MCDM Tabletop

Safety Toolkit
If you’ve ever stopped mid-roleplay to say, “Wait, sorry, is this description too gruesome? Let me fast-forward
to the part where they’re dead,” or asked your GM, “How goofy can we get, because I’m thinking of naming my
rogue Harold Coins and basing him on Roger Rabbit?” then congratulations, you’ve (inadvertently, maybe) used
RPG safety tools! Safety tools—the X-Card, Lines and Veils, and others—are simply ways to formalize the process
of getting everyone at the table on the same page about the topics and themes you’ll be exploring as you play.

Why Use Safety Tools?

This isn’t an exhaustive guide to planning a session zero,
but an overview focused on topics related to safety and com-
Because boundaries are good. Safety isn’t just about staying fort.
physically safe from harm. It also means staying emotionally,
mentally, and psychologically safe. In a social game where we Campaign Details
spend a lot of time playing a fictional character, safety tools
give us a way to communicate our own likes, dislikes, com- Whether the GM is running a published adventure, a cam-
forts, and discomforts. paign in a homebrew world, or some combination, talking
These tools minimize the likelihood that your roleplaying about expectations for the campaign and style of play is
game will veer into territory that makes someone feel unsafe a must for any session zero. The CATS method by Patrick
or uncomfortable, they provide a framework for how to deal O’Leary is great for getting everyone on the same page. The
with those moments if they do occur, and set an intention to GM explains and discusses the following ideas about the cam-
prioritize the comfort and fun of everyone at the table. All of paign with the players:
these things together set us up for rich storytelling and gam-
/ Concept: The campaign’s high-level overview. For
ing experiences. For example, if you play a horror game and
example, you might say, “In this game you’ll play kids in
discuss the topics and themes everyone is okay with and not
an alternate version of the 1980s running around your
okay with, you know what you can lean really hard into—and
small town solving mysteries.”
tell an awesomely creepy story—while avoiding the stuff that
/ Aim: What the player characters are trying to accomplish
people don’t want to touch.
/ Tone: Is this game serious, goofy, gonzo, dramatic,
spooky, or something else?
Incorporating Safety Tools / Subject Matter: What kinds of subjects are likely to come
up during gameplay? Ending on subject matter is great
The way you approach and incorporate safety tools into your because it leads the group directly into a conversation
games depends on multiple factors—like whether you’re about safety tools.
playing with friends or strangers or tucking into an ongoing
campaign versus a one-shot. The good news is that safety tools Gameplay Expectations
are modular and flexible and can be implemented in tons of If you don’t touch on it while using CATS, make time to go
ways. over what the game requires of players in terms of things
If you want to introduce safety tools into a campaign that like bookkeeping, math, tracking resources, drawing maps,
hasn’t started yet, start with the following “Session Zero” and other work. Ideally, the GM or other players can offer to
section. If you are introducing safety tools in a campaign support those who want or need assistance with these parts
that’s already underway, skip ahead to “Recommended Safety of the game.
Tools.”

