Even during a good game, there are always a few speed bumps. Last game we ran into two that will require some new site rules to address.
First, spectators (i.e., people who are at the event but have not signed a waiver, have not gone through orientation, and are not playing) will no longer be allowed to participate in boffer combat on site, not even playful sparring. One spectator was seriously injured last event; another was abusing Dragon's Den weapons and engaging in combat without being in play. Unfortunately, this applies to children on site, as well. It's a serious liability for the game to have people doing this without signing a waiver or going through safety training, and it's a blow to immersion when unstatted spectators try to be part of the action, so it'll have to stop.
Second, out-of-play goods may no longer be stored in the tavern. It produces clutter that kills immersion and creates extra work during clean-up on Sunday. Only in-play goods (e.g., armor, weapons, treasure, drinks, etc.) can be stored in the tavern from now on; anything else must be stored in your cabin during play. Unfortunately, this also means that players will no longer be permitted to bunk in the tavern.
Just so everyone knows, we're not fond of cracking down on things like this. We'd rather everyone come and have fun without having to worry about it. Based on the feedback we've received, though, you guys want more immersion, and these were the biggest complaints surrounding it. Hopefully these new rules will do the trick. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments below.
I'm not plot. But I'm pretty sure food is considered either acceptable, or an in-game item. ^_^ You're more than welcome to take meals while behaving in character.
I think by out of game items they mean things like, clothing, toiletries, bedding, electronics, and the like.
Food needs to be stored in the kitchen area in the tavern, thats fine, and its also an out of play area. I'm pretty certain what he means is all the random junk that got left out on the tables all weekend. Its starting to make a crazy mess that we really should be keeping clean. A few people mentioned that when it came to meal times that they were having a problem just sitting down and finding a clean table to eat on because of all the junk that was left everywhere.
The tavern is a common area that we all spend quite a bit of time in. We should all be considerate of others and keep as much of our gear out of there as possible and clean up after ourselves as often as possible. Personally, I try to stow as much of my gear out of the way as possible, keeping all my plot related things either in the dragons den (fridge area) or in the plot cabin. Plot has a lot of stuff that we jump in and out of, and I'm as guilty as anyone else about leaving things in the common areas. However, if we can make sure to clean up after ourselves, and have everything thats not related to check-in or costumes that are to be worn on Friday night out of the tavern, it should be much easier to keep track of things and the tavern should stay much cleaner over the course of the event.
This is really more of a courtesy request than anything else.
Evan, these are site rules because they pertain to the site where the game is held (i.e., Umstead State Park).
Alex, Jenn is correct, and the ruling pertains more specifically to the tavern proper than the kitchen. Feel free to store your food in the back. Just keep the dining area clear so we can all enjoy it.
I think these are more than reasonable requests. Is it alright if we play with our own children with our own weapons out of play? If we need to sign a waiver for them we certainly don't mind.