I'm currently running a swashbuckling adventure game (1600s fantasy France). We had just wrapped up our game night when one of my players said to me "I think that NPC would make a really good love interest for my Character. Do you mind if I play up a romance angle towards her?"
Now I thought that was a great idea. I'm all for letting players create connections in the game world, and having a love interest is the kind of relationship that can create some really interesting stories. The problem is I have no idea how to actually let the player get involved with that NPC.
I'm open to suggestions from the player herself, but before talking to her about it I'd love to hear if anyone on this board have experience with rpg-romance play, as a brain storm to help me formulate some concrete suggestions for my player and for my own adventures. What's corny, how do the two get involved in a way that doesn't necessarily happen off-screen and how can the proposed relationship be used in-game?
The player is female, her character is a mechanic/inventor (also female), and the NPC is a female gunsmith's apprentice. Thoughts on how to handle the romance aspect welcome.
I recommend really getting into character, and emoting, with LARP elements. Basically, dry humping while spouting lines from your favorite erotic fan fic.
Quote from: The_Shadow;831639I recommend really getting into character, and emoting, with LARP elements. Basically, dry humping while spouting lines from your favorite erotic fan fic.
As amusing as this may be, I'd advise against the above.
If the Player is taking it seriously, then the PC should take it seriously and the NPC will take it seriously. It may be difficult, but do not mock the possibility of romance between an NPC and a PC. When I have done it, I have used a method acting approach and behaved in a manner that the NPC would believably act in this situation.
A good place to start is ask yourself both "What do you as GM want out of this romance?" and "What does the NPC want out of romance in general or this romance in particular?"
Play the NPC. Don't play a "romantic NPC." Just have the characters talk about things they would logically talk about. If the player is actively seeking out the NPC to build their relationship, then you're doing it right.
It means getting into the NPC. It means coming up with their hopes and dreams and little anecdotes about their life. I've always found it helps if the NPC has some kind of tragic secret or something dark in their life, but that's far from a true requirement.
I suggest this. Open up a word processor, and start typing about the NPC. If you can't type up at least a full single spaced 12 point font page about the NPC, then they're not interesting enough for a player to want to engage with them on a long term basis.
Have an NPC fall in love with the character first if you want to introduce romance but the players haven't initiated anything. My only advice here is be cautious with how you do it because everyone reacts differently. I used to be 100% no romance or love in my games, but I realized I was missing out on a lot of cool developments because I had one or two negative experiences with it.
Some of my players have been more comfortable roleplaying these things out in writing pre- or post-game. Not a solution for everyone, of course, but it helps if people ever feel awkward once things get "real". I mean before you get to a "fade to black" moment.
Romance doesn't have to be sexual. If they have a relationship you never have to talk about anything sexual. Just the relationship stuff.
Well, there's certainly interesting social obstacles that can play out in that scenario but I'd check and see what the player wants first.
It might be as simple as saying "okay she's into it, you're a couple now" and leave it to that.
I'd usually avoid having the bad guys go after the love interest without player permission. Except in GURPS where you got points for that dependant so you'd better take good care of them because they were fair game the moment you wrote them down on your character sheet so you could afford that extra point of Dexterity.
Use dice for everything........completely randomized. It'll be crazy and awkward but the NPC is a girl so it's fitting....
Joking aside I'd think the best way to approach it would be to flesh out the NPC more. Create motivation (not just in the interest of the PC but in the world and herself) as well as goals, desires, and a strong backstory. This should breath more life into the NPC and set her on a path that hopefully will intertwine with that of a PC.
Also, I'd suggest trying to be more realistic with the NPC in that they're not fawning over the PC all the time or following them around like a lost puppy. They'll have their own agenda and if it coincides with the PCs, then great. But let the PC slowly discover what that agenda is. Dates, time spent together, and a slow opening up of information might be a good way for the character to "get to know" the NPC. The NPC is a gun-smith so maybe she wants to invent new ones or discover new formulas for gun-powder or find a way to create a new ballistic shell or somehow infuse guns with magic. Now the PC might not be on-board with all of that, which is fine, but it also means that the NPC isn't going to automatically stop her dreams just because the PC is off on some quest in another area of the world. Sometimes people never get to the "love" stage and just remain friends.
I have *lots* of experience with this. All romances are different because what people want from their romances are different. Take the player's lead on this. Apparently, something about the way you have played the NPC has attracted their character. There is no reason to assume the NPC even knows this, let alone reciprocates, but that is entirely up to you.
It could be a slow, gradually increasing romance. One of my players' characters in my Sunday IRC game has been in love with an NPC for years, but for one reason or another - mainly to do with her position - they did not communicate this openly. When she left that position, things opened up, and now they are a tightly bound couple. Another of my players' characters prefers whirlwind romances. She is married to one NPC, affianced to another, and romancing a third with an eye to marriage - the culture permits multiple marriages. Still another player's character responded to an NPC who openly pursued her. She pushed him off while flirting with him, until he left his career to follow her, after which they became a tight couple.
The thing is, let the PC dictate the pace and the style of the romance. They know what they are comfortable with. Since the NPC has attracted the PC already, play the character as they have been played already, but add, when appropriate, flirtations or clever quips or sincere and deep confessions, or whatever it is the PC wants out of that relationship, as appropriate to the character. Do not change the character - reveal another dimension of that character.
Sex - for our group - is always inferred, never played out. That makes many people feel awkward. Thing is, it's not the sex that's important. They want relationships. Romance. Bonding.
Hope this helps!
