Most interactive drama or live roleplay groups have no problem with the issues surrounding vampire slaying, the depravations of an insane military leader, or even "Todd" the nice quiet cannibalistic serial killer who lives down the block. Mature topics of sadism, violence, murder, and mayhem have been part of roleplaying for years -- even the tame mass market scenarios of the How to Host a Murder or Murder Mystery Party variety address violent acts as if they were commonplace. It's when we start incorporating sexual themes or action into our scenarios that we start getting into trouble.

This Stuff is Darker and More Common Then We Think

When we start addressing the darker sides of society and sexuality in our scenarios, it's best to tread softly . . . particularly when dealing with issues such as rape or sexual harassment (in realistic or fantasy settings, doesn't matter). Sure women were treated like chattel as the legions marched through and rape was to be expected as a part of war, but playing those roles for some folks can be awfully traumatic. This is especially true when we consider how common harassment and rape really are. More women than not have had at least some contact with this sort of thing in some form or another and you can never tell when you're going to stir up something rather unpleasant beforehand. Even if you know the persons involved, you may not know everything there is to know; most rapes, harassments, or "unfriendly fondling" are NOT reported to authorities or even a woman's closest friends.

If you push the wrong buttons, it's too easy to have some poor soul relive a very terrifying and traumatic experience which others may not have been previously aware of (not even her best friends). Sexual harassment and rape are just way too common in real life to allow them to appear in game to ruin someone's fun.

I once gave a lecture on role playing in the English classroom and talked the audience through an example scenario in which the character found herself alone in a dark alley while a strange menacing figure came walking slowly towards her with the moon shining overhead as they watched this man's features change into those of a horrific creature (basically, a werewolf). When I asked various members of the audience what their characters would do, one of the panelists began crying as she found my description too close to a reality she'd suffered only a few weeks before in a dark Taipei alley where she only avoided rape because some guy drove his car down the alley by mistake and the car lights frightened her assailant off. Of course, that's an extreme example.

You never know what's going to go on inside someone's head and having a character rape another character just because he could do it or because some testosterone case wants some vicarious sexual jollies is too close to why idiots commit real rape in the first place. If the "victim" consents to roleplaying then great, but it should never be thrown into a scenario or setup by a player in-game as an afterthought . . . that is neither good practice as a human or as a roleplayer.

Informed consent

If characters want to have sex in game then they should go to the in-game brothel. If your game doesn't have an in-game brothel then obviously it's not that sort of game so keep your character's penis under his loincloth. If enough players do express and interest in adult themes, then start an adult themes group… but it still needs to be based upon "informed consent" and closed to minors.

Now don't get me wrong, I like to read adult theme LARPs as well as the next guy, well probably more unless the next guy is Bob Guccionne or Hugh Hefner . . . see http://www.rpg.net/larp/scenario.html#Mature for a few examples of what some have written in the genre…. But actually playing in such scenarios should be based completely upon "informed consent" -- a term I prefer to just "consent," as sometimes folks who are too young or ill-informed don't have all the information they need to give full consent. In other respects it is also used to cover situations where there is a third person involved (for instance, if two people become lovers and one of them is married, then that piece of information should be made clear and all three members of the triad should know and consent to exactly what's going on before anything actually happens).

Folks who are legally not of age should not be exposed to the stuff since they are unable to fully give consent as they are not privy to the knowledge, life experiences, common sense, or just plain ol' legal recognition as the rest of us. If any LARPER readers are actually considering any sort of "adult-theme" content in any of their games, they are well advised to exclude minors -- the legal hassles alone are enormous and there are other factors.

Rape in Roleplaying is Really Sticky

I've never been a fan of the rape fantasy game . . . either as a roleplayer or as a sexually active adult. Sure, John Norman included quite a few of them in his entertaining classic, Imaginative Sex, and they can be fun for the right people, but for me consent is so much more fun. The more contemporary book on fantasy roleplays for couples, Safe, Sane, and Consensual, provides specific advice for playing out these sort of two-person scenarios in the bedroom but guided by safety and consent markers.

