Do you think it is necessary to separate safety tools like the X-Card or Lines & Veils from tools like Microscope’s Palette that manage focus, tone, genre, themes, and so on?
As an example, the X-card has traditionally been used to moderate unsafe content, but it can also be used to moderate boring content or content that just doesn’t fit. This is actually encouraged by John Stavropoulos to demystify and normalise it.
In my recent Apocalypse World Play by Post we used the Palette to establish the setting and themes. We banned zombies because we were not interested in them, but we did also ban violence against children.
A part of me wants to separate the two because feeling safe at the table is much more important than sticking to genre and they feel like very different conversations, but they are also similar issues that can be addressed with the same tools. Also, the palette is something you might use as a reference during the game and when you’re checking tone and genre a list of unsafe topics can be distracting.
The X-card on the other hand can be used for mundane reasons one moment and safety reasons the next and the two instances of use do not affect each other. I don’t think it’s necessary to make an X-card-equivalent for sticking to genre, but I do think it might be useful to do Lines & Veils separate to the Palette.
What do you think? Do you have good examples of tools that blur the line between managing safety and the mundane?
Saffire Rainbo pretty much said anything I wanted to say. I’ll re-emphasize the point that the palette is there for reference, and to give that shared head-space, especially among people you haven’t played with. The X-Card/Lines & Veils should be serious business because they’re not just about setting up expectations, it’s also about protecting the psyche of the players.
Saffire Rainbo pretty much said anything I wanted to say. I’ll re-emphasize the point that the palette is there for reference, and to give that shared head-space, especially among people you haven’t played with. The X-Card/Lines & Veils should be serious business because they’re not just about setting up expectations, it’s also about protecting the psyche of the players.
Ferrell Riley Echoing the palette as shared reference on the table. Establishing the tone via palette creates this arbiter on a card, so when someone loses track of the tone, then players can just gently nudge that palette list. The X-card is more circumstantial and covers what wasn’t/couldn’t be discussed about content upfront. I always use it seriously, but it’s not always ‘heavy’ to me…I treat it a bit like Itras By / Archipalego’s “Try Another Way” card.
Ferrell Riley Echoing the palette as shared reference on the table. Establishing the tone via palette creates this arbiter on a card, so when someone loses track of the tone, then players can just gently nudge that palette list. The X-card is more circumstantial and covers what wasn’t/couldn’t be discussed about content upfront. I always use it seriously, but it’s not always ‘heavy’ to me…I treat it a bit like Itras By / Archipalego’s “Try Another Way” card.
I have not had any experiences with the X-Card and very few with the palette, so I do not have much to add. I just wanted to say that I appreciate these tools in gaming and this post has had some very insightful and interesting points to help me get a better understanding of these concepts and their importance.
I have not had any experiences with the X-Card and very few with the palette, so I do not have much to add. I just wanted to say that I appreciate these tools in gaming and this post has had some very insightful and interesting points to help me get a better understanding of these concepts and their importance.
Turns out Saffire Rainbo had the opposite idea to mine. I was feeling like separating the Palette from Lines & Veils, but I was open to using the X-card for less serious things. On the other hand, Saffire Rainbo liked using the palette for everything, but wanted to reserve the X-card for serious content.
These are two very different topics so I’ll tackle the Palette first.
When I played in a Monsterhearts Play by Post earlier this year, we also used the Palette to set the tone. The other participants added things in both the yes and the no column about genre and setting, but my only contribution was banning any sexual assault or non-consent. It was important to me, and even though I was playing with a group of people I knew and was comfortable with, it still felt like I was outing myself when I was the only one bringing up personal boundaries. And of course it pops up again every time the Palette is referenced. (In hindsight I could have rephrased it as saying yes to consent rather than banning assault.)
The are other issues with “brainstorming” boundaries before a game and knowing which boundaries are obvious or not, but I don’t think I need to go into it right now.
I do want to have conversations about boundaries and I believe it can be useful to write things down as a reference, but I’m unsure about lumping them in with the mundane preferences. So unsure that I did it anyway when I ran a PbP game myself.
For my next game I think I want to try doing Lines & Veils separate to the Palette. But maybe if they are combined, along with all the wisdom that come with each individual tool, maybe it will work better. What do you think?
Turns out Saffire Rainbo had the opposite idea to mine. I was feeling like separating the Palette from Lines & Veils, but I was open to using the X-card for less serious things. On the other hand, Saffire Rainbo liked using the palette for everything, but wanted to reserve the X-card for serious content.
These are two very different topics so I’ll tackle the Palette first.
When I played in a Monsterhearts Play by Post earlier this year, we also used the Palette to set the tone. The other participants added things in both the yes and the no column about genre and setting, but my only contribution was banning any sexual assault or non-consent. It was important to me, and even though I was playing with a group of people I knew and was comfortable with, it still felt like I was outing myself when I was the only one bringing up personal boundaries. And of course it pops up again every time the Palette is referenced. (In hindsight I could have rephrased it as saying yes to consent rather than banning assault.)
The are other issues with “brainstorming” boundaries before a game and knowing which boundaries are obvious or not, but I don’t think I need to go into it right now.
I do want to have conversations about boundaries and I believe it can be useful to write things down as a reference, but I’m unsure about lumping them in with the mundane preferences. So unsure that I did it anyway when I ran a PbP game myself.
For my next game I think I want to try doing Lines & Veils separate to the Palette. But maybe if they are combined, along with all the wisdom that come with each individual tool, maybe it will work better. What do you think?