Role playing is often present during sadomasochist acts. A few examples of role playing are: kidnapping, slave treatment or dungeon entrapment. During role playing, the players have to trust each other. Pleasure can turn to pain quickly and each person has to know the limits of the other player.
Sometimes a "safe word" is decided on beforehand in order to prevent the submissive player from becoming hurt. The words, "yellow" and "red" are often used. A "safe word" can also be nonverbal since a lot of the role playing involves being bound or gagged. These can be things such as clenching one's fists or dropping a bell.
