Game Safety Tools
X Card
The X card is a common safety tool that is used at most gaming conventions. The X card was developed to give players control over content that makes them uncomfortable (Stavropoulos, 2013).The concept is straightforward, if something comes up in game that a player finds is causing them distress they simply touch the X card to cause a change that moves away from the topic causing distress. For example a group of characters comes up against two large giant spiders, this event causes a player distress due to their phobia of spiders. They touch the X card and say "I can't do spiders". The Dungeon Master (DM) adapts the scenario saying "As the creature steps out of the shadows you see it is not two spiders, it is in fact one creature, a large black cat-like beast with pseudopods coming out of its back". In this scenario the DM swapped out the spiders for a creature called a displacer beast. The player does not have to experience the spider battle but the players still get to have an exciting encounter.
Lines and Veils
Lines and Veils is a safety tool that allows a group of players to decide what they want in the game and what they do not before the game even starts. Lines and veils are a safety tool developed to deal with difficult topics or scenarios within TRPG sessions (Reinbold, 2021). At the first session the group will discuss topics and things that they do not want in the game, these are the lines that are not crossed. Veils are things that can happen in the background but not in game. A player may decide that spiders are a line, meaning there are no spiders in the game. If the player decides that spiders are a veil then spiders attacks may be talked about happening to other adventurers but they will not be a part of the game.
Stars and Wishes
The program uses a modified version of Stars and Wishes. Stars and wishes were originally conceptualized as a way to get feedback about the game, and discuss what the players enjoyed (Quade, 2018). The program uses stars and wishes as questions, what kind of things do you like, Stars, (types of video games, tv shows, etc...) and what things do you want in the game, Wishes. This allows the players to inform the gaming experience and ensure that there things in the game that they will enjoy. This is an ongoing process and the facilitator will check in with the group periodically to see if the participants want to add new things. At this point the stars become about what the players have enjoyed about the game. The facilitator can use this to keep the game interesting and engaging for the participants.
Last Updated June 2025