One-line definition
A rigger is the person doing the tying in rope bondage, opposite the rope bottom.
Full definition
The rigger (also rope top) designs the ties, executes them, and controls the pace, and with that carries rope bondage’s main technical and safety load: nerve placement, circulation checks, suspension loads, and emergency release all live in the rigger’s required knowledge. Rope is one of the most explicitly technical branches of BDSM, and riggers are typically formed through in-person classes and long practice, not videos.
Boundaries with related terms
- vs. Dominant. Rigger names a technical role, not necessarily a power position; plenty of rope exchanges involve no D/s at all.
- vs. Rope Bottom. The rope bottom receives the ties, and needs body-awareness and reporting knowledge of their own. Not a passive object.
Related terms
- Rope Bottom
- Shibari
- Suspension
- Rigging
- Bondage