#safety tools

[legendaryvermin]

So my home ttrpg group is between longform games right now, and I have been planning to bring a bunch of games to them this weekend as options for what we might play next. However, I have been trying to figure out how to talk about the games in a way that doesn't rely as much on me explaining the vibes to them.

I know that people have a bunch of qualitative categories for how they explain games, but I find the idea of saying things like Dark Fantasy OSR, or Lesbian Goofball PBTA less helpful when talking about how games actually play, especially when two games in the same category are like, wildly different in the way they use their frameworks.

So I invented a 6 axis, 1 to 5 star rating scale for TTRPGs that you are free to borrow when talking to groups, or whatever.

TTRPG 5 Star Rating Matrix

Width

What is the scope of this game? Is it narrowly about one thing or does it encompass many types of play? (Credit to friend of the blog @ostermad-blog for this one, they came up with it from my draft)

Weight

How much cognitive load does the player need to bear? Do rules often need to be referenced verbatim? Can those rules fit on a handout?

Wargame

Is the player expected to apply tactical acumen? Is movement tracked tightly or loosely? Does a bad build punish a player?

Writers Room

How much are players expected to make narrative choices and drive the story without the rules scaffolding them? Does this game fall apart without excellent improvisational storytellers?

(Prep)Work

Does this game require a lot of pre-planning by the facilitator? Are there intricate systems to attend to outside of table play? Can I put in the same amount of time as other players and still have everyone leave happy? 

Whimsy

Expected tone of the game. Does this game have difficult thematic elements baked in? Is the core subject or role in the game high or low risk?

Here are some games I know well and how I calibrated them:

I have breakdowns of what each star rating means below the cut if you're curious. Happy Gaming!

Width

⭐ - As written, the game has basically one mode of play, or one thematic core that it meditates on. May have phases, but textural difference is minimal.

⭐⭐ - As written, there are at least two modes of play, but the scope of that play is highly thematically focused or highly dependent on using the game’s own lore. Might have only one kind of character (e.g. Mech Pilot) that it supports. Has limited tools outside of the primary mode of play.

⭐⭐⭐ - Has a variety of modes of play, but may be rigid in their execution. Might encompass multiple kinds of characters (e.g. Doctor, Lawyer, fighter) or character options. The narratives that this game tells within its setting are narrowed, a three word description tells you what kind of stories it can tell with consistency.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Loose framework, but with some kind of thematic grounding. Describing the framework in 3 words doesn’t tell you the kind of stories that the game tells (e.g. Dark Fantasy, Star Wars Romp). 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- As written, this game is designed in such a way that it doesn’t put specific limits on what sorts of stories that it is meant to tell. It might ask players to define abilities or stats for themselves. The Facilitator is going to pitch a thematic grounding on top of the rules set.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Dialect, Honey Heist Five Star Examples: Fate Core, Savage Worlds, GURPS

Weight

⭐ - It is reasonable for a player to be able to recite the rules from memory. The game may be prompt based, or driven by a flow of rules that are read aloud as played.

⭐⭐ - Players can hold most of the most important information about the game in their heads, with a page or less of rules reference needed to play smoothly. This reference could all fit neatly on the character sheet if one is present.

⭐⭐⭐ - Everything a player needs to know about the game is visible on less than 3 sheets of reference. Players are more or less expected to know exactly how their own abilities work in precise detail, and are unlikely to make a mistake in executing them.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Players make extensive use of multiple reference sheets to keep rules moving smoothly. No external tools are needed, but players memorizing the details of all of their abilities is taxing. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Players and facilitators will prefer to make extensive use of external tools or reference to keep play moving smoothly. Expecting a player to have the exact details of their abilities memorized is not reasonable.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Stewpot, Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands Five Star Examples: Dungeons and Dragons 3-5e, Lancer, Edge of the Empire

Wargame

⭐ - As written, this game does not treat combat as mechanically different from any other aspect of play, or does not include narrative violence at all.

⭐⭐ - While players may engage in combat, it is minimally different from regular play. There may be tools or abilities for players to use to conduct a fight, but the texture of those fights is thematic, not mechanical. Narrative and consequence drive the action, not hit points.

⭐⭐⭐ - As written, combat has its own set of rules. This game may have some elements of buildcrafting, but either it is difficult to build something that doesn’t work, or the player may meaningfully invest in other modes of play and still find a commensurate level of satisfaction. If combat occurs, spacing is kept in mind, but is tracked in relative terms (range bands) or highly simplified (zone based combat).

