Behind the Screen: The Start of the Safety Tool Debate.
[CONTENT WARNING: SA, Violence.]

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

I just heard about a very traumatic experience that happened to one of my gaming friends on YouTube. Link to Lace and Steel’s video here. Rest easy knowing that Pauli is very tough, well trained as a martial artist, and I had every confidence that she was okay. Her attacker not so much. Mentally and emotionally, anyone who has an experience such as this comes away with some scars. Sometimes those traumas and/or triggers carry over into other parts of our lives.

That’s why Session Zero is important for your tabletop roleplaying game experience! For those who might be new Session Zero is the session held before the start of (usually) long term campaigns to discuss Safety Tools. I’ll post other articles about Safety Tools at a later date, but you can also search “TTRPG Safety Tools” on your favorite search engine.

One of the things that usually gets discussed at Session Zero is items the Game Master/Dungeon Master should avoid so as not to trigger the player. There are a lot of ways to go about this without bringing up people’s specific traumas. The one I see used most frequently is the survey. Again, this can be downloaded from any number of TTRPG websites. Most often these are submitted and read by the GM and only the GM and kept confidential.

Game Masters are expected to wear a lot of hats at times. Unless you’re professionally trained and/or licensed it’s not a good idea to play psychologist or therapist. If someone checks “spiders” or “body horror” it’s usually not good to ask for specifics. Again, it’s also not good to ask and potentially expose the player or players to scrutiny by the group. I know I don’t want someone poking around in my traumas as a GM, and yes the GM counts, too.

GMs have it pretty easy because we usually have a list of “No” topics before we even start. It’s easy without discussing too much with the players that there will be no Snakes, Spiders, and torture allowed for example. I have a pretty extensive list of things I won’t do, and I’ll call a swift halt to the game if people go there.

I’m pretty lucky because my family has been my group for the last several years. I pretty much know where all the trigger points are. My wife is also around to give me a gentle reminder if I go down the wrong road by mistake. That, and we try not to get too controversial in games with the kids around for obvious reasons.

It’s not a stressful thing for GMs to do.

Look over the sheet for check boxes. If an issue is checked, don’t go there in game. Don’t plan for the princess to suffer horribly at the hands of the dragon if somebody checked the “torture” box.

The other thing you have to be aware of as a GM, is when something comes up in game that a player didn’t put on the survey. They can just throw up an X Card (or whatever signal the group has agreed upon) or just pull the GM aside and say “Hey, I’m not comfortable with this. Can we not go there?”

It’s still up to the GM at the end of the day. No one is going to descend from the gamer heavens and burn your GM screen, confiscate your dice and tell you to never run the game again. On the other hand, I’m sure the vast majority of humans don’t want their triggers and trauma exposed or worse. Reliving a moment in the imagination is almost as bad as living through it in real life.

Basically, the easiest thing for the GM to do is be a decent, considerate human being. Be kind to your players. Be kind to yourself. I know I say that often, but so many of our problems at the roleplaying table can be solved by being understanding of our fellow humans.

One last thought: It sometimes helps to have an open door policy between game sessions for players to let you know if something has changed in their lives that affects the current events of an ongoing campaign. Even long time gaming groups who all know one another pretty well and don’t even bother with Safety Tools and just build characters during Session Zero can benefit from players checking in occasionally. It can be as simple as, Hey, I had a thing happen. Can we please not discuss ‘______’ in game?” I think most GMs are pretty cool and can handle that.

I hope this helps some newer GMs dip their toes into what Session Zero and Safety Tools are all about. The main point, as I said, is not to be a total jerk to your fellow players. It’s not daunting. It’s just good “humaning.” Be the change you want to see in game and out.