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What happened in Rollplay's Far Verona game is something that is happening all the time, at so many tables, every day in #ttrpg.
And I am not talking about the content of the fiction or the lack of safety tools.
And I am not talking about the content of the fiction or the lack of safety tools.
CN_SexualAssault SA
It's completely valid to be appalled by SA content played for comedy. So, I don't mean to take away anything from very valid feelings about that.
And safety tools are key tools for playing these highly volatile and personal games, no question.
It's completely valid to be appalled by SA content played for comedy. So, I don't mean to take away anything from very valid feelings about that.
And safety tools are key tools for playing these highly volatile and personal games, no question.
But both of those things being big talking points right now overshadow a much, much more common issue that happens all over the place: how we, our games and our ways of playing so often ignore seeking consent from each other.
Some people have brought this up but I feel we are paying way too little attention to this. Too little because there are huge learnings we could take from this situation.
Summer points it out here:
https://twitter.com/Off_theTable/status/1245877729792163840
Mikael points it out here: https://twitter.com/MikaelTysver/status/1245824367671549953
Summer points it out here:
https://twitter.com/Off_theTable/status/1245877729792163840
Mikael points it out here: https://twitter.com/MikaelTysver/status/1245824367671549953
As you can see ("do you let them"), we have games with tools for how to respect others' agency during play:
tell them the consequences and ask
ask questions and build on the answers
Resolve tokens
Resist rolls
To name a few.
tell them the consequences and ask
ask questions and build on the answers
Resolve tokens
Resist rolls
To name a few.
This is a reason why I will always keep bristling when people hand wave rules. We consent to play a game means we consent to play to a set of rules. You don't get to change them up in the middle of things.
Games themselves carry a responsibility in this.
Games themselves carry a responsibility in this.
Looking at you, DnD: you leave your players (this includes your awfully named role of "Dungeon Master") out in the cold by being wishy-washy about your rules and if you have to play by them.
Rule zero, and its prettier cousin rule of cool are simply not good practice.
Rule zero, and its prettier cousin rule of cool are simply not good practice.
Rolling behind the screen, passing secret notes, hedging PC behavior are all practices that have their roots in this and all of them are detrimental to people's agency in the game.
Hidden information is a game design lever with huge impacts in all sorts of ways.
Hidden information is a game design lever with huge impacts in all sorts of ways.
That is not to say that this is not an issue in indie rpgs: breach of consent way too often is.
The difference: you hardly can blame the average DnD player.
Yet, in indie rpgs we have many (loud) people who pretend to know better but do not DO better.
The difference: you hardly can blame the average DnD player.
Yet, in indie rpgs we have many (loud) people who pretend to know better but do not DO better.
So many games do have meticulously designed mechanics to uphold player agency and to seek consent but are often just not even recognized for what they are.
I think we are still doing very poorly in understanding play and power dynamics and it shows (all too often IN shows).
I think we are still doing very poorly in understanding play and power dynamics and it shows (all too often IN shows).
And I wish, wish, WISH that that is the conversation we would be having right now!
A conversation how to better interact and engage with each other, what practices we should be employing and how we can get better at playing together.
A conversation how to better interact and engage with each other, what practices we should be employing and how we can get better at playing together.
