But surely stories affect people, sometimes deeply? Watching a violent movie might not make people more violent (especially in a quantifiable way), but watching scenes of violence might make you want to stop watching that movie. You may even be ok with violence in some movies and deeply disturbed by it in others, and when you are disturbed, it might not even be that you don't want to watch those movies, but you need to be mentally prepared. The social aspect of TTRPGS exacerbates this dynamic, because the experience is a conversation, sometimes with people you don't know, and if the dm introduces an element they think is fine but you do not, it can be a very negative experience.
This sort of conversation is what is driving the increased emphasis on session 0's and safety tools, and the move away from alignment. Though I would agree that it does not start or end with alignment, and if getting rid of alignment is all they did in this regard that would be very superficial.
I don't think it's that much more work to add it back in, considering how much work dms do anyway (both before the game and/or on the spot) and how the fact of dnd's popularity means that no shortage of resources online (if they published a MM without alignment, it would probably take less than a week for someone to make a list of monsters by alignment and post it online somewhere).
But if it is more work, it is work that needs to be done, in the broader sense of thinking through the kinds of settings, characters, and scenes you want to create and how those might be received by the people you are playing with. Again, that conversation extends beyond alignment.
With due deference to the mod statement earlier I have taken the night to step back and cool. I shall try to take a better stab at my point without being confrontational or personal.
This statement I find interesting. It highlights what I was talking about regarding the new moral panic and view point that is actually detrimental and infantilising to players despite the intent. This is why there is push back from many older people in the hobby, or from those who are more knowledgeable of the hobby’s history. This has been seen before.
This is not to call you out Malmuria, nor is it intended to come across as attacking your post. It’s just your post here is an example of much of the “perceived wisdom” recently.
I consistently see these phrases“the work needs to be done, there’s these needs for safety tools, there is this need for removal of elements that can do harm”
It is being consistently discussed as if this is factual, of course it needs removal, of course these things are bad/ useful, why would you not want to remove these? As if the case has already been open and shut and evidence laid bare. It’s interesting to me that the language used is usually always about someone else, never usually from the individual, “it might harm some people…some people may experience…not me, of course, I’m just thinking of others” (or referring to “some people“in the second person as you) . This here is the Helen Lovejoying of the debate “won’t somebody think of the children!”
Removing or demanding removal of content that you (as an individual) deem harmful for the sake of others (again, not saying this post does this specifically, but the calls for it are often couched along these lines) is a form of control, censorship as it also impacts tables that are not yours and flies in the face of live and let live from table to table. These are the same tactics and demands that were used by the satanic panic organisations in the eighties, except they were literally saying “won’t somebody think of the children” rather than accidentally infantilising their fellow players.
We can accept that there are at least three universal truths at a table (definitely there can be more but I want to focus in on these three):
1) TTRPGS are a social activity with multiple participants.
2)Everyone at the table should be treated with respect.
3) Everyone as an individual who participates has their own lived experiences, baggage and issues.
As such, it is incumbent upon you, as an adult individual, to be responsible for yourself. As with anything in life. Indeed, we all have different thresholds for things. I’m particularly squeamish when it comes to depictions of “realistic“ violence. Stylised (for example Kill Bill) I’m totally fine with and can even find it funny if used as a juxtaposition (x force’s hilarious mishaps in deadpool 2). But I can’t even watch an episode of casualty on the BBC without being grossed out, let alone watch a Saw movie. So, I won’t buy a ticket to see a new saw movie.
The social aspect of TTRPGs as pointed out adds an extra complication. Session 0 as a discussion of the kind of game you want as a new group is fine for avoiding misinterpretation and a setting of expectations and themes of the campaign. But for me, this is where safety tools such as the x card fall down on their intended use.
