Games that should not be

[cyst13]

On another thread, a number of people wrote that GMs or players they knew had included rapes of PCs as part of the story. Everyone who I've ever read in discussing this topic seems to be of the mind that raping PCs is way outside the bounds of good gaming. (I agree)

My question is, are there any other subjects or specific actions that you think do not have any place in an RPG?

One caveat: There is always the possibility that an extremely mature and talented GM could include a rape in a game without it being exploitative, but this would definitely be the exception. I want to know if there is anything that is bound to cross the line 99% of the time.

[proditor]

I'll get in my obligitory shot in at FATAL as something that just shouldn't exist in any form, and then let you get back to constructive commentary.

Although with most, caveat, most other settings/scenarios/situations beyond the one you mentioned, I think it depends on your group. I've been in LARP's that had racism, sexism, orientation bias, etc. I've also been fortunate that in most of the instances the person who was the target of that plot, asked the GM to run with it before the event even started. After the initial "Er...is this going to be okay?" and the affirmation from the target that it in fact was, we all just went back to roleplaying how our characters would react. And in the few instances where the idea was a problem, I've been equally blessed with GM's who drop it instantly and go down another road without missing a beat.

I'm honestly not sure that the subject as a generic idea matters at all now that I think about it and based only on my personal experiences. My friends know what we as a group or individually won't abide, and those issues never show up in our games.

[CourtFool]

Let me venture to say that anything that ruins the enjoyment of the game for any of the participants should be questioned. I am not saying that everyone is going to enjoy every aspect of the game all the time. I am saying that we roleplay for fun. If it ain't fun, time to move on.

Therefore, what does and does not belong depends entirely on the participants at the time it is introduced in the game.