-clash
Hmmm....for myself, I'm inclined to think that romantic attraction falls into the realm of the GM ftmp. As a player, I don't feel like I get to say "I fall for that npc." It doesn't feel like that's the way it works. I'd be more inclined to say that the GM could determine "you find beguiling and you are strongly attracted to her/him." Then, it would be up to me to respond to that. If I didn't want to proceed in a romantic way it might come down to a test of my characters willpower to resist the attraction. I just feel like "love" is something that happens outside of our control and therefore is more of a nature thing that the GM would manage.
But then I'm a guy who isn't really looking to roleplay romance anyway and I like PC death to be on the table so what do I know? In other words, I actually like the suggestion up thread to "use dice to handle everything." lol...
Whoa! I would never say that to a player, Zevious Zoquis, unless the player character were the target of some kind of coercive spell - which I don't like to use in the first place. I certainly wouldn't start any kind of romance like that! Wow!
-clash
haha, OK. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I mean I can't actually see or hear or interact in any real way with an NPC in a roll-playing game. How am I supposed to know if my character is attracted in any romantic way? I mean sure, maybe I can say "hmmm, in these circumstances I think there's a chance I might be attracted to that npc" at which point we might come up with a way to determine if that is in fact the case...but I suspect we may be encroaching on the whole story game versus rpg debate again so I should just bow out now or the thread will get derailed. Like I said in the first place I'm not really looking to roleplay romantic circumstances all that deeply anyway...
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;831700haha, OK. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I mean I can't actually see or hear or interact in any real way with an NPC in a roll-playing game. How am I supposed to know if my character is attracted in any romantic way? I mean sure, maybe I can say "hmmm, in these circumstances I think there's a chance I might be attracted to that npc" at which point we might come up with a way to determine if that is in fact the case...but I suspect we may be encroaching on the whole story game versus rpg debate again so I should just bow out now or the thread will get derailed. Like I said in the first place I'm not really looking to roleplay romantic circumstances all that deeply anyway...
This has nothing at all to do with "story games vs real rpgs", actually. I'm not a story gamer. It has to do with immersion, really. That's a whole 'nother kettle of fish. :D
-clash
Quote from: Gabriel2;831645Play the NPC. Don't play a "romantic NPC." Just have the characters talk about things they would logically talk about. If the player is actively seeking out the NPC to build their relationship, then you're doing it right.
It means getting into the NPC. It means coming up with their hopes and dreams and little anecdotes about their life. I've always found it helps if the NPC has some kind of tragic secret or something dark in their life, but that's far from a true requirement.
I suggest this. Open up a word processor, and start typing about the NPC. If you can't type up at least a full single spaced 12 point font page about the NPC, then they're not interesting enough for a player to want to engage with them on a long term basis.
I recommend this. Sure we can as GM and player sit down and negotiate the terms of attraction and the goals of relationship. But part of the fun of romance is its organic, uncontrolled nature. It also saves you from a lot of prep work.
Grab a 3x5" index card, scribble known details about the NPC (name, looks, 3 adjective personality...) and then separate a section for each tasks/routine, goals, and relationships. On the reverse, save for current news, quests, & secrets. Update accordingly, get in its headspace, and let loose.
i.e.:
Carlotta Durielwild, curly-haired brunette with fiery black eyes and commanding alto voice.
personality: passionate, quick-tempered, brooding.
job & routine: gunsmith, store open from M-F 10am to 6pm.
goal: match the quality workmanship of her grandfather.
relationships: Guillarme, silversmith --, Marquis Lac -, Duphrain, sheriff /, Lady Helene +, Armand, famed duelist ++. PC +.
(reverse)
news: mahogany gun handle shipment delayed.
rumors: Marquis Lac deliberately funds bandits to disrupt this town.
quests: a) find another source of good hardwood, fast! b) find evidence for truth in Marquis Lac and bandits rumor.
secrets: shot her last lover in the heat of jealous passion. she visits a lovely grave in the next county annually because of remorse.
Write it in pencil, edit regularly when they encounter each other, and let it flow organically. At worst, when the romance peters out or fails, you have a fleshed NPC and contact source.
Any time that would be spent on romance in tabletop games would be much better spent on romance outside of tabletop games.
Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of replies and all the thought that obviously went into them, even with such an esoteric topic! Thanks guys!
Quote from: Opaopajr;831709...part of the fun of romance is its organic, uncontrolled nature...
Grab a 3x5" index card, scribble known details about the NPC (name, looks, 3 adjective personality...) and then separate a section for each tasks/routine, goals, and relationships. On the reverse, save for current news, quests, & secrets. Update accordingly, get in its headspace, and let loose.
The index cards is a great idea, not just for relationships but for any NPC at all. And the organic element of letting the relationship involve... there are so many great ideas for complications, an adventurer always going far away on missions for the crown, being involved in monster slaying, untreated PTSD - that's gonna be tough even for a very understanding partner!
Quote from: flyingmice;831688Take the player's lead on this. Apparently, something about the way you have played the NPC has attracted their character. There is no reason to assume the NPC even knows this, let alone reciprocates, but that is entirely up to you.
That's a good point, and something I'll have to consider. I was going to simply let the characters meet up and instantly fall in mutual love. Doing something more out of it sounds like a good way to flesh out the relationship.
I like the ideas voiced about getting not just the player, but also the other players involved. To really do something to widen the relationship so it becomes interesting for the whole group. Someone mentioned other PCs being wingmen - it's a really intrigue loving group, they could get so much fun out of of that! Player A: "Would you help me catch her attention?" Player B: "Sure, but you'll owe me big time..."
