tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post8268302953091423453..comments2024-03-25T19:59:20.840-07:00Comments on Cavegirl's Game Stuff: Handling IC NastinessCavegirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03853637517886592288noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-32944157524737471072019-02-26T00:51:48.458-08:002019-02-26T00:51:48.458-08:00"Tell your DM upfront" is a good idea – ..."Tell your DM upfront" is a good idea – if you already are aware of everything that might affect you.<br /><br />I do DM Call of Cthulhu at cons. Being a horror game, sensitive issue teand to crop up. Therefore, I often prepare a sheet with a list of potential trigger subjects, always including a number of triggers that are not planned for the session along with the potential danger spots.<br />I still remember a session in which all players initially had indicated they had no problem with the themes suggested. During the session, however, I noticed one of the players seemed to really have a hard time coping with the way one of the events was developing. So I decided to lead the investigation through a hairpin bend and into a completely different direction.<br />Afterwards, said player came up to me and told me, "Thank you for noticing, I had not realized how much the subject still affected me. I was on the verge of jumping up and leaving when you suddenly turned the story around."<br />I was really lucky to have noticed what was going on, as the whole scene was quite intense and I had been concentrating on getting it across correctly.<br /><br />In addition, people might not realize that they will be affected by something, not because they think they are "over it" like in that example but because they have never before been confronted by it or realized exactly what they are triggered by. I once had a player go through a quite serious panic attack after I surprised everyone with a "bump in the night" by loudly knocking on the bottom of the table with a hard object. This person had never realized or been diagnosed as having a severe case of ligyrophobia. When I met this person later at a different con, I apologized for triggering him/her and he/she told me himself/herself that the phobia had finally been diagnosed in the meantime. Of course, this still left me feeling bad Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14203616675822601486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-16843388570585182042019-02-06T01:24:00.394-08:002019-02-06T01:24:00.394-08:00Probably one of the best articles I’ve seen writte...Probably one of the best articles I’ve seen written on this topic ever in my gaming experience. If not the best. Alistairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04631364538623314004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-28122643247457057342019-02-05T15:24:01.633-08:002019-02-05T15:24:01.633-08:00Honestly, that seems reasonable. If everybody goes...Honestly, that seems reasonable. If everybody goes in knowing what to expect, then they're given a chance to make an informed decision about it. Making sure the tone you're going for is one everybody will be OK with is the single most important step, I think.Cavegirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03853637517886592288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-13130296542263352632019-02-05T04:30:35.071-08:002019-02-05T04:30:35.071-08:00I've been hedging my bets on honesty. Unicorn ...I've been hedging my bets on honesty. Unicorn Meat is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea, so I've settled on the elevator pitch of "It's LISA the Painful + True Detective S1 + Lord of the Flies, but with a unicorn factory farm in the horribly swampy backwoods". If that doesn't let people know what they're in for, I don't know what to do.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362417308874455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-59399719477254137752019-02-05T00:37:03.215-08:002019-02-05T00:37:03.215-08:00Like obviously if a player signals that 'this ...Like obviously if a player signals that 'this is upsetting for me we should stop' then you do that because you're not a fucking sociopath. But having that mechanism in place can't be your only (or main) tool, and prioritizing it over an approach that's more holistic will likely lead to bad outcomes.Cavegirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03853637517886592288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-57154145715577547002019-02-03T19:15:14.206-08:002019-02-03T19:15:14.206-08:00A+ post. Great points about the X card. Never thou...A+ post. Great points about the X card. Never thought about that. Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11103061574208320331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-4649618985137974912019-02-03T17:02:50.823-08:002019-02-03T17:02:50.823-08:00wow apparently I suck at blogger comments. I was t...wow apparently I suck at blogger comments. I was trying to edit that and accidentally deleted it. Anyways I had just said that we use essentially the same thing in the states, although typically we split the call into a "Hold" for medical/OOC emergencies and a "Break" for "this is triggering a traumatic moment for me and I need to sit the scene out". Break doesn't get called too often in my experience but it's usually only in smaller scenes where it does, and it's been very helpful.<br /><br />I definitely agree that the main reason one works and the other doesn't is the size of the group. In a LARP with so many GMs and players, it'd be impossible for every participant to be aware of what sets off traumatic moments for other people at the game, where that could be much easier in a tabletop.Isaak Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06343724939003644013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-1431149799568428532019-02-03T16:54:56.571-08:002019-02-03T16:54:56.571-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Isaak Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06343724939003644013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-33830329209579240642019-02-03T15:06:28.506-08:002019-02-03T15:06:28.506-08:00Most larps I'm involved with have an OOC call ...Most larps I'm involved with have an OOC call that signals 'a health and safety issue has arisen, pause the game', and many use that same call for mental health stuff. <br />That said, the tools you use for 2,000 strangers in a field is very different for when there's four people who know each other reasonably well sat at a table. I understand the more nordic side of larping have interesting tools they use, but I've got less experience with that because, frankly, I like hitting people with fake swords.Cavegirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03853637517886592288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-3906625963233991872019-02-03T14:10:14.493-08:002019-02-03T14:10:14.493-08:00I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on th...I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on this regarding stuff like LARP. I definitely agree on your points regarding the x-card in a tabletop, but what about tapping out in a LARP? I've seen the very helpful "break" call pop up in a lot of the better American ones.Isaak Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16517083632753313039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-78261626628163038072019-02-02T23:08:19.293-08:002019-02-02T23:08:19.293-08:00The part about tapping out is so true. It’s too l...The part about tapping out is so true. It’s too late. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2556965477270279581.post-32075124506327265632019-02-02T13:15:59.333-08:002019-02-02T13:15:59.333-08:00Up front communication is huge. In pretty much eve...Up front communication is huge. In pretty much every regard. And yeah, some games and/or settings just aren't going to be a good fit for some players. Best to know that ahead of time and not jump in than get blindsided by it.<br /><br />I'd also note that there's some stuff that falls in between. I am not going to be able to deal with spiders, no matter what. But heights (yes, even when just described, with no visuals), while they can mess me up if they catch me by surprise, I can deal with if I can get myself settled first. Suddenly teleport my character a thousand feet off the ground, and I'm out, but if the party has planned out that next week we're going after something in the Very High and Steep and Treacherous Mountains, I can roll with it.WestRiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10221228665636182019noreply@blogger.com