If you want to roleplay making the beast with three or four backs with some folks, then get their consent in and out of character and go for it, with the amount of actual physical contact based upon the maturity, intimacy, and consent of the participants. I am against having sexual harassment or rape situations in-character, period. However, if you want them in your game, then make certain that it's agreed upon at every level. Since I tend to run theatre style games, I don't usually have to worry about character-initiated rape situations . . . I put different goals into the pieces which normally imply consent (both in and out of game). I suppose a character could have a rape in their background but that would normally be there only as an impetus for some sort of plot activity (revenge, shame, whatever) but we've never used it so far and I really doubt we would (in that respect, it's more fun to have sybarites and the like looking for consenting partners).

A simple rule you can follow is that "no" is always "out of character" and that no touching is ever allowed without very explicit OOC consent. Also, non-consensual acts or verbiage should never be allowed. If anyone crosses the line, then boot them, hard. If anyone ever touches or goes farther, then you boot them and in extreme cases you hold them for the police to pick up. (I've never heard of that happening anywhere, but I would think that knowing the organizers of a game are serious about the comfort of all participants would be a deterrent to the morons.)

One reason I was asked to pen this little essay is because of some comments I made in an internet newsgroup discussion of rape in games wherein a correspondent asked about other groups' policies toward in-game rape and harassment. My question to the original poster who stated his group had a meeting in which they discussed ways to minimize or reduce sexual harassment is "how prevalent have you found this problem to be?"

If you have to go out of your way to make special rules against rape, then I'm wondering what the hell kind of game you're running. If you have specific folks who are a problem, then boot them. If you're running games or a system which seem to encourage this sort of behavior then you might consider rehashing your rules and rethinking your scenarios so they're less macho and brawn and more brains and intrigue.

Game Worlds Aren't Real Worlds

Some folks object to excluding certain IC behavior on the grounds that it's part of the real world way certain bastards operate. If your game world has other forms of violence, then it's hard to justify IC why the villainous orks who've just split the guts of innocent villagers and pissed on an altar haven't thought of rape before as a way of terrifying and harassing enemies. They would say that if you're dropping one specific form of violence in game then you need to drop them all to be consistent. No, you don't. You just keep it out game and say we won't tolerate this behavior whether the character is capable of it or not. Simple, easy, to the point. It's just a game anyway. Really, it's that simple.

Everyone at the game should be mature enough to know it's a game for everyone else's enjoyment too. If one person gets his jollies screwing up others' fun -- either through IC rape or whatever -- then he's a menace to the game and a danger to the other players. An excuse of "my character's really evil so I would do that" is just bullshit justification. Boot the offender -- nicely, if you like, or just hard. Remember, it's your game world and you want it played in a way that satisfies you and which pleases the largest number of participants. The game can be run arbitrarily if need be . . . as long as you make these sorts of decisions for the best of all concerned, then get rid of the offender.

Rape and the Like as Plot Device

Some folks use rape in their games as a plot device. Well, okay, sure, there could be a plot where the threat of rape is important . . . not unlike the princess being forced to marry the big bad evil dude wizard against her will. This spurs our heroes into action. Robin has to rescue Marion by such and such a time. The virgin sacrifice to Kali is the same sort of thing. Those who defend this plot element in and of itself rightfully point out that this is a common and recurring theme in the fantasy literature so many of us base our scenarios upon.

This is a very good point. However, in this storyline it is the "threat of rape" or whatever as used as an impetus for furthering the plot. I would assume that for many live combat games these two roles (Wizard and Princess) would be taken on by NPCs who know their functions in the game (to provide impetus for PC action so players can have a good time being all heroic and such). If it's a PC thing such as in theatre style interactive dramas, then it still works best as a motivator for other PCs or the prisoner to take action to avoid it. It's a McGuffin that helps propel the plot forward -- in the same way that "the rightful prince will be executed at dawn and then my evil plans to rule the kingdom will be realized" does. Once the "rape" or "execution" occurs you're dealing with a very different sort of story (either gritty realism with depression and loss or Spanish drama with revenge to the end, it stops being the "high fantasy" most LARPs pride themselves on emulating).