Quote from: The_Shadow;831639I recommend really getting into character, and emoting, with LARP elements. Basically, dry humping while spouting lines from your favorite erotic fan fic.
Sounds briliiant of course, but I specifically wanted to do something different form how I normally GM...
Quote from: EOTB;831717Any time that would be spent on romance in tabletop games would be much better spent on romance outside of tabletop games.
haha that's more or less where I'm at with it. Frankly, romance is mostly a pita in the RW anyway. I play games to get away from daily frustrations. :) Next thing you know I'm going to be stressing out about getting a valentine gift for some NPC in an rpg! :D
I found that doing some or all of the conversation in third person is often helpful for me as it puts some distance between me and the player which can be a lot more comfortable for all concerned.
Sometimes another player has played the romantic interest NPC which can also work well. If the other player is the real world romantic interest of the first player that can avoid some awkwardness since not everyone is cool with roleplaying out romance between a third person while their real life other half is sitting their watching (or critiquing and laughing).
I agree with those who mentioned taking a cue from your player and I agree that including ordinary events that couples might do like gift giving, eating a meal, going to the theatre or opera (depending on time, location, and degree of historical accuracy), attending a dance or masquerade (trying to evade chaperones to get some time alone on a terrace could be a minor subplot to a ball or masquerade scene). Another popular thing in the time period was reciting and/or composing poetry which could be a thing that is done without necessarily having to recite or compose actual poetry. They could go to the market and shop or just walk around and look at the booths. They could also interact with various vendors street performers who may try to get one of the two to be involved in a skit or to buy flowers for the other.
Quote from: Opaopajr;831709I recommend this. Sure we can as GM and player sit down and negotiate the terms of attraction and the goals of relationship. But part of the fun of romance is its organic, uncontrolled nature. It also saves you from a lot of prep work.
Grab a 3x5" index card, scribble known details about the NPC (name, looks, 3 adjective personality...) and then separate a section for each tasks/routine, goals, and relationships. On the reverse, save for current news, quests, & secrets. Update accordingly, get in its headspace, and let loose.
i.e.:
Carlotta Duriel
Brilliant. Stolen for my Honor+Intrigue game. :D
Quote from: Bren;831740I found that doing some or all of the conversation in third person is often helpful for me as it puts some distance between me and the player which can be a lot more comfortable for all concerned.
This, via e-mail, were more or less how we handled it in the Star Wars game I played in where it was an issue. (NPC/PC, I was playing the PC, the NPC started things and I ran with it. We kept it mostly off the tabletop.)
Quote from: Armchair Gamer;831760This, via e-mail, were more or less how we handled it in the Star Wars game I played in where it was an issue. (NPC/PC, I was playing the PC, the NPC started things and I ran with it. We kept it mostly off the tabletop.)
Or if you want to go analog, Bluebooking.
Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;831638I'm open to suggestions from the player herself, but before talking to her about it I'd love to hear if anyone on this board have experience with rpg-romance play, as a brain storm to help me formulate some concrete suggestions for my player and for my own adventures. What's corny, how do the two get involved in a way that doesn't necessarily happen off-screen and how can the proposed relationship be used in-game?.
There's lots of romance in most of my games, though it depends of course on the group, the players, and what they're comfy with. There have been some great romances with male players playing male PCs in my online games (Tabitha Kallent's love for and consequent redemption of Sir Garrick from a scumbag who had fled his home village after killing his wife in a drunk rage to a decent guy, was genuinely touching), but it does tend to be female players who are most comfy with romance in tabletop play.
I'd say, well,
play it out as much as possible, use dice to guide NPC reactions where appropriate. It's perfectly ok to say 'hm, only 1 in 6 chance this gunsmith's daughter might be interested in a lesbian relationship' - but it's also ok to not roll if you have a preference. I tend to use Charisma/Reaction/Diplomacy/Persuasion type checks a fair bit, until I get a good handle on the NPC and their thinking (Tabitha Kallent on her first meeting with Garrick rolled a natural 100% on the 1e AD&D d% Reaction table, only time I've ever seen that - and I played her accordingly).
Let the NPC's personality develop in play, her background, family, interests too. As you add detail, plots and complications will emerge naturally, and will help define the relationship. IMC Garrick was initially using Tabitha primarily for social advancement (and great sex), but her love for him was so genuine, and her bravery in standing up to her vicious aunt so great (Tabitha's cousin told Garric how her aunt Gertrude had beaten Tabitha severely when she found out Tabitha had been sneaking out to see somebody, but Tabitha had refused to confess or reveal who it was) that she melted his cold heart.
Quote from: jeff37923;831644As amusing as this may be, I'd advise against the above.
If the Player is taking it seriously, then the PC should take it seriously and the NPC will take it seriously. It may be difficult, but do not mock the possibility of romance between an NPC and a PC. When I have done it, I have used a method acting approach and behaved in a manner that the NPC would believably act in this situation.
A good place to start is ask yourself both "What do you as GM want out of this romance?" and "What does the NPC want out of romance in general or this romance in particular?"
