Common sense! Always use common sense and never do anything dangerous: nobody must get hurt. Try to play along and accept verbal and physical interactions, even if deep or negative, with the other participants, including things like: transporting an injured person, shoving, grabbing o simulating a brawl, hugging, caressing, holding your loved one by hand. Use extreme caution and regard when playing deep, physical or potentially embarrassing scenes.

If during the game something happens that you find too unpleasant or intrusive, you may (and must!) use the safeword “Lay off!”: it’s a code word that everyone knows and indicates to the other player to avoid being too realistic, leave you space, lower the intensity of the scene, mind not to hurt you. There’s nothing wrong in using “Lay off”, and you must obey promptly if anyone uses it with you: everyone has their own sensibility and judging meter and you must blindly respect them.

More often, it may happen that one of the players is too prudent or shy and, in order not to annoy the other players, plays a scene in a too abstract, soft, or unrealistic way. In these cases you may use the safeword “Is that all?”: it indicates to the other player that, if they want, they can go a little heavier, play the scene more authentically or physically, increase the intensity. Nobody has to obey: “Is that all” is a request, an advice, never an order.
See also “Downstairs’ safewords”, further on.

Some characters are labelled as Hardcore in the teaser, that implies that the player agrees to play strong, deep and particular scenes, that other might find unpleasant or embarrassing, but never and in any case obscene, illegal or dangerous.
Let’s take a few concrete examples, considering that these examples will be deliberately extreme and we expect that every hardcore character will be involved in one, or at most two of these kind of scenes:

- being captured by some bad guys and stay tied to a tree into the dark woods for half an hour
- staying shirtless in front of everyone while another player will apply makeup to you, probably staining your pants (for example, a medic with fake blood, an occultist with mystic runes or the like; for a woman, read “bare back”.)
- foretelling the future by watching the way a cockroach crawls on your arm
- being locked up in the dungeon, chained into an unpleasant position for a while
- practicing or undergoing a sort of dance of the seven veils with rubs, not integral but realistic enough to, likely, “upset” the interested ones

Sex and intimacy scenes must be played with responsibility and complicity between participants. Obey and use safewords if necessary, and try to keep the scene a serene experience for everyone.

Sex and intimacy scenes are, within the limits of decency, realistically represented. The most driven actions are simulated, by miming them in a softer key. Players will use conventions to avoid too hardcore things, and will use safewords to regulate the abstraction and likelihood of an intimate scene. During the workshop, before the game, we’ll do some explanations and practical trials, in order to make everyone comfortable with this mechanic. Generally speaking:
● Holding hands, caressing hair or face while whispering words of love, hugging and the like: all of these actions may be played normally.
● A kiss on the cheek, or a light kiss on the lips “represents” a passionate kiss.
● Never touch, genitals, breasts, butt, or the inner thigh both for men and women. Caressing and touching in these parts of the body will be replaced by touching shoulders, the back of the head, hips etc.
● A hug with caresses on the back and insisted kisses on the cheek and sighs will “represent” a driven petting.
● Removal or unfastening in a suggestive way one or more clothes will “represent” an intercourse. It’s not a striptease but an effective and conventional gesture, to be used with common sense. For example: she takes his hat off and his jacket, and unfastens his tie. Or: he loosens the first buttons of her blouse; or partially lifts her skirt. We do not recommend to make things like putting the partner at 90° and miming to take her through clothes: it’s ridiculous and embarrassing.
Rather, in addition to the convention of undressing the partner, the players will make appropriate moans, hugs, lying side by side, sitting hugged or similar for about a minute. ● Immediately after the ecstasy (if any), the lovers should play a scene together, that is a bitter goodbye, an exchange of tenderness, a vow of love, the client that pays the prostitute.

It is expected that you will use safewords when necessary. It must be easy, if one so wishes, to play a rather abstract sex scene, like a kiss on the cheek, a hug with a few lines, the two that talk after.
Symbolically undressing the partner from one of his clothes is also a code: if during the game you see people doing that, it means that your character caught them while "fornicating".

If what follows seems obvious to you: that’s great!

Hiding & Searching

Since we expect that no player will touch “forbidden” parts of body like breasts or butt while searching someone else, it’s also absolutely forbidden to hide game objects in such areas. Game objects must be strictly carried into your pockets, handbag, suitcase and the like.
More in general: hiding an object is very easy, finding it is much difficult. However, in a larp secrets only make sense if they can be discovered; only when discovered an hidden object can be interesting for the game. If you hide something, try to do it with the perspective that it could be found by another player. Do not try too hard to hide something, otherwise nobody will find it and it will be useless for the larp.

