REPORTING, INVESTIGATIONS & SANCTIONS
HOW TO REPORT MISCONDUCT
Despite best intentions, things can go wrong, necessitating the implementation of clear reporting, investigation, and sanctions pathways.
If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe, please speak to a member of staff immediately.
Reporting Channels
In Person
If you witness or experience any behaviour during a session that violates the Code of Conduct or makes you feel uncomfortable, please report this to your GM in the first instance.
If they are unable to solve the issue, please report it to any onsite staff member of RPG Taverns immediately. The staff member may note down your details for further correspondence or ask you to also report your concern or complaint via email reporting@rpgtaverns.com.
Consequences or rulings implemented by GMs or onsite staff members of RPG Taverns may be appealed to the RPG Taverns disciplinary committee via this email address.
Email
You can also report any concerns or complaints via email at reporting@rpgtaverns.com. A member of staff will respond to you as soon as possible to discuss next steps. Please include as much information as possible to help assist with resolution including (where applicable) the offending party, witnesses, location, date and time, and a summary of the incident. All submissions will be treated confidentially and with the utmost respect.
Anonymous Webform - Click Here to View Form
We understand that in some situations, individuals may be uncomfortable making a complaint via identifying channels. As such, we do provide an anonymous form to report incidents. Making an anonymous report can compromise our ability to fully investigate the incident in question as we cannot seek additional information about the incident, clarify the circumstances or our understanding of the incident, or update you on the progress and outcome of any resulting investigation. As such, we highly recommend that you make your report via email instead.
Mod Tag (Discord only)
To flag inappropriate content on Discord, please tag the post with the ‘@Mods’ tag to bring it to the Discord Moderation team’s attention. To escalate a Discord matter, please email reporting@rpgtaverns.com .
Please note that the ‘Report Message’ function within the Discord UI goes directly to Discord themselves, and not RPG Taverns. We recommend you use either of the RPG Taverns reporting terms above if you’d like to bring any particular post to our attention.
Illegal Behaviour
If potentially illegal behaviour is identified or reported, RPG Taverns will encourage an individual who has alleged the illegal behaviour to contact the authorities if they are comfortable doing so. RPG Taverns will fully comply with any subsequent investigation by law enforcement services.
In addition to this, RPG Taverns will comply with all laws and regulations regarding compulsory reporting obligations to the correct authorities.
Next Steps
After a report or complaint is received, it will be sent to the relevant team for review.
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Reports or complaints relating to the venue, drinks, ticketing, or services will be forwarded to management for review as an operational matter. Management aims to respond to all complaints of this type within one business week.
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Reports related to gameplay rulings or general game feedback will be forwarded to the GM management team for review. This team aims to respond to all complaints of this type within one business week.
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Reports of misconduct related to players, GMs, or staff will be referred to the Conduct Committee for review. The Conduct Committee will decide if further investigation and/or a sanction is required. The decisions of the Conduct Committee are final. The Conduct Committee will comply with all relevant laws and regulations applicable to the report and the individuals involved.
Investigations
Where the Conduct Committee decides an incident warrants an investigation, they will elect an appropriate individual to undertake the investigation.
The selection of an investigator may vary depending on the nature of the complaint received and could include a member of staff or an external party.
All investigations will take place with the utmost respect. We will endeavour to make the investigation itself and any findings as transparent as possible, although this transparency will never be at the expense of the rights and privacy of the individuals involved.
It should be noted that RPG Taverns reserves the right to deny service or otherwise eject a person from the establishment at their sole discretion, regardless of the above investigation process.
Sanctions
When choosing to apply a sanction, the Conduct Committee will issue one of the following sanctions at their discretion.
Caution
For situations where a breach of conduct is considered to be minor or unintentional, a caution may be issued. A caution tells an individual that their actions or behaviour is not in keeping with our behavioural expectations and that they should refrain from repeating it in future. A caution may also be accompanied by an expectation that the individual apologises for their behaviour.
Formal Warning
Where the breach of conduct has been found to be serious or intentional, or where repeated minor breaches occur without sufficient improvement, a formal warning may be issued. A formal warning puts an individual on notice that if they do not alter their behaviour or otherwise continue to breach behavioural or conduct expectations, they will receive a permanent ban.
A formal warning may be accompanied by additional restrictions such as avoiding specific players, player interactions, or gameplay content.
Where a formal warning is issued, the individual will be informed how long the formal warning or restrictions will stay in place, and/or what is required for the warning or restrictions to be lifted.
Ban
Where a breach of conduct has been found to be extreme, where an individual's actions are found to present a significant safety risk to the safety of players, GMs, or staff, or where a formal warning has not been adhered to, a ban may be applied. A ban may also be applied where there is a great reputational risk to RPG Taverns. Banned individuals are forbidden from attending any events or activities run by RPG Taverns and will be removed from the RPG Taverns Discord. Bans are generally seen as permanent unless there is a compelling reason for a ban to be reconsidered.
Staff and
Board Members
Sanctions Involving Staff
Where sanctions are related to staff, we will act in line with our obligations as an employer, employee agreements, our employment policies, and any relevant legislation. This could include disciplinary measures up to and including dismissal.
We expect our staff to comply with the contents of our code of conduct, in addition to any additional expectations required of them as part of their relationship with RPG Taverns.
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Investigations or Sanctions Related to Board Members
As a board, we also hold ourselves to the highest standard of behaviour, including those contained within this document. Where a report of misconduct is related to a board member, it will be referred to the other board members for review. The relatively large size of our board facilitates this process.
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As a board, we pledge to approach complaints about fellow members in a manner that is impartial and free from bias. In the event of a link between two board members that could cause bias, the board members must remove themselves from discussions relating to the complaints process. In these situations, we will aim to be as transparent as possible and will seek to engage the services of a third party or external observer where appropriate.