Let’s go back to the movie analogy here and say that every arm rest is now equipped with a big red button. Pushing the button will black out the picture and sound for a minute from the screen and speakers. All it takes is one person to decide that
their threshold has been reached, they push the button and the shared experience is ruined for all. It is disrespectful of the shared audience experience. Multiply that by every audience member in the cinema and you can see how disruptive that can be. so what do we actually do as adults in that cinema scenario? We leave the room, we catch our breath. We decide if our limit has been reached or if we just need a minute before going back in. We are empowered by the decision we make, either developing our resilience as our boundaries are pushed or decide for ourselves that our limits have been reached for the day. We don’t shut it down, nor demand that it be shut down for others. There are other people in there (the social experience) and it is disrespectful to all of them.
Study after study has shown that confronting and discussing, role playing etc your fears, issues and hang ups in a safe environment, like, I don’t know, a table top role playing game, build our resilience, enable us to engage with it in a meaningful way. Conversely, avoidance, making it a big deal, slamming down a card when it is hinted at, makes our fear and issue bigger, worse. X cards violate the top two principles established above. If you have the issue. Step back from the table for a minute. Catch your breath. You are in control of your experience, it you should have no expectation of control of others.
To me, There is no situation where they are useful. Scenario 1) A home game. You are already in a trusted group. The GM knows you. Knows what the limits are and can play at and push those boundaries, to elicit for example, the required sense of fear/horror and disgust in a horror game (and as a side note, there’s plenty to explore why we enjoy horror and being scared, on some level, we enjoy our boundaries being pushed and explored, if we have the capability to shut it down, we might not find those limits) and when to pull back if we are about to tap out. Scenario 2) A store or convention game. You have a limited time slot, you generally have an outline of the adventure premise and it’s disrespectful to the GM/group to demand a rewrite to fit your needs and take up valuable time. Besides, in a public environment a game is unlikely to include (because I know people are going to go there) themes of sexual assault/ rape etc. Scenario 3 a new group of strangers. You’ve already had a session 0 of feeling each other out, discussing the campaign and characters. It can certainly be difficult (particularly in today’s virtual gaming) to read the room when boundary limits are reached for an individual. Sometimes, over steps may occur. Take a step back. Don’t disrupt the session, the others maybe enjoying that scene so respect your fellow players. Discuss with GM and group after the session.
Some players who are going to be tools at a tabletop game are always going to be tools at a tabletop game and no card use will stop that.
So much for that perceived wisdom? These are outlines of how something heralded can be perceived as harmful to your game. Much like alignment is for some. Save personally, I think x cards are actually harmful to the play experience. Of course, should you find them useful in your group, at your table, go for it. Live and let live, I’m not calling for their removal, but I make the choice to not use them at my table nor engage in tables where they are used. This is me exercising my individual responsibility.
Specifically regarding alignment, I’ve seen mention of “well I’ve played many RPGs that don’t have it, so there’s no need for it”. I’m puzzled as to why so many people hover so close to the answer yet seem to miss it. There is no need. It is there
because it’s D&D. Play those other RPGs. They are there waiting for you. Or if you prefer D&D but don’t want alignment, take it out. I’ve already explained in a prior lengthy post as to why it’s in D&D. There are somethings that are (or at least should be) intrinsic to a D&D experience (of course, given multiple editions, that will vary on a person by person basis). It is not a generic fantasy RPG toolkit no matter how much people try to twist it as such. D&D is great for playing D&D.
When we talk of diversity and inclusion in gaming, we need to accept that there needs to be a diversity and inclusion of ideas and view points in the hobby for it to be creative and viable. This includes an acceptance that there will be ideas and things that we dislike in games (not everyone likes everything). This does not mean that every game needs to be diverse within itself. If you argue for that, you are actually arguing for homogeneity which is the opposite. Ensuring every game includes x,y,z idea and concept and removes a,b,c because other games also manage fine without them hurts their theme, identity expression and diversity. It just becomes a generic mush. Each game should be free to express itself and it’s mechanics and ideas in its own way which allows for a diverse array of games. Some of which you may like, some of which you won’t.
So again, live and let live. Do what works for your table, don’t dictate what happens at others.
peace.
