Safe Mode: Disabled TTRPG

Introduction

Safe Mode: Disabled is a narrative driven tabletop RPG where players dive into a twisted virtual world full of glitches, secrets, and corrupted code. Built for thrilling one-shots or full campaigns, the system blends high stakes choices, custom character builds, and reality bending mechanics. Coming in print, PDF, and VTT formats, this project brings polished design and immersive storytelling to your table. 

Safe Mode: Disabled is designed for fans of collaborative storytelling who want an easy to pick up and play system that explores the fragile boundaries between reality and fantasy, and how shared experiences, online and off, reshape our relationships. This game was inspired by Tron, The Matrix, and Ready Player One. It also draws heavily from the emotional depth and digital duality of .hack//SIGN and Sword Art Online. Explore what happens when your mask becomes a mirror and when the only way to survive is to reconcile the two.

PLEDGE NOW to be the first to explore the project! In the meantime, you can click the link above to download our FREE Quickstart Guide to dive right in!

Dual Playbook System

In this game, players take on the roles of characters who exist in both a real world and a fictional realm. Gamer personas and their digital avatars are brought to life through a unique dual-playbook system. You’ll explore the tensions, contradictions, and revelations that arise when the person you are meets the person you wish you could be.

IRL Achetypes

Your IRL Archetype represents who your character is in the real world. It’s the emotional, social, and psychological foundation that shapes how they interact with others, how they see themselves, and what they bring into the game world. Are they a loner who escapes into online worlds to feel seen? A perfectionist streamer masking insecurity? A group mom who keeps everyone together but forgets to care for themselves? These archetypes ground your character’s identity in relatable, human experiences and set the stage for meaningful growth as their journey unfolds.

Avatar Roles

Your Avatar Role defines who your character becomes inside the game. This is the part of them shaped by fantasy, desire, and the rules of the digital world. It’s not just about what they do, but what they aspire to be when reality is stripped away. Do they cast themselves as a bold knight to feel brave, a trickster mage to manipulate others, or a silent sniper to hide in the shadows? This role may reflect their IRL Archetype or be completely opposite. Either way, it gives players the power to explore transformation and identity.

Connections Mechanics

Player to Player connections mechanics make Safe Mode: Disabled feel rooted in the transcendental human experience of forming relationships both online and in reality, in complex and ever evolving dynamics. You can choose from Cooperative, Competitive, Romantic, Broken, Protective, and Admiration to define your feelings towards another player. These connections have defined mechanics that impact your adventure and can even change as the story progresses. Choosing a connection towards another player does not mean it is mutual and in this way these relationships mimic real life, because while two people can both be Protective towards one another, you can also have a one-sided Cooperative connection paired with a one-sided Competitive connection.

Every story unfolds across two worlds; a real world and a virtual realm. Dive into mirrored realities that constantly shift and collide. We've teamed up with multiple TTRPG creators and authors to bring you a complex array of settings for you to choose from for your games. 

Right now, we already have 3 Paired Settings in the final stages and are close to being ready for publishing. However, the Safe Mode: Disabled book will contain 8-12 Paired Settings; this number will vary depending on our collaborators and Kickstarter stretch goals. As we finish the other settings, we will provide frequent updates and information so you know which worlds will be featured in the book. 

The settings currently in production are:
Utopia / Corefall

This is the base setting for Safe Mode: Disabled, which was featured in our ARG and is where the book's aesthetic design is adapted from. A pastel-perfect world hides emotional strain and unease, while its digital counterpart, a neon synthwave MMO, is slowly collapsing under a mysterious corruption. This setting explores how polished appearances, both real and virtual, mask deeper instability and decay.

Hollow Earth / Revenant Network by Jayden King

In a world ravaged by cosmic horror, humanity clings to survival in scattered ruins while eldritch forces dominate reality. Through ancient terminals, survivors enter a digital network to resist extinction and reclaim hope against overwhelming despair.

Bravo / Zeta by Dennis Fleming

A suffocating corporate city drives people to escape into a vibrant AR world layered over reality, where excitement and danger replace monotony. But as the game’s stakes bleed into real life, players risk deadly consequences in their pursuit of thrill and reward.

Art for Bravo/Zeta is currently in production by our setting artist, Emily Smith.

World Building Tools

Don't want to use one of our paired settings? No problem! Safe Mode: Disabled also features a detailed, customizable Paired Setting Framework that guides you through the world building process. The framework is a series of questions and concepts that help you create Paired Settings that highlight a core Duality Theme (examples: Surveillance & Freedom / Decay vs. Growth / Competition vs. Community) between the real world and the digital realm, while leaving room for tone shifts (comedy, horror, drama). 

Stretch Goals

Pledge Tiers

• PDF
• Roll20 VTT
• Class Cards (Digital)
• Player Journal (Digital)
• PDF Character Sheet
• Soundtrack

($129 / $10 OFF/ Early Bird Discount - limit 25)

• Hardcover
• Digital Bundle
• Class Cards (Physical)
• 3x Player Journals (Physical)
• Sticker Set

 (limit 60)

• Hardcover
• Limited Edition double-sided Dust Jacket
• Limited Edition Sprayed Edges
• Book signed by the Creator, Jenel Lawson (@Bossjellybean)
• Your Name in the book as a Contributor!
• Digital Bundle
• Class Cards (Physical)
• 3x Limited Edition Player Journals
• Sticker Set
• Limited Edition Dice (6d6 24mm)

(limit 5)

• Ultimate Special Edition Bundle
• A Seat in an Online Game with the Creator Jenel Lawson (@Bossjellybean) as the Game Master. 

(limit 25)

• Ultimate Special Edition Bundle
• You get to have your character idea illustrated and added into the core rule book of Safe Mode: Disabled! A part of you will be a part of this game forever!

Add Ons

$4 Sticker Set: (3in x 2in) holo-foil stickers, one for each character class 

Dice

Now only on Kickstarter, we are offering a limited edition collab set of dice by Maise Designs Dice. These are large chonky size 24mm with 3 distinct color ways. (limit 100)

• 2 Pastel Utopia - milky marbled and semi-opaque pastel colors inked with a bit more saturated version of those same beautiful pastels
• 2 Neon Corefall - sparkly black void-like depths inked in a rainbow of vibrant neon colors
• 2 Cross-Dimensional - the best of both worlds, these are a Split Pour of both Pastel Utopia and Neon Corefall in the same die

Shipping

As a first time independent publisher, we are doing our best to get this game out to you in the highest quality possible. We are aiming to ship physical products by Spring 2027, and we’re hoping to release digital products to you sooner! However, as we are a tiny business, things may change but we will always keep you up to date.

Testimonials

Want to see Safe Mode: Disabled in action? Check out the episode below of Role D5, where our creator Jenel Lawson (@BossJellybean) guest GMs the beta version of our Con Crashers Adventure for an epically meta one-shot! 

Team