Safety Tools
Sometimes, tabletop roleplaying games may have content or situations where a player or game master (GM) may feel stressed out, unsafe, or otherwise not having fun. Safety tools are a way for players and GMs to communicate and check-in before, during, and after a game in order to make sure everyone is still having fun, and to provide the right support when needed.
Safety tools come courtesy of the TTRPG Safety Toolkit.
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.
Communication, Trust and Care
The key to safety tools is communication and trust. There needs to be open and respectful communication alongside a culture of trust for these to work.
You can create this culture by making it clear that the care and well-being of everyone at the table comes before the game or story. This can be done by actively listening to everyone, offering accommodations and safety tools, implementing actions when asked while not prying (nobody owes you their trauma as explanation), and actively checking in before, during, and after a game.
The Toolkit
Different safety tools work better for different people and games. Finding the ones that best suit the needs of everyone at the table is important, and should be facilitated through discussion at the start of every new game or new group.