Hammerforge
Explorer
Originally Posted by Hammerforge
Regarding the OP: Personally, I haven't seen this issue arise in any games I've been in, and I certainly wouldn't condone any disrespectful behavior toward anyone in a game session. But I wonder: What's next--legislation to govern what can and cannot be done at the game table in a private residence?
I never said that a "one size fits all" ban was the ideal approach.
And I never claimed you did. My point was that the kind of thinking displayed in the article is the kind of thinking behind legislation that ensures equality. Such legislation is good, but I also wonder if it could get to the point that a DM who allows a strength cap for women, for example, could be legally accused of committing a hate crime.
When it comes to private gaming sessions, I suggested in "Confronting Problematic Behavior at the Table" that players and DMs discuss problems where players feel uncomfortable and/or unwelcome, and to speak up when players start treating other players badly.
I agree completely. In far too many games I've played in and run, what I've noticed is that people tend to choose the path of least resistance by keeping silent about something that troubles them instead of telling the DM directly or the DM confronting the troublemaker. One of my players bowed out of my campaign a while back under the pretext of having to spend more time with his newborn son. I suspected there was more to it than that since it isn't difficult to commit to a once-per-month game session. After a hiatus I started up the campaign again--without inviting back a couple of problem players. Guess what? That same player rejoined the game and only then told me that he had been offended by something one or both of those problem players had said, something I had not been aware of.
And to be careful in the handling of certain subjects; not a ban, but to treat it with more care and sensitivity than most other things in a session. For example, if one of your players is an arachnophobe, you might not want to run a spider-themed dungeon with corpses in cocoons without consulting with said player first.
Or I would tell the player in advance that he/she would be better served in another game, and I would expect that player to tell me about said phobia up front before the campaign begins.
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