I like my Star Wars rated PG. I'm willing for PG-13 now and then, possibly even slightly gory mild-R rating for violence only.

Some of my players think that hard 'R' concepts are "realistic" and like to bring them in, inappropriately, for what they think is humor. Specifically: sex, the four letter R-word blocked here, torture, sexual torture (cutting off sexual parts), public defecation and urination to make a point... I think you get the idea.

At best I consider that juvenile. I definitely won't accept it in my Star Wars galaxy. Even an "Edge" of the Empire campaign. Sure, Nar Shaddaa is a nasty place and that stuff undoubtedly happens, but I don't want it on screen in my story, even if the campaign is supposed to be our story.

As a note: calm, rational discussion of my desire to avoid those topics has resulted in either a defensive "it's realistic" or "you need to chill dude, it's all good." Hardly rational discussion. I'm either not making my point, or they're choosing to ignore it.

Short of axing players, what would you do to push players away from that stuff?

I think what it comes down to is that you need to have a discussion with your players at the start of a session, before any of this stuff comes up during play and letting them know that those explicit details they keep injecting into the story makes you uncomfortable, and that it's limiting your enjoyment of the game.

I've also heard of some groups that have a discussion pre-campaign and set up a piece of paper in the middle of the table as a "safety button," that anyone can press if a situation or description gets uncomfortable to let the gm/other players know to just stop and move on, with no discussion and no judgment. Perhaps a similar system would work for your table?

If you voice your concerns and they can't be reasonable adults about it, I'd say it's better to find a new group of players, but hopefully it doesn't have to come to that.

I don't think they care what you think or they'd abide by your table rules. I have no magic words to spawn maturity so it may be ultimatum time imo.

You're the GM, the players have to respect the rules and limits you set. If they don't have the respect to follow those rules, you don't need to game with those players. A player telling me "to chill, it's all good" when I ask he/she to respect my rules does not deserve to be there. I would reiterate the rules at the next session and if they choose to ignore you and continue their antics, end the session and kindly ask them to leave (if you're hosting).

Wait...sexual torture and public defecation is "realistic"? Wow. I'd have quit the group already.

Wait...sexual torture and public defecation is "realistic"? Wow. I'd have quit the group already.

Well yah............noob.......

Well, you used up my first weapon in my arsenal - talk to the players. Since you tried the reasonable approach, you might have to go to the unreasonable. "Look, we're all here to have fun, both players and GMs. I am not comfortable with the direction the game goes sometimes. Can we please dial it back some?"

"Bah! Piss off you wuss! We like our gaming hard!"

"Then I'm going to have to respectfully vacate my position as GM. Have fun."

While I don't mind humorous innuendo from time to time, I think you're definitely within your rights as a GM to keep things PG-13. My game sometimes dips into R-rated territory, but mostly because of cartoonish levels of violence. Given the types of responses you've already received from your players, it might be time to jump ship.

Oddly this situation arose in the weekend game I GM recently. We play at a family friendly game store and a few weeks ago I had to tell them to tone down the sexual talk because it wasn't an appropriate environment (nevermind that the store is mostly empty downstairs on Sundays). They did at first, however this week it started up again and afterwards, one of my best players came to me and said that she felt uncomfortable in the group. I was running the Gala event from the Jewel of Yavin and so I was going around and dealing with every player independently as they talked to various partygoers. In doing this I was missing some out of character discussion, apparently of which involved the four letter word beginning in R, ending in E and have an A and P in there somewhere.

I was not cool when I found out conversations like this happened out of character and slipped by me. Some of the guys at my table are 'lads' if you can understand that and were being jokey, however it naturally did not come off as that to me and to her. To the extent that she was thinking of leaving the group because of it, which she doesn't want to do because she really enjoys playing Edge.

Last night I gathered them all on Facebook and basically shamed them, said that they should be ashamed of themselves. They needed to tone down the sex talk and understand that in Star Wars, sexual acts and such are very much downplayed. Yes they may or may not happen, but it is all implied and never directly stated, the most you see is kissing and silver screen romance. My ultimatum was simple: They clean up their act...because if she were to leave due to their behaviour....I'm done. Simple as that, this is why we can't have nice things.

They very VERY quickly changed their tune. It's not often I have to play 'tough GM' and for that reason, they knew I was extremely annoyed and angry at their behaviour. Which upsets me because they are a nice bunch of guys and I know they would never mean or say anything bad with the intention of upsetting.

Most anything that I wanted to say has already been said.

Maybe someone should run the Game of Thrones RPG for them.

If my players insisted on unnecessary cruelty and atrocities, I'd start flipping Destinies as a reaction. That's the Dark Side for them.

I once did it for shooting down an escape pod, which I consider a war crime.

