RPGaDay: Edge

Edgelords: just say no.

I've mentioned before that codes of conduct are a useful edgelord repellent.  I've literally seen someone say that he wouldn't attend a convention because the website said you shouldn't have pregens who are all straight white men unless the scenario requires it.

X-cards: another potential edgelord repellent.  I've played games with an x-card at the table.  I've never seen one actually get used.  Unsurprisingly, the kind of GM who's happy to have an x-card on the table is also the kind of GM who either doesn't have edgy content in their game or else provides a content warning so people can choose not to play.

As a horror gaming enthusiast I'm inevitably going to end up playing some edgy games, but edgy doesn't have to cross over into edgelord.  I've played a few games of Kult, but in each game the GM was aiming to shock and distress the characters, not the players.

Conversely, it's entirely possible to be a massive edgelord without any horror content at all.  I won't name names, as the last thing I want is to attract their attention.  You probably already know who I mean.  Any game that seems to have been written under the assumption that only men are going to be playing it falls in this category.

The worst thing about RPG Twitter is that I'm getting to learn about a number of edgelords that would otherwise not have crossed my radar.  (Alas, some of them I'd already encountered elsewhere.)  The best thing about it is knowing that there's also a community of awesome people who see them for what they are.