Lines we do not cross...
Safety
Briarhollow is an emotionally intense experience where the characters are having a very bad day, have their agency robbed away and can be horrible to each other.
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None of this should be true for the players.Â
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You are never required to stay in a scene that is bad for you as a player. You are never required to justify using a safety tool. You are never required to reveal personal reasons for a limit.
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The baseline for this game is that it is okay to touch other players outside bikini area. All violence should be played slowed down or negotiated beforehand. Yelling, grabbing an arm of another player, holding hands and kisses simulated by putting your palms against each other and kissing the back of your hand are also possible.
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This baseline is opt-out. If some of this is a boundary for you, you need to communicate it. Should you want to go further (for example, actually kiss a coplayer), you need to negotiate it beforehand. Every player is an adult, and is responsible for both their own boundaries and respecting the boundaries of others.
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Escalation should be gradual, so the other person has an option to opt out.Â
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There will be no in- or out of game sex in the game.
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The game includes themes of dubious consent and unhealthy relationships, but sexual violence is not alloved in game. A character may feel entitled to another character. A player is never entitled to another player’s participation.
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Alcohol is not allowed in the workshops or in the game. Moderate drinking is allowed in the afterparty.
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Should the organizers deem you a safety issue or unfit to continue the game, either before or during the game, you will be removed from the game and from the premises. No refund will be issued.
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The words we speak...
Mechanics
The game uses a few keywords:
Off-Game
Anything followed by "Off-Game" is an off-game request by the player, not the character they are portraying. Any boundaries or requests should be respected. This also serves as the primary safety mechanic - if you need anything or are uncomfortable for any reason, this is a tool for you.
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Red
For more serious infarctions, be they dangers or unsafe play, "Red" can also be used.
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Yelling "Red" will stop the game immediately, and the game will not continue until the organizers give a permission. Everyone should stay where they are, barring an obvious emergency that requires immediate attention.
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This can be used for a boundary violation (which does not need to be an intentional one) or a safety issue, suych as a fire or a sharp object.
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The game also uses a safety mechanic:
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Fist over your head
Any time someone is holding a fist over their head, they are off-game. This can be used to have a brief discussion for calibration or safety purposes. Whenever possible you are encouraged to take the discussion to a corner or a side room to avoid disturbing play.
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The game also has a few gameplay mechanics:
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Fae powers
Some of the fae have powers, many of which involve a book or similar. These are described in the character sheets
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Charater death and injury
It is always the recipient of violence who determines what kind of injury their character suffers. No character will die without the player wishing so. Please be courteus and do not cause situations where survival would be implausible if the player should wish - if you decide to decapitate another character, it will be bit weird if their player decides the character survives.
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There is one exception to this - see the following section.
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Dream Sequence
There will be an opportunity for some of the characters to enter a dream. This will be done by a GM narration, and the dream offers the characters only a limited number of choices.
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Entering the dream is voluntary, but should you enter the dream, your character can die without you being able to do anythign about it.
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The nightmares we witness...
Content notes
The game contains a number of heavier elements. You can ask for a topic not to be included in your character, but due to the small and interonnected nature of the game, it is not possible to avoid encountering these elements. If you do not want to encounter these at all, Briarhollow might not be a game for you.
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The game contains at least the following heavy themes:
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- Death
- Abusive relationship
- Parenthood and pregnancy
- Cheating
- Death, murder
- Violence towards children, filicide
- Alcohol abuse
- Human sacrifice
- Slavery
- Memory loss, loss of identity
- Psychiatric illness
Strange wisdom of the ancients...
Other considerations
Due to this being a small game, there is no emotional safety person in this game.
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A short, voluntery debrief will be held after the game.Â
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Due to high emotional intensity, you are strongly encouraged to calibrate with all your contacts beforehand. However, please try not to spoil secrets their character would not know.Â
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You are recommended to keep in touch with your coplayers, especially your bondmate, after the game.Â
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The collective narrative ends when the game ends. After that, everyone is entitled to their own epilogue, their own headcanon of what happens. These need not - and likely will not - be compatible with each other.
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