Playing Carefully

Zi’Dara goes to dark places sometimes, like a soul trapped in paint or a friend who doesn’t make it out. That’s fine as long as everyone at the table is fine with it. These tools keep it that way, and none of them slow the game down.

The X-Card

Write an X on an index card and put it in the middle of the table. Anyone can tap it, and they don’t have to explain why. When someone taps it, the scene rewinds.

Go back to just before whatever got tapped, change it, and keep playing. Nobody asks who tapped it or why, and nobody makes a fuss. If you’re not sure what it was, cut back further than you need to. Playing online, typing an X in the chat does the same job.

The Open Door

Check-Ins

• Session start. “Anything anyone wants to flag before we start?”
• Mid-scene. “This is heading somewhere dark. Is everyone good to keep going?”
• Session end. “How did that land for everyone?”

Watch faces as well as listening for answers. If someone’s gone quiet, ask them again at the break, just the two of you.

Lines and Veils

Lines don’t exist in the story at all. Veils exist, but they aren’t played out at the table.

A veil’s a fade to black. Everyone knows what the torturer does in that cellar, but nobody describes it, and the scene cuts to the next morning.

If nobody knows where to start, go through this list and ask whether each one’s a line, a veil, or fine:

• Harm to children, and harm to animals.
• Sexual violence, or sex at all.
• Torture and graphic injury.
• Self-harm and suicide.
• Racism, homophobia and other real-world hate.
• Phobias, like spiders or being trapped somewhere small.

Lines and veils can change at any time. If something comes up mid-campaign, say so, and it goes on the list with no questions asked. The GM gets lines and veils too.

Pausing

Anyone can call a pause, the GM included. Stop, talk it through, and then carry on, change direction or cut to the next scene. It’s a normal part of playing, so treat it like one.

It’s worth a pause, too, when a strained thread between two of the crew starts to feel personal. The strain’s about that one truth, so play that and nothing bigger, and once it’s been made right, let it go. There’s more in Playing the strain.

After a Heavy Session

Take five minutes before everyone heads home. Go round the table: what did you enjoy, and did anything not sit right? If something needs to change before next time, change it. The GM goes first, so everyone knows it’s safe to be honest.

The One Rule