Payment Policy
1) We will be opening Registration for events significantly earlier than previously--likely around the 4-5-weeks-ahead-of-time mark. Registration will run for 1 week, and will then close. Everyone must register if they wish to participate, regardless of whether they have previously purchased a pass or not. Please note that we will be putting a player cap in place. While it is unlikely that the cap will be a bother to anyone, it is extremely important that people register for events. Our is not a First Come, First Served system, so there is no need to camp out when registration is announced, but we sincerely ask that people register in a timely fashion.
2) If paid by Check or Paypal up to 2 weeks before game, events cost $95.00, regardless of payment method. Checks will not be accepted after that date, though Paypal will be accepted up to 1 week before game. Paying for an event between 2 weeks and 1 week ahead of time sets the event price at $100.00. If you would like to pay by check, or if you absolutely cannot come up with funds at least 1 week before game, please send us an e-mail at staff at hellcatjive dot com.
3) If you have paid for an event and later discover you cannot attend, we will issue a full refund of monies received provided we are given notice at least 1 full week before the event in question. If we receive notice within a week of an upcoming event, you will have the option to either apply the funds to the next Hellcat Jive event you can attend, or convert the entrance price into a donation for CP.
4) We are restructuring passes. "Season Passes" will cost the same as, and, with proper registration, allow attendance at 2 events. Season Passes allow access to Callings under the guidelines set out in the rulebook (e.g., only at character creation or at your Free Rebuild after your first full event). "Annual Passes" will cost the same as 4 events, and with proper registration will allow attendance to same. Annual Passes count as Season Passes for the purposes of Callings. If you purchased a Season Pass at the recent role play event (and therefore at a more expensive rate), you count as having an Annual Pass, and you have the option of receiving the difference in cost as a monetary refund or as CP, just e-mail us and let us know what you'd like to do.
5) Regarding upgraded cabins: the cost will remain the same, $20 per person per night (or $40 for the weekend). Part of the registration process will allow people to select whether they would like to spring for upgraded cabins, and if they would, if they consider it more important to be with their team or to be in an upgraded cabin--sometimes teams are divided as to whether they want to try for upgraded accommodations. We'll do our best to make everyone as happy as possible, but we ask that people be understanding of the difficulties involved with coordinating housing for such a large group with so many factors in play.
Code of Conduct
Darksteel Games (DSG) is dedicated to providing a harassment-free LARP experience for everyone, regardless of sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, religion, or nationality.. We do not tolerate harassment of Hellcat Jive participants in any form. Sexually explicit language and imagery is not appropriate for any Hellcat Jive venue, including non-combat events.
This Code of Conduct applies to all Hellcat Jive spaces both offline and on, including our Facebook Page, Google Groups mailing lists for PCs and NPCs, and all in-person events. Some Hellcat Jive spaces may have additional rules in place, which will be made clearly available to participants. Participants are responsible for knowing and abiding by these rules.
Hellcat Jive participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from Hellcat Jive and other DSG events without a refund at the sole discretion of the DSG Staff. The following lists should be considered non-exclusive, but rather representative of our expectations for all participants, whether PC, NPC, or Staff. Any activity not listed below which creates a hostile or unsafe environment may be reported to and acted upon by DSG Staff. Please take note of items which include specific exceptions for In-Game actions; these exceptions are not absolute but are needed given the nature of Hellcat Jive as a combat LARP. Abuse of these exceptions to excuse malicious behavior otherwise disallowed by these rules will be treated as a violation of this Code of Conduct.
Participants are expected to:
- Treat everyone with respect
- Follow all game rules and safety guidelines
- Follow Campsite or other Event Space rules and insurance requirements with regards to alcohol, tobacco, and fire, as well as all other concerns communicated by DSG Staff during Pre-Game Briefing. DSG Events are Alcohol and Recreational Drug Free, Non-Smoking, and No Fires Allowed spaces
- Make use of the provided meta-game mechanics for opting out of content and checking in on other participants as needed to ensure their mental and emotional well-being
- Respect the use of these mechanics by other participants, refraining from pressuring others to interact with content they have bowed out of and backing off from intense roleplay if signaled to do so by the check-in mechanics.
- Refrain from engaging in harassment and other intentionally disruptive behaviors
Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
- Offensive comments related to sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, religion, or nationality.
- Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.
- Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names.
- Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in spaces where they are not appropriate.
- Physical contact and descriptions of physical contact (eg, textual descriptions like “*hug*” or “*backrub*”) without consent or after a request to stop.
- You may: Strike another participant with an approved weapon prop, throwable, or blaster dart.
- All such tools are subject to the approval of Hellcat Jive Staff and must meet the standards for such props defined in the Hellcat Jive Rules [Current Version: Hellcat Jive Alpha Rulebook, “Combat Props”]
- All such combat activities shall be conducted in accordance with the Accelerant Core Rules and any additional rules defined by DSG for Hellcat Jive. Make sure to respect any indicators for non-Combat participants and remain respectful in your combat conduct.
