situations involving uncomfortable topics.

You needn't use these if you prefer to simply talk any issues out using the OC Gesture, but these provide an agreed upon system to help navigate the sensitive topics that can arise during RP. These calls should be followed with no questions asked.

Here is a list of these safety calls:

• Down: This call is used when you are okay with the current interaction continuing but need the intensity of the situation to be decreased.
• Out: This call can be used to simply remove yourself from a conversation if you are uncomfortable. Your character is simply no longer there and you can remove yourself while the conversation continues.
• Stop: This call is used when a conversation that your character is in makes you uncomfortable OC and you want it to stop completely. When this call is made, the current topic of the conversation will be dropped and moved on from.

Staying true to the player characters being the first of their kind, the GMs will not usually play recurring NPCs. Instead, GMs will take the role of narrators, describing the environment, and guiding groups of players on journeys into the world beyond. GM-player interactions in Ex Nihilo will take three main forms:

• Expeditions, which are GM-led explorations outside the Haven.
• Visions, which are interactions set inside a character's head.
• Other incidental narration, including environmental descriptions.

In an Expedition, characters venture outside of the safety of the Haven and encounter what the world has to offer. This is done by forming a group of up to 4 players, finding a GM and telling them that you wish to start an Expedition. The GM will then lead you through the world, describing locations that appear within the environment. When entering a new point of note on the Expedition, the GM will describe what you see and hear around you, allowing you to interact with things or ask questions about what you can see by acting them out or using the Interact Gesture. Be warned though – the dangers might be the ones to find you if you spend too long away from the safety of the Haven.

During an Expedition, characters may acquire Resource Tokens. OC, these are small pieces of paper, representing valuable objects or items in the character's possession. These will typically be used for items that are unique to specific locations, limited in supply, or otherwise rare. Items that are abundant or easy to find (such as rocks) will not be represented by Resource Tokens: you can simply use the Interact Gesture and ask to look around for these when you need them.

Characters, depending on their choice of Core, may also experience Visions. These are interactions set inside the character's head: while you may move around and talk during these, your character is typically immobile. Visions may include premonitions, mysterious voices, or other strange phenomena.

GMs will also provide other incidental narration when necessary. This can happen spontaneously: a GM might come over and tell you the rocks in the ceiling of the Haven shifted slightly, or that your character feels compelled to act in a certain way (depending on your agency Quirks). This can also be player-driven: if you want to know what the floor of the Haven looks like, then find a GM and use the Interact Gesture to ask.

Between these GM-player interactions, players are encouraged to get their characters to discuss their experiences with each other. For this species, everything is new. Every facet of the world, every strange voice in their head is a part of the mystery of their existence. How do they respond? How do they feel about it? What are they going to do next?

While there may be obstacles and puzzles out in the world, Ex Nihilo is not a game about rushing through these as quickly as possible. Characters have almost no life experience and are unlikely to approach these challenges in optimal or efficient ways. Sometimes it can make for a more engaging gameplay experience to fail – it provides opportunities to develop characterisation, and gives characters things to discuss with each other. This is not a sprint to the end; it's an exploration of life, awakened into a strange world.