Logistics
Session Zero
Session zero is the session your group holds before you start Like safety tools, figuring out logistics is part of making sure
actually playing the campaign. It can be facilitated by the everyone has fun.
GM, another player, or a combination of people at your table. Some things to go over:
Session zero is a great time to hammer out all kinds of details / How often you plan to meet
about your campaign—from the administrative details, like / How long sessions will be and whether there will be
scheduling and snacks, to story stuff, like what players can breaks during sessions
expect from the campaign.
MCDM Tabletop Safety Toolkit 1
 Recommended Safety Tools
/ The best medium for communicating when someone’s
running late or has to cancel
/ What happens if one or more players can’t make it to the Using any safety tool is better than none, but having multi-
session ple in place provides the most robust safety for your table
/ For in-person games, discuss who’s hosting, how you’ll because they all work hand-in-hand with one another. Of
handle meals or snacks course, you and your table are the best people to decide what
/ For in-person games, discuss any COVID-19 protocols you want to use and how to use them. Maybe you’ll want to
(masks, rapid testing before meeting, etc.). use certain tools and not others or parts of some and not parts
/ For online games, discuss what virtual tabletop and voice of others. Don’t feel like you have to make all of these deci-
chat you’ll use, whether video is optional, encouraged, sions at once—you can discuss as a table and you can even
or required, and whether side discussions in chat during add safety tools (or take them away) as your campaign goes
roleplay are okay. on.
Once you’ve introduced the tools, explain exactly how
Comfort and Accessibility they’re used; folks at your table might have differing levels of
familiarity and comfort with them. It might also help for the
Have a conversation about what everyone at the table needs GM (or whoever is facilitating the table’s safety) to give some
to make it comfortable and accessible. Some ways to make examples of how they’re used in play to model and normalize
your time together more comfortable for people: their use.
If you’re not sure how you’d introduce safety tools—may-
/ Make it clear that it’s okay to get up and stretch or move
be because you’ve been playing with a group of friends for
away when they need to.
a long time and haven’t used them before or because you’re
/ Let people knit, crochet, draw, color, or otherwise occupy
playing with totally new people and aren’t sure how to broach
their hands during play.
the topic—remember that these tools are there to be used in
/ Allow phones or tablets at the table for anyone who is
whatever ways are best for you and your table. That might
using them to take notes or keep their hands occupied
mean choosing a tool you like and introducing it to the group,
with apps for fidgeting. Discuss this with your table to
or sharing a safety checklist or Google form where people can
make sure that everyone has what they need and uses
fill in the things they do and don’t want to see in the game
devices responsibly in a way that doesn’t distract them or
(their Lines and Veils). You can adapt any of the tools below to
other players from the game.
feel right for your group and still get a lot out of them.
/ The goal here isn’t to anticipate everything people might
need, but to make it clear that everyone should feel safe
and comfortable asking for what they need to enjoy and Lines and Veils
engage with the game.
Created by Ron Edwards, Lines and Veils allows everyone to
Talk Safety Tools state what topics and themes they’d like to exclude or limit in
play. Lines are any topics or themes that should be excluded
entirely from the game. Veils are topics or themes that can ex-
Discuss the various tools you plan to use in your campaign
ist in the game but are not explored during roleplay and only
and tell the players how they work. If you’re sending out a
happen “off-screen.” Lines and Veils are typically established
survey or using a checklist for Lines and Veils, you may wish
during session zero but can be added to at any time. For ex-
to do that before session zero so you can discuss any details
ample, if the table has decided that there is a Line for torture,
and make sure the group is aware of the lines and veils in
this means that torture doesn’t exist in the game’s story and
play. No matter which tools your table uses, the goal of any
should never come up. On the other hand, if there is a Veil
session zero or conversation about safety is establishing an
for torture, it means that torture may exist in the story but
environment of open communication where people feel com-
that it will never be described by the GM or players. It may be
fortable talking about their boundaries.
referenced, but that’s it.

Wrap-Up Safety Checklist

One way to approach Lines and Veils is to use a checklist
After you’ve talked through safety tools and completed the pre-loaded with topics and themes that are things people com-
safety checklist (if your table is using it), you can discuss any- monly limit or eliminate from a game. Although the checklist
thing else you (or anyone at the table) might want to go over has a bunch of stuff already listed, the GM and players should
in more depth or that hasn’t come up so far. When everyone add items as necessary. You can use MCDM’s checklist provid-
feels ready to get started, it’s time to wrap up session zero and ed at the end of this guide.
start playing! Remind your group that you can come back to
safety tools and add to or change them as they fit throughout
the campaign. X-Card
The X-Card is a tool created by John Stavropoulos that allows
anyone at the table to remove content from the game that
makes them uncomfortable with no explanations needed.

