I've talked about politics at the gaming table before, even pointed out other people talking about it, and I've come to a realization. Instead of what Paizo put in their Pathfinder Playtest, the Gaming Is for All screed of the regressive progressives, I would put something in my game that reads like this:
Gaming Is for All
What you hold in your hands is a game. It is a fun excuse for you and your friends to gather together and enjoy each other's company. If what you are doing is making one of your friends uncomfortable, they need to be adult enough to ask you to stop doing it, and you need to be adult enough to talk it over with them and fix the issue if there is one.
We cannot make you do anything. Let us face it, even as the game company that worked very hard on the game rules you hold in your hands, we cannot even make you follow any of the rules in the book, so we cannot make you be a better person with your friends, in your game, or anywhere else in your life.
That being said, we still feel that everyone has the right to be treated like a human being and that everyone has the right to enjoy our game without feeling uncomfortable while playing the game. If you or your friends are actively making someone else in the group uncomfortable, that does not speak well of you as a person. We cannot make you change, but we do not condone those activities and hope that your friends are talking to you about your actions and helping you become a better person and friend.
Our game can deal with some very adult situations - rape, murder, cannibalism, slavery, just to name a few - but that does not mean you or your friends have to use any or all of them in the game. Be mindful that what you may find as slightly unsettling, others, even your friends, may find unacceptable. Do not force the issue, your friend will talk about what is bothering them when they are ready to talk about it, and be a good friend and listen when they talk about what is bothering them, their issues and feelings. But do not force the confrontation, unless you are a licensed counselor trained to deal with the situation, just be as good a friend as you can.
That of course is just silly, of course. I would put no such thing in any RPG that I wrote. Even as honest as it is, about how we as human beings should treat each other and especially our friends, it is as much bullshit as what Paizo wrote. Why? What you are investing your money and time is a game. There is no requirement by anyone or any legal body for a game company to try and force anyone to be better people. All the game company has to do, one hopes, is to provide a concise, easy to understand set of rules and hope they are enjoyable enough that you come back for more. That's it! Even what I wrote above, while honest and attempting to be as non-commanding as possible is still trying too hard to tell you how to live your life. You don't buy an RPG book for that, the libraries and bookstores already have an entire section of self-help books for that.
It isn't that I disagree with the sentiment behind Paizo's words, it has never been that I disagree with what they said, it has always been that I disagree that they thought they needed to say it at all, as well as their tone in the presentation. I don't need to hear Milton Bradley's stance on race relations in America to play Battleship, just the rules, four grids, and some plastic ships. You don't need to hear Hasbro's stance on abortions to enjoy Monopoly. Hell, even Axis and Allies, a classic board game recreating World War 2, comes without a diatribe about anti-imperialism, a major theme of said major global conflict.
Can I just enjoy my silly, imagination fueled, fantasy trip without the political extremists fucking it up?
