You’re getting dragged, but I think I get your point: that it might seed suspicion and distrust among not only the characters but the players?
I think it should be Rule 0 that the DM and players all respect each other’s boundaries, so consent is always part of the equation IMHO. Likewise, if everyone at the table insists on playing a certain way that I’m uncomfortable with, then it’s time for me to find a new table.
The thing is, that it was, from my understanding, never about the actual players, but the fictional characters. Aka my high elf loves gambling a bit too much etc.
Oh agreed: I just thought the meta-nature of the players themselves being unsure of the veracity of character information might make things weird for folks uncomfortable with gossip. In any case I think it sounds like a fun idea!
I still don’t understand why creating rumours about your character would be triggering for anyone.
How would a made up stories like “Borun caught a cheater at dice and string him up upside down hanging from the flag pole” or “Borun’s horse went lame, but instead of putting him down, he paid a farmer to take care of him for life” bring up trauma? Especially since you’re writing these yourself…
Or is the existence of rumours triggering somehow? In which case, maybe P&P RPGs aren’t an appropriate activity since a lot of adventures rely on piecing together rumours to identify what’s really going on.
You’re getting dragged, but I think I get your point: that it might seed suspicion and distrust among not only the characters but the players?
I think it should be Rule 0 that the DM and players all respect each other’s boundaries, so consent is always part of the equation IMHO. Likewise, if everyone at the table insists on playing a certain way that I’m uncomfortable with, then it’s time for me to find a new table.
The thing is, that it was, from my understanding, never about the actual players, but the fictional characters. Aka my high elf loves gambling a bit too much etc.
Oh agreed: I just thought the meta-nature of the players themselves being unsure of the veracity of character information might make things weird for folks uncomfortable with gossip. In any case I think it sounds like a fun idea!
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I still don’t understand why creating rumours about your character would be triggering for anyone.
How would a made up stories like “Borun caught a cheater at dice and string him up upside down hanging from the flag pole” or “Borun’s horse went lame, but instead of putting him down, he paid a farmer to take care of him for life” bring up trauma? Especially since you’re writing these yourself…
Or is the existence of rumours triggering somehow? In which case, maybe P&P RPGs aren’t an appropriate activity since a lot of adventures rely on piecing together rumours to identify what’s really going on.