The popular YouTube series RollPlay, best known for creating tabletop RPG let’s play series, has just indefinitely cancelled its second season following a rather disturbing incident. The 18th episode of the series Far Verona featured a disturbing scene of sexual assault involving one player’s character which was broadcast to a live audience.
The scene in question can still be found on YouTube, and the video has been voluntarily demonetized to prevent profiting from the incident. The show’s cancellation as well as the reactions of each individual cast member bring to the forefront the conversation about the importance of consent in a tabletop RPG setting.
Warning: This article discusses sexual content.
At the very end of the episode, Elspeth Eastman’s character, a robotic but sentient humanoid named Johnny Collins, went to a mechanic for repairs. The scene plays out mostly normal at first, but the mechanic, played by game master Adam Koebel, swiftly changes tone into a more predatory role.
Koebel continues to describe in detail the way the mechanic triggers a “robot orgasm” for Johnny Collins by accessing some hidden port on the back of the characters’ neck. What makes the scene so disturbing and cringe-worthy, though, is how throughout the whole thing Koebel is the only one laughing. Visible looks of disgust and discomfort can be seen on the faces of the other cast members, yet no one steps up and says anything, instead sitting in disbelief. Although Eastman is clearly uncomfortable throughout the situation, she tries to brush it off during the episode, but made her feelings clear in a statement following it as a separate video.
The assault inspired the entire cast to quit the show, spurring its early cancellation, and Koebel has been under fire since for not consulting with Eastman and the rest of the group before carrying out the scene. Although the game master generally controls the direction of the story, it is always important to be transparent with players to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the material being covered and no one feels unsafe. This is true for any game, but especially so on a live streamed one.
Koebel initially misdirected the blame to a lack of safety precautions put in place, but has since admitted his direct role in the problem. This should be a reminder to all dungeon masters and players alike that it is vital that everyone knows what is off limits in a story and that consent is extremely important, even in a role-playing game.
Source: Polygon/Charlie Hall