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This game has buildcrafting that is somewhat mandatory if players wish to survive a fight, but there is still a meaningful choice in choosing a non-combat role. It may use a grid or a spacing system to help players visualize the combat. Fights are driven by mechanics, not by narrative.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- To enjoy this game, players must spend time buildcrafting. If a player’s build is suboptimal, there may be significant parts of the intended experience that will either feel tedious, or that the player will not have meaningful access to. This game is played on a grid.

One Star Examples: Wanderhome, Dialect, Belonging Outside Belonging Five Star Examples: Lancer, Dungeons and Dragons 3-5e, Valor

Writers Room

⭐ - Players in this game are not expected to provide much in the way of narrative substance. Story is something that is driven by external input or tools, and players are there to imagine and react. The player need not separate the self from the character they play in any meaningful way.

⭐⭐ - The mechanics of this game drive most of the narrative, or else the narrative is set for the players by an external source or player. Players are encouraged to play optimally rather than dramatically, but do have room for expressing the identity of their character within the game’s mechanical frameworks.

⭐⭐⭐ - While the game does provide strong scaffolding to tell a story, the players present are expected to drive the story within those frameworks. The game’s systems create and resolve conflict on their own, but works best when the players are willing to choose the dramatically interesting option even if it mechanically non-optimal.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The game provides some mechanical tools that create and resolve drama, but there is a significant expectation that the players are buying into and driving the game’s thematic concepts. Players are the ones deciding what the scenes should be and when to end them, but mechanics still help determine outcomes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- The players are expected to drive the narrative at all times. Tools for deciding what scenes to do and when to end them are limited, optional, or vague. There is no meaningful scaffolding that creates conflict or resolution, it is incumbent on those present to manifest those things.

One Star Examples: Alice is Missing, Ribbon Drive, For the Queen Five Star Examples: Wanderhome, Systemless RP

(Prep)Work

⭐ - Facilitators are not expected to do work outside the time at the table. All rules can be read while the game is played. No memorization is needed.

⭐⭐ - This game expects the facilitator to have read the rules in advance, but the rules are so few that they can be run from a single reference sheet. At times, the facilitator must think about and potentially advance and adjust the narrative of the game behind the scenes. Prep is qualitative; answering questions about where the narrative is going to go, who will be there etc. The game can be run smoothly predominantly as improv.

⭐⭐⭐ - This game expects the facilitator to not only know the rules, but to imagine scenarios where the group must play. However, the scope of the scenario design is limited and qualitative. It takes a bit of pondering and perhaps a sketch and a few words of notes. Alternatively, the facilitator must design simple foes or track a simple background system. The work is trivial, and can be done with a bit of time before session.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The facilitator of this game is expected to have run systems between games, or created usable maps or scenarios. Generally, games at this level have some reduced wargaming component. The facilitator might need to engage in enemy design, but the work is limited or imminently reusable. The work is non-trivial, and failing to do it will somewhat impact the quality of play.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- The facilitator of this game puts in significant time between sessions engaging in game design activities. They are expected to plan narratives, write NPCs, draw maps, run significant background systems, and design enemies and combat encounters. The work is significant outside of play, and failing to do it beforehand will result in a worse table experience.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Alley-Oop, Lasers and Feelings Five Star Examples: Lancer, D&D 3-5e, Stars Without Number, Edge of the Empire

Whimsy

⭐ - This game’s thematic core is considered dark, taboo, or difficult, and separating the game’s mechanical features from this subject matter is next to impossible. Games with horror elements almost certainly fit within this category. These games encourage extensive pre-play safety talks.

⭐⭐ - This game is designed to look at dark subject matter, but doesn’t expect the player to spend all of their time there. Players explore difficult topics, but may get to choose what topics to explore, or when to explore them. Games with political messaging/commentary tend to fit this category. These games encourage pre-play safety talks.

⭐⭐⭐ - This game may have dark aesthetics, but doesn’t enforce them mechanically. Alternatively, there are mechanics that address difficult topics in broad strokes, but players are given leeway in the rules with how any difficult topics are approached. These games may encourage safety talks. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This game may have the option to explore dark topics, but none of the mechanics are tied to such topics. This game may have violence in its aesthetics, but players may choose to adjust the aesthetics at the table to suit their comfort. These games tend not to talk about safety in their text.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- This game is designed to focus on thematic material that is considered to be relatively safe. The game is unlikely to tread into violence or trauma without effort.

One Star Examples: Trophy Dark, Dungeon Bitches, Vampire the Masquerade Five Star Examples: Honey Heist, Princess World, Beach Episode

The system here isn't about what's good or bad, to be clear. I think there are good and bad games at every level of these categories, but when I think about what my game group is good at and comfy with, I don't think we go in for things at like the 5 end of the Writers Room scale. It's too much work, and most of them aren't pro improvisers.