If you wish to use this plot-device, fine. Just follow the informed consent and warning disclaimer policies I've outlined above. If you don't want to bother with warnings, keeping minors away, or getting explicit informed consent from all the participants, then use a different plot-device. They're a dime a dozen and a substitute that works for your group shouldn't be too hard to find.

Even if you do use this as a plot device, it is still very different from the orks who've paralyzed a PC thief and have tied her up and taken her stuff and then decided to rape her for good measure or for an extra bit of vicarious fun. Such acts don't really contribute to the furthering of the plot, they're just random acts of stupidity. We have enough stupidity in our games without leaving that sort of option open.

Safewords, Learning From Our Cousins in the BDSM Community

Perhaps you should learn a bit from the adults only activity folks. Many groups with formal "munches" or party rules do everything based upon consent (the BDSM motto of "Safe, Sane, and Consensual" is a common enough catch phrase that needs to be used by more roleplayers as well). Hell, even the folks who play sexual dominance and submission games still have SAFEWORDS. Some poor girl may consent to being tied down on a bed and have hot wax dripped over her nipples and other nice parts, or even put on a chain as a public toilet or oral facility, but if she uses her SAFEWORD, then the "game" ends. Now, I wouldn't suggest setting up those sorts of events in anyone's LARP, but the safeword can be used for less extreme activities as well. If your game has the potential to become violent or out of control (live combat arena or battles often become rather chaotic with some warriors becoming a bit more over-zealous than they should in the heat of the moment) or with folks with different tastes, maybe you need to start giving folks a SAFEWORD to use in game which means the story doesn't go in that direction. Of course, "no" is the best SAFEWORD of all.

Of course, most LARPer readers aren't looking for an intense sexual addition in their LARPs, more likely they're just adding an adult theme here or there to make the scenario more "realistic." Some games do have explicit sexual content though. A few years ago, I stumbled across a rather fascinating webpage run by a group of Japanese gamers in Tokyo who combined their interests in sexual Female Domination, Male Submission, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Costumes, and Roleplaying. Their "play parties" were actually elaborate scenarios based upon plots and themes that would have put the Marquis de Sade to shame with male players often caged or chained naked in character and used and abused in all sorts of ways . . . all with consent. Most of us "regular" roleplayers are too self-conscious about our bodies or relationships or propriety to show up to a game in costume, let alone with painted nipples or clitoris rings. However, we can still learn from those in that special hybrid swinger/roleplayer community in that everything is permissible as long as it is based upon informed consent.

If You Build it, They Will Come

Build your game experience the way you want to build it. If you're organizing the game then you need to be sensitive to the needs and expectations of your players (and give them reasonable expectations when providing publicity - any mature subjects games need to be signposted as such and they should limit participation to folks of legal age just to be safe). That's not running from fascist morals thumpers, that's protecting your rights as well.

If folks don't like the game world you're running, then they are certainly welcome to not play in it and to even go further and create their own original world and/or system. However, they should know what they're getting into if you intend to open up mature topics in the scenario.

If you suspect someone might have a problem with either the gay-basher character or the flamboyantly gay character, then warn that person that certain "issues" will be raised. If you want that player in your game, then write the game so that the suspect issues don't come up. If the issues are more important to you then that specific player, then don't invite that player to participate.

Any organizer should try to match the players to the game and the game to the players. If it's a public game, then make certain all the disclaimers have been placed in all of the publicity and that you're not allowing underage participants (some folks allow minors with parental consent but I would suggest that you not do so even if the parents are playing). You never know. Err on the side of being paranoid and you'll make out better in the long run.

Naturally, you shouldn't sacrifice all of your "artistic integrity" just to play it safe. Be as wild and weird and wonderful as you like. However, just make certain that you're presenting this wild, weird, and wonderful world to folks who will appreciate it. Advertise for players where like-minded roleplayers are likely to hang out. If you are planning on running a game about a cabal of drug addicted pedophile Satanists set on resurrecting Adolph Hitler while travelling back in time to rape, torture, and mutilate a teenage Virgin Mary, then it's probably not a good idea to recruit potential players at the local seminary with the blurb notice, "addresses religious themes." (Please note: this is a really stupid idea for a game scenario, please don't use it).

Build the game for an appropriate audience and you should do fine.

Psychodrama Ain't for Games, it's for Therapy

For a while in Australia quite a few freeform scenarios were being written that were attempts at combining psychodrama and roleplay. This form of New Wave gaming eventually settled into the experimental Short, Sharp, Shocks which are still being run down under. The SSS approach has become an attempt at trying something new and exciting to shake up the players and the writers. They are better controlled and much more mature than their precursors. Psychodrama in and of itself is best left to therapists and the social service folks who use it with good effect and with purpose. Screwing around with someone's mind just to see if you can do it, isn't the best idea . . . for gaming, or for your fellow humans.

Hell, even the folks who advocate mature themes should know better than to play psychodrama on folks who don't want psychodrama . . . If your piece would appeal to a specific audience, then you need to make certain that's who plays your game. That's not just to protect oneself from lawsuits either (and they do happen), it's to make certain the players get what they want out of the piece and everyone has a good time. If you like Gor and really want to run a realistic Gor game with half-naked slave girls and brutish warriors who teach them how to be real subservient women, or if you'd like to give Leather Goddesses of Phobus a run with whips, chains, and half-naked dominatrix goddesses wielding rather large phallic shaped objects for insertion into exposed bodily orifices of weak mostly-nude slaveboys, then, fine, more power to you. Go find a group of like-minded souls who'd enjoy roleplaying that fantasy world . . . don't put it into an environment where folks not interested (or even offended) by it will be playing.

Have Rules and Follow Them

Every game, every venue, every group of players has to have ground rules where it is clear what is allowed and what is not acceptable. If not, then you just have a bunch of folks running around in funny clothes forcing others to react to their idea of fun . . . and in such a setting, it's the big, oafish, rude and loud who tend to have the good time. The others soon quit and leave the game.

Of course, I have it easier than many of our readers -- the group I play with is fairly permanent and definitely private. Since we meet in a private home on a regular basis and we don't treat our sessions as a business venture of any sort . . . just a bunch of friends having fun together . . . we can build our scenarios to the taste of the participants and drop themes or topics we know the players aren't interested in. We can also add material or topics that we know various players enjoy. If someone is disruptive, they don't get invited back. After all, "It's our house and we'll invite who we want to."

If you are running a game in an area with a lot of conservative Christians you can either run the system and the world to fit their tastes or you need to make certain they understand that the world contains some things they may not like so they won't play. That's not bowing to censorship, it's making certain you have the right players for your game.

If you know your game may contain issues that might be pushing the envelope, then make certain you have safeguarded yourself legally, ethically, and in any other way so you don't offend your players or leave yourself open to suit. You can still run the game, but make certain everyone understands the issues to be covered and that they consent to participating. "Informed consent" means players over a certain age only. For roleplayed adult subjects that usually means 18; for nudity issues, you're safer with 21 . . . for talky issues about mature stuff you might go with 16 for players as well as a signed consent form from a parent or guardian. Any game that admits folks under 16 should (1) always have signed parental consent forms AND (2) should NEVER deal with these issues anyway.

Conclusion

If you want to have sex or sexually charged issues in your game, great, go for it. However, base everything on informed consent and safewords. Respect other players and make certain "no" is always out-of-character. If you're including anything that might be construed as adult -- theme, topic, costume, or behavior -- do yourself, your players, and your community a favor and exclude minors from participating. Most of all, have fun and make sure your players are having fun too.

About the Author:
Brian David Phillips, Ph.D., lives in Taipei, Taiwan, with his wife, daughter, and two cats. He is a founding member and chief executive operator of the Taipei Interactive Theatre Society and a long time roleplayer. As an Associate Professor in the English Department at National Chengchi University, Dr. Phillips combines his professional interests and hobbies regularly in the classroom and in his academic research -- see http://www.rpg.net/larp/index.html for more. Dr. Phillips also moderates the Interactive Dramatist email discussion list at http://www.egroups.com/group/InteractiveDramatist for theatre style LARP and freeform writers to discuss writing and exchange scenarios for review.

Brian David Phillips, Ph.D.
phillips@nccu.edu.tw
Assoc. Prof., English Dept., NCCU Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)