Respect of property of others

If your character steals, for example, the jacket or the pipe of another player, you’ll find yourself with a costume or a scene object belonging to another player, or to the Staff. In these case always remember to have the utmost respect for the property of others and of all scene objects, and to use them with particular attention. Common sense obliges not to lose neither to ruin costumes and props from other players and to avoid that someone thinks to have been “really” robbed.

Tying, Blindfolding, Carrying

Like many other potentially dangerous or unpleasant actions, these are regulated by the safewords “Lay Off!” or “Is that all?”. Anyway, however masochistic the "victim" player is, you must not, in any case perform objectively dangerous or unpleasant actions (like carrying someone behind down a steep flight of stairs, tying someone with their wrists behind the back, climbing a tree...).

Getting drunk

There will be alcoholic beverages at the event, but be careful to drink responsibly, like if you have to drive or if you were at dinner with your in-laws. If you notice you’re tipsy, avoid any situation with physical contact. If the organizers notice you’re drunk, they will send you to clear your mind out of game, for a couple of hours or till the next day.

Prisoners & Torture

If, for some reason, you take someone prisoner, always follow these directions:
● Do not tie anyone with their hands behind the back or around their neck, and avoid tight knots. If you blindfold someone, you’re responsible that he won’t crash somewhere or fall in a ditch.
● Do not leave the prisoner alone, unless you’re preparing an escape scene (in which you, as a player, decide that your character is “letting the prisoner escape”): playing by yourself is boring. Make sure the prisoner receives water and food.
● If prisony is becoming boring, or is lasting for more than an hour, the prisoner and the jailer should find a credible and dramatically appropriate way to end the scene and carry on with the story. If you have doubts, search for a Scullion and talk to the Staff.

Lights, Torches, Candles

In the fiction, at the Mansion there’s no electric light, since it will start to spread a few years later.
Many chandeliers will be used in game and disguised to represent oil or gas lamps. All electric lights will be then managed by the Staff; players won’t have to turn on or off the lights during the game.
Candles and lanterns will be represented by... actual candles and lanterns, that the characters will use and carry freely, with a few directions:
● To avoid making a mess, candles cannot be removed from their lanterns, chandeliers etc.
● Free flames (like chandeliers, but not lanterns) must not be left unattended in interiors.
● Braziers, torches and "Roman pans" (earthenware dishes with lemongrass candles), will be set up in the exteriors of the Mansion and must NEVER be brought in.
● It’s up to Downstairs characters to replace and restart worn candles. If possible, use another candle to start one; if that’s impossible try to hide the lighter from sight.

For those who play a Downstairs character, part of the game will be actually working to serve others; that’s part of the game experience of Keystone.
In practice, Servants assist their Master and focus on the most striking sides of being a Servant.
They elegantly set the table for the gentlemen, pour them a drink, rearrange out of place cushions, rinse used glasses. And they do it with elegance.
In a sense, the Servants, discreet, trustworthy and ubiquitous, don’t exist in the eyes of the Lords and Ladies. For example, Lords will discuss private matters without caring their presence. It will be taken for granted that Servants are there and that they’re not a menace. Lords shouldn’t order the Servants out every time they talk about something important, but rather keep talking with nonchalance, and ask the Servant to fill the glasses.
Servants will be asked to help the Staff washing (really) the dishes: someone has to do it, and the Servants have a discounted ticket just for that reason.
Needless to say that the Servants’ assignments are just a part of their game, and that they will have all the time and ways to play other kinds of games, from romance to investigations and plots.

Downstairs' Safewords

Servants have a couple more particular safewords available:

“Reginald will do it, Milord”. This sentence means something like “Dear Upstairs player, you can do this thing by yourself, I’m playing a Servant but I won’t wash your feet.” Note that Reginald doesn’t exist.
“I have to call the Scullions, Milord”. This sentence means “I have to ask the Staff if I can fulfill your request, I’m not sure whether it is allowed/possible to light a bonfire on the lawn, cook a lamb or the like”.

If you need any kind of assistance, or if you are just bored and in need of some guidance, feel free to talk to the “HOST”, an organizer who is there for you.
You will always find the HOST on the first floor of the Villa. You can recognise him/her by the yellow rose pinned on the dress. Like the Scullions, (s)he is not a real character; but unlike them, the HOST is there only to support you and help you both with in-game and off-game matters. The HOST is available for any questions, clarifications and explanations, it's the contact person in case of emergency, and for a friendly talk. Also, if you feel like taking some time-out, the HOST will escort you to an off-game zone.
If you need to talk with the Staff during the game, look for the HOST, and talk to him/her discreetly. If you see any other characters already talking with the HOST, don't eavesdrop: they are talking about off-game matters.