Yeah, the main thing for the GM is to get to know the NPC - using dice as appropriate - and look at things from his/her perspective. Then they'll seem real. Don't treat the NPC as a tool for the Player's ego. Even if an NPC is wildly in love with the PC they may well have a very different perspective. Eg IMC recently the CG male Barbarian PC nearly got himself killed when he abandoned a strategic withdrawal to berserk-charge into the midst of the enemy. He was captured, but managed to escape. His LG female Paladin NPC girlfriend had obeyed his order to withdraw with the rest of the party, but she was furious with him when they met up again later - and his attempts to laugh it off as usual with a kiss didn't work this time. She still loves him but her perspective on him has fundamentally changed, from being the junior partner in the relationship, to being the one who needs to use her better judgement & wisdom to keep him alive. And she's determined she'll never leave him again, no matter what.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;831649Have an NPC fall in love with the character first if you want to introduce romance but the players haven't initiated anything. My only advice here is be cautious with how you do it because everyone reacts differently. I used to be 100% no romance or love in my games, but I realized I was missing out on a lot of cool developments because I had one or two negative experiences with it.
With male PC/female NPC I usually tell the player if the NPC seems interested in them, but the male PC usually needs to initiate the relationship if they want to get anywhere. Just telling the player "she seems interested in you" is way more information than most of us men are capable of picking up on reliably IRL, so it's already a big head start. :D
With female PC/male NPC the male character again will usually try to initiate their relationship, though if they're the reserved type they may need some gentle encouragement to come out of their shell. Female PCs are often badass killer types that most men tend to tread warily around...
This seems to work ok with female players. I can't recall offhand many cases with a male player/female PC romancing a male NPC. One male player a couple years back played a bisexual lady Bard of easy virtue who had several relationships, the two most important/serious ones were with other women, but she did also have a mostly-offscreen 'romance' with Prince Konn of the Tigerclaw Barbarians (based on Dolph Lundgren as He-Man in the '80s
He-Man movie). That was probably the least method-acty romance I've done though, it was largely played for laughs - "Let me crush you to my manly chest!" sort of stuff. :D
Quote from: Ulairi;831656Romance doesn't have to be sexual. If they have a relationship you never have to talk about anything sexual. Just the relationship stuff.
Yeah. There might be a "They go to bed... fade to black" moment, but not necessarily even that.
Quote from: David Johansen;831675I'd usually avoid having the bad guys go after the love interest without player permission.
I think it's a good rule of thumb to avoid targetting such NPCs (and friends, relatives, etc) unless as a naturally emergent product of gameplay. If a PC negligently puts their girlfriend in a dangerous situation then yes she may be fair game, but be careful about it. Don't have her be the one NPC kidnapped by Mr Random Serial Killer unless there is already an established serious possibility that this could happen - if Mr RSK is known to be targetting the PC as a result of prior interaction, say. Even then I would avoid presenting it as a fait accompli. I might establish a range of possibilities and roll to see what happens. IMC the PC might come home to see his blood-covered girlfriend standing victorious over Mr RSK's corpse...
Quote from: EOTB;831717Any time that would be spent on romance in tabletop games would be much better spent on romance outside of tabletop games.
I guess you don't like reading books, watching films or tv (never mind creative writing) either, then!
Edit: Obviously it varies by player. One of my players is a fairly well known author of young adult fiction, and she loves the 'talky stuff', including romance. Other players wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole. Others want it highly abstracted ("OK, the smith is your girlfriend - yes, you can have a discount on that +3 fullblade"). That's ok.
Quote from: S'mon;831864I think it's a good rule of thumb to avoid targetting such NPCs (and friends, relatives, etc) unless as a naturally emergent product of gameplay. If a PC negligently puts their girlfriend in a dangerous situation then yes she may be fair game, but be careful about it. Don't have her be the one NPC kidnapped by Mr Random Serial Killer unless there is already an established serious possibility that this could happen - if Mr RSK is known to be targetting the PC as a result of prior interaction, say. Even then I would avoid presenting it as a fait accompli. I might establish a range of possibilities and roll to see what happens. IMC the PC might come home to see his blood-covered girlfriend standing victorious over Mr RSK's corpse...
This and it has become a trope. Player Character has a romantic interest in an NPC and everyone at the table immediately thinks that it is a set-up for Something Bad To Happen.
If you see a trope coming along, always try to subvert it. Allow a romance to happen and let it just be, a romance. The fact that nothing horrible happens to the PC or NPC will drive the Players nuts because they expect it!
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;831693Hmmm....for myself, I'm inclined to think that romantic attraction falls into the realm of the GM ftmp. As a player, I don't feel like I get to say "I fall for that npc." It doesn't feel like that's the way it works. I'd be more inclined to say that the GM could determine "you find beguiling and you are strongly attracted to her/him." Then, it would be up to me to respond to that. If I didn't want to proceed in a romantic way it might come down to a test of my characters willpower to resist the attraction. I just feel like "love" is something that happens outside of our control and therefore is more of a nature thing that the GM would manage.
But then I'm a guy who isn't really looking to roleplay romance anyway and I like PC death to be on the table so what do I know? In other words, I actually like the suggestion up thread to "use dice to handle everything." lol...
Telling a PC what his/her opinion is of anything violates the player/DM divide. I simply present what is in the world, sometimes that includes attractive and interesting NPCs. The players are always the ones to make their own decisions about what they think of such characters.
Quote from: Opaopajr;831709Carlotta Duriel
wild, curly-haired brunette with fiery black eyes and commanding alto voice.
personality: passionate, quick-tempered, brooding.
quests: a) find another source of good hardwood, fast!
There may be several male PCs who would be willing to help her out with that quest. :p
Quote from: EOTB;831717Any time that would be spent on romance in tabletop games would be much better spent on romance outside of tabletop games.
Alas. I'd been in the middle of quite pleasantly surprised at the level of maturity displayed up until this point, given that the majority of "Romance in RPGs" threads are dominated by the "Ewww, COOTIES!!!" types for whom The Mushy Stuff is a signal to revert to junior high school. Mind going elsewhere to threadcrap?
