At its heart, Cybercore is an RPG that spans a rich universe of content, played by people from all walks of life. Each player brings their unique preferences, dislikes, fears, and boundaries to the game. To keep our gaming environment safe and enjoyable for everyone, Cybercore incorporates several well-established safety tools in the industry. It's important that the Game Master (GM) goes over these tools before gameplay begins.
Remember, creating a comfortable space isn’t just the GM's responsibility—everyone has a role to play. If your GM forgets to cover this in the prep work, don’t hesitate to bring it up before the game starts. Also, it’s a good practice to briefly revisit these safety measures at the beginning of each session, just to ensure that everyone is still on the same page and comfortable with the agreed-upon boundaries.
A Tone Conversation is an essential pre-game discussion where you convey the desired atmosphere for your sci-fi RPG. For example, you might aim for a mysterious tone, evoking the enigmatic depths of space exploration, or a tense atmosphere, capturing the high-stakes of intergalactic diplomacy and warfare. Other tones could include whimsical, reflecting a quirky, futuristic society, or horrific, focusing on the terror of unknown alien entities lurking on a derelict spaceship. By setting the tone upfront, everyone at the table can contribute effectively to the mood, ensuring a cohesive and immersive gameplay experience.
Lines and Veils delineate the boundaries within our games. Lines represent absolute boundaries—content that is entirely off-limits. This content will neither appear in the game nor be referenced or hinted at in any form. On the other hand, Veils indicate softer limits. Content under this category may be acknowledged in the narrative but will never be explicitly described or shown; alternatively, it may trigger a "fade-to-black" scenario, where the scene discreetly transitions away before any explicit detail emerges.
Because it's sometimes difficult to raise this topic with the players we have set out the standard lines and Vials our group uses.
You can use this as a starting point and add or modify it as you see fit.
| Topic | Line / Veils / Ask / Allowed / Yes Please |
|---|---|
| Sexual Violence | Line, it never comes up |
| Homophobia | Line, it never comes up |
| Transphobia | Line, it never comes up |
| Body Shaming | Line, it never comes up |
| miscarriage/ abortion | Line, it never comes up |
| PVP | Veil, It should be avoided, Shenanigans welcome |
| Sex | Veil, Fade to Black or the event is implied |
| Player Death | Veil, There consciousness fades to black, gory details are not required |
| NPC Death | Veil, brief description, but no super gory details |
| Graphic Gore | Veil |
| Maiming Injuries ( Eyes, Teeth, ) | Veil, stated, not described |
| Harm to Children | Veil, Implied |
| Torture | Veil, Implied |
| Harm to Animals | Allowed, not described, eg you are attacked by a bear |
| Racism | Ask |
| Death Of Parental Figures | Ask |
| Suicide | Veil, Implied |
| Pregnancy | Allowed |
| Alcoholism | Allowed |
| Bullying | Allowed |
| Classism | Allowed |
| Slavery | Allowed, NPC Inter-species, PC might start as Slaves / Indentured |
| Starvation | Allowed |
| Medical procedures to alter appearance | Allowed |
| Pandemics | Allowed |
| Bugs on/in people | Allowed, Aliens burst out of all sorts of places. |
| Genocide | Allowed, Generally Historical and Inter-species |
| Natural disasters | Allowed |
| Terrorism | Allowed |
| Police/ Police aggression | Allowed |
| Insects | Allowed |
| Spiders | Yes Please |
| Alien Spiders | Oh Hell Yes, where is my Mazer Rifle |
We plan to add the above list to the character generator so players can submit their preferences when creating their characters.
The Open Door Policy ensures that any player can step away from the game at any moment for personal safety or well-being without facing any judgment or repercussion. This policy underpins our commitment to maintaining a respectful and supportive gaming environment, ensuring that all players feel secure and valued.
X, N, and O Cards serve as vital communication tools for maintaining comfort and consent during gameplay. X-Cards can be used by a player to signal discomfort with the current content, prompting an immediate halt, revision, or omission of the material. N-Cards provide a preemptive cue, indicating that the game may be veering towards sensitive territory, suggesting a potential modification or a "fade-to-black" before discomfort arises. O-Cards are used to check in with the entire group, confirming that all participants are comfortable and consent to continue with the current course of the game.