The Forever GMs Podcast – Safety Tools (S1 E2)

Posted By: Liv Larbi July 13, 2026

In this episode, join Doc & Liv as they discuss safety tools with Ang Murray and Beau Sheldon – who taught Doc about Safety Tools long ago! For those new to the concept, safety tools are communication tools and procedures used to establish boundaries and expectations in a game, along with allowing all members of a table the ability to give and modify their consent for certain themes and interactions. Ultimately, safety tools are designed to make your TTRPG session a fun and safe space for everyone!

Episode Topics

  • What are and why do professional GMs and game designers use safety tools
  • Addressing how safety tools can assist your table with their mental, emotional, and physical needs
  • Using Session 0 as a safety tool for yourself
  • Choosing games and mechanics that fit the needs of your table
  • Ideas to support immersion and separation at the table
  • Safety tools discussed in this episode

Game Spotlight

This week, we discussed Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh – a great game with integrated safety tools into the mechanics of the game.

Peer Review

This week, we explore consent and risk in TTRPG research.

  • Special Issue on Consent in Analog Role-Playing Games by S Haarman (2025) – in which Haarman creates a persuasive case for safety tools and the act of dynamic consent at the TTRPG table. This issue also examines risk in TTRPG spaces and ways to use safety tools as risk mitigation rather than narrative restriction. 

Find Us and Our Guests

Angela (Ang) Murray is the author and Head Gnome at Gnome Stew, award winning RPG blog, host of Gnome Cast, and host of THAC0 with Advantage. 

Beau Sheldon is a tabletop roleplaying game designer, writer, and leadership educator, as well as the creator of Script Change. You can find their work here.

Follow the Forever GMs on social media on BlueSky (@theforevergms.bsky.social) and TikTok (@theforevergms) for updates on the show and let us know what topics we should cover in the future!

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