- Threats of violence.
- Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.
- You may: Intimidate or threaten, or incite others to threaten or commit, in-game violence on in-game participants. It should at all times remain clear that all such threats or provocations are In-Game and are being made for In-Game reasons.
- Deliberate intimidation, bullying, stalking, or following.
- You may: Follow or track in-game adversary characters (typically NPCs) as needed for in-character purposes.
- Photography, recording, and/or logging online activity for nefarious purposes.
- Sustained disruption of games, online discussion, or other events
- Unwelcome sexual attention
- Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as making inappropriate requests for/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others
- Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
- Malicious revealing of an individual's personal information (eg, “outing” a person as transgender or queer, or sharing private contact information)
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour.
DSG prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. DSG Staff reserves the right not to act on complaints regarding:
- ‘Reverse’ -isms, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism,’ and ‘cisphobia’
- Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”
- Communicating in a ‘tone’ you don’t find congenial
- Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions
Enforcement
Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, DSG Staff retain the right to take any actions necessary to keep the event safe and inclusive for all participants. This includes warning the offender, or a temporary or permanent ban from Hellcat Jive with no refund of any kind.
DSG Staff may take action to address anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants.
Participants are expected to follow these rules at all Hellcat Jive activities and associated venues.
Reporting
If you are being harassed by a participant of Hellcat Jive, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the Hellcat Jive Staff. If the person who is harassing you is a staff member, they will recuse themselves from handling your incident. We will respond as promptly as we can.
Hellcat Jive Staff can be located at Monster Camp or another designated location during game events, or contacted through email (staff@hellcatjive.com).
This Code of Conduct applies to DSG and Hellcat Jive spaces, but if you are being harassed by a participant in Hellcat Jive outside our spaces, we still want to know about it. We will take all good-faith reports of harassment perpetrated by Hellcat Jive participants, especially Hellcat Jive Staff, seriously. This includes harassment outside our spaces and harassment that took place at any point in time. DSG reserves the right to exclude people from Hellcat Jive based on their past behavior, including behavior outside Hellcat Jive spaces and behavior towards people who are not participants in Hellcat Jive. In particular, if DSG receives report that a Hellcat Jive participant has exhibited problematic behavior at another event in the Accelerant/LARP community, Hellcat Jive Staff will speak to the staff of the event and the individual in question as needed to understand the incident(s) and take appropriate action based on the policies outlined here.
We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of harassment. We will not name harassment victims without their explicit consent. At our discretion, we may publicly name a person about whom we’ve received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them, if we believe that doing so will increase the safety of Hellcat Jive participants or the general public.
You can report harassment by:
- Contacting a staff member in person, one of whom will always be available in Monster Camp or some other location designated by Staff at Pre-Game Briefing.
- Emailing staff@hellcatjive.com which will be continuously monitored throughout all events and is routinely checked between events.
When taking a harassment report in person, our Staff will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other Staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we'll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we'll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you.
Reports submitted by email will not be shared outside of Hellcat Jive Staff without your explicit consent and then only to the extent necessary to complete our review process. You are welcome to include on CC anyone you wish to have support you in the process. We will conduct any follow-up email conversations as respectfully as possible and at no time will you be asked or required to speak about your report in person.
No matter how you submit your report, you will never be asked to confront anyone directly, and we won't tell anyone who you are without your explicit consent. Our team will be happy to help you contact local law enforcement or local support services as you may request.
Quick Resources:
Staff Email: Staff@hellcatjive.com
[Local law enforcement]
Dublin, NH Police:
(603) 563-8411
[Local sexual assault hotline]
NH State Sexual Assault Hotline:
1-800-277-5570
Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention:
1-888-511-6287 (crisis line)
603-352-3782 (Keene office)
12 Court Street, Keene, NH 03431-3402
[Local emergency and non-emergency medical (e.g., urgent care, day clinic)]
Local Urgent Care:
ConvenientMD Urgent Care Keene
(603) 499-7484
351 Winchester St, Keene, NH 03431
Local Emergency Care:
Cheshire Medical Center (Dartmouth-Hitchcock)
(603) 354-5400
580-590 Court St, Keene, NH 03431
Staff Members
Jacob
Jacob is the founder and owner of Darksteel Games. The creator and lead GM of Lost Eidolons and Occam's Razor, Jacob believes that easy wins aren't satisfying, that Clark Ashton Smith is the true (unappreciated) master of cosmic horror, and that a strong and supportive community that fosters the safety and dignity of all members is a vital component of any game worth its salt.
Apparently he resides with a swamp demon, a non-euclidean cat, and a rare crested batpig.
