UK Games Expo Ejects GM Who Opened Session With In-Game Sexual Assault
So this weekend is the 13th annual UK Games Expo in Birmingham, UK. While it’s safe to assume most of the people in attendance are having a good time, a number of players certainly didn’t enjoy their Friday. In a paid, ticketed Things from the Flood game GM Kevin Rolfe decided to open the session with something pretty horrendous that had been omitted from the game’s description: the player characters getting kidnapped and raped.
Needless to say, the players were not remotely happy about this. One of them, who had also brought her younger brother along, complained directly to staff and also tweeted about the situation.
Just had the worst rpg experience of my life. Signed up for a Things from the Flood game and the GM decided it would be perfectly all right to have all our characters kidnapped and gang raped without discussing it with anyone first. Told us he enjoyed the shock factor of it…
— 👁️Queen of the Beholders👁️🗨️ 🔜 #UKGE2019 (@GeekGirlBookWrm) May 31, 2019
The event released the following statement:
It was brought to our attention that in an RPG game on Friday afternoon a GM volunteer included content that was completely unacceptable and breached both the letter and spirit of the UK Games Expo. The scenario included descriptions of sexual violence involving the players. The players were understandably distressed and shocked by this content.
This content was not set out in the game description. If it had been included in the submission it would have been rejected as unacceptable even for a game with an 18 rating. All games must still comply with the policies and the spirit of UKGE.
We have spoken personally to the player who first raised the issue and have unreservedly apologized for the distress caused. We are currently contacting the other players so we can offer them our apologies and any assistance they might need. We have made it clear that this kind of behavior and content has no place at UKGE and will not be accepted.
We immediately halted the game the GM was currently running and cancelled all of the games he was due to run. The GM has been ejected from the show and will not be allowed access to any of the NEC halls or Hilton function rooms that are under the control of UK Games Expo. He has also been banned from submitting any games for the foreseeable future.
We will be reviewing our game submission systems in order to improve our ability to vet content of an RPG before it is accepted. We remain committed to providing a safe and happy place for all players to come together and enjoy the hobby we all love.
Honestly it’s still terrible that the players had to have this experience, but it’s quite refreshing to see a convention do the right thing in response. The convention scene would be a better place if all staff’s responded the way UK Games Expo’s has here.
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Just curious… What if he had their players brutally murdered instead? Would that have been acceptable? Because I’m pretty sure adventurers kill people and also get murdered all the time. But please go on about how morally superior you are…
Hi Chris, I’m Anjuli. You might recognise me from my tweet above. If you are curious I’ll help you out. There is a huge difference between signing up to and paying for a game where the idea of the world and setting is fun, mysteries and robots in an alternative reality, and having a GM look you in the eyes from across the table and tell you how his NPCs gang raped you and the other strangers at your table. Then tell you how he enjoys the shocked looks on your faces. The word we are looking for here is consent. The game I signed up for was the one he advertised, not the one he decided to play. So I hope you are curious no longer.
Can you elaborate on what EXACTLY he described? The GM in question has responded that there was no description of rape in his game, and that this is a misinterpretation by the players, who apparently added their own interpretation when he said the characters, in a horror game, woke up naked and handcuffed. Can you please confirm that the GM in question is lying, and that he explicitly described, in detail, your players being gang raped?
You see, the reality of raping is sadly a part of our society in a very different was than murder. Plus, there is a high probability to have women at your table who experienced being sexually assaulted in one or the other way. Most probably none of the players experienced being murdered.
See some of the differences now?
…sexual assault is very, very different, and the only person taking a “superior” tone here is you
Except there’s a recording of the session, apparently. None of what was alluded to happened. Grim Jim did an interview with the GM on his channel, and there are defamation suits incoming.
If there is this is another huge breach of trust.
Recording a session without consent of all the players is legal in the UK for purely personal use, but I wouldn’t ever trust a GM who did such a thing without informing his players.
Also, if he was ever to release that recording to anyone else without the consent of the participants then this could be considered a criminal offence.
And have you heard the recording of the game, or are you just talking out of your ass?
Absolutely and utterly unacceptable. Hope he’s banned forever.