(N.B.: I'm not asking for a debate on the utility or necessity of Safety Tools in RPGs) A question for RPG players and GMs: I'm building a new Safety Tool similar to the X-Card but with a wider range of message. (The X card is a clean, direct, non-verbal way of communicating a single, important piece of information. In the case of the X Card, it's "Stop everything right now") There are some other similar safety tools out ther. The X-Card was expanded to include "N" ('please fade to black'), and "O" ('everyone OK?'). What sort of things might you want to communicate to a GM (or have communicated to you) in a way which doesn't necessarily interrupt a scene? And -- I can't believe I have to say this -- but they don't necessarily need to be bad things. Here are some examples: - "Can we take a break after this?" - "Proceed with Caution" - "I enthusiastically consent to this, even though my character seems to be hating this" - "I have a rules question"- - "More of this, please!" - Think of it like a semaphore or an ideaogram. It's a way to communicate a potentially complex idea in a single moment. What sorts of things do you want to be able to communicate to your GMs?

I realized this morning that I have become much more interested in what other systems offer since I started thinking about collaborative campaign design etc. I have always been drawn to heroic fantasy, which is well handled by the two systems I know best. Letting players pick a genre instead of me pitching one has got me thinking about how I might run scifi, sci-fantasy, horror, steampunk, ... So, giving players more ownership of the game has changed my interest in other systems and I find myself reading up on other systems and what they do best. I wonder if others have gone through a similar realization that they can do more and move out of their comfort zone.

A little over a year ago I felt inspired by the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Soon after, I watched Violet Evergarden. Then, I think I watched Dungeon Meshi for probably the fifth time, and Howl’s Moving Castle for probably the hundred and fifth time. From these influences, my campaign “War is Hell” was born. In my mind it’s a collaborative world-building project first and a campaign setting… not quite second, but like, first and a half. The world is vast and wildly multicultural. Generally, the tech level can be understood to be around the Belle Epoque, though material conditions and geography differ greatly from any IRL inspirations. Two-ish decades ago, a tiny country the size of Switzerland started their imperial project and now the Empire of Alius covers 1/3 of “Eurasia and Africa”. The war crossed the “Atlantic” about a year and a half prior to session 1. In response, almost all of the significant countries and territories in North and South Patria formed the Confederation of Patria, forming the largest, theoretically strongest, most haphazardly-stitched-together military this world has ever seen. The actual campaign follows a ragtag special forces unit, especially talented recruits fresh out of boot camp assigned to the same team based on synergy—at least, on paper. The first mission was a training mission meant to test how compatible this team actually was. Following the events of the first few sessions, the campaign has become a survival-crafting hexcrawl. The team deserted pretty much immediately due to -Plot- and is now bouncing from side quest to side quest, filling out the map of the countryside and learning more about the world and the war as they go. As for system, we use 5.5e as a base with some rule tweaks to make it just a touch grittier, we follow Helliana’s rules for crafting and gathering, and I have a pretty open-door policy on homebrew so long as its well made and fits the ~vibe~ I recently was gifted the Handbook for Collaborative Campaign Design by one of my players and its advice has been soooo useful as the campaign marches on!

Hey there amazing adventurers & avid readers, My name is Ricardo and I'm a GM using mostly D&D5e and a lot of homebrew. I also have dabbled in a couple other systems, but mostly stick to the reliable math rocks & imagination. I run Oneshots, 1 ongoing in-person campaign in Homebrew world, plus trying to start a Hop-On Hop-Off Online campaign in the same Homebrew world. Pleasure to meet you all, and May the rolls ever be in your favour!

Most game adverts have a description of the setting or story. As I prep advertising for a new in-person game, I was working on some draft language to promote a proactive game... Here is what I have so far, I would love edits and feedback. "I am putting together a group for an emergent campaign using Fishel & Fishel’s Proactive Roleplaying and Collaborative Campaign Design frameworks. The basic concept of an emergent campaign is that the plot emerges as the player characters pursue their own goals and the world reacts to their actions rather than the plot being outlined or written by the GM (or a publisher) ahead of time. Ginny Di made a nice 13min video about Proactive Roleplaying if a video format is helpful to understanding the concept." EDIT: With Tristan's suggestions: "Are you looking to join a friendly, in-person, long-term campaign where character goals shape the story and the plot emerges through gameplay instead of being planned by the GM?" followed by "In this campaign, the players will use their characters’ beliefs and motivations to write actionable goals that overlap with those of other players and the goals of factions. This overlap creates tension and obstacles as the characters pursue their goals and the world reacts. The campaign plot will emerge gradually as the characters make choices on how to pursue their goals and grapple with their flaws and internal struggles (the GM is not outlining or planning a plot). Tristan and Jonal Fishel described the framework of Proactive Roleplaying as distinct from more traditional reactive play, where the BBEG is doing something bad and the characters react to thwart their plans. If videos are more digestible for you, Ginny Di made a nice 13min video discussing this concept."