My theory is that Witch and Succubus found Wicked Uncle’s Wheel of Torture. But like the hapless Aristocrat before her, Necromancer seems to have discovered a line she will not cross. Maybe it’s got something to do with her unexpectedly gray alignment? She does have that pesky Paladin-related romantic sublot after all. But more likely, the ‘line she will not cross’ is really a veil. In the same way that the aforementioned Aristocrat lost her ear off-screen, some things really do deserve the fade to black treatment.

The notion of safety tools is on my mind lately thanks to a recent forum debate. I was disturbed by the amount of pushback this aspect of Session Zero received. To some extent I get it: Long-running groups who know one another well may not want to deal with the hassle. If you’ve gamed together for a decade or more, you likely have a solid sense for what your buddies are willing to tolerate in the parental guidance suggested department.

But FFS, haven’t these people ever heard of r/rpghorrorstories? Seriously, hit that link and read some if you’re unfamiliar. 

My own hot take is this: Safety tools exist for a reason. We’d all prefer to just slay dragons and roll dice and make pop culture references with our buddies. But if these “cringe” and “weak willed” and “sensitive” safety tools can prevent some of those horror stories, maybe don’t shit on ’em.

I think a lot of the dudes that dismiss safety tools have never experienced their own horror story. They just can’t conceive of them or their gaming buddies going through something like that, and so it gets dismissed out of hand. 

“I’ve never seen it, so it isn’t a real issue.”

And that’s ignorance rather than malice. Which is why I think the link to that subreddit is so important. Some of this stuff is truly heinous, and gamers need to understand exactly what these tools are trying to prevent.

So what do the rest of you guys think? Have you found yourself including these measures in your own games? And (if you’re comfortable sharing your story), have you ever had to make like Necromancer and actually invoke them? Let’s hear those harrowing tales of X-Cards slammed and Scripts Changed down in the comments!

 

THIS COMIC SUCKS! IT NEEDS MORE [INSERT OPINION HERE] Is your favorite class missing from the Handbook of Heroes? Maybe you want to see more dragonborn or aarakocra? Then check out the “Quest Giver” reward level over on the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. You’ll become part of the monthly vote to see which elements get featured in the comic next!