Stand with Me

CW: This game deals intimately with themes of childhood trauma, abuse, imperilment of children, death, grieving and bullying.

Steve’s brother died last March. His father told him it should have been him, and he believes it. It’s the summer of 1959, and you are 12 going on 13. Steve is going into the woods. Will you follow him?

Stand with Me is a one-page tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the hit 1986 coming-of-age film Stand by Me. It follows a group of children as they venture in search of a mysterious Treasure lost somewhere in the woods outside their small town. 

Over the course of their journey, they will face hair-raising Trials, win Glory and suffer bitter Regret, learning more about themselves and each other in the process. But when the time comes to face the Final  Trial, will they still stand together or fall apart? 

Safety

Before beginning play, discuss what kinds of content you as a group are interested in exploring and which you would rather avoid, especially in regards to the time period and its prevalent attitudes regarding race, gender and sexuality.

On a spare piece of paper or Google doc, create a column called Lines and a column called Veils. Lines denote subject matter that will not appear in the game, such as gore. Veils denote subject matter that may be referenced during play, but not made the focus of the scene, such as spiders if a player is arachnophobic.

Each player may add their personal Lines and Veils to the sheet anonymously, perhaps during a break before the game begins.

Once the group agrees what themes are expected in play, draw a large X on another piece of paper. Any player is allowed to raise up or point towards the X-Card to signal that they are uncomfortable with the content of the current scene.

When the X-Card is invoked, work together to alter or remove the offending content from the current scene, or fast-forward to the next scene. You may ask the person who invoked the X-card for clarification on what content needs to be altered, but do not ask them to share more than what they are comfortable with.

Every player is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe, inclusive environment. Stand with each other, always.

Credits

Stand with Me's mechanics are inspired by Agon by John Harper and Sean Nittner and Heroes of the Hearth by Stiainín Jackson.

Photo by Daniel Leone on Unsplash

Photo by Imat Bagja Gumilar on Unsplash

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

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