Fade to Black

While we will always do our best to keep our adventures inclusive and give ample content warnings where needed, there may be times when the subject matter at the game table might make players uncomfortable. In case this ever occurs, Evil Genius Games wants to supply you with tools to help.

First and foremost is clear communication. GMs and Players alike need to be able to communicate to each other when a topic is making them uncomfortable. This is of the utmost importance—if someone is uncomfortable, they are no longer having fun, and having fun is the reason why we come together to play these games.

One way that this sort of communication can be initiated during a game is by the use of the X-Card. The X-Card is a tool that someone can use to non-verbally clue in the table that there is some sort of an issue going on. This card can be something discreet such as a playing card or a token that is handed to the GM, or something more obvious like a piece of paper with a large X in the middle of the table that someone can just point to when wishing to indicate that the current topic at the table is uncomfortable.

When a topic exists that makes somebody uncomfortable at the game table, the GM can choose from a variety of tools to move the story along in a conscientious way. One of the easiest and most common is Fade to Black. This technique involves the GM simply stating that the scene literally “fades to black” and resolves itself off-screen. The game continues forward after everyone gets a moment to take a breath, with all players understanding that the scene has concluded and will not be revisited. If the GM wishes to narrate the outcome, they can attempt to give a loose description of the scene’s aftermath, but only if they judge that all of the players would be comfortable with hearing this.

While these are the two tools most recommended by Evil Genius Games, and can be found in Chapter 13 of the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook, many others exist. A fantastic resource to find these is The TTRPG Safety Toolkit, a compilation of safety tools that have been designed by members of the tabletop RPG community. For more information, and the toolkit itself, check here: https://bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit.

The TTRPG Safety Toolkit is a resource co-curated by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. The TTRPG Safety Toolkit is a compilation of safety tools that have been designed by members of the tabletop roleplaying games community for use by players and GMs at the table. You can find it at ttrpgsafetytoolkit.com.