Golden rule still applies here: are you having fun? Clearly you are not!

If this were my table, I would:

1. Discuss my rules and reasons, un-sugar-coated, before the next session. If I can do it while we're all sitting there ready to play, it might stick better than an email.

2. Start docking them XP or flipping Light Side points over to the Dark Side when they slip up (or both!)

• I'm not usually a fan of using game mechanics to fix player problems, but it really seems like their problems are in character.
• If it's out-of-character banter that's crossing the line, you can just give them that look while you stop the game to let them chitchat.

3. If the problem persists, the offending parties won't be asked back.

I am assuming these are your pals and you don't require more action.

Honestly, like many others, to me it seems like it may be time to take a very stern stance with them.

You have tried to have a discussion with the players and they're showing a lack of respect by simply brushing off your concerns. It is likely time to give a firm stance, the behavior ends or you'll stop taking part. You'll likely also need to to be dedicated to sticking to this stance though. The first time they cross your line just stop and start packing things up. With luck they'll realize you're serious, apologize and the game can continue without further issues. If it doesn't get them to stay on track then it may be best to find another group to game with anyhow.

There's not much point sinking your time into a game for a group of players that apparently have little respect for you as a member of the group and are more concerned about their own juvenile antics.

Short of axing players, what would you do to push players away from that stuff?

Nothing.

You've already tried talking to them, and they made it clear that they want to play a different kind of game than you want.

You aren't going to convince them that the way they want to play is wrong, just as they won't convince you that their way is right for you.

Time to find a new group.

Time to find a new group.

Not always a viable option, but if you can do it great.

I also like the advice to step down as GM. If they want to play a different game let them or someone else do all the work and you can sit back and just play.

Luckily I haven't had such issues myself as most groups I play with are self correcting. But if your whole group is on this train, maybe you need to let someone else conduct it.

I would probably sit them down before we started playing and say something to the equivalent (and practice it beforehand so it sounds natural, not rote or rehearsed):

"Hey guys, something's been bothering me. The way you tend to roleplay is getting very inappropriate. First off, it's not very in-keeping with the Star Wars mythos, and secondly, it's making me uncomfortable, so I'd appreciate it if we can keep things PG. I understand that you want to be realistic, but this is space opera, not gritty realism sci-fi. If someone else would like to GM in a different setting or system where R-rated behavior is the norm, I would be totally fine with that, but it's not gonna fly anymore here at this table, in this game setting, or with me as the GM.

" My goal is to run games where everyone has fun. I really enjoy playing with you guys, and I hope that we can keep gaming for a long time to come, but I just wanted to give you my expectations as up-front as possible. I hope that you can exercise some restraint in your roleplaying and accept my terms so that I can run the kind of games where everyone has fun."

If you address bad behavior and they fix it for the time being, but then later it crops up again, don't get mad or feel like you failed or they don't respect you; the fact is that vision leaks . Your vision for the universe is starting to fall out of their minds and they are replacing it with their own, so it just takes a little effort before each game session to re-set the expectations.

There's a place for gritty realism in Star Wars, especially in a game about life in the harshest parts of the galaxy, like Edge of the Empire. That said, there's no room at a reasonable table for someone who can't act in a manner appropriate to the goal of providing a fun, comfortable environment for everyone involved. "Everyone" includes you, as the GM. If the players aren't willing to restrain themselves for the sake of the game, the other players, and the GM, it may be time to cut them loose (or to leave the group). That said, I might try other tactics, first. For instance:

1. Talk to them. Tell them of what your vision for the campaign (and your vision of Star Wars) is all about. Make it plain to them that their "realism" falls outside the realm of normal for on-screen stuff in the Star Wars universe. You've already done this, of course, but I had to mention it as the first step.
2. Penalize them. "It's realistic," they say. If all those things are realistic, then their opposition needs to have a realistic response. Overwhelm them with an unbeatable force. Let one of them die and have to re-roll. Make sure they know this is an in-character, gritty, realistic response to their crimes. If it happens in Imperial space, the response is squads of Stormtroopers maybe even led by an Inquisitor. If it happens in Hutt space, some crime lord isn't putting up with the negative affect your players' actions are having on business. And if one player death doesn't do the trick, rinse and repeat.
3. Eject the worst offender. Find the person who is possibly the leader of the band and ask them to leave (or tell them not to come one night). This may cause a little drama, but you may find the game runs a little more smoothly without him.

If all else fails, I'm with everyone else. Leave. If you can't find another group locally, well... the old mantra is "no gaming is better than bad gaming".

How old are these players?

And isn't this partly what lead to all the RPG hate int he 80's?

