The Fundamental Rights of the TTRPG Player and GM

Sometimes I get on Reddit in the wee hours of the morning and scroll through my D&D and worldbuilding sub-Reddits, drooling at people's gorgeous hand-drawn maps, or stifling my laughter at hilarious accounts of poor decision-making in-game. It's those stories of epic success and failure, sprinkled with comedic relief, that I like to read when I really should be sleeping. But every time I browse these forums, searching for a smile or a laugh, without fail I manage to click on a post detailing someone's absolutely horrendous experience at a table the previous night. Either a player attempted personally to assassinate the GM's arduously-prepped story, or a guy spends an entire session making jokes about a female character's boobs, or a GM introduces an NPC that is at once an Adonis, with the body of a Titan, and a genius at everything, that swoops in and always seems to get the final blow, and can't be killed, and is named some variation of the GM's actual given name.

This hobby of TTRPGs has always been informal by nature; played discretely in a basement between friends, around a card table, with snacks present. There are leagues and organized play, but the majority of people interested in the hobby don't participate in these types of events. This informality is inherent in the structure of the game; it helps people feel comfortable and allows them to pick it up just by going over to a friend’s house and rolling up a character. There's no admission fee, no audience, no stakes. Once you get over the hump of learning the basic mechanics, and you have the aha moment of "I can do anything*?", you've basically been indoctrinated into the cult. The problem, I feel, is in how we teach players the rules. First people learn the big ones, like how a d20 works, and what stats are, and then eventually more niche ones like class abilities and combat maneuvers. There are so many rules in the book, we forget to mention the ones that are most important; the ones that are implied, but never explicitly mentioned. People who are new to the hobby might have a sense of these, but why not include them right out in the open?

I've scanned through many sites and editions of official Dungeons and Dragons products, but I have yet to find a list of these most important stipulations. And maybe that's for good reason. Most of the examples I've thought of are common sense, just some extension of how you should treat people in everyday life. But if it's just common sense, then why do I see so many testimonials online of people who have been hurt, offended, and turned-off to the idea of ever playing a TTRPG ever again?

Some people will be quick to point to the sensitive fact that for many people, playing TTRPGs is one of their only social outlets; for people who feel ashamed of themselves in some way, and want to live as a hero for just a few short hours. Maybe they don't know how to act respectfully and properly in a social situation in the real world, so why would they in a world that is fantasy?

Personally, I think that argument is garbage.

Maybe in a few isolated incidents, that's the case, but for the most part, I think that people who have infamous stories written about them are just:

a. People who have never been told that what they are doing makes things less fun for others.

b. Shitty people who have been told that what they are doing makes things less fun for others but continue to act in the same destructive way.

Option B, I don't think anyone can do anything about. Those people are resigned to operate solely based on self-interest, and they're probably never going to find people who want to play with them, unless they make the conscious decision to change.

Option A, on the other hand, is what I think I can help prevent. So below is what I've come up with. The 8 basic, fundamental, inalienable rights of both a TTRPG Player and a GM. I strongly believe this rule set should be included in any rule book for a TTPRG, adjacent to the rules on what dice you need, and how modifiers function. They might not touch on everything, but they do cast a wide net. There are other supplementary rules and rights that could be included, but I think then they would introduce exceptions into a list that does not, and should not have exceptions. Any infringement on these rights at the very least constitutes a "party foul", and repeat offense is a clear indication of an Option B kind of person.

The Fundamental Rights of the TTRPG Player

1.       The Player always has the right to leave the table for any reason.

a.       Their absence may cause their invitation to the Game to be revoked, but never should the player be goaded, insulted, or retaliated against in any way as a result of their decision to leave the table.

2.       The Player always has the right to request that the GM or another player avoid certain subjects, or reduce the amount of gratuitous language, violence, sexual imagery, etc… If the GM or player refuses to comply, the player may refer to Right #1.

3.       The Player should never be targeted by another person at the table as a victim of harassment, pejorative language, or personal denigration, regardless of their character’s decisions.

4.       The Player always has the right to speak as much as any other member of the group, and should not be talked over.

5.       The Player always has the right to control the actions of their character, and for that character to operate solely under their own volition, unless said character is otherwise manipulated by a foe for a brief period of time.

6.       The Player should be able to expect that their character can take actions that are in no way correlated to their real human ability. The Player should also be able to expect that their character in no way must resemble the Player in gender, sexuality, race, personality, etc…

7.       The Player should expect that their actions will provoke consequences in the Game.

8.       The Player should be able to expect that the other players will arrive on-time to the session and be prepared to play, and will be respectful at the table.

The Fundamental Rights of the TTRPG GM

1.       The GM always has the right to walk away from, cancel, or otherwise end a session or series of sessions of the Game.

1. The GM should never be goaded, insulted, or retaliated against in any way as a result of their decision to suspend/cancel the session and leave the table.

2.       The GM should be able to expect that all players will arrive on-time to the scheduled session, and if they must cancel, notify the GM in a prompt and timely manner.

1. The GM has the right to continue with a planned session, even if there is a cancellation and one or more members do not show up.

3.       The GM should expect that all players will arrive prepared to play at the designated time, and will not bring others who the GM has not approved.

4.       The GM should never be harassed, denigrated, or otherwise violently or aggressively retaliated against for any decision/ruling that they make.

5.       The GM should expect that the Players will attempt to engage with the story presented to them.

6.       The GM should expect that the Players will not be on their phones, watching TV, or otherwise intentionally distracted/tuned out while the Game is being played.

7.       The GM should expect that they will not be talked over during the Game while adjudication, narration, or NPC dialogue is occurring.

8.       The GM has the right to remove anyone from the game who is repeatedly being offensive, making other players uncomfortable, derailing the Game, infringing upon any of the rights listed here, or otherwise being toxic in a manner that degrades the quality of the Game and compromises the enjoyment of the rest of the Players and the GM their self. 

Even if you don't think these rights are useful, or that I'm exaggerating the severity of the issue, I would challenge you just to take a look at them before your next session. Keep them in mind, and if you catch yourself doing something that infringes upon another person's rights, correct it. You might find that you check your phone and tune out more than you thought, or that you talk over someone occasionally, preventing them from giving their input. We can all strive to be better players, better GMs, and better to one another, whether that be at the table or elsewhere. I hope this list will at least point people in that direction, and help both new and veteran players and GMs to more fully understand the rules of the game.

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-Squash

*Accompained by the requisite "well you can try to do anything".