OK, we have talked about having NPCs with sexual orientations and/or sexual preferences outside the norm being shoehorned in to adventures and settings by publishers, so my question is now where would they fit in naturally and organically to an adventure or setting? What scenarios or settings would hinge upon a NPCs sexual orientation and/or preference? Where would it be important to the structure of the game?
My immediate thought was of some heavy role-playing scenarios, like if the PCs were part of a royal court and had to deal with palace intrigue on a daily basis. Say the ruling monarch prefers his own sex to the opposite sex for getting laid. This will cause problems with the kingdom in that there will be no clear line of succession when he dies. So does the court take a politically arranged marriage and ensure that the queen conceives a child by any means necessary and claim the child as heir in order to secure the lineage? Will the PCs be enlisted to help protect the heir and the secret? Or will they be hired to uncover the mystery and expose the ruse for the travesty that it is? Either way, the fate of a kingdom and possible civil war hangs in the balance.
I'd love to read what possibilities can be dreamed up!
Quote from: jeff37923;1108932OK, we have talked about having NPCs with sexual orientations and/or sexual preferences outside the norm being shoehorned in to adventures and settings by publishers, so my question is now where would they fit in naturally and organically to an adventure or setting? What scenarios or settings would hinge upon a NPCs sexual orientation and/or preference? Where would it be important to the structure of the game?
My immediate thought was of some heavy role-playing scenarios, like if the PCs were part of a royal court and had to deal with palace intrigue on a daily basis. Say the ruling monarch prefers his own sex to the opposite sex for getting laid. This will cause problems with the kingdom in that there will be no clear line of succession when he dies. So does the court take a politically arranged marriage and ensure that the queen conceives a child by any means necessary and claim the child as heir in order to secure the lineage? Will the PCs be enlisted to help protect the heir and the secret? Or will they be hired to uncover the mystery and expose the ruse for the travesty that it is? Either way, the fate of a kingdom and possible civil war hangs in the balance.
I'd love to read what possibilities can be dreamed up!
Besides yours? None that I can think off that would make me want to play in it.
I honestly have never had an actual adventure revolve around, specifically, any NPC's or PC's sexual preferences. Have they been "things" in my games- sure. But outside the usual jealousies, and court-intrigues that would be associated with such things, nothing overtly specific.
In most cases for my games - where sex in-game is a matter of wild-west/sailors - PC's come into port/town - they hit the saloon/tavern which may/may not have brothels, and the PC's do their thing, fade to black - unless there's some sub-plot. For instance in my long-running Realms game, one of my players is a the Duke within a kingdom. He secretly owns this place called the Seven Veils - a tavern, inn, and brothel that caters from the banal to the most exotic of tastes. The NPC that works directly for him who is the madam is a bi-sexual assassin/bard that does have the ability to polymorph which she uses liberally. The purposes of pleasure seeking are obviously there but it's been a tremendous source of information gathering too.
When PC's get into distinct relationships, I've had female and male players do the whole bit - get married in-between adventures, have kids. The whole deal. I've had NPC partners get assassinated, the souls of their in-utero children pulled from their body - kicking off an adventure for the whole party that starts a war between the Gods and the Lords of Hell. All kinds of crazy shit. But it's never just about the sex. It's about the context of everything surrounding it.
So I guess the first place I'd start is in the "culture" you're playing in. In my case we started in the Great Rift- where it's extremely xenophobic and racist against non-dwarves. And most of the party was non-dwarf. So immediately normal politics informed some of the sexual politics to the ruling species of the culture. In other words non-dwarves were bad enough. but non-dwarves having sex with one another or with other non-dwarves, was pretty gross to the Gold Dwarves of the Rift. Never mind *their* idiosyncracies and inborn prejudices.
Some cultures wouldn't care. Some would. It depends on the degree and how much you want to make it a "thing". For me - it's certainly an opportunity to create conflict and therefore adventure. After all - the Trojan War... Helena... etc.
