The new hype this year seems to be consent forms for RPG Sessions, especially in the contexts of horror games. There are many kinds of consent forms, but they tend to be uniformtheir function is in providing checkboxes and/or freeform input to indicate whichletting people provide a list of trigger subjects you would like(like murder, rape, violence, etc) which they want to seeeither exclude or not seeinclude in the game, particularly in horror games, in such way that so as to ensure the game is "safe" for everyone on the table. They usually do this with a checklist and/or a freeform list.
I'm all in on having a safe game, and keeping an eye open for players feeling bad during a game. Therefore, even my Kult sessions are tame because I don't think that exploitation is a valid way to generate tension. But other people might have different experiences.
In my layman's view, I'm concerned the consent forms aren't effective and may be damaging. I'm worried that some players will leave difficult topics unmentioned on their consent form that will in fact be difficult for them during a game (whether out of discomfort checking the box, being unaware it's going to be a triggering topic for them, or outright peer pressure prompting them to leave the box blank). In this situation, a session might end up running into that topic, and then the GM might assume that the tension they see at the table is due to the setting and not something that is triggering a player. (In contrast, any topic the players are comfortable with should be sufficiently covered in a pre-game chat.) However after trying to research whether this seriously manifests as a problem I could not confirm or rebuke it.
Do consent forms actually assist in creating a safe gaming environment in a meaningful way, or otherwise provide benefits for gameplay?
