Some days being involved in this hobby is about as creepy as sitting at the foot of a stranger's bed and watching them sleep. Being involved in role-playing games shouldn't be something that makes your skin crawl but when you read books like the Book of Erotic Fantasy you walk away from the experience feeling slimy. The problem isn't that sex is involved; it's that there are game mechanics being developed for the act and subsequent results.
Look, I'm no modern day Casanova who's had sex with hundreds of women but I can tell you that having read through this book if you think there needs to be game mechanics on the subject then you're playing the wrong game. Get out to a bar my friend and find a woman to love. Barring that, find one who'll make you forget about being a shut-in for the night and rings your bell.
Just don't ever say, Roll a d20 to see if she came . . .
I've had a long-standing rule, as a GM, we will not roleplay sex and romance. I'm about as far away from prudish as one can get, but it has always made me uncomfortable in a gaming atmosphere. And now that my teenage daughter is playing in the games I run, that rule is more enforced than ever before.
ReplyDeleteI get it. Some people dig on that stuff, and that's cool. Just not in my games.
I realize that some people want to act out their romantic fantasies but, like you Jim, they're not going to do it at my table.
DeleteLook, I'm not a prude but there are something that don't belong at my table.
*some things, not something.
DeleteRomance I do, as it is part of the fiction that inspired much of what the hobby is about. Also, since murdering people and stealing from them isn't the major motivation of many...OK, any...of my campaigns,the players need as many ways to entertain themselves (and me) as possible.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, at the risk of this coming off less-than-femme-positive, woman enjoy romance in stories and I have had a number of female players over the years. A little angst and flirtatious banter goes a long way.
Case in point, if it wasn't for romance and sex, my ex-wife wouldn't have additional characters. She has played the daughter and granddaughter of her very first PC.
I'm glad you can pull that off, but it doesn't happen at my table. We've had NPCs and player characters have relationships - but the nuts and bolts don't come out in the open. I have no interest in that noise.
DeleteOh, I've seen it played before in some games and have seen it work well. But I've also seen it become disastrous and awkward. I'm just not willing to take the chance on it causing anyone distress, or causing awkward moments at the table. Sure, anyone's character can try to get involved with each other or with my NPC's, but we're not going to role play it out.
DeleteMy daughter, who plays a rogue, is one of the most ruthless players I've ever ran in a game. She could care less about romance and the like. She wants to kill the monsters, take the treasure and become a badass. She'd only have a romantic interest in the game if it meant she could take over a small country.
"My daughter, who plays a rogue, is one of the most ruthless players I've ever ran in a game."
DeleteShe'd do well at our table where the motto has always been, "Kill the monster, leave the girl behind, take the treasure."
We handle sex and romance in a casual way. Certainly no game mechanics or even rules for any of it. As we are all 40-somethings, we tend to make light of it, make off-color jokes, and I admit to having my half-orc flirt with my wife's elf (it's a running joke that they had a one-night stand that she flatly denies), even though she is in a relationship with an NPC in our broup. But, over all, it's always tongue-in cheek, and occasionally something like arranged marriages comes into the actual story line.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, anything more than that would be creepy.
That's what I'm saying!
DeleteExactly! Creepy is the perfect word for it.
DeleteThe game has a Charisma stat and reaction rolls, you don't need a book bordering on porn to add rules to resolve romance, seduction, and fornication.
ReplyDelete