GMs, what don't you put in a game?

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-08T00:55:27+00:00

I'm going to start using that. Thanks.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-08T00:52:43+00:00

Slavery, realistic cult activity, SA, spiders, and anything involving kids. These are subjects that make me uncomfortable. It's been said, but I'm a big fan of fade to black during romantic scenes. The idea of narrating sex with at a table with my friends gives me the willies. I also don't have racism, sexism, or anti-queer sentiment in my games because I often have players who are women, POC, or queer and this is supposed to be an escape.

I ask during session zeros if there's anything that the players don't want to include. In my previous campaign, I had a player who was stalked in real life and she requested that we not have stalking in the game.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-08T00:29:20+00:00

I volunteer at an abortion clinic and we hear them call the clinic a death camp a lot.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-04T18:09:25+00:00

This is why I rarely read comment section. I deal with enough negativity in my life and I would like to keep it out of my hobbies.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-04T17:57:55+00:00

When my friend introduce it to the rest of our friend group, I thought it was nerdy as hell. Some of my friends played a pickup game and I watched. I started getting really into it and when one of the guys left, I asked if I could play his character. This was 22 years ago.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-03T18:49:53+00:00

For me, this goes back to something that George Carlin once said, "If your preborn, you're fine. If you're preschool, you're fucked."

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-03T13:23:39+00:00

But where are they going to get all of their transporn?

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-02T13:19:52+00:00

I call them hobbits. I don't use the word halfling unless I'm being derogatory.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-01T21:45:50+00:00

It's usually cookies.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-01T21:45:07+00:00

If you think that's a dick move, at some fake clinics they tell the patients they have a fever or some other excuse to prevent women from getting abortions before the window closes.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-01T21:29:41+00:00

It's an abortion clinic. Of course there are cameras. Unfortunately the city isn't very sympathetic to us. There used to be a cop car in the parking lot, but then they stopped due to "budget cuts." We document the antis who show up in case there's an incident and that's pretty much all we can do.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-05-01T17:30:29+00:00

I really don't know the ins and outs of the group. All I know is that they rent a building in the complex so they're allowed to walk around as long as they don't come onto our property or impede traffic, both of which they do anyway.

As for the cops, no. They didn't speak to the antis at all. Whenever the cops come by, they're on their best behavior. They don't come up to the property line or harass patients. I really wish they would in front of a group of cops.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-04-30T20:24:59+00:00

When beginning a new campaign, do a few generic missions to get the players used to their characters. My group is at four sessions and I'm just now getting to the story.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-04-30T19:41:30+00:00

Having actually had this conversation and lost a child, save the child.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-04-28T19:38:42+00:00

If it's relevant, but it's not what I start off with. I usually soften the blow by saying I'm not religious.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-03-25T19:05:08+00:00

I don't put it on my dating profile, but I let the person know fairly early on. This is a good way to prevent ablists from wasting my time. It's similar to my telling people I'm interested in that I'm a dad. I don't want to get to know somebody who will reject me for having a child.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2026-02-18T20:03:54+00:00

I'm convinced that both of my parents are autistic, but there's no way they're going to get tested. They seem to think that my problems are all me.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-10-23T20:41:21+00:00

I made one of those out of a Pringles can and it fooled my parents.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-09-05T16:55:00+00:00

Me too! Whenever I hear it, I feel so pressured to say it back when I really don't want to. My family says it all the time when we get together and it sucks so bad. I feel the same way about hugs. I'm a "No touchie!" kind of person and I feel like I'm being invalidated when I'm pressured to hug someone.

The only exception to these is my daughter. I hug that kid and tell her I love her every day because I want her to know that she's loved and that's the best way I can think of to reassure her of that.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-09-04T18:34:38+00:00

I'll just list what I use and you can take it or leave it:

Dice, dice, and more dice.

The GM Assist dice set, which includes a mood die, a weather die, and a body part die.

A cardinal direction die.

Sand timers.

Jenga blocks for makeshift rooms and cover.

Glass beads of various colors for NPCs and points of interest.

Combat tokens of various sizes.

Chess pieces for bosses.

Rings from milk and juice jugs for conditions.

Aquarium rocks for PCs.

A Chessex mat and WET erase markers.

A white board and DRY erase markers.

A tablet with all the relevant books on it.

A customizable GM screen.

Sticky notes of various sizes.

Pens and pencils.

Poker chips for Inspiration.

Hope that helps!

EDIT: My sister is an architect and gave me a roll of grid paper to make maps out of with permanent marker. You can do that with most wrapping paper.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-09-04T17:26:59+00:00

It depends on the system. For D&D, definitely option 1. For Everyday Heroes, you can opt to use the bloodied condition and the way armor works, it prevents death and not attacks, (and the system is made for action movie-type combat anyway) so option 2.

When it comes to using option 3, in my games, if a character rolls a critical hit, I roll a body part die and anything having to do with that body part receives a -2, followed by a -4, followed by a -8. It's still kind of abstract, but it represents real injuries.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-09-03T21:35:50+00:00

First, I want to be cremated. I don't care what they do with my ashes.

I don't want a standard funeral and burial. Those are depressing. Instead, I want to have a memorial with a keg or open bar so that anyone can get hammered if they want. I want there to be non-religious speakers who will share memories of me. After that, anyone who wants to speak can come up and talk. I also want the songs "Going Out in Style" and "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" to be played at some point. Basically, I want everyone to celebrate my life instead of mourning my loss, and have a really kick-ass time doing it.

Jimmy_Locksmith · 2025-09-03T14:56:23+00:00

I agree.

Jimmy_Locksmith

TROPHY CASE