Tools for Responsible Play

Consent and comfort are important topics for roleplaying games, and many designers have created techniques to facilitate responsible play. Some methods you can use are lines and veils, developed by Ron Edwards, and the X-Card, developed by John Stavropoulos.

Lines And Veils

The terms “line” and “veil” can give your table a common vocabulary for the concepts described in this section. A line is a hard limit to the actions players might take, such as “We're drawing a line at torture.” The group agrees not to cross a line and omits that content from the game. A veil indicates something that shouldn't be described in detail. The scene fades to black, or the group moves on to discuss a different topic, though whatever the veil is drawn across still happens. For example, you might say, “We'll draw a veil as those characters head into the bedroom.” Players might find they need to modify their lines and veils as play continues.

The X-Card

Draw an “X” on a card, and you've got an X-Card. Place it on the table at the start of the session. Any player can silently reject content they find upsetting by tapping the X-Card; whoever is speaking then rewinds a bit and continues on, excising the content. As with setting the basic campaign guidelines, there are no questions asked, no judgment, and no argument when someone taps the X-Card. You can, however, ask for clarification if you need it, such as “How far back should I rewind?” Some groups instead make an X with their hands, say “Let's X that out,” or use some other method. Either way, follow up with the player privately after the game to see if the guidelines need to be revised. You can find more details at tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg.

Collaboration During Play

As Game Master, you have the final say on how the world and rules function and how nonplayer characters act. This rule's purpose is to make the game run smoothly, with one guiding hand ensuring consistency. It's not intended to make one player into a dictator over the rest of the group. Collaboration is vital to roleplaying games!

How you implement collaboration in a game depends on what your players are interested in. In some groups, players enjoy adding details to the world and to the nonplayer characters. In others, players want to feel like the world is outside their control, and the only decisions they get to make are those made by their own characters. Both are fun and acceptable ways to play.

You are encouraged to collect input from your players before you start, asking what storytelling genres they'd like to emphasize, which areas of the world they want to play in, the types of enemies they'd like to face, or which published adventure they want to play. A good campaign includes some back-and-forth at the beginning as the players figure out what characters they want to play and you figure out what sort of adventure would be most enjoyable for the group. The results can range from building an adventure entirely to fit the characters to choosing a specific published adventure, having the players make their characters, and then adapting the beginning of that adventure so that all the player characters have a reason to be involved.

As you play, opportunities to collaborate will occur again and again. When players throw out suggestions or come up with specific theories about the events of the campaign, they're telling you what they'd like to see in the game. Try to find ways to incorporate their suggestions, but with enough of a twist that each still includes something unexpected. Remember that as the Game Master, you're a player too—don't forget to include content that you're excited to see as well!