Covers off all the topics you'd want to go over in a session zero. Get this for your players!

Ignore all the negative review bombers below, they're mostly easily offended snowflakes who hate when they can't be racist any more.

I really appreciate this code of conduct. I feel having a code of conduct is valuable and helps set expectations for all involved. It may discourage those likely to break the code from even joining the project. I suspect some (but not all) of those leaving negative reviews or comments are against the very idea of any code of conduct. I wish those folks wouldn't troll... this and similar products are simply not for them.

I must admit, like some of the reviewers, I too was leery about the inability to defend yourself from wrongful accusations... guilty until proven innocent. But reading closer, that is not at all what this code says.

For the accused: "ACCEPT your actions. Take responsibility for what took place, even if it was not your intent. Apologize unconditionally and propose solutions." If "your actions" and "what took place" are complete fabrications of the accuser, you can apologize for making someone feel the way they do, and explain it was not your intent. You can (and should) also explain the "facts" of your version of events to the Project Owner (or whomever is the authority for the project). If you truly believe your accuser is outright lying for some reason (as opposed to misinterpreting), you can in turn accuse them of lying to the Project Owner. It is then up to the Project Owner to decide how to handle things after gathering evidence. (Teos, please chime in if you disagree.) I think in most cases the charge will have some legitimate basis, though, and the accused should consider that, and help make things right.

Similarly: "DO NOT ARGUE your actions with team members or attempt to garner support for your actions. Do not retaliate in any way against the victim or any other team members." I think it wise to not involve team members other than referring potential witnesses to the Project Owner/Authority. I would actually like a similar section for the accuser stating this should go for them as well (unless they truly feel they are putting their teammates at risk of real danger by not speaking out). Do no harm. Talk to the Project Owner.

This document also explains that "You are encouraged to modify it to fit your needs." So please don't dismiss it if you disagree with one point, or think it needs further clarification. Prohibiting the posting of "violent material" was probably not referring to simple images of fantasy combat. The phrase was "sexually explicit or violent material". Clarify what you mean. Or if the project accepts depictions of extreme violence (or whatever), just state so. Lines and veils work here as well as in session zeroes.

Finally, if you disagree with this particular code of conduct, check out the others referenced in the sources. One of them might better suit your project as a starting point. And if so, you can still thank this document for pointing the other out.

Thanks, Teos, for this researched, thoughtful, tested, practical example! And for making it FREE, too.

I can't really add too much to the other negative reviews, they cover it very well. This isn't just silly and pretentious, it's project suicide, the death of art, and precludes any possibility of fairness or justice in workplace disagreements. Avoid. Such a low rating because this isn't just bad, it's actively harmful.

Page count is mercifully short, but not some different document from the sources included at the last page. Author was asking for "Real" reviews online. Cover art feels a bit...stereotypical? I don't want to say a certain kind of ism, but feels like it's using stereotypical depictions and caricatures of minorities. As a minority it makes me very uncomfortable.

The good: Advocating against doxxing and saying people dismissed from projects should get paid regardless is good.

The bad: Saying a person should never argue against a misconduct claim and just accept it is suspect. This assumes 100% Honesty with both parties. it also relies on saying why you need a code of conduct, which seems weird as it's a product about a code of conduct. Hard to convince someone who doesn't want this by putting it in the book that already says this on the cover.

Formatting could be better, got tired of repeatedly seeing "Code of Conduct for RPG Projects" through all the pages. Page 4 being just "Code of Conduct for RPG Projects" on the pages with nothing else for such a small document.

I really can't advocate for this as there's better out there, with more comprehensive guides, some of which are in the sources on the last page.

The document tells the person accused: "DO NOT ARGUE your actions with team members or attempt to garner support for your actions. Do not retaliate in any way against the victim or any other team members."

But nothing telling the accuser not to spread any rumours or 'garner support' for themselves, thus creating the situation where someone might argue with other team members about what happened in the first place. Surely all these things either should be initially heard privately by management or (if severe enough) the police before any other team members are involved at all?

Everyone of any gender can and does occasionally lie. This document naively presents a set of guidelines that are only in any way useful or fair in a world where no one lies. This set of guidelines provides absolutely no way for someone accused to have real say in what happened, to actually argue their case, and to flat out deny it if is simply not true. See: "ACCEPT your actions. Take responsibility for what took place, even if it was not your intent. Apologize unconditionally and propose solutions."

This is simply not acceptable to me and many other people who have taken the time to review here. I would highly recommend looking for another code of conduct.

Censorship, including self censorship, kills art. These guidelines are built on a foundation of psuedoscience dreampt up by a bubble of ivory tower academics and they will harm your product if you apply them. Beware.

I've been DM-ing for close to 20 years now and I learned something! Some really fantastic tips from Teos!

These products is free because nobody in their right mind Would pay money for this. The guidelines suggested here can be summed in one sentence. Dont be a chump. You just need a bit of common sense. If you want creativity to be bland, lifeles and dull. Go right ahead with your Code of conduct and your consent forms. Perhaps you may need some psychological help Before taking up ganing. The agenda isnt just pushed its shoved.

File it in the trashcan.

This is basically Finnish employment laws with the serial numbers filed off. Except harsher -- the Finnish one suggests the accused person should discuss the issue and be prepared to apologize -- this says they should not defend themself, admit their wrongdoing even if the accuser was mistaken, misunderstanding, or malicious, and apologize no matter what, and (unlike the Finnish version) really emphasizes that the accused can be fired simply on the basis of unsupported accusations. I'm not sure who this is written for, but "a bunch of college freshmen in a dorm" seems to be closer than a team of collaborators on a game project. It starts with the premise that the people in the group neither know, trust, or even like each other. There are plenty of good codes of conduct out there. This is not one of them.

Added: One of the rules is no display of violent imagery. Um ... we write and illustrate games about murder hobos!

Pretentous, overbearing, and worthless. This one small group is trying to dictate standards for an entire industry.

Following this code would kill Indie Games. Small/single person developers cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars for sensitivity and diversity editors.

Let market forces decide what is acceptable and what isn't, not some small group of bad actors with an agenda.

Letting aside that pretty much everything I've seen from Teos so far is pretty great, I consider this short code of conduct to being worthy of my 5 stars. I believe many workplaces, conventions and pretty much many places to work at could learn from this. There are some great tips to implement, and teaches those who read it how they should be managed. All in all, something you can get for free, created by people who did much research about the subject, and that should totally be taken into account and used in many places

I read through this document and as someone who leads many projects on DMSGUILD, I can tell you I am implementing this moving forward. Thank you for making this great and easy to use product that I can tailor to my own projects and situation. I think documents like these create a safe and fair working environment for everyone involved and only enhances communication and expectations. I hope others consider utilizing this in their own projects too!

• Anthony Joyce