Some dinguses did this kind of juvenile idiocy in game and then went around talking about what "they" did until some old lady overhead and called the cops? Next thing you know some hack reporter is linking real crimes to these morons tales of in-game?

The problems when playing with strangers...

I don't know what your idea of PG is, you could be some kind of church lady for all I know, but thats irrelevant anyway. If the players you have aren't people you feel comfortable around then find new players. Life is too short to waste on sh*tty RPs.

Yeah, like others have said, I'd just talk to them like adults.

We're all just playing make-believe within a set of limits that we agree on as a group. If we can't agree on a set of limits that makes everybody happy, we're going to have a hard time gaming together.

I don't mind hinting at the seamier side of the Galaxy, but in my games I wouldn't take it any further than Return of the Jedi does with Jabba leering at Leia and telling her, "Soon you'll learn to appreciate me".

If it's just one player I'd talk to that individual outside of our game time. If it's the whole group, I'd just bring it up before we start playing one night.

We all just have to agree on what we're playing together. If some of us want to be playing "Star Wars" and some of us want to be playing "Hannibal", we're going to run into problems.

Use game mechanics to emphasise your point that this behaviour is illegal and inappropriate. Give them large obligations for the Crimes they commit, get the total obligation over 100 so they are not able to advance their characters. After all those NPC's had families, its your game, so one could be the son of a Moff, or daughter of a Black Suns Vigo, or Nephew of a CEO of a massive Corporation, Niece of a Dark Side force user...

As others have also said, the other tactic i would recommend is to have "Realistic" consequences for their actions. If they think these actions are "Realistic" and "Normal" then a TPK from a never ending hoard of bounty hunters is defiantly required. if required end the campaign and say your not willing to Gm any more.

Flipping light side destiny to dark side. massive morality penalties (start tracking morality even if they are not force sensitive, and apply the Dark Side effects to the destiny pool at the beginning of every session.

Finally, as many others have said i agree with laying an ultimatum on the table before a session begins. leave the threat of walking out over their heads, and if they do continue being inappropriate then pack up mid-session and never look back. If any of them are good friends then talk to those people individually and let them know its nothing to do with the friendship and you enjoy their company, just not their style of RPing.

this final extreme measure may have the result of a couple of players apologising, therefore letting you know who actually wants to play and will be willing to keep it more PG, thus forming the basis of a new more sensible group, there is nothing wrong with playing a 2 or 3 PC game, especially if everyone is actually on the same page.

Good luck with whatever you try.

Just another thought--in my opinion, this kind of disconnect is better handled out of game than it is handled in game.

In a game of mine if a player said they wanted to sexually violate an NPC or cut someone's genitals off, we'd need to break for a minute to address this fact. I wouldn't validate that intention within the narrative of the game by having a bounty hunter come after them or something.

We'd need to stop and say "Hey guys, this is just not within the boundaries of the kind of game I want to be a part of. If you insist you need to be able to do those kinds of things in a game, then you may find one that will indulge that, but it won't be in this group and I won't be involved in it."

I wouldn't want any of the other players who might not want to speak up to be sitting there for the rest of the game going "that made me really uncomfortable, what should I do about it?"

I'd want to address it immediately and make it clear what the boundaries are.

It is possible the group will shrink, but the most likely outcome is people sticking together to defend the juvenile behavior even if they don't necessarily agree with it. One of the problems goes like this:

PC: "I do *insert disturbing action here*."

GM: "Ok, everyone around you is horrified and runs away, the Imperials have been called and every stormtrooper in this sector is now looking for you."

PC: "Heh, heh, I don't really."

Needless to say, I'd rather the "Just kidding" approach was dropped, like most people did when they left middle school. I'm wondering whether I just apply the consequences anyway, or whether that's just the same as killing the campaign and quitting.

I'll try talking to the worst offenders again. I really think that they think that kind of behavior is ok and that I'm unreasonable for expecting otherwise. But if I ask either of the two worst to leave, the rest of the group will probably dissolve "in support" of their friends and our other two games (D&D and Deathwatch) will be affected as well (yes, they're easily that petty, as previous campaign incidents have shown).

We haven't played a lot in this campaign yet, so I'd really like to settle it before it becomes a pattern. I'd hope that they can understand, or at least respect , that my style of GMing a game doesn't involve the juvenile, disturbing, and inappropriate stuff they seem to think is funny.

As a note: minimum age in the group I think is 23.

I gotta tell ya, I'm thinking they are just pushing your buttons at this point . I'm not sure anything you do is going to make any difference because if people are going to walk away from the game table because they aren't allowed to be insensitive and rude , you probably just gotta let them .

Yep, be completely prepared to let them walk, or walk yourself, either way RPGing is about having fun, if your not then change the table dynamic or don't RP with these people, if they wont respect you then they are not worth it.