Anyway ... not much I could add to the good advice already proffered.
Quote from: Bren;831740I found that doing some or all of the conversation in third person is often helpful for me as it puts some distance between me and the player which can be a lot more comfortable for all concerned.
Sometimes another player has played the romantic interest NPC which can also work well. If the other player is the real world romantic interest of the first player that can avoid some awkwardness since not everyone is cool with roleplaying out romance between a third person while their real life other half is sitting their watching (or critiquing and laughing).
I agree with those who mentioned taking a cue from your player and I agree that including ordinary events that couples might do like gift giving, eating a meal, going to the theatre or opera (depending on time, location, and degree of historical accuracy), attending a dance or masquerade (trying to evade chaperones to get some time alone on a terrace could be a minor subplot to a ball or masquerade scene). Another popular thing in the time period was reciting and/or composing poetry which could be a thing that is done without necessarily having to recite or compose actual poetry. They could go to the market and shop or just walk around and look at the booths. They could also interact with various vendors street performers who may try to get one of the two to be involved in a skit or to buy flowers for the other.
Bren, the chaperones slant is pure roleplaying gold! Can't think why I haven't thought of that before - definitely stealing that for my upcoming 18th Century game.
And what everyone says here about knowing what your people are comfortable with is perhaps the golden rule. Some people are happy with first person narration from the GM (yes, I have been the innocent Princess to one of my player's handsome rogue), while others find it less icky if you stick to third person. And then there is a sort of group consensus that needs to be reached over when to fade to black. Find out what everyone - including yourself - is comfortable with, and then stick to it.
Romance, love and sex turn up quite frequently in our games, and the level of detail tends to vary depending on which of the three is being played out at any one time. This stuff is a part of life, so our group likes to include it. One irregular player however, sees it as a waste of time when we could be getting on with 'the game', so if he's playing we tend to cut down the time spent on the romance sub plots.
trick is not to kill them off for drama i hear players hate that.of course they can be killed repetedly if there on a plane that resurects them the next day :D
Quote from: Ravenswing;831903Alas. I'd been in the middle of quite pleasantly surprised at the level of maturity displayed up until this point, given that the majority of "Romance in RPGs" threads are dominated by the "Ewww, COOTIES!!!" types for whom The Mushy Stuff is a signal to revert to junior high school. Mind going elsewhere to threadcrap?
Anyway ... not much I could add to the good advice already proffered.
I like to play D&D to have adventures, not simulate the entirety of a life. Others like to simulate more than I do. That doesn't make it a threadcrap, and I didn't revert to Junior High school. I gave an opinion, succinctly, and without crapping on people who feel differently.
Something you failed to do, O mature one.
EOTB, it's good to hear you didn't mean to threadcrap, and your explanation of your play type makes sense, and doesn't strike me at all as threadcrap, but your previous post also landed with me as putting down the whole idea for others, because you didn't say "to me", making it sound to me like you were trying to tell everyone else what would be better for them.
I've seen a range or romance and no-romance in RPGs. It's a "same page" issue, but in general, I think romance is part of life, so to the degree that your game includes most/all aspects of life, and that your players are interested and mature enough to enjoy it, go ahead and include it. It can go all the way up to mechanical sex rules - see the Naughty & Dice generic rules module, for example - I've played in games with the authors, and despite how that might look to some people, it can be quite natural and not disruptive to include in a game. But in general, I just roleplay it like any other human interaction. There are all sorts of ways to handle it.
Sometimes I roll for my own PC, and often for NPCs, to determine their interest level or the success of advances. I wouldn't tend to roll as a GM for PCs' reactions, but it might make sense sometimes, though I'd usually give the players authority of what their characters do about it. After all, in real life, many people frequently feel attracted to others, but don't act on it for whatever reason. An advantage of rolling routinely and letting players know when their PC is feeling attracted to someone, is that then if there is a situation where something unusual is making the PC feel attraction, it won't be obvious to the players that this is some special game situation. This allows something like a love spell/potion to be as subtle/effective/unsuspected as it should be, without breaking the "third wall" and requiring players to pretend they don't know something artificial is happening.
Quote from: EOTB;832200I like to play D&D to have adventures, not simulate the entirety of a life. Others like to simulate more than I do. That doesn't make it a threadcrap, and I didn't revert to Junior High school. I gave an opinion, succinctly, and without crapping on people who feel differently.
Something you failed to do, O mature one.
Yeah, nice try. Tell you what: go back and reread the OP. You might have missed, the first time around, where the OP
didn't invite commentary as to the value, propriety or purpose of romantic plots in gaming. He didn't even invite comments on whether he ought to go through with it. He was asking for
the best way to go about it. Period.
And your answer was that it was a waste of time and not to bother. That's the frigging
definition of threadcrapping.
And no, I didn't sneer at people who felt differently than I do. I sneer at people who
act immaturely on the issue. Not wanting romantic plots in your gaming, that's a preference, no different from the many other preferences that permeate the hobby. You're the best judge of how you want to play and what elements you find interesting.
The whole notion of romance/sex in gaming, however, may be the issue that provokes the most immature sneering: why do we need rules for
that? Why should we waste time on
that? What's wrong with people who like
that kind of gaming? What are you, some kind of pussy or pervert? You might as well go play FATAL! Or something.
You do romance in your game like you handle other aspects of your game: by investing in the importance of such things.
