Safety Tools refer to practices, techniques, and options that gaming groups can utilize to minimize discomfort and social risks within a game. They are helpful for new groups and for long-time friends, reducing the chance of missed communication over a game’s content and theme and providing a planned set of actions for any player to utilize should they identify an issue out of character within the game space. Even if an issue never occurs, having safety tools identified and available for each game also acts as an extra layer of security for players to trust that others are also enjoying their time.
There are many resources available to players online, but here are some of my favorites for quick reference. Players may note that some of these tools have already been incorporated into some of the game’s documents.
The TTRPG Safety Toolkit
Sometimes games have content or situations where a player or GM may feel stressed out, unsafe, or otherwise not having fun. Safety tools are a way for players and GMs to communicate and check-in before, during, and after a game in order to make sure everyone is still having fun, and to provide the right support when needed.
Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk
The TTRPG Safety Toolkit
The TTRPG Safety Toolkit is a compilation of safety tools that have been designed by members of the tabletop roleplaying games community for use by players and GMs at the table.
You can find it at bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit.
Golden Lasso Games
Role-playing and story games offer a unique opportunity for creativity and collaboration. However, the improvisational nature of these games exposes players to the risk of discomfort and emotional distress. Everyone has different boundaries and it’s impossible to know what will be upsetting to a fellow gamer. Best practices and safety tools are an important part of tabletop role-playing because they allow clear communication about what is, and what is not okay for everyone at the table.
Golden Lasso Gamest
Gnome Stew
For anyone hesitant to utilize safety tools, concerned about there necessity or potential to dilute a game, I highly recommend Phil Vecchione’s article on Gnome stew:
…. I learned was that there was a misconception – that some people believed that using safety tools was to dilute the content of your game; taking away elements that your average player enjoyed (e.g. violence), while others thought that there was no need for tools if you can just “talk it out”. So today, I am going to follow up my article to address some of those misconceptions as well as to try to explain safety by drawing in some other areas of my life.
SAFETY AS RISK MANAGEMENT
Phil Vecchione at Gnome Stew
A simple reddit thread
Last of the general safety tools, reddit user indifferenttosports started a great thread with additional links and urls to further explore safety tools within ttrpg games. In the thread itself you can see other commenters discuss their experiences with and without such tools
LARP Hand Signs and Shouts
Within a LARP people are moving around and directly interacting with a variety of people, often with different groups at various times, and often with a larger number of people than at a tabletop game, all things that make safety tools difficult to manage. Some tools, such as the Lines and Veils Tracker, can be tracked and set up by the LARP managers for everyone to reference before and during the game. Aside from those, LARPs should also utilize a combination of hand signs and shouts for quick and easy out-of-character communication.
Hand Signs refer to explicit motions and positions (most often with a hand) that can are used to communicate specific information to players within a scene. Game Masters may establish specific signs to represent certain powers, such as crossing your arms on your chest to represent invisibility, or putting a hand on your ear to signify eavesdropping (supernatural or otherwise). Three hand signs all LARPs should have are:
- Thumb Partially Up (45°) – “Is everything good and ok?”
Responses:- Thumb Sideways (90° or shaking) – “I’m not sure if I’m ok”
- Two Thumbs Up – “This is Great. All is well”
- Thumb Down – “I am not OK”
- Fist on Head – “I am talking or acting out of character as myself.”
- “Shutters”/ Hands on both sides of your head – “I am not involved in this scene.”
Separate from hand signs, Shouts are verbal signals to explicitly stop all actions in a scene to resolve an issue. When players hear one of these shouts they should immediatly stop what they are doing until given the go-ahead to continue:
- HOLD!
If at any moment someone yells, “HOLD!” players need to immediately STOP. ECHO the call, TAKE a knee, and LOOK down. These guidelines are here for the safety and privacy of all parties. Calling HOLD is an immediate EMERGENCY. Only a GM can lift the hold. They will count down so you know when it is time to resume the game. - HIT THE WALL!
Everyone should move to the sides of the room to create space for others to get through to individuals that need attention. - 9-1-1 <emergency>!
In the event of a real emergency, you may hear “9-1-1” shouted, followed by a brief description of the type of emergency such as “9-1-1! Medic!” or “9-1-1! Fire!” Everyone within earshot should immediately break character, repeat the shout, and either help if possible or calmly find an exit depending on the type of emergency.