Safety Tools

A game works best when everyone at the table is enjoying it. These tools help a group agree what kind of game they want and change course when something isn’t working. None of them needs a reason or a debate: using one is enough.

Session zero

Before the campaign starts, meet to talk about it rather than play. Agree on:

• the tone of the game and the kinds of stories you want to tell;
• how characters know each other and why they work together;
• how often you’ll play, and what happens when someone can’t make it;
• which table conventions you’ll use;
• the lines and veils below.

Revisit these whenever a new player joins or the campaign changes direction.

Lines and veils

• Lines are content the group agrees to leave out of the game entirely.
• Veils are content that can happen in the story but isn’t described in detail: the scene fades out, or it’s summarised in a sentence.

Anyone can add a line or a veil at any time, including during play, and they don’t have to explain why. Keep the list where the whole group can see it.

Stopping or changing a scene

Agree on a simple signal anyone can use to skip or change what’s happening, with no questions asked. Some groups use a card on the table that a player taps (the X-Card, created by John Stavropoulos), others a word or gesture. When it’s used, the GM moves the story on, and the group carries on without discussing it unless the player wants to.

Check-ins

At natural breaks and at the end of a session, ask how the game is going: what people enjoyed, what they’d like more or less of, and anything that made them uncomfortable. A short conversation now avoids a bigger one later.