Similarly, if we play another game that is a 4 or 5 on the PrepWork category, I don't have time to run it these days. So this helps me make practical choices about our next game.

[theresattrpgforthat]

A really excellent article about the origins of the X-Card, and how it wasn't originally meant to just cover triggering material. I recommend giving it a read!

[whereserpentswalk]

Ttrpg safety tools and the dog test

A quick rundown of what safety tools are: tools for setting boundaries in ttrpgs. Can be useful to some people, but often used really wrongly, and often seem overly gamey to me personally. It's like therapy speak for rpgs. And is similary used by the people it was meant to be used against.

One of the most common examples of these is the X card. The X card is a card with the letter X written on it. It sounds like a good idea if you've never interacted with people before. The X card is a boundary where one of the rules is you can't talk about the boundary. It's very useful for anyone who want to weaponize it, and not very useful for asserting actual boundaries.

There is also a type of chud who dislikes the the idea of safety tools because they think they're "woke". The only way to have a productive conversation around safety tools is to ignore them. Bad faith questions don't deserve good faith answers.

Now, a lot of people would think that its easier for a player to step out then deleate a scene. But a lot the culture around safety tools is based on this toxic highschool mindset around ttrpgs where someone feels like they both have a right, and a duty to be at every single momment of every session, and everyone else does to. So every single safety tool you'll see will assume the of lack the option of leaving the table at all. Being able to leave at any time is the ultimate boundary in ttrpgs and many other safety tools are attempting the impossible task of establishing boundaries without it. People compare them to safe words in bdsm. But it's like trying to create a safe word system but you have to cum and can't take breaks.

See part of the problem is 4chan and reddit have cultures of rpg horror stories. Which are useally lies. I'm not going to say fiction because that implies a relationship with the audience that they don't have. And these lies almost always have queer people, ND people, leftists, and anyone you'd see called a degenerate or weirdo as villains. While the type of nerd that Scott Pilgrim was the first book makes himself out to be a hero. And reddit also happens to be where the concept of safety tools was popularized.

It's this problem where people aren't trying to deal with actual triggers, they're trying to police content they morally condemn. R/rpg horror stories is the home of people who consider themselves outcasts for liking star wars and then have a deep fear of a marginalized person or someone from a slightly less mainstream subculture showing up at their table. And when they're the ones defining what a boundary conflict in rpg space looks like it's useally pretty bad. When a lot of safety tools go bad it's the case of weapons made to catch monsters being bad at dealing with humans.

And beyond all that. Beyond the specifics of rpg horror stories and it's influence. The way people talk about safety tools is mostly about removing content they deem objectionable from ttrpgs. When people talk about the X card and things like it, they're useally afraid someone will talk about something taboo and the table, and want a way to stop them, with the assumption that the rest of the party agrees. The extreme nature of how much someone has the power to censor, is brought with the assumption that what will be censored won't just violate their personal boundaries, but a community sense of morals.

They don't just want their triggers removed, they want things they deem immoral to be removed (not everyone who uses safety tools of course, but the hoard of bearded cishet white men who play 5e who dominate the conversation on them). That's just what a lot of the conversation around safety tools always comes down to. When somebody says they want safety tools to remove torture scenes or sex scenes from their table, it's not their personal triggers, its that they don't believe these things belong in the medium at all. They don't imagine what it would be like to be the only person in the room with their trigger, because the narrative they've created with problem players and safety tools, has made it so they assume the majority of the room shares their boundaries. Safety tools as they exist and are talked about are not built for a minority of players to be able to assert boundaries agaisnt the majority of players.

The dog test: so basically, while safety tools in ttrpgs have good reasons to exist, a lot of the time they're weapons players use to remove content they deem immoral. So often every discussion around things like the X card comes with a lot of moral condemnation, and assumptions about what content can ever be triggering vs what is ok. And this culture of moral condemnations can make safety tools especially dangerous for queer people and ND people, or just members of certain subcultures.

So I've developed the dog test. The dog test, is an example used to test if a safety tool (or more commonly someone talking about them) wants boundaries or wants moral policing. The dog test is simply to see how the safety tool is viewed if it's used to remove dogs from a game. Basically taking the commonly used examples like blood, or sex, and replacing them with the existence of dogs. Perhaps to add to it let's say the only case this hypothetical person will be ok with dogs is if they're killable enemies. This isn't unrealistic, a lot of people have trauma from dog bites, it's probably more likely to be a good faith trauma than a lot of the examples.

If they person is as willing to work with the needs of a player who has trauma around dogs as they are more sympathetic triggers than they've passed the dog test.

Disclaimer. A lot of these thoughts were developed in a discord conversation with @dragonpurrs and a lot of these words were originally things I said to it.

[rollforfelicity]

Shoutout to all my fellow TTRPG players with specific, sensitive subject matter they need to put in their Lines and Veils.

Shoutout to everyone who signs up for a light-hearted game and thinks, "I'm sure this really specific thing won't come up, but...better safe than sorry," and puts it in your Lines and Veils, even though you feel silly.

Shoutout to everybody being firm with your boundaries before a game starts, even when you feel exposed and awkward doing it. May we always have supportive tables, robust safety tools, and fellow players who don't ask about our sources of trauma.

[avasefullofnations]

An election night like tonight honestly freaks me out so bad in part because of how many stories I heard years later from people who almost gave up in 2016 after hearing the results. No matter the outcome I'm sure that there will be people in tough situations due to this election.

I know it's tough but please don't give up hope and if needed, please reach out to personal, community, or national resources for help should you need it.

Here are a few resources in case you need it:

Suicide hotline: 988

Domestic abuse hotline: 800-799-7233 or text "BEGIN" to 88788

An explanation of suicide safety plans if you have a history of suicidal thoughts and want to have a safety plan in place in case you experience such thoughts tonight/this week

One example of a grounding/safety box for those who want to make one in preparation with things on hand

[tabletopgayventures]

WOO!!!

I know it's not that big of a deal but I do think it's hella cool to have 10 followers now :3 I'm just starting out and still writing my posts but this awesome!

So just a few updates: I'm still writing posts, mostly doing general info about ttrpgs, the common vernacular, different tips of players, and safety tips.

If you have anything you want me to write about or games to review just let me know! Asks are on.

[macbxth-pdf]

Trying to figure out what campaigns I would wanna run for a group of covid conscious sapphics is lowkey trying me. I wanna give my potential group several games and campaigns to pick from but I don’t wanna fuck it up cause I haven’t ran a game in a while. I have 1 HB plot for Dungeon Bitches, 3 (1 HB, 2 from the book) for Thirsty Sword Lesbians and 2 (both HB) for Monster Hearts 2e.

Maybe I should just use the safety tool checklist and see what everyone likes?

[rpgnatalie]

Four years ago I wrote a compilation of support tools for roleplay; I haven't updated the archive in many years, but the thoughts contained within and the tools in the collection are still just as valuable I think. Most of them are widely used in the ttrpg sphere, some are specific to larp, some are things I wrote myself based on my experience working with young people.

If there are any tools you've seen recently and think are missing from the document, please let me know! It is meant to be a living thing.

[respectissexy]

DnD safety tools quick and dirty pro tip:

The two extremely common triggers that people almost never think to put on their "lines and veils" sheet and then end up having an unpleasant experience with, are drug overdoses and suicide.

Everybody thinks to say "no rape" or "no torture" or "no slavery" but huge amounts of people have trauma with drug overdoses and suicide (two of the leading causes of traumatic death) that they don't think about during session 0. I strongly recommend that you ask your players straight up before you include those two elements in your game. Even if you're playing a high fantasy campaign, it is common to have fantasy drugs/substances that can be poisonous in large doses, or ritual/henchperson suicide.

Literally even if you did an RPG consent checklist that asked about those two things, if it's been a while since the start of your campaign, ask again. We once had a player lose a friend to suicide in the middle of a two-year campaign. Life comes at you fast.

I have played Dungeons and Dragons for nearly ten years, with an extremely conscientious dungeon master who has been using safety tools since before they were cool. The only player triggers that still consistently come out of nowhere and bite us in the ass are these two. Spare yourself the headache and ask your players if you're considering one of these storylines.

[vaxxildamn]

Oof. Currently learning the hard way that safety tools in d&d are essential, no matter the premise, tone, or genre of the campaign and no matter who you're playing with.

[starlightmermaid]

Wanna make running online TTRPGs easier?

Great news! I made a prep template for Monsterhearts 2, but it's very adaptable for other Powered by the Apocalypse games (or honestly, your favourite TTRPG).

This template establishes what players can expect from your game, lets you do your safety setup (like lines and veils), and has a who's who for your Player Characters & NPCs all in one single document!

This document is: Neurodivergent friendly | Colour-coded | Highly customizable | Google Docs shareable

What's inside?

Player instructions for what to do before the game 

Details about the structure of your game

The Safety section - including a brand new safety tool I designed!

Charts for your PCs and NPCs

Setting Lore Activity

Custom Moves (Two of them! I wrote these for you)

Check it out: https://orbw.itch.io/monsterhearts-prep

[beaujagr]

The Final Script Change

After 10 years of research, testing, and widespread implementation of the base Script Change RPG Toolbox, the final version of Script Change is on itchio & my site. I've included full color and black & white versions, emojis, playing card & tarot card size tools, printable card sheets, an RTF with minimal formatting and no colors or graphics.

My goal was to have it done by Pride's end! I have been managing my health and ran into some tech hiccups, so the final files were posted a little closer to midnight Pacific than Eastern, but I hope you can forgive me just this once.

THANK YOU

The Final Script Change RPG Toolbox is here: 

briebeau.com/scriptchange

thoughty.itch.io/script-change

[theresattrpgforthat]

I saw in the tags of a recent post you mentioned wanting to talk about safety tools—would love to hear your thoughts, especially re: learning and teaching them!

Hello friend!

Oh my gosh, where to start. I love safety tools and I think they can really enhance the game experience, especially when you are trying out tabletop games with a group of people you don't know very well. While it's great if you have a solid group of friends that are all interested in playing games together, a lot of tabletop gamers have to find a group first, and then make new friends along the way.

Entering a new environment is already scary, and entering an environment where you are expected to pretend to be somebody else is even scarier. You're showing a group of strangers a little bit of who you are - and they're doing the same thing. Not only that, improvising a narrative as you go has the potential to visit a wide range of topics - many of which might accidentally trigger a traumatic memory or an innate fear. (I might be preaching to the choir, but best to lay some ground work.)

So, safety tools. I usually layer a number of them into my games, because each tool serves a different use. I usually begin a new game or Session 0 with a quick review of each safety tool, including the X-Card by John Stavropoulos, Lines and Veils by Ron Edwards, The Open Door Policy as introduced by The Gauntlet, and something we call Check-Ins, which are a combination of tools found in Thirsty Sword Lesbians, as well as the Script Change safety tool by Beau Jágr Sheldon. Check-Ins work as follows: if a player is unsure about whether or not the thing they want to try is ok with the group, they can check in. The group then has a chance to rewind, alter play, or give the player a go-ahead. In return for checking in, the player who asked the group is rewarded with a point of XP. For our group, we have decided to edit the Lines and Veils to include Lures as well, Lures being elements that the players are excited to see in the game.

If the group is a group that has played with me before, or if we are playing multiple sessions in a campaign, I'll ask the members of the group to tell us about a safety tool that we use. Sometimes players will even bring forward a safety tool that we haven't used before! Each player who can tell us something about the safety tools we use at the table is rewarded with a point of XP, or something else useful to use in play. We also try to provide examples of what using a safety tool might look like for folks who aren't familiar with the concept.

Not every safety tool works with every group. I would love to use the Support Flower, for example, but I mostly run games online, and haven't found a good way to implement it. But there's many more options than just the ones I provided! If you would like to see a comprehensive list of possible safety tools, I recommend the curated list as provided by TheGiftofGabes on Itch.io.

[whereserpentswalk]

The way 5e fans talk about safety tools makes me think that they think of elements like horror, sexuality, and politics as being dangerous and taboo or even unacceptable like they're 1950s conservatives. But at the same time anything that's within the realm of classic dnd is untouchable and you're considered weird if you have any boundaries around it.

Replace arachnophobia with cynophobia in any of their examples and watch them become grognards.

[rollforfelicity]

This moment from the most recent episode of Shall We? is great because it's 1) very funny and 2) a great use of safety tools! Mila incorporated something they forgot was a line for the game, Melanie noticed and requested we roll things back and re-evaluate, and then we edited the scene to fall within the boundaries we'd established before the game.

I think people who like safety tools in theory are often nervous to actively engage with them during games, either because they don't want to stop the roleplay or because they're afraid of making everyone feel awkward. Those things can happen, and I've certainly had stressful experiences using safety tools, but they can also be casual check-ins like this moment. Hopefully the more often we use safety tools, the easier it becomes!

[avasefullofnations]

To those who are struggling right now post election I see you and I feel you rn

In times of crisis it is easy to fall back into old habits and/or give up but I hope you fight anyways. When in doubt, too, know that there are organizations and people out there who can support you.

Here are some national crisis lines that may be helpful.

More crisis lines (including those for substance abuse, eating disorders, and youth specific resources)

State specific Warm lines (aka not in crisis but you want to talk to someone)

These resources do not cover all identity specific hotlines nor do they include all of the state specific resources