Quote from: GrimGent;326905You know, I'm actually curious about where the notion of the masters coercing the staff of the mansion into sexual activities comes from, since nothing of the sort ever takes place in the book's play reports or sample scenarios. Is it just the maid theme of the game which gives that impression?

Yeah, it's weird.  Maybe they are just making it up.  I mean, it's not like there are rules for trying to have a sexual relationship with the Master that could be easily reversed to have the Master try to seduce a maid or something.

Quote from: GrimGent;326905But that's not really the case if you do use the seduction rules in the first place, however. Anyone, whether that's a maid or a butler, who successfully seduces the master then effectively becomes his master, capable of ordering him around because of the emotional entanglement but without any formal authority over Favour beyond the usual.

Quote from: StormBringer;327136I mean, it's not like there are rules for trying to have a sexual relationship with the Master that could be easily reversed to have the Master try to seduce a maid or something.

How does that grant the masters some special advantage, though? There's no reversal required: those same rules apply equally to everyone. In practice the seducer always becomes a "master" to the seduced, no matter who they are, and the relationship can be mutual so that a couple seduces each other.

And just for the record, "seduction" in the game is loosely defined as "trying to get someone to fall in love or otherwise become romantically confused" so that they "lose their normal judgment." The characters involved don't even necessarily have to be physically capable of sex, which can lead to situations like that "I love her, but there's not much I can do about that 'cause I'm a robot" bit from the third replay.

If you got rid of all the post about Maid, I wonder how many pages this thread would be....

Quote from: GrimGent;326905You know, I'm actually curious about where the notion of the masters coercing the staff of the mansion into sexual activities comes from, since nothing of the sort ever takes place in the book's play reports or sample scenarios. Is it just the maid theme of the game which gives that impression?

Quote from: GrimGent;327146How does that grant the masters some special advantage, though? There's no reversal required: those same rules apply equally to everyone. In practice the seducer always becomes a "master" to the seduced, no matter who they are, and the relationship can be mutual so that a couple seduces each other.

When I said "icky power dynamics," I did not mean that the master would rape the maids (i.e. forced sex against their will).  Rather, it was that there was a power dynamic such that the maids were encouraged to sleep with or otherwise seduce the master in order to get what they want.  It is not simply a product of the general idea of playing maids, but also a part of the cited source material of the game.  For example, see the review of "He Is My Master" that I linked earlier.  

Sleeping with the boss to get ahead isn't "woman power" that's free from icky power dynamics.  It's quite the opposite, in my opinion.  

Such themes aren't unique.  For example, the Conan source material has a common trope of rescuing sexy slave girls -- and indeed the Conan RPG has a picture of a topless woman on every other page.  I don't think that means the game should be banned or anything, but it's a dynamic that I wouldn't want in my own games.  So, for example, when I ran Conan I took some care to undermine that aspect.

Quote from: StormBringer;327136Yeah, it's weird.  Maybe they are just making it up.  I mean, it's not like there are rules for trying to have a sexual relationship with the Master that could be easily reversed to have the Master try to seduce a maid or something.

*shudders* God. No. :duh:

Quote from: Koltar;327033No, HELL No.

We got ya scared, Ed?

Quote from: Benoist;327184We got ya scared, Ed?

Just making My stance known, forcefully.
No scare involved.


- Ed

Quote from: jhkim;327182When I said "icky power dynamics," I did not mean that the master would rape the maids (i.e. forced sex against their will).  Rather, it was that there was a power dynamic such that the maids were encouraged to sleep with or otherwise seduce the master in order to get what they want.

But again, the romance rules simply don't work that way, since seduced characters can even receive Favour from their seducers instead of the master, regardless of who these people actually are. A romantic relationship between, say, maids or butlers pretty much removes them from the master's power as far as job security is concerned, although they might still be interested in going after the Power Sources themselves. (On the other hand, it is of course all based on harem anime, and the master is undeniably the most important NPC around the place.)

As for "woman power"... A maid PC has the same chances of being actually a guy as being a catgirl: 1 in 36 for every Special Quality that you roll during chargen. Butlers have the identical odds of being women, and masters can be either as the players wish. "In this game romance can be thought of something that happens between two individuals, and is not in any way governed by gender. Whatever the players and GM might think themselves, the rules of the game have absolutely no penalties for same-sex relationships."

I think we're pretty close to forming a consensus here.

Either Sailor Ron has balls of brass or he's completely given up on life.

Quote from: Machinegun Blue;327206Either Sailor Ron has balls of brass or he's completely given up on life.

Or both.

Quote from: Machinegun Blue;327206Either Sailor Ron has balls of brass or he's completely given up on life.

Well, he is certainly ... uh ... true to his ideals.  Whatever they are.

Quote from: Aos;327205I think we're pretty close to forming a consensus here.

Quote from: Machinegun Blue;327206Either Sailor Ron has balls of brass or he's completely given up on life.

Quote from: Benoist;327211Or both.

Yes.