Katie
A swamp demon in a human suit, Katie spends most of her time with her nose buried in books and her head in the clouds. She loves video games, good scotch, and fine cheeses. When she is not striving to use the lens of communal storytelling to explore the many facets of human emotion, you may likely find her composing inappropriate poetry, or engaging in musical shenanigans.
Katie lives with a many-toed feline, a batpig, and her amazing partner, The Eldritch Horror, in an apartment full of her crafting catastrophes (or as she prefers to call them "works in progress”).
Deeg
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Skye
Something something robots.
(Supplementary Notation Provided by Fellow Staff: Skye is an incredibly talented crafter and routinely makes award-winning weapons and armor. Skye staffed Occam’s Razor, and is the owner and driving force behind Stellar Front. He once “won larping” when he ran an encounter involving kaiju. Note that that is a direct quote from a player with decades of larping experience, not something Skye would ever say.)
Vespa
Still a Larping newb in many ways, staff member Vespa is excited and nervous for her first time as part of a game staff. Coming from a background of theater and cosplay, Vespa feels she's found a fit in the Larping community and is looking forward to seeing what she can bring to the table in Hellcat.
Viar
Totally-real-human and not-at-all-robot Michael is coming to you live in the skies, broadcasting from a secret bunker just outside conventional reality and bringing you shenanigans, flight plans, toggle switches, and improbably impromptu incidents of inimitable intrigue.
Junior Staff Members
Kyia
Kyia is the backbone of this family dammit!
Derrick
Did you know the American Cockroach can run almost 4mph? that's 50 body lengths per second which the equivalent of a human being able to move 210 mph (ShortRootByFun$
Now let's talk about wasps next.....
The Jackal
The Jackal grinned at his client.
A sliver of moon shone cold and pitiless high overhead. Downslope, mountains loomed. The poor lighting left the Scree a confusing jumble of dark colors, black and blues so deep as to make little difference. Outcroppings, boulders, and shards of stone mixed chaotically with the desert sands, and the omnipresent craters--left by artillery fire or archaeological diggings--did nothing to improve the footing. Such obstacles did provide decent cover, though.
Another spray of machine gun fire tore through the night and ricocheted off a nearby rock formation. The Jackal’s client--a man in a fine Aldish suit--let out a small whimper as he tried to somehow become one with the sand and stone upon which he lay.
“Relax,” the Jackal’s grin never faltered. “They are much too far away to shoot accurately with their machine guns. You will be fine. Tell me—” and here the Jackal’s grin did slip a few degrees, and his eyes narrowed slightly, “who are the tailors who have made you such a nice suit?”
The man on the ground stared, slack jawed and goggle eyed. “H-h-hutchins and G-Grear,” he stammered.
“Ah! An excellent house, by all accounts. My suit,” the Jackal opened and closed one of his jaegerpanzer’s heavy, armored fists, “is not so nice, maybe. It is from Foster Heavy Industries.”
Another burst of machine gun fire struck the rocks around them.
“W-w-would you like to trade?”
The Jackal laughed, long and loud.
“No, no. We are not the same size. But perhaps!” The mercenary held up a finger, “Perhaps when we are done here, and your masters at Fury-Baker pay me my guide fees, perhaps then I shall get my own suit from Hutchins and Grear.”
The servos in the Jackal’s armor whined, whisper quiet, as he turned to face the direction of the incoming fire. Machine guns chattered in the distance, and the Jackal’s client yelped again.
The Jackal, however, stopped smiling.
“Feh. Muzzle flash. Downright amateurish.” The mercenary reached up to the radio rig on his armor. “Probably one of the Burning Suns. Takes all the fun out of it.” He keyed the radio channel open. “This is Jackal for Rainmaker. Over.”
“Rainmaker here. Over.” a woman’s voice crackled from the speaker.
“Would you be so kind as to give Lawrence his presents?”
“Wilco,” came the reply.
The Jackal’s grin returned.
Somewhere upslope another jaegernaut braced herself into firing position. A full rack of shoulder mounted rockets screamed into the sky, and the rolling thunder of their detonations rumbled across the desert for miles. A second, superfluous barrage followed some moments later.
“She is nothing if not thorough,” said the Jackal. “So. All is done now. You may stand without fear of impending death. From your Loreardan competitors, anyway.”
The client fearfully took his feet. When no gunfire was forthcoming, he relaxed slightly and surveyed the blasted landscape.
“It’s amazing to think anything of value is found in all this...rubble. Though I’ll admit, I thought the ruins would be more impressive.”
The Jackal laughed again.
“Oh, nothing to be found here. At least not anymore. This is just the Scree. Down there,” the mercenary pointed downslope, into the crevasse.
“What, near the mountains?”
“Those are not mountains, my friend. Those are ziggurats. That is the Dead City. Come, let us make good time while it is still dark.”
The Jackal grinned at his client.
