The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord Server Presents:
A Weekend With Good Friends
June 2025
Player’s Handbook
A Message from The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Hello and welcome to A Weekend With Good Friends, an occasional gaming convention about Call of Cthulhu, horror, and roleplaying games in general!
This is the seventh online convention organised by the wonderful listeners of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias podcast, and personally, I can’t wait for it to start. The convention organisers and
staff – Bence, Chris, David, Jack, Martin, Michael, Miranda, Nate, PT, Rina, Spike and Sue – have been busy setting everything up so the convention runs as smoothly as it has in previous years, and
preparing to answer your questions throughout the weekend. Once again, Paul, Matt and I are awed by all the hard work and ingenuity that goes into putting these events together and incredibly grateful to
everyone who has dedicated their time to them.
Each of these conventions has grown and reshaped our Discord community, bringing in new people and forging friendships that continue long after the last convention table has been safely put back into storage. It’s an ongoing source of delight to see how the spirit of A Weekend With Good Friends continues throughout the year, with regular RPG sessions, story readings, video game streams and impromptu voice chats popping up on a regular basis. If you are a newcomer to the server, please consider sticking around after the convention and joining all this fun. We’d love to have you here.
Even if you find yourself unable to commit to running or playing any games ahead of time, do check out the server over the convention weekend if you can. There are bound to be plenty of pickup games running, and plenty of players available if you fancy running any of your own.
We hope you have a delightful time over the weekend, filled with all the best kinds of chills and adventure!
Scott Dorward
A Message from the Convention Team
Thank you for choosing to join us for A Weekend With Good Friends June 2025!
A Weekend With Good Friends is a free to enter online convention which will run from Friday, March 1 thru Sunday, March 3.
Player signups open Thursday, February 15 and close Thursday, February 22, 23:59 UTC. We ask people to specify which games they are interested in playing and then use a lottery system to assign players to games. We think using a lottery is the fairest way of managing signups because everybody has equal access no matter what time zone they are in.
The lottery results will be announced Monday, February 26 ready for the start of the convention on Friday, March 1.
The convention is organized and run on The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord at https://discord.gg/GoodFriendsofJE with all the latest information available in the #awwgf-info channel. The Discord is
where we announce the lottery results and how GMs will make contact, so you must be a part of the Discord to enter the lottery.
The community of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord prides itself on being inclusive and welcoming to all, and participants are asked to review the A Weekend With Good Friends Convention Rules.
Should you require assistance at any point in the convention please do not hesitate to contact the Convention Staff by visiting the #awwgf-help channel in the Discord server and clicking the “A Weekend With Good Friends help” button. If you need more urgent assistance, such as for a safety issue, then please contact @Convention Staff. The Convention Staff is here to help and will be happy to answer any
questions you may have. We hope you have a great time!
IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE:
You should join the Discord before you enter the lottery because we cannot process entries from people that are not members of the Discord.
A Weekend With Good Friends Harassment and Inappropriate Behavior Policy
The Rules
We aim to provide a safe space for everybody to enjoy games during the convention and ask our participants to stick to the following rules:
No hate speech or hate symbols
This includes in conversations on Discord, memes, profile pictures and phrases associated with hate groups. If you are unsure about something you want to post or use, don’t.
Using hate speech or hate symbols in-character to excuse yourself from this rule is not allowed. GMs should contact the convention organisers beforehand if they wish to run games which touch on these themes, such as those which might be found in Harlem Unbound.
Use pronouns where asked
If somebody asks you to use particular pronouns, then please do so. We accept accidents happen but be respectful and make an effort.
Do not harass or threaten other participants
Respect other peoples’ privacy. Do not post messages which are creepy or sexual; do not reveal details about someone else’s identity contact details or where to find them (doxing); do not threaten anyone.
Be careful with mature themes in the presence of minors
If you think that a minor might be present at the table then please avoid mature themes, irrespective of the age rating of the game.
No streaming or recording games
Please respect others’ privacy and don’t stream or record games or ask other participants if they mind the game being streamed or recorded; most people would feel awkward about playing a game after having said “no”, so please don’t ask.
No gate-crashing games to watch or listen
It’s off-putting to have unannounced guests join whilst running or playing a game. If you accidentally join the wrong table, please leave immediately, whether you are asked to do so or not. Please don’t ask if you can stay to watch or listen.
No commerce
The convention is run on a strictly volunteer basis with no money, goods or services changing hands. If someone asks for payment or donations in any form then please let the convention organisers know.
GMs are welcome to run their own scenarios but we do ask GMs not to ask for reviews of games run during the convention.
Be kind, have fun
We’re all here to enjoy the convention. We pride ourselves on having one of the most diverse communities; please give people the benefit of the doubt, be kind and have fun!
Roleplaying Safety Tools
The convention requires the use of roleplaying safety tools.
Every game must have at least an “open table” policy but should consider additional safety tools as appropriate. Please see the following page for a discussion of the different roleplaying safety tools.
What Should I Do if I See or Experience Inappropriate Behaviour?
Please report any inappropriate behaviour to the Convention Staff and let the staff sort the issue out.
Issues can be raised by:
- Sending a message to @Convention Staff in the Discord
- Using the help button in the #awwgf-help Discord channel
- By using the anonymous reporting form at https://forms.gle/uimaQzsqKXZEZFiv8.
Roleplaying Safety Tools
What Are Roleplaying Safety Tools?
Roleplaying Safety Tools are a means to help facilitate communication between GMs and players and amongst players to ensure that everyone involved continues to enjoy the game and that topics that may be traumatic or sensitive for an individual are handled with the appropriate level of care.
The Open Table
Players may leave the game at any time without question if the
content makes them uncomfortable. They do not need to provide an explanation. This is the only safety tool mandated by the convention.
Content Warnings
If you know for certain that extreme or controversial content is going to come up in your game, it is a good idea to provide an upfront warning so people don’t sign up and then decide the content isn’t for them. For example, if a GM were running Monsterhearts, they should provide the disclaimer “Contains mature sexual themes” so anyone who does not want that in their games would know to stay away.
Lines and Veils
Lines and Veils are terms used to convey the limits of the game. They might include subject matter that participants find objectionable or traumatic and do not wish to interact with.
Lines are themes or elements that a participant wishes to be off-limits entirely. When you establish a line that content does not come up in the game no matter what.
Veils are themes or elements that a participant does not wish to
interact with directly but can be alluded to. Typically, veiled material is only implied or very briefly mentioned and immediately cut away from by the GM.
It is a good idea to establish some ahead of time, but you can also come up with new ones during the game. As a GM it can be useful to come with some of your own to prompt others ideas and then have them send them to you privately. For example, a GM might say “I have a line on sexual assault, that theme will not come up in the game, and I draw a veil over consensual sex so things don’t get too gross; do you have any?” and then prompt them to message me privately.
The X-Card
The X card is a safety tool that is traditionally a piece of cardboard
with an X on it where at any point in the game any player or GM may tap the card to indicate they are uncomfortable with what is happening and to skip it. This provides some challenges online but some options include sending just the letter X in chat, or setting up a card on a virtual tabletop if you’re using one of them.
Additional safety tools exist. If you would like to learn more, the TTRPG Safety Toolkit available at https://ttrpgsafetytoolkit.com is an excellent resource.