MCDM Tabletop Safety Toolkit 2

 The X-Card can be a physical object on the table—a piece
of paper with an “X” on it—that people can touch or hold
Frequent Check-Ins
up when they want to invoke it. People can also verbally say
“X-Card,” type “X-Card” into an online chat, or cross their Even with safety tools in place, a game can still wander into
fingers or arms to signal they are invoking the tool. territory that makes someone uncomfortable. Check in at the
When the tool is invoked, play stops. The person who used beginning of each session to ask how everyone feels about the
the X-Card can explain why they used it but doesn’t have to. game so far, and ask if people would like to add to the Lines
No one should be pressured to explain or debate their bound- and Veils.
aries. After play stops, you can resume again at a future point
in the narrative, but if anyone wants a break or would like to Stop When Things Go Sideways
discuss the content in private with the GM or another player,
make time for it. If you find your table in a situation where someone is upset
or feels unsafe, stop play, take a break, and check in privately
Stars and Wishes to see what that person needs. After a heavy session, the GM
should privately ask everyone simple, non-invasive questions
Stars and Wishes by Lu Quade is a tool for collecting feed- like, “Do you want to keep playing?” and, “Is there anything
back from the table that also provides a fun way to wrap up a I can do to make this a more comfortable experience?” If
session. you’ve already established a culture of asking how people are
At the end of each session, ask each player to share one doing and everyone checking in on one another, it feels less
Star—a moment from the game they really loved—and one weird to take these kinds of breaks.
Wish—something they hope will happen next time. Ending a
session intentionally is particularly helpful after heavy games Facilitator
that could result in a character’s emotions affecting the play-
er’s emotions once the game is over. If you aren’t sure you’ll be able to keep track of the emotional
Some people also include a Sprinkle, something from the tenor of the table while GMing, consider asking if someone
session they feel might tie into their character’s backstory that in the group would like to be a facilitator. This person’s job
they’d like to call to the GM’s attention. is to pay attention to the mood at the table and notice when
If Stars and Wishes doesn’t feel right for your table, end folks might need breaks or are pulling away from the game.
heavy sessions by asking players to describe a brief epilogue While the GM’s role is to run the game, the facilitator cares
moment for their characters, something that puts a bow on for the players. If you decide to have a facilitator at the table,
the session and creates a firm conclusion to this part of the they and the GM can decide whose job it is to check in after a
story. It can be as simple as asking each player, “What does tough session.
your character do after this?”
Adapt the Tools
Safety Tool Tips If you’re wondering how to incorporate safety tools into your
long-running home game of close friends, the one shot you’re
Simply having safety tools in place is the beginning, not the running for strangers at a con, or anything else in between,
end, of creating and maintaining a safer gaming space. There the answer is the same: figure out which tools feel right for
are some best practices GMs should deploy throughout ses- your group and situation. If you feel weird about introducing
sions and campaigns to make sure everyone utilizes the tools. a formal safety system after years of using the “we know each
other really well” method, try saying, “I heard about this thing
Be Cool about Immersion I want to try!” If it would feel less awkward to do Lines and
Veils or Stars and Wishes via an online form, then do it that
Be relaxed about immersion, metagaming, and retconning. way. When it comes to running one-shots with a new group,
Safety and fun are more important than delicately tending you might only really have time to explain and implement
to the game’s narrative. Trust yourselves and one another to X-Card, and do Lines and Veils as either a handout or online
tell great stories—including making changes and discussing checklist.
moments and beats as you go—and that’s what you’ll do. All There is no one way to use these tools. Make it your goal to
of the best stories have edits! If you notice someone getting keep every session safe and comfortable for everyone, then
uncomfortable or a scene veering toward established Lines work backwards from there. You’ll be able to figure out which
or Veils, interrupt play to check in with the table or suggest tools to use and how to implement them.
taking a break. If anyone feels that a scene has inadvertently
taken a strange turn towards a subject people feel uncom-
fortable with—even if nothing that violates a Line or Veil has
taken place—the GM and players should feel free to “retcon”
a scene, simply by saying, “Wait, I’d like to take that again and
change some things.”

MCDM Tabletop Safety Toolkit 3

Credits
Author: Sally Tamarkin
Consultants: Colette Brown, LMSW, Sarah Hays, PsyD
Editors: James Introcaso, Hannah Rose
Layout and Graphic Design: Clara Daly
Community Coordinator: John Champion
Customer Support: Bobby McBride

Safety Tool Creators

Lines and Veils: Ron Edwards
X-Card: John Stavropoulos
Stars and Wishes: Lu Quade

MCDM Contract QA
Senior Tester: Spencer Hibnick
Testers: Nathan Clark, Cassandra “Dig” Crary, Alecson
de Lima Junior, James Dewar, Anna Guimarães, Alex
Hencinski

MCDM Team
Lars Bakke: Development & Production
Jerod Bennett: Technology
Grace Cheung: Art
Matt Colville: Writing & Design
Nick De Spain: Art & Art Outsource Management
Jason Hasenauer: Art & Art Direction
James Introcaso: Lead Game Designer
Hannah Rose: Managing Editor

Playtesters
Madeleine Bray, Janek Dalkowski, Aaron Flavius West,
Félix Gauthier-Mamaril, AJ Metzger, Shane Parker,
Roman Penna, Joel Russ, Clayton Salamon

Inspired By
TTRPG Safety Toolkit: Kienna Shaw, Lauren
Bryant-Monk
Consent in Gaming: Monte Cook Games

MCDM Tabletop Safety Toolkit 4