Open journal and historic photos. Kathy L Brown Writes An Author's Journal. RPG Safety and the GM
There’s challenging material and then there’s just plain icky. Visit the Shop for links to stories. (Images courtesy Missouri History Museum, Pixabay, and author’s collection)

I feel fortunate that a safe, welcoming, and comfortable environment for tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) players has become common over the past decade (or two? This trend is not actually new at all, just fairly new to me. ) When a gamemaster (GM) asks if the players have any issues with potential topics (without going into self-revelatory details about past trauma, phobias, etc.), it elevates the storytelling by making it truly fun for everyone, not just the GM. I’ve written about this in the past, here.

What about the GM’s RPG Safety?

I recently found myself looking at the safety topic from another viewpoint: my own as the game runner. Last year I embarked on a self-improvement project that involves learning to run Call of Cthulhu. The horror-fantasy world of Cthulhu (CoC) is based on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and many other writers.

As part of the tutorial progression, I’m sticking to the readily available modules (and using the ones labeled “for beginners,” “baby’s first Cthulhu,” etc.) rather than writing my own. It didn’t occur to me that I’d need to bring up the player safety rubrics on behalf of myself. But that’s exactly what happened.

RPG Safety is Fun. For All.

I generally think of (and have experienced) the “X card” and “lines and veils” discussions when playing with new friends or strangers at a convention. But a few aspects of the story I planned to run struck me as wrong. You might say, “Kathy, maybe you don’t like horror after all,” and you might be correct. But I realized a couple of things:

  • A story told as a group roleplaying experience feels different than reading a novel. These tales are more immediate, and the “horror consumer” may feel it more intensely and personally.
  • The Lovecraft source material is full of attitudes and opinions that are, indeed, horrible. Also racist, misogynistic, and patronizing. These aspects of the 1920s milieu can rightly create conflict, but also unconsciously flavor other aspects of the story. Writers can, and are, doing much better these days.

Writerly Power

So, I listened to my intuition and revamped one aspect of the story, giving some of the antagonists quite the intricate history, empowerment, and a major attitude adjustment.

Perhaps I’ve strayed too far from the conventional horror story—“normal” people being chased and attacked by “monsters”—but I find my new story thread interesting, at any rate. And the players seem engaged. Are they getting the “frights” they signed up for? Maybe not. But, as I said, I’m learning.

Empowering myself to craft a story that seems right to me is part of the process.


How about you? Are you comfortable speaking up about your preferences in a group storytelling situation? What about when you run the game? I’d love to hear your experience. Comment on the blog. Navigate to my website, click blog title, and complete dialogue box that will open at the end of the post.   

If you enjoyed this journal entry, you might like to read about Playing Games.

I started this blog thread on the gritty details of the writing process over on my Facebook Author page, @kbkathylbrown, but think I might be better served putting it over here. If you’re interest in following my writing process in an informal way, you’ll find a few posts on Facebook that might interest you. You can subscribe to the blog from the website landing page (scroll down).

The Big Cinch cover
The Big Cinch from Montag Press.

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2 thoughts on “An Author’s Journal: RPG Safety and the GM

  1. As you know, I have been running TTRPGs for 44 years. So I have seen the GM perspective from both before snd after this shift to the “gentile”. As a player as well. Coming from the generation that I do, crying and sulking over being offended just wasn’t done. That said, I now have players that express these issues so I try to exclude them. Horror is a difficult subject. It SHOULD make you feel uncomfortable. And I think most people who choose to play a horror game expect a bit of that. Other genres, not so much. I have become less of a stickler for historical accuracy in these games, as Fun is the ultimate goal. I think, as a player, you have to have little thicker skin. But yeah, the “X” card is a good call.

    1. I found the depiction of certain NPCs in the module I’m using problematic, in ways that are hard to explain, but I’m learning to trust my gut more than “mind logic.” Something in me found it creepy, and not in a good way. I like the changes I made, and I see the players having fun with these unexpected allies for themselves/victims of the Big Bad to be concerned about. It’s a richer story, I think.

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