Most of the games I play are set in dark scary worlds. Things are not on the upswing in the World of Darkness. There are very bad things. It's a game of personal horror.
By very bad things, I'd say there are two different types: There are things which people acknowledge as bad, but generally don't make them uncomfortable, and things people acknowledge as bad that make them uncomfortable. The latter I'll call horrible things. The former will be not nice things
For example: I have no problem being in a scene where somebody gets killed, or even where mass murder takes place. Mass murder is not nice. I have a big problem being in a scene where somebody gets raped. That's horrible.
I'd expect you see the same thing in other games. In D and D, the Orcs kill the villagers, or enslave them. They don't rape them.
I think a lot of people have this divide, and probably divide it more or less where I do, or within a standard deviation of it. Very bad things tend to be presented by STs, and by players, based on the lowest common denominator, because in a sense Larp is a mass medium.
I think another reason is that killing people means no aftermath. It's a lot easier to have the Sabbat kill a bunch of people, the players kill the Sabbat, and have nothing for the PCs to need to do in downtime. But there is another reason, which is what I want to talk about. You bring in rape, or child abuse, or other Horrible things, and you can hurt people. I'll also say doing scenes about romance, about love and other positive sentiments can also be Horrible, in it's own way. It makes people uncomfortable.
Most games operate on a social contract, a usually unwritten one. In most games what that social contract says about Horrible things is, "nobody gets hurt." You don't run things that make people uncomfortable. If you start something uncomfortable, people can leave without penalty. Some things happen, but they don't ever impact game. You'll hunt down a serial Killer, but never a serial rapist.
But I was reading this post on story-games.com which referenced This post by Davidarman on his game (For Mature Audiences) which mentioned This posting by Meguey Baker on the difference between "nobody gets hurt," and "I will not abandon you," social contracts.
In the first... you don't push people's buttons. In the latter, you push their buttons, then work through the scene and invest in the emotion. You process it, IC. Now I will admit it's dangerous... yes dangerous, to run a scene about a Horrible thing, and try to work through the emotions it generates by staying inside the story.
First, I believe the way we stick to not nice things conditions players to not invest emotionally in the story and to treat game with a sort of crude adolescent humor. Their characters maybe, but many players don't really think about the mortals they kill as people. They laugh and joke about killing, or make fun of people who try to do tender sentimental scenes. And it's possible that such players will do the same for a Horrible thing.
Second, not everybody goes to game to play a game of personal horror. That's not the expectation most players have. They are there to hang with their friends and advance their PC and politic. The idea that they are going to take part in a good story that may depend on them being uncomfortable doesn't cross their minds.
There is also a comment in the Baker post about a third style or at least a variation, "To the Pain." You push to a person's boundaries, and maybe a little past them, but back off if they tell you to. In return they tell you to back off when it starts to hurt them, not just when it's hard for them.
So I'm not sure under what circumstances you can run Horrible things under a "I will not abandon you" contract in a larp or even a "to the pain" contract. Maybe only in one on ones between players of good friends. Maybe only by telling people before hand what you intend to do so they can bail at the beginning.
But I think if you can tell stories about horrible things... it can be some of the deepest most engaging and most memorable roleplaying possible.
I also think that it's important that, regardless of play style... people who decide to step out should not be shamed for it. It's not wrong to not want to deal with Horrible things. They are, by definition, those thinks that make you very uncomfortable. It may mean a missed opportunity for a good scene and good roleplaying, for experiencing personal horror but that's the player's option. I just think it's important to make it clear that it's an option, not an expectation.