I'm more of the wild adventure type than cultural nuances being the main focus. I have never done a campaign anything like it, but I would assume a campaign based on Greek city states would fit--or a fictional analog. In a culture of old/young mentor/follower with distinctly separate cultural areas for marriage and procreation, I would expect it to naturally generate all kinds of conflicts along those boundaries, and thus be fodder for the events of the game. It wouldn't merely be about sexual orientation, but it would certainly sometimes be about it.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1108953I'm more of the wild adventure type than cultural nuances being the main focus. I have never done a campaign anything like it, but I would assume a campaign based on Greek city states would fit--or a fictional analog. In a culture of old/young mentor/follower with distinctly separate cultural areas for marriage and procreation, I would expect it to naturally generate all kinds of conflicts along those boundaries, and thus be fodder for the events of the game. It wouldn't merely be about sexual orientation, but it would certainly sometimes be about it.
Absolutely!!
In more "advanced fantasy cultures" - I weight the culture based on its traditions and what level of corruption and decadence is assumed "normal". Most of the time I'm doing sword-and-sorcery fare where the PC's end up being adventuring road-dogs on the frontier, picking at the bones of dead civilizations... sex is a pastime that *could* turn into something. Depends.
But when I'm doing the court-intrigue stuff, sex is a tool, weapon, treasure, that can be used to drive adventures. But rarely ever the "point" of the adventure, or the NPC for that matter.
I've had straight players play gay/bi PC's, and vice versa. Even then, it's never been a big deal - even when my female player, who is playing a lesbian elf, that wants to sleep with all my female NPC's... (/salute Adonia) simply as an in-game thing her PC tries to do... but it was more of an affectation than anything else, and it certainly wasn't the behavior of the player in real life.
Hmm, I might actually have a few ideas in mind...
1. A major NPC of notable influence is in the closet and is trying to keep that secret for a variety of reasons (personal, legal, social) but is being blackmailed by a major antagonist. The PC's discover this and decide to help them take out the one who is extorting them and in exchange for keeping the secret, will provide major boons for the PC's in the form of favors, equipment, resources, or allies.
2. This next scenario is one that is pretty hardcore and 18+ and it would have to be done tastefully with a skilled DM and players.
Imagine a campaign or scenario set in either New York during the second half of the 1970's that is centered around the dark and secretive world of the gay leather community. Think Cruising (1980) meets The Warriors (1979) with a dash of Hellraiser (1987) and set in the crime-ridden hellhole streets of 70's New York, a sort of mashup of survival horror and criminal procedural. PC's could be a gang of leather men fighting and brawling with rival gangs in the city (not just other clubs, but also your more traditional gangs) and having to deal with both the ultra-corrupt NYPD and the Mafia.
This second scenario could actually incorporate homophobia as a conflict or plot device given the setting, and I'm sure your average gangbanger, mobster, crooked cop, or hoodlum in 1970's New York was pretty homophobic.
"Hinge upon" is a bit dubious, but in the past I've had brothels serve a variety of roles. One such brothel had a headmistress that was an information trader, training her girls and boys to become part of a larger spy network to gain illicit secrets (generally after performing 'the act' with clientele) she could barter with and sell. She and members of her network alternated between being a thorn in the side of the PC's and acting as a valuable (if fickle) asset. It relates to sexual orientation insofar as using it as leverage and as a tool to assist with the manipulation of big-name NPC's who partake in such activities (many of which spin out into political issues, financial interests being put at risk, secrets being ousted and traded, etc.). Her personal orientation was dubious and I never fully decided, but it was implied she was bisexual due to her recruitment strategies.
In a cyberpunk supers game I ran, there was an adventure centered around a big-time club owner (lesbian) who was being stalked (increasingly violently; leaving her bodyguards dead and put on display, etc.) by a fanatical cult targeting her for the "immoral crime" of unknowingly recruiting some of their (ex) female members as dancers/strippers, as well as having a brief love affair with their leader's ex-wife. She hired the PC's to figure out who was targeting her, why, and to solve the problem.
In the same campaign as above, there was a gay arms dealer with a great deal of influence and a glowing reputation for never backing out of a deal; his orientation didn't play into things much, aside from his interactions with one of the PC's (an attractive male boxer with telekinesis, played by a girl). As an arms dealer though, he facilitated a LOT of the PC shenanigans as well as the overall complex relationships between various gangs and mafias in the area. The first real "mission" of the campaign, actually, started with him bargaining with the PC's to locate a stolen illegal arms shipment he was on the hook for.
Largely, sex itself (and therefore sexual orientation) isn't a primary facet of any of my games, though it is included generally. I see it mainly as one of many means of creating interpersonal drama or complications between NPC's, less so PC's but it is possible and has happened.
