The Table Top: Inclusive Spaces and Storytelling

Ah, the joy of tabletop roleplaying games. A place where one can explore fantastical forests and sprawling cityscapes, all from the safety of your own home! For many of us it's the best way for us to unwind and escape with some friends to a new life, even for just a little bit, and experience what other worlds have to offer. Literally, your only limit is your imagination!

However all of that being said, just because you CAN do anything you can imagine at your Tabletop RPG, it doesn't mean you necessarily should...

A welcoming tabletop is the first step to creating the best stories of your life!

First and foremost, as is often said in both TTRPG discussions and in most rulebooks, these games (emphasis GAMES) are about having fun. And that fun is meant for EVERYONE at the table!

Needless to say, if a player(s) feels targeted, put on a pedestal, or otherwise excluded, they aren't going to be having much fun. And if even ONE player is having less fun at the table, everyone feels it.

So what exactly does this mean, and how do we minimize these negatives and MAXIMIZE the fun?

INCLUSIVITY!

Ok, ok, I know, that's pretty vague and not very helpful. But it is where we are going to start!

Inclusivity OUT of Game

Starting off, lets look at what inclusivity looks like out of game.

The quickest way to take a person out of the fun, is making them feel unwelcome at your table. Now, we don't usually intend to make someone feel unwelcome, but this kind of mistake usually comes from not even knowing what we DON'T know!

A distasteful joke. Aggressive political discussions at the table. Pushing particular subjects. Talking over players, or not letting them be heard.

These are all things that can happen quickly, and without being noticed. These things may not bug all players, but for many people when this happens all of the time, they can make people feel unwanted or unengaged from a table.

"So what? If I'm having fun, why should I change the way I play for other people's feelings?"

I'll tell you why! This is called "collaborative" storytelling for a reason. Without other people to help build a narrative, what is the point? If a person has a narrative they want to push without having to consider other people, I recommend writing a novel!

Many recently published games have started including various safety tools to help aid in a safer table. USE THEM! They contain a wealth of information and techniques that are tried and true!

Here are some common simple and easy safety tools you can use:

• Safety Checklist: a list of subject matter and topics that could be classified as sensitive for players that they can check off and add on to before a game, or ideally during session Zero, that the GM can reference what to avoid when planning sessions

• The "X" Signal: Whenever the subject of a scene takes a turn in a direction that makes a player, or even the GM uncomfortable, they can make an "X" with their hands, hold a special card up, or some other indicator decided by the table, and the story will make a shift away from the subject and onto a new scene, no questions and without pressure.

• Post-Session Check-in: This is something most GMs and TTRPG groups should do anyway, but be sure to check in with your players after each session to see how they felt about the events of the sessions itself. Check in about the story subjects covered, and if there are any concerns or things they'd like to change.

And finally, one of the best ways to maintain a safe and inclusive gaming environment out-of-game, is consistent and open communication! Make sure that everyone at the table can feel comfortable voicing their concerns as they rise up. Actively check in with the others at the table and make sure they are feeling heard. And be aware, to the best of your ability, of how people are acting and that they don't look like they are closing up out of discomfort, or an inability to share their feelings.

Inclusive Gaming environments always start OUT of game!

Inclusivity IN-Game

So, now that we have laid the groundwork out-of-game, lets look at how to make a game more inclusive from the inside.

We've already talked about safety tools, which directly relate to gameplay and it's contents. But what kinds of content need to be handled carefully? How do we know?

The simple answer is whatever content brings the most fun for all players at the table, without making anyone feel excluded, in novelized, or marginalized.

But we're not here for the simple answers!

If your table has implemented at least some of the safety tools above, or others found in various games, you at least have a starting point for how to craft a game or to play a character in a way that doesn't infringe on player's safety. But being sensitive around particular subjects ahead of time can help keep you prepared when treading too close to certain subjects, or avoid them entirely!

For reference, general subjects to tread carefully around include:

• Racism

• S*xual Assault

• Sexism

• Slavery

• Homophobia

• Transphobia

• Torture

• Toxic Masculinity (and other toxic gender stereotyping)

• Self Harm

• Gaslighting

• And a multitude of others (for a very comprehensive list, I recommend reading the safety tools at the beginning of Kids on Bikes 2e!)

This isn't to say that you should NEVER include any kind of sensitive content, but I believe that any inclusion of this kind of content MUST have a very intentional meaning around why they are being included, and what they are saying by including them in your game. And even then, make sure that there isn't another way to communicate your message without directly including sensitive themes.

For instance, in many grittier fantasy worlds, inter-species racism is often used to create a tone of elitism, cultural divides, and toxic patriotism, especially during wartimes. And if everyone at your table is definitely fine with including these themes in your world (and you have communicated it with them ahead of time) for the purposes that they are serving in your game, then within reason go for it. Just keep in mind that most of the themes listed above have very little reason to be included in your game. So be sure to interrogate the reasons you wish to include a particular theme, and get creative on other ways to explore these themes. Or ask yourself if these themes need to be explored at all!

For another example, SA is sometimes included in a story to represent a form of powerlessness, and destruction of innocence. Stripping away an aspect of a person's being. But to avoid the graphic nature of such content, similar themes can be explored by wrenching away a persons magic, removing a connection to their god, or uncovering a deep betrayal from an intimately trusted NPC. However, even this softer kind of powerless interaction can land a little too close to home for many players. It can ruin how they connect to their character or the game itself if not handled carefully, or if done at all!

The best key to handling this is gauging how players react and interact with events. And most importantly, OPEN COMMUNICATION!

And it goes without saying, if it's on a player's safety checklist, just don't include it. Period. It's as simple as that!

Of course, these tips aren't just for GMs. It is VERY important for players to be thinking about these kinds of things too. From character backstories, to active roleplay, make sure you aren't creating themes that tread on other peoples safety!

We can always find many other ways to have fun with our own gameplay. So if we have to trim off just a few things to make sure other people can have fun too, why not trim them off? When a minor inconvenience on our own part can make or break another person's entire game, it feels like a no brainer! (a particular Spock quote comes to mind...)

I know this can feel like a lot of extra steps and extra work when you just want to get into a game. But firstly, they don't take as much time as it seems. And you don't need to implement all of these tools at once. I encourage you to experiment with what works with you and your tables.

Secondly, these games are ALWAYS multiple steps and extra work to get going! These tools, in my experience, just become part of the process of a game. And next thing you know, they become second nature!

Conclusion

Inclusive gaming environments as a concept can be thrown around a lot; and there is often a lot of debate as to what this constitutes. This is solely because EVERY table is different! Which means that what steps and tools are necessary for your table will also be different from group to group, as well as from game to game! So when it boils down to it, ensure you set up a framework of tools that you can discuss with your players, that you are also familiar and comfortable with yourself.

But most importantly, COMMUNICATION IS KEY!

If you are communicating with your table, and checking in regularly, you can be at least MOSTLY sure that everyone is staying comfortable, and having the most fun they can!

It can take a bit of extra work, but don't worry! After a bit of practice and the right tools, setting up an inclusive gaming space becomes automatic, and is MORE than worth the effort!

And as always, Gayme on my Darlings!