Politics at the Table

I ran across a video on YouTube that took huge offense at some paragraphs of text in Paizo's Pathfinder v2 Playtest. Yes, I am linking you to the playtest files because I think you should check it out, but am not linking the video, because the politics of the gentleman who made it are as far right as what I'm about to talk about is far left. Again, yes, your political leanings are your problem not mine, but while I can ignore Paizo's politics and play their game however I damn well please (trust me, the Paizo Polizei are never going to show up at my house and tell me I'm doing it wrong), I can't stand to listen to your video without having to put up with your politics.

Now, I am going to talk about my politics by pasting said text from the Pathfinder v2 Playtest, pages 5 and 6 for those interested, and if you don't want to hear my politics, that's fine. Please watch this video (which I find appropriate to the situation) instead and then leave without commenting.

Great, on with the show. The words from the playtest will be in BOLD, and my comments will be normal. TL,DR: I may be an asshole, but there is such a thing as going too far, and a gaming company preaching at me in their rulebook falls firmly into "beyond the pale" territory.

Gaming Is for All

Whether you’re a player or a Game Master, participating in a tabletop roleplaying game involves an inherent social contract:

Inherent social contract? Do we get to see this contract before we sign it? Nope, guess not.

everyone has gathered to have fun together, and the table is a safe space for everyone.

Safe space? Oh yeah, that's just another phrase to let those far left snowflakes think they're actually safe, when real life isn't safe, for your person, your ideas and thoughts, and definitely not for anyone's motivations towards or away from you. Life sucks, buy a helmet.

Everyone has a right to play and enjoy Pathfinder regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other identities and life experiences.

They may have the right (at least in the US of A), but you can't actually force any GM to open up their game to "anyone". I don't care about any of the above (my own personal beliefs? if you can accomplish the mission, I don't care about your age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation), but as a DM myself, especially one who games in my own home, if I don't like you for any reason, you can go find another game.

Pathfinder is for everyone, and Pathfinder games should be as safe, inclusive, and fun as possible for all.

Yes, RPGs should be fun for all, why are you trying to remind us of this? Oh wait, you have been called out by a former employee for not being "gender progressive" enough, and even though you were plenty "gender progressive" before now (and she was just a raging bitch who is unpleasant to be around by both genders and anyone of any color), you now feel guilty that maybe you weren't taking it far enough. Trust me, you were taking it too far before this, and this little screed in your RPG product makes me respect you a little less.

Players

As a player, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are not creating or contributing to an environment that makes any other players feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, particularly if those players are members of minority or marginalized communities that haven’t always been welcome or represented in the larger gaming population.

The players' responsibility? Was this included in that inherent social contract we didn't get to read before you held a gun to our collective skulls and insisted that we had definitely signed it? Players, listen to me! You can be as big a racist, bigoted asshole as you want to be, and Paizo can't do anything about it! Your game master (me included) has the right to boot you out of their game if you are said racist, bigoted asshole, but you also have every right to go find a game that acting like that is acceptable. Oh, and constantly reminding all of us that there are "members of minority or marginalized communities", isn't that just enforcing the racial/gender stereotypes further? Seriously, the more you try to coddle people in this manner, the worse you are actually serving their needs.

Thus, it’s important to consider your character concepts and roleplaying style and avoid any approach that could cause harm to another player. A character whose concept and mannerisms are racist tropes, for example, is exceptionally harmful and works against the goal of providing fun for all.

Wait, what? I could swear we were all portraying made up people, possibly not even human, who all exist on worlds that exist only in our imaginations. Is this really a problem for any gaming group out there? And cause harm to another player? Yes, you should not punch your fellow gamers. What happened to "sticks and stones..."? The world sucks folks, and we ain't guaranteed anything in this life except we will all die at some point - grow up and realize you cannot be insulated from everything.

A roleplaying style in which a player or character is constantly interrupting others or treating certain players or characters with condescension is similarly unacceptable.

That player is just a bad player and not a good person. You don't have to hide behind the "he/she/it is a racist!" accusation, just tell them they suck as a player and to kindly leave the group. You're diluting the message by beating us over the head with it!

Furthermore, standards of respect don’t vanish simply because you’re playing a character in a fantasy game. For example, it’s never acceptable to refer to another person using an offensive term or a slur, and doing so “in character” is just as bad as doing so directly.

Yes, you can, this is fiction. You can play your character however you want it. Again, the Paizo Polizei are not breaking down your door just because you're playing an asshole who turns to the nymph and says "slut". Why don't you spend this time teaching GMs how to make dungeons, adventures, and campaigns, and less time preaching at us like we were naughty children on things you have no control over?

If your character’s concept requires you act this way, that’s a good sign your concept is harmful, and you have a responsibility to change it.

Again, Paizo flings around "responsibility" just as freely as they can, when the reality couldn't be further from this - if you honestly don't like my character, one of us is leaving the group, but no one is changing their character just because you claim to be offended by it. I think I've realized something about this rant in their gaming product - if they keep telling you it's your responsibility, you might actually believe them and not hold try to sue them. Yes, I know, it's also not Paizo's responsibility how ANYONE plays their game, but you know we are a sue happy bunch in the States, and I wouldn't put it past one of you chuckleheads to try to take them to court.

Sometimes, you might not realize that your character concept or roleplaying style is making others feel unwelcome at the gaming table. If another player tells you that your character concept or roleplaying style makes them uncomfortable, you shouldn’t argue about what they should or shouldn’t find offensive or say that what you’re doing is common (and therefore okay) among players or in other media. Instead, you should simply stop and make sure the game is a fun experience for everyone. After all, that’s what gaming is about!

Yes, be an adult, tell someone if it offends you, and if they won't change, walk away and find another game. We don't need to be preached at by an RPG rulebook to know this stuff! Especially for a game where the win state is as simple as "did we have fun? yes!", let me tell you, just reading the past 3 paragraphs in your rulebook have made this "not fun" for me.

Game Masters

The role of Game Master comes with the responsibility of ensuring that none of your players violate the game’s social contract, especially when playing in a public space.

Again, haven't seen, read, or signed this social contract, how can I hold my players accountable to it when they are in the same boat? And if you're gaming in a public space, there is nothing keeping anyone from walking away from your game at any time - that's otherwise known as "kidnapping", an actual threat and harmful situation, not something that merely vibrated the air a little before it struck your ears.

Be on the lookout for behavior that’s inappropriate, whether intentional or inadvertent, and pay careful attention to players’ body language during gameplay. If you notice a player becoming uncomfortable, you are empowered to pause the game, take it in a new direction, privately check in with your players during or after the session, or take any other action you think is appropriate to move the game toward a fun experience for everyone.

Oh good, I now have your permission to do whatever I want in my game? What about everything else in this little rant that you've told me I'm not allowed to do, I can do everything but that, right? And you just had to use "empowered"... I just won at snowflake bingo, thank you.

That said, you should never let players who are uncomfortable with different identities or experiences derail your game. People of all identities and experiences have a right to be represented in the game, even if they’re not necessarily playing at your table.

I'm uncomfortable with this rant. And it doesn't matter if anyone finds your "right think" uncomfortable, just so long as they don't have any "wrong think" themselves.

Otherwise, if a player tells you they’re uncomfortable with something in the game, whether it’s content you’ve presented as the GM or another player’s actions, listen to them and take steps to ensure they can once again have fun during your game.

If they're uncomfortable with my game, especially the content that I've created, that player can go find another game, and there's nothing legally you can do about it. However, I do appreciate a player that enjoys the game enough to feel offended by something I've done, and who also acts adult enough to talk to me about it.

If you’re preparing written material and you find the description of a character or a situation to be inappropriate, you are fully empowered to change any details as you see fit to best suit your players.

Again with "empowered". Now hear this - Game Masters have always had the right to change anyone else's material and run it as they see fit. We don't need your permission now, as we've never needed your permission before.

Making sure the game is fun for everyone is your biggest job!

Just so long as "right think" is your definition of fun.



Okay, if you've lasted this long, good on you. And let me assure you, I'm not a racist, bigoted asshole, I'm merely an asshole. I used to be the EO Coordinator for several units in the Army National Guard, and I fully believe in the Army's EO message out here in real life now that I'm out of the Army - as long as you can accomplish the mission, it does not matter your gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion. That doesn't mean I want to get preached at by the accessories for my RPG. Except for my wife, my personal game is filled with straight white males... not because I dislike minorities or homosexuals or even women, but because that's everyone who answered the call when I said, "hey, I'm gonna run a D&D 5e game, who wants in?"

Seriously folks, you've become too sensitive and you need to toughen up a bit. Should you just close your mouth and take other people's racism? No, do not "go quietly" but don't be so thin skinned that this kind of thing is required in your "make believe happy fun time" game. I think Patton Oswalt describes it rather well in his Talking for Clapping comedy special (still available on Netflix, which I know all you have a subscription to), go watch it. About 22 minutes in he has a great rant on letting evil people in with using your "right think" words against you.