(Edit: thinking back to the cyberpunk supers campaign, I think it was interesting that my [gay] brother chose to play the most stereotypical, straight-laced, puritanical schoolkid genius/mastermind given the setting. It lent some great contrast to both the character and the rest of the campaign world)
I've had events hinge on the heterosexuality of NPCs - when they fall in love with PCs. :)
Quote from: S'mon;1108991I've had events hinge on the heterosexuality of NPCs - when they fall in love with PCs. :)
Here's the thing. I believe if there is any content that requires sex in some regard... you can easily swap it out for homo or bi-sexual characters/NPCs.
Sex is sex. Seduction is seduction.
IN FACT...
You could easily swap this out, in real time, to adopt this subject to any PC's sexual orientation.
The only other things I can think might be sexual orientation focused would be a "cursed" magic item that randomly changes your sexual orientation. You could contrive a complicated plot thusly;
1) A local noble's hetero son finds the cursed magic item in his parent's treasure trove and puts it on.
2) As the weeks roll by he discovers how much he enjoys being gay, being delightfully surprised how well he takes to it.
3) The PCs are no a quest to destroy a lich's power. The first step is to destroy every cursed item the Lich ever made. They know of 12 items, have already destroyed 10, and have (through much trial, investigation and travel) finally located item #11. The aforementioned item.
4) The PCs eventually discover where it is and who is wearing it. They start by confronting the young man.
5) He refuses. He loves being gay and will not go back to traditional hetero sex and relationships.
Now the PCs have to figure out a way to get back the magic item AND then destroy it.
This could be construed negatively in many ways if you were so inclined. "gayness is a undesired state unleashed by a curse?"
You could likely come up with several fun entertaining quests that were tangentially related to a person's sexual orientation but you are likely to offend someone.
Now, most LGBTQ+ people in our hobby are not as upset about adventure content as they are about REPRESENTATION. The argument being there are far more hetero white characters than other kinds (traditionally). This has and continues to be addressed in modern products. So, unless you want a game that where sex is an important characteristic? It likely wouldn't matter.
Quote from: S'mon;1108991I've had events hinge on the heterosexuality of NPCs - when they fall in love with PCs. :)
Yep: my PC proposed to an NPC in thedungeondelver's Monday night AD&D campaign =)
Allan.
There have been one or two modules wayyyy back that had at some point potential complications if a PC were male, or female.
One I still have is Day of Al'Akbar. If a female PC with a comelyness of 13 or better was spotted by the city's brothel owner. She reports this potential harem addition to the sultan for a reward.
Not sure if that odd draconian in the Dragonlance module counts?
Others where orientation were a factor I cant think of any. But I'd lay good odds that there is probably at least one somewhere amidst the mini modules in Dungeon or Polyhedron.
Sounds like the start to a really fucked up Amber campaign...
There's no scenario where a simple gender swap can't be done more or less on the fly as required.
Scenario calls for the bar wench to seduce a PC for plot reasons. But PC is gay.
So, have a gay bar boy. Simple, done. There's no reason to make sex/gender/orientation a big deal in any written material. Don't like it, change it.
Oh yeah. Tomb of Horrors. The old gender & alignment flip trap.
In my Mazes & Minotaurs game, when you meet the clerics of Aphrodite and Hera, they'll be female and mostly angry at each other.
As for gender/sexytime, I find most gamers don't care about that stuff. They want an exciting adventure where they fight monsters and villains and get goodies, and for most of them, the less nuance, the better.
A Theban Sacred Band (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Band_of_Thebes) based game/campaign would have PCs sexual orientation and relationships be important. I don't know of any game that does this currently. (The nearest I know of would be Night Witches, which depicts the women-only WWII Russian squadron of same name, and contain homosexual aspects)
A school drama/"coming of age" game could have sex taking an important role. Monsterhearts already does this. Don't know of other game that does.
A female monster who seduces her male victims might be stopped when trying to seduce a gay male PC.
A gay male PC might fail an initiation ceremony if expected to have sex with a female NPC.
I had a Gloranthan Heroband based around the Theban Sacred Band, with same-sex partners joined in a similar way to Caladra & Aurelion twins. It would probably work with lesbian partners as well.
Scenarios about forbidden love work well with same-sex love.
After all the posturing about the appropriateness of shoehorning LGBT characters in to adventures and settings, I find the silence of our resident SJWs deafening on the subject of being inclusive when it fits with the material.
Quote from: jeff37923;1109144After all the posturing about the appropriateness of shoehorning LGBT characters in to adventures and settings, I find the silence of our resident SJWs deafening on the subject of being inclusive when it fits with the material.
Of course. They can only bitch about whatever injustice they are hallucinating today is. They cant actually offer anything creative or positive. They just virtue signal disguised as being helpful.
Personally I am totally against useless inclusion of race, gender, whatever. Hence my irk at the various instances in 5e modules so far. They are predominantly meaningless. And even the one interesting instance in Tomb of Annihilation so far makes jack all sense.
The leader is CE and a known backstabbing killer. His chief spy, confidante and consort is a NG fellow. And they are totally trust and are loyal to eachother. But no explanation of why or even how. Part of the problem seems to be whomever wrote this section of NPCs seems to have like zero understanding of alignment.
The only instance that does make sense is the NE merchant who is BI and getting it on with her succubus and incubus consorts/assistants. Even this is not fleshed out any.
I'd love to think this is just a case of the designers leaving it so blank so DMs can "make of it what you will".
Quote from: jeff37923;1109144After all the posturing about the appropriateness of shoehorning LGBT characters in to adventures and settings, I find the silence of our resident SJWs deafening on the subject of being inclusive when it fits with the material.
I'm struggling to feign shock over the concept that the outrage brigade finds great difficulty in summoning commentary of any actual value.
In my games, a player character might choose to visit a tavern, drink some good ale, and roll with the local wenches. That's a classic fantasy trope.
I think non-traditional hookups require non-traditional explanations, or setups if you will.
Quote from: Razor 007;1109204In my games, a player character might choose to visit a tavern, drink some good ale, and roll with the local wenches. That's a classic fantasy trope.
I think non-traditional hookups require non-traditional explanations, or setups if you will.
I'd agree, but this is about the conditions in which the non-traditional (as you put it) is fitting to the adventure or setting.
Quote from: Antiquation!;1109182I'm struggling to feign shock over the concept that the outrage brigade finds great difficulty in summoning commentary of any actual value.
I had hopes. :(
In multi-generational campaigns, procreation is a topic. In my current Ars Magica campaign, courtship/marriage is a popular side plot.
Quote from: Pyromancer;1109217In multi-generational campaigns, procreation is a topic. In my current Ars Magica campaign, courtship/marriage is a popular side plot.
That can become a plot in itself. They gay or lesbian PC who is expected to reproduce, so does so but takes a lover on the side, or the spouse of a gay/lesbian who also takes a lover in order to reproduce. That kind of things seems to have happened in the past.
There is also the confirmed bachelor or spinster who doesn't marry and, therefore, reproduction is done by relatives. In noble families, you don't have to reproduce yourself, as long as you have brothers who reproduce, it just means that titles pass to the brothers' families when you die, if you inherit.
I've been away at Big Bad Con over the weekend, and haven't responded to any threads.
Quote from: jeff37923;1108932OK, we have talked about having NPCs with sexual orientations and/or sexual preferences outside the norm being shoehorned in to adventures and settings by publishers, so my question is now where would they fit in naturally and organically to an adventure or setting? What scenarios or settings would hinge upon a NPCs sexual orientation and/or preference? Where would it be important to the structure of the game?
Quote from: S'mon;1108991I've had events hinge on the heterosexuality of NPCs - when they fall in love with PCs. :)
I think the sample adventure for Blue Rose is an obvious one -- two NPCs are in love, but their love is forbidden by the local religion, so there are consequences. That's something that can easily appear in other settings.
Falling in love with PCs, as S'mon says, is a common one. My James Bond 007 campaign some years back always had a suitable NPC for my friend Jim's gay English superspy to fall in love with, complete with classic James-Bondian names like Phil McCracken and Ivan Moorcock. They were sometimes involved with the plot, or sometimes just a bit of color -- like how Ivan was a Russian expatriate who had vital information for the PCs. Similarly, my gay Amber PC Manfred had more than one NPC fall in love with him. I had a Bluebeard's Bride game end with the bride running off to another land with a maid who had fallen in love with her.
I played in a game of The Mountain Witch that was re-cast as being gangsters in the style of Reservoir Dogs. My PC had spent time in jail with the crime boss' son, and it worked out that the two of them had a torrid affair, and he was still in love. But in classic crime story style, the NPC boss' son betrayed me in the end and my PC died in his successful bid to take over the crime empire. That one would have been hard to re-cast as a hetero love story since not only were they hidden because of prejudice, but they got together from being in jail.
If I understand the question correctly, it is a little challenging.
As many have pointed out, sure it's easy to change out a gay couple for a straight couple, or vice versa, and, assuming an inclusive setting in which no sexual orientation is stigmatized, it really doesn't matter for the scenario which you choose. Orientation really is inconsequential. Meaningless, really. Or arbitrary.
But the question as I understand it, is, what scenarios can you think of where it matters a great deal: where a couple or character MUST be - or really should be - gay (or straight) for the scenario to work. Where sexual orientation isn't just window-dressing but important. That's tougher.
If the ability or inability to reproduce is key, then that's one way of making orientation truly important, as the OP suggested, but what else?
My thought is that the only other way to make it important is to ditch the inclusive setting where orientation doesn't matter, and replace it with a less inclusive setting with some form of stigma or intolerance re orientation. Once you do that, then the orientation of both PCs and NPCs can actually matter in the game.
It depends on how "uncommon" sexual orientations are viewed. Mostly considering same sex attraction.
If society uniformly disapproves, then it could be significant as a secret. The NPC could be blackmailed over this; could be suspected of disloyalty or involvement in a cult due to secretive activity; could seek to flee to a more tolerant place; could seek to advance a lover without harming the reputation of either; could seek a private club where they can be open about their preferences. Similar scenarios might arise for heterosexuals due to extramarital affairs, polyamory or unusual sexual fetishes, if these are similarly disapproved of. (Or playing D&D in the midst of a Satanic panic.) The PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If society mostly does not judge but contains some elements who do, then it could be significant as a motivation for enmity. The NPC might be targeted by a cult that disapproves strongly but must act secretly or indirectly; a rejected (due to being the wrong gender) suitor might seek vengeance for the humiliation; diplomacy with less tolerant countries might be compromised (so potentially any of the earlier situations). Again, the PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If the game world is entirely tolerant and views anyone who is intolerant as mentally ill, there are still potential factors. The PCs could hire the wrong gender of courtesan to distract the guard, or press someone of the wrong orientation into the seduction role (e.g., Supernatural, "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tatoo"; Dean has to coach Charlie on flirting with the guard, because she's attracted to women). The PCs might look in the brothel with female courtesans for a male NPC because they were unaware that he would prefer the brothel with male courtesans. A same sex couple might seek magical or SF means to have a child jointly (fairy tales are rife with childless opposite sex couples obtaining the child they long for through means that accord with neither biology nor conventional adoption practices; also, what Spock's parents must have done to have a child). Love triangles in which each person lusts after another person who does not lust after them (A->B->C->A) are possible. If a player character pursue marriage with a royal heir NPC, their first choice of prince or princess may be off the table due to the NPC's preferences.
One could ask why gender or hair color or left-handedness or names or human subrace (with no mechanical effect) would be relevant to an NPC; mostly these are thrown in just to make the NPC seem more real and less of an undistinguished pawn. Or they could be there for heavy handed commentary on sexism or racism (e.g., Star Trek episode with the bichromatic aliens). Just as one can imagine a scenario in which a woman poses as a man to join some army that would not otherwise have her (Eowyn or Mulan), one could have one where a red-headed ruler dies his hair for fear of being suspected of being illegitimate, or where left-handed fencers are often members of a secret society skilled in dueling which accepts only left-handers (and so all left-handers are viewed with suspicion) or where the medical examiner concludes the murder victim was killed by a left-handed assailant.
Or any of these things could be a red herring that distracts the players from the actual relevant clues in a mystery. A same sex couple in a scenario is not Chekhov's gun, and unless you're railroading or storygaming a detail doesn't have to be significant.
Some of the scenarios with the "hot chicks" fey that have powers (e.g., charm, blindness, etc.) that only effect males (presumably straight males) might qualify. Do those powers work on gay males or lesbian females? Repeat this question for any other combination of sex, gender, and sexual preference.
Quote from: rawma;1109453It depends on how "uncommon" sexual orientations are viewed. Mostly considering same sex attraction.
If society uniformly disapproves, then it could be significant as a secret. The NPC could be blackmailed over this; could be suspected of disloyalty or involvement in a cult due to secretive activity; could seek to flee to a more tolerant place; could seek to advance a lover without harming the reputation of either; could seek a private club where they can be open about their preferences. Similar scenarios might arise for heterosexuals due to extramarital affairs, polyamory or unusual sexual fetishes, if these are similarly disapproved of. (Or playing D&D in the midst of a Satanic panic.) The PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If society mostly does not judge but contains some elements who do, then it could be significant as a motivation for enmity. The NPC might be targeted by a cult that disapproves strongly but must act secretly or indirectly; a rejected (due to being the wrong gender) suitor might seek vengeance for the humiliation; diplomacy with less tolerant countries might be compromised (so potentially any of the earlier situations). Again, the PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If the game world is entirely tolerant and views anyone who is intolerant as mentally ill, there are still potential factors. The PCs could hire the wrong gender of courtesan to distract the guard, or press someone of the wrong orientation into the seduction role (e.g., Supernatural, "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tatoo"; Dean has to coach Charlie on flirting with the guard, because she's attracted to women). The PCs might look in the brothel with female courtesans for a male NPC because they were unaware that he would prefer the brothel with male courtesans. A same sex couple might seek magical or SF means to have a child jointly (fairy tales are rife with childless opposite sex couples obtaining the child they long for through means that accord with neither biology nor conventional adoption practices; also, what Spock's parents must have done to have a child). Love triangles in which each person lusts after another person who does not lust after them (A->B->C->A) are possible. If a player character pursue marriage with a royal heir NPC, their first choice of prince or princess may be off the table due to the NPC's preferences.
One could ask why gender or hair color or left-handedness or names or human subrace (with no mechanical effect) would be relevant to an NPC; mostly these are thrown in just to make the NPC seem more real and less of an undistinguished pawn. Or they could be there for heavy handed commentary on sexism or racism (e.g., Star Trek episode with the bichromatic aliens). Just as one can imagine a scenario in which a woman poses as a man to join some army that would not otherwise have her (Eowyn or Mulan), one could have one where a red-headed ruler dies his hair for fear of being suspected of being illegitimate, or where left-handed fencers are often members of a secret society skilled in dueling which accepts only left-handers (and so all left-handers are viewed with suspicion) or where the medical examiner concludes the murder victim was killed by a left-handed assailant.
Or any of these things could be a red herring that distracts the players from the actual relevant clues in a mystery. A same sex couple in a scenario is not Chekhov's gun, and unless you're railroading or storygaming a detail doesn't have to be significant.
On Tekumel, most of the NPCs sketched by the author are fleshed out characters, with families, predilections, hatreds, abilities and shortcomings, and these may simply be used for colour, or may be used to good effect in the game, whatever the GM prefers. Since Tekumel, the first ever published RPG setting, made it explicit back in 1975 that homosexuality, and by implication, bisexuality, were totally accepted in the larger empires of the setting (except for one), some of the described NPCs are gay. That detail may have little consequence in the game, or it may have broader implications, like which deity the character follows, which imperial legions he or she favours, or how they but with people from neighbouring empires. In any case, it always seems natural in the setting, never forced or shoehorned.
Speaking of character details, on Tekumel, eye colour is normally an insignificant detail, but having blue eyes, the "curse of Avanthe," will have a profound effect on a character's interactions with others.
Quote from: rawma;1109453It depends on how "uncommon" sexual orientations are viewed. Mostly considering same sex attraction.
If society uniformly disapproves, then it could be significant as a secret. The NPC could be blackmailed over this; could be suspected of disloyalty or involvement in a cult due to secretive activity; could seek to flee to a more tolerant place; could seek to advance a lover without harming the reputation of either; could seek a private club where they can be open about their preferences. Similar scenarios might arise for heterosexuals due to extramarital affairs, polyamory or unusual sexual fetishes, if these are similarly disapproved of. (Or playing D&D in the midst of a Satanic panic.) The PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If society mostly does not judge but contains some elements who do, then it could be significant as a motivation for enmity. The NPC might be targeted by a cult that disapproves strongly but must act secretly or indirectly; a rejected (due to being the wrong gender) suitor might seek vengeance for the humiliation; diplomacy with less tolerant countries might be compromised (so potentially any of the earlier situations). Again, the PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.
If the game world is entirely tolerant and views anyone who is intolerant as mentally ill, there are still potential factors. The PCs could hire the wrong gender of courtesan to distract the guard, or press someone of the wrong orientation into the seduction role (e.g., Supernatural, "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tatoo"; Dean has to coach Charlie on flirting with the guard, because she's attracted to women). The PCs might look in the brothel with female courtesans for a male NPC because they were unaware that he would prefer the brothel with male courtesans. A same sex couple might seek magical or SF means to have a child jointly (fairy tales are rife with childless opposite sex couples obtaining the child they long for through means that accord with neither biology nor conventional adoption practices; also, what Spock's parents must have done to have a child). Love triangles in which each person lusts after another person who does not lust after them (A->B->C->A) are possible. If a player character pursue marriage with a royal heir NPC, their first choice of prince or princess may be off the table due to the NPC's preferences.
One could ask why gender or hair color or left-handedness or names or human subrace (with no mechanical effect) would be relevant to an NPC; mostly these are thrown in just to make the NPC seem more real and less of an undistinguished pawn. Or they could be there for heavy handed commentary on sexism or racism (e.g., Star Trek episode with the bichromatic aliens). Just as one can imagine a scenario in which a woman poses as a man to join some army that would not otherwise have her (Eowyn or Mulan), one could have one where a red-headed ruler dies his hair for fear of being suspected of being illegitimate, or where left-handed fencers are often members of a secret society skilled in dueling which accepts only left-handers (and so all left-handers are viewed with suspicion) or where the medical examiner concludes the murder victim was killed by a left-handed assailant.
Or any of these things could be a red herring that distracts the players from the actual relevant clues in a mystery. A same sex couple in a scenario is not Chekhov's gun, and unless you're railroading or storygaming a detail doesn't have to be significant.
Quote from: Zirunel;1109507On Tekumel, most of the NPCs sketched by the author are fleshed out characters, with families, predilections, hatreds, abilities and shortcomings, and these may simply be used for colour, or may be used to good effect in the game, whatever the GM prefers. Since Tekumel, the first ever published RPG setting, made it explicit back in 1975 that homosexuality, and by implication, bisexuality, were totally accepted in the larger empires of the setting (except for one), some of the described NPCs are gay. That detail may have little consequence in the game, or it may have broader implications, like which deity the character follows, which imperial legions he or she favours, or how they but with people from neighbouring empires. In any case, it always seems natural in the setting, never forced or shoehorned.
Speaking of character details, on Tekumel, eye colour is normally an insignificant detail, but having blue eyes, the "curse of Avanthe," will have a profound effect on a character's interactions with others.
One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history) in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;1109516One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history) in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.
For sure. Or at least some ancient cultures. I wouldn't care to generalize.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;1109516One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history) in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.
Quote from: Zirunel;1109722For sure. Or at least some ancient cultures. I wouldn't care to generalize.
I agree. At least, it seems like there's a common perception that an LGBT character might fit in modern-day or future post-gay-rights setting -- but they wouldn't exist in historical settings. For some specific cultures, there's an old 1990s essay by RPG author Lee Gold about how she avoided mention of homosexuality in her games Land of the Rising Sun (FGU), GURPS Japan (SJG) and Vikings (ICE).
https://www.conchord.org/xeno/censorship.html
I actually think it can matter quite a lot, and be quite powerful as a storytelling hook, if the character (NPC or PC) in question is of a sexual orientation forbidden by local law or custom. This can be Especially true if there are any Lawful Good or Neutral characters, as (at least among my local circle) the idea of accepting the supremacy of the value of law over personal freedoms and potentially turning in such a character for punishment under those laws can be an extremely uncomfortable thing they simply aren't personally willing to do. Nowadays when alignment doesn't actually matter it's less frequent for this to be a thing, but if they're a cleric or paladin of a lawful diety, wherein they are Expected according to the tenents of their faith to abide by local laws regardless of how wrong they may be, it can cause a serious crisis of faith. The only thing I've found to be remotely as impactful is similar situations with slavery, and turning in an escaped slave.
Now my players are generally not monsters, so in order to make it a meaningful moral dillemma I typically have to sweeten the pot quite a bit- a reward of a sizeable amount of gold, favor with someone they NEED favor with, or other goods or services which they are in need of in return for information regarding such activities, for example. Even then, the typical response of my players to such scenarios, historically, has been "F that, F them, we're not doing that, this place sucks anyway", and accepting the consequences. Still, it has driven interesting conversations and genuine conflict in terms of "what would my character do" vs "what would I do".
As previously alluded to, it can also matter in terms of royalty and their duty to continue on the line vs love. Though it can be done with either a male or female offspring, their sexual orientation is key to the conflict, as if they are straight, barring their prospective lover being known to be impotent, it's not an issue. It's also then not an issue which can be 'easily' (using the term loosely) solved by assassinating their lover, as presumably their next lover will also not be suitable for continuing on the line. Either way, it CAN come up, in ways that make genuine and legitimate impact on the story. Most of the time, though, I agree with those who have said that you can simply gender swap as needed without undue complication.
Eclipse Phase: Firewall needs an in with one of the major states in the Solar System, this goes through person D, who is male, and heterosexual. The best agent to accomplish this job is agent R, who is also a heterosexual male. The best method for R to get to and gain access through D is if R seduced them. Easy enough if R just re-sleeves into a female morph, right? But what if R is oooked out by that?
Welp... time to bust out my Kult rulebook...
Quote from: thedungeondelver;1110627Eclipse Phase: Firewall needs an in with one of the major states in the Solar System, this goes through person D, who is male, and heterosexual. The best agent to accomplish this job is agent R, who is also a heterosexual male. The best method for R to get to and gain access through D is if R seduced them. Easy enough if R just re-sleeves into a female morph, right? But what if R is oooked out by that?
Nah, Eclipse Phase should be a step forward in this matter: Hyper-fluid genre (male by morning, female by night), functional hermaphrodit or worm-like "sex with yourself", animalesque (gorila penis, snake tongue), etc. biomodifications.
Quote from: Itachi;1111424Nah, Eclipse Phase should be a step forward in this matter: Hyper-fluid genre (male by morning, female by night), functional hermaphrodit or worm-like "sex with yourself", animalesque (gorila penis, snake tongue), etc. biomodifications.
And, if you need to get your mind touched up through psychosurgery before the job so your mind matches what you need the plumbing to do, that's an option too. If you then need to undo said psychsurgery afterwards, that's available too, but in that case you should have just used an altered copy and erased it after interrogating yourself in virtual to get all the answers... Weird game.
Greetings!
In my own campaign, I have the Sebu Cult. The Sebu Cult is led by a Chabari humanoid that is a Hermaphrodite. Chabari have lemon yellow skin, and are natural Hermaphrodites, fully functional, blending masculine and feminine traits and characteristics. The Sebu Cult has many members that are homosexual, as well as lesbians, transsexuals, and an assortment of fetishes and proponents of all manner of strange lifestyles, depraved sexual practices, and bizarre social and sexual customs. The religion of Sebu is typically outlawed in most civilized kingdoms, with members of such cults being burned at the stake or executed in some other manner, depending on the kingdom and culture. The Sebu Cult embraces absolute hedonism, and anyone that is critical or judgmental of them are viewed as being hateful and evil, and such are in need of being properly "enlightened." The Sebu Cult has many wealthy patrons, as there are numerous members of wealthy and elite classes which love to indulge their depraved and wicked desires, and the faithful of Sebu welcome them, and embrace them into their ways. The Sebu Cult works insidiously promoting their depraved ideology, and spreading their influence throughout society at every opportunity. In political and social circles, Sebu cultists often champion "Sexual Freedom For All" and other such sentiments, as they work against any moral codes or strictures they view as judgmental and hateful. The Sebu Religion is often in opposition to most other traditional religions, and many members of other religions have established policies where Sebu Cultists are considered evil and blasphemous, and are censured and preached against routinely.
Sebu Cultists are fun to include in scenarios and adventures where the player characters deal with them, often as opponents or obstacles of some kind, though occasionally as a neutral resource or as an ally of some kind.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: jeff37923;1108932OK, we have talked about having NPCs with sexual orientations and/or sexual preferences outside the norm being shoehorned in to adventures and settings by publishers, so my question is now where would they fit in naturally and organically to an adventure or setting? What scenarios or settings would hinge upon a NPCs sexual orientation and/or preference? Where would it be important to the structure of the game?
Well, the obvious case would be some kind of monster or demon of seduction, taking the form of a beautiful woman, and its powers of seduction don't work on people who wouldn't be aroused by a beautiful woman.