If you don't do that - what do your characters do? Count their gold? Do they go to inn's and get drunk? Do they tumble a wench or two? Do you give your female characters male foils that are intriguing?
Romance like combat is something the PC's can be enticed into - but the GM is the deciding factor as to whether it will be quality gaming or not.
My PC's definitely engage in romance. Sometimes for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes for all the right ones. Your PC's need to be engaged on the level their PC's play at with the promise that it actually matters. If you can't get your player's buy-in on it - then that's what you need to be sharpening up on your GMing skills. Buy-in to murder and gold-acquisition is easy. Buy-in to emotional investment - that's what awesome campaigns are made from.
I usually don't built up NPCs as potential, long term romantic interests. Short term romances, brief flings and so on are there if the players have an interest in that. If a player then wants to turn one of these encounters into a long-term relationship, this might work out, but it is usually not the case, and in my opinion actual long term relations are in my experience better left to those situations where all involved characters are PCs - the players tend to care more about them, and as a gamemaster, I don't have to focus a lot of my intention on a subplot that usually only affects one player.
Quote from: Beagle;832414If a player then wants to turn one of these encounters into a long-term relationship, this might work out, but it is usually not the case, and in my opinion actual long term relations are in my experience better left to those situations where all involved characters are PCs
It's a good point, I've thought about how to make the situation interesting for the other payers as well. Someone suggested the PCs could chaperone or be wingmen to the romantically involved character - and think this could work, given that my group is very inter-party focused. Long term... yeah, I'll have to think on that. I don't want to just kill off the PC's intentional partner for dramatic effect, but having a relationship going on in the background might also take some focus away from the important in game stuff. Maybe I could use the romantic interest for a recurring NPC, the paty's go-to girl for sepcialized knowledge on guns and blackpowder weapons?
Romances IMCs have always been NPC/PC or NPC/NPC, not PC/PC. Usually they occur in the background and don't take up much screen time if any.
Quote from: The_Shadow;831639I recommend really getting into character, and emoting, with LARP elements. Basically, dry humping while spouting lines from your favorite erotic fan fic.
Woot!
That's essentially how my old crew did it. Of course, it helped that we drank when we gamed and we were all buddies.
Quote from: S'mon;832427Romances IMCs have always been NPC/PC or NPC/NPC, not PC/PC. Usually they occur in the background and don't take up much screen time if any.
I've had a few PC/PC romances in my campaigns, S'mon. They're simple - let it go, as the song says. :D
-clash
Quote from: S'mon;832427Romances IMCs have always been NPC/PC or NPC/NPC, not PC/PC.
I've done this. We bluebooked a lot. Sometimes we'd just play some downtime of our characters either before everyone showed up or after everyone left. It was definitely some of the most rewarding character time I've ever played.
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;831693Hmmm....for myself, I'm inclined to think that romantic attraction falls into the realm of the GM ftmp. As a player, I don't feel like I get to say "I fall for that npc." It doesn't feel like that's the way it works. I'd be more inclined to say that the GM could determine "you find beguiling and you are strongly attracted to her/him." Then, it would be up to me to respond to that. If I didn't want to proceed in a romantic way it might come down to a test of my characters willpower to resist the attraction. I just feel like "love" is something that happens outside of our control and therefore is more of a nature thing that the GM would manage.
But then I'm a guy who isn't really looking to roleplay romance anyway and I like PC death to be on the table so what do I know? In other words, I actually like the suggestion up thread to "use dice to handle everything." lol...
its like im seeing monsterhearts from a difrent angle. On that note dont go anywhere monsterhearts for insperation (althougih a lot of people here seem to like it)
my group being a bunch of colosal perverts who make pornographic visual novels we dont fade to black at all and romances tend to be a bit of a joke but i have been wondering lately what it would be like to pretend to be a sexualy normal group. It would be roleplaying how we we roleplay very meta
mostly i want to learn how to give good advice on this matter
Quote from: tuypo1;832477its like im seeing monsterhearts from a difrent angle. On that note dont go anywhere monsterhearts for insperation (althougih a lot of people here seem to like it)
hmm...don't know what that means.
Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting the GM should outright tell a PC that his character is in love with a given NPC. It was more along the lines of having it come down to a dice roll - some sort of "romance mechanism" to handle it - to determine if "the spark" is there. It's the whole "I think it would be interesting for the story if my character and that NPC had a romantic involvement" deal that feels story-gamey to me. But again this thread isn't really for me since the level of romance I'd generally want would be along the lines of what you might find in a Conan story or something... :)
Romance was never a part of D&D and Earthdawn at our tables. The only relationship in ED didn't even involve the PCs, it was a love between the human Luke Branford and the elf Lilandra Silvertongue as NPCs in my ten year Epic campaign of Earthdawn. Lilandra broke it off, having no wish to watch Luke grow old and die while she stayed young (Human lifespan average 70, elves 400 in ED), but not before she became pregnant with Luke's child which she hid from Luke. Luke went on to have a relationship with a fellow human Fiona Flamehair, a princess of a small human city state in the Throal Mountains called Lasael. But none of this really involved the players and they ignored the background details. But these little details directed how I roleplayed Luke as the campaign went on. Why he was overprotective of Lilandra during the early game and then Fiona later. Why does this matter? Well this is it from the first 20 years of our roleplaying (mostly D&D 1-3.5 and ED 1-3) when it comes to romance. As in a PC-NPC relationship never happened.
Savage Worlds the last three years has been completely different. Possibly because our gaming group has a 50/50 women to men ratio most of the time, especially Deadlands. We also use the Adventure Deck, which has a Love Interest card that can spark a romance with an NPC. The women in our game group love playing this card.
There have been a lot of PC to PC loves in the various SW games. But the topic is specific to PC/NPC romance interactions. Bobbie played Love Interest, gaining the huge Orc Grundy Vhash's attentions in my Shaintar game. Kevin played Contact and I filled him in on Grundy and Kevin's character, Salden, being in a gang together in Camden, the Snake's Den, before they were scattered by his Wanted Hindrance group, the Bloody Whips. Salden convinced him to join the Grayson's Grey Rangers to get close to Dru-Karra, Bobbie's female Orc character.
Grundy tried to impress her with his combat prowess and woo her. Bobbie's character Dru-Karra feigned disinterest but eventually fell for his charms (Some impressive combat feats included taking an enemy's arm clean off and then using his own arm to beat him unconscious. Think Groot here smiling as he does this at Rocket Raccoon but replace it with a burly, green Orc smiling at a fit, female Orc). After they fell for each other, they had each other's backs for the longest time in combat. Grundy would fall in battle, but Dru-Karra would save him. But over time, she began to doubt his strength.
Then in the second to last session, Grundy lost his arm in combat to the Ratzin and Dru-Karra gained a massive burn scar across her chest from the fires of the village they saved. Even through this, Grundy lifted his two-handed Chuktar and managed to slay the Ratzin leader. Grundy's arm was healed by Camille's healing device, but had become scarred where it was chewed and burned by the Ratzin.
Their physical appearances had changed and they each disparaged each other for their scars in our last session, leading to Dru-Karra throwing out Grundy from their inn room. Grundy headed to a local brothel for the night (following his Vengeful trait) to be discovered by the rest of the group the next day in the arms of a female Orc. Grundy refused to tell Dru-Karra where he had been that night, infuriating her with the rest of the party unwilling to tell Dru-Karra what they had discovered (Loyal Hindrances).
After a day of travel, Grundy set up a separate tent from Dru-Karra which she kicked down. Grundy ended up sleeping in Camille's tent after a brief fist fight with Dru-Karra.
Another day of travel had them meet with some friends where Dru-Karra came up and kissed an Orc warrior NPC to make Grundy jealous. His face stayed a permanent scowl.
Finally Dru-Karra told him to leave or she would kill him. As his last act as a Grey Ranger, Grundy promised to get a message to Galea and the Grey Rangers about the Unchained base moving before quitting. Grundy would return to Camden and create a new gang to oppose the Bloody Whips he vowed to Salden.
It was one heck of a NPC character arc from the beginning to the end. All thanks to the Love Interest card and excellent roleplaying from Bobbie.
So of course, I say go for it, because it can enrich your game with some excellent roleplaying opportunities.
Quote from: slayride35;832513Romance was never a part of D&D and Earthdawn at our tables. The only relationship in ED didn't even involve the PCs, it was a love between the human Luke Branford and the elf Lilandra Silvertongue as NPCs in my ten year Epic campaign of Earthdawn. Lilandra broke it off, having no wish to watch Luke grow old and die while she stayed young (Human lifespan average 70, elves 400 in ED), but not before she became pregnant with Luke's child which she hid from Luke. Luke went on to have a relationship with a fellow human Fiona Flamehair, a princess of a small human city state in the Throal Mountains called Lasael. But none of this really involved the players and they ignored the background details. But these little details directed how I roleplayed Luke as the campaign went on. Why he was overprotective of Lilandra during the early game and then Fiona later. Why does this matter? Well this is it from the first 20 years of our roleplaying (mostly D&D 1-3.5 and ED 1-3) when it comes to romance. As in a PC-NPC relationship never happened.
Interesting. When I ran "Infected" for Earthdawn, I changed the human Thief Maloniel to an elf Thief. The player running the Elf Warrior adept and I talked it out and planned a romantic relationship, a fairly involved courting period (he did just help trash her previous group of Grim Legionaries - but Moltaa was out of control), and then a long term romance as he built a small kingdom in the foothills of the Throalic Mountains.
Carrying the party into the other linked adventures (Blades, etc) and Maloniel was not present very often (mostly just out of sight), but damn she was good an ninja-ing up behind who-ever the warrior was fighting in combat and taking them out. Probably the longest lasting dedicated "henchman" that I've run in Earthdawn. By the end of the campaign, the player was a Circle 10 Warrior & Circle 5 Scout, and Maloniel was a Circle 9 Thief. Scary pair, those two.
I suppose that I am the only one here who has a skill based game with 'flirt' and 'basic carnal' as playable skills?
Quote from: LordVreeg;832526I suppose that I am the only one here who has a skill based game with 'flirt' and 'basic carnal' as playable skills?
No, but I have Endear, Engrace, and Entice. :D
Quote from: flyingmice;832530No, but I have Endear, Engrace, and Entice. :D
Heh. Closer than I thought.
Quote from: Telarus;832517Interesting. When I ran "Infected" for Earthdawn, I changed the human Thief Maloniel to an elf Thief. The player running the Elf Warrior adept and I talked it out and planned a romantic relationship, a fairly involved courting period (he did just help trash her previous group of Grim Legionaries - but Moltaa was out of control), and then a long term romance as he built a small kingdom in the foothills of the Throalic Mountains.
Carrying the party into the other linked adventures (Blades, etc) and Maloniel was not present very often (mostly just out of sight), but damn she was good an ninja-ing up behind who-ever the warrior was fighting in combat and taking them out. Probably the longest lasting dedicated "henchman" that I've run in Earthdawn. By the end of the campaign, the player was a Circle 10 Warrior & Circle 5 Scout, and Maloniel was a Circle 9 Thief. Scary pair, those two.
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Maloniel, as the lonely Grim Legionnaire (Also elf in my game), could have been a PC love interest in the group that eventually ended in Terror in the Skies. But the group wasn't interested. I had an Ork Thief named Bane who was an expert at killing people with a Two-Handed Sword, a stupid Dwarf Warrior that was resurrected by Moltaa as a cadaver man, and a dwarf Nethermancer that learned Dragon with a ridiculous R+W Language roll of 27 to read the Book of Blue Spirits and joined Moltaa and her Grim Legion after proving to Moltaa that Aardelea was a dragon construct and not a Horror construct through RP. None of these characters were looking for love. For Bane it was greed and murder. For the dwarf Nethermancer, he wanted to understand death, constantly casting Experience Death and actually looking up to Moltaa. And the Dwarf Warrior couldn't stand quarantine, leading him to fighting the Grim Legion and his death and "resurrection". They were a party of war and death not romance. The old RP group of my twenties and the more mature new RP group of my thirties are like night and day.
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;832506hmm...don't know what that means.
Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting the GM should outright tell a PC that his character is in love with a given NPC. It was more along the lines of having it come down to a dice roll - some sort of "romance mechanism" to handle it - to determine if "the spark" is there. It's the whole "I think it would be interesting for the story if my character and that NPC had a romantic involvement" deal that feels story-gamey to me. But again this thread isn't really for me since the level of romance I'd generally want would be along the lines of what you might find in a Conan story or something... :)
i will agree that this seems a bit meta but over the last few months i have been softening to the storygames as i learn to seperate the shit from the bearable.
as for monsterhearts its a game about about teenage romance and monsters its got mechanics for attraction which in itself is fine not something that intrests me but not horrible but then they go full retard and explicitly say your sexuality does not matter for who you are attracted to.
Quote from: tuypo1;832598i will agree that this seems a bit meta but over the last few months i have been softening to the storygames as i learn to seperate the shit from the bearable.
as for monsterhearts its a game about about teenage romance and monsters its got mechanics for attraction which in itself is fine not something that intrests me but not horrible but then they go full retard and explicitly say your sexuality does not matter for who you are attracted to.
ah...well yeah, that's odd.
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;832506Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting the GM should outright tell a PC that his character is in love with a given NPC. It was more along the lines of having it come down to a dice roll - some sort of "romance mechanism" to handle it - to determine if "the spark" is there. It's the whole "I think it would be interesting for the story if my character and that NPC had a romantic involvement" deal that feels story-gamey to me. But again this thread isn't really for me since the level of romance I'd generally want would be along the lines of what you might find in a Conan story or something... :)
The die roll for attraction made sense to me. It can work that way in Pendragon with passions. I probably wouldn't do it for sexual attraction because it works better to leave appeal up to the player since roleplaying attraction that you don't feel and can't see requires actual acting ability. We did do that for a Sallustan PC and learned he has some strange liking for Gamorrean dancing girls. Everyone mostly went Yech! but the player was a good sport about it.
I frequently do something similar with food and drink. If it is exotic and the player doesn't have an immediate Yum! or Yech! response, I have the player roll to see how much their PC likes/dislikes it. Basically works like the Reaction roll in D&D. It can live up the first meeting with the Mongol Chief as he passes out the kumiss to drink.
Quote from: LordVreeg;832526I suppose that I am the only one here who has a skill based game with 'flirt' and 'basic carnal' as playable skills?
Don Juan or Temptress is an actual career in Honor+Intrigue. Flirt would be social combat maneuver modified by Flair and possibly your career. If opposed you would need to overcome your opponent's Composure to make an impression as it were.
Quote from: Bren;832702The die roll for attraction made sense to me. It can work that way in Pendragon with passions. I probably wouldn't do it for sexual attraction because it works better to leave appeal up to the player since roleplaying attraction that you don't feel and can't see requires actual acting ability. We did do that for a Sallustan PC and learned he has some strange liking for Gamorrean dancing girls. Everyone mostly went Yech! but the player was a good sport about it.
I frequently do something similar with food and drink. If it is exotic and the player doesn't have an immediate Yum! or Yech! response, I have the player roll to see how much their PC likes/dislikes it. Basically works like the Reaction roll in D&D. It can live up the first meeting with the Mongol Chief as he passes out the kumiss to drink.
I do something very similar when it comes to exotic food & drink, and by exgtension, 'things'.
-clash
Quote from: flyingmice;832704I do something very similar when it comes to exotic food & drink, and by exgtension, 'things'.
-clash
Yeah, that seems generally outside the bounds of what I or others know about our characters. Until I tried it how would I know what escargot, pepper crab, or durian taste like.
Quote from: S'mon;832427Romances IMCs have always been NPC/PC or NPC/NPC, not PC/PC. Usually they occur in the background and don't take up much screen time if any.
I suppose it depends on the campaign. I've been in gaming circles where it's a known thing, if not quite common. So far, I've had four PCs married to fellow PCs, and a couple other relationships. Heck, two of those marriages we've wound up juggling children with our questing ... :popcorn:
Quote from: Ravenswing;832730I suppose it depends on the campaign. I've been in gaming circles where it's a known thing, if not quite common. So far, I've had four PCs married to fellow PCs, and a couple other relationships. Heck, two of those marriages we've wound up juggling children with our questing ... :popcorn:
Maybe it's a Massachusetts thing.
We normally end up NPC/PