making my safety-tools
I like safety tools, but I do not have any at home. Sure, it is not a big deal to draw an X on a piece of paper and put that down on the table, but more often than not, I just forget all together to make anything at all, when my friends are around already. To nip that situation right in the bud, I will make a pretty safety tools set, that I can just slap on the table whenever it is needed.
There is a whole spectrum of safety / communication tools and it is just the matter of finding the right tool that resonates with you and your players.
I am focusing here on the tools that I will be using during play. These will end up being cards, since it is a practical format + I have a bunch of old cards laying around, ready to be desecrated.
choose your poison
During a Session, I want to offer people to check in on each other by establishing a ? for exactly that purpose. I can imagine both, using this while scenes are being played out (seeking feedback during play, without interrupting the action) AND taking a break from the scene, to receive the feedback in peace. I think it depends on what feels right in the situation. //Tip: play continues after EVERYONE has given feedback, otherwise we will take a break (T).
We have the O card. Everything is good, give me more, you can even go rougher on me.
The = says: I am OK the way how things are, but I do NOT want things to get any rougher than this, It could get to much soon.
X is a clear NO, STOP, a line is crossed, either in-game , or out of game. The session will be interrupted and the problematic situation has to be resolved, or the games ends.
|<< the rewind button. The scene gets wound back, to the spot that irked someone and an alternative scene gets played out. Some people do this when using the X card, but I like to have both for the nuance of the situation.
In case of exhaustion, we will be including the T card, to signal a time-out whenever that is needed. Maybe the social battery is depleted before our bathroom break kicks in. Just pull the time-out card.
I think we have a nice combination of tools for reassurance, control, security, feedback und re-shaping.
let's do the pre-work
We have 6 symbols and if we use the front and the back of the playing cards, that would be 3 cards per player. 6 dedicated cards would be too much. I want to have enough cards for 6 players and I am being a bit generous here. Can't see myself in a 6-player-session (personal sweet spot is 4), but then I have some extra. That makes 18 playing cards.
I chose following combinations of symbols+cards:
X + ?
T + |<<
O + =
Just a peek into the drawer...ah yes...I will be using the good ol Posca paint markers.
O, = & X will receive the colors green, yellow & red respectively. The other symbols should have their own and easy distinguishable background colors. We will go for purple (T), pink (|<<) & blue (?).
let`s get dirty
Let's slap on the symbols right away and go on from there.
first coating of paint. Yes, I should have given the cards a ground coating, maybe a spray spray on the balcony, but I am a lazy. This means we will go ALL OUT sloppy and punk rock on these cards.
Let's add some texture. Splatter, smudges and speckles. I like to take two wet cards and rub the paint off of each other. Embrace the chaos.
Don't use too many different colors, try to go with 2-3 colors, that complement each other well.
And now we add a black outline to the symbols, so that they pop out of the mess.
done
And voilà, our communication tools are complete.
For the sake of preservation, I will be using card-condoms, since I am not sure how well the paint will hold, especially when there is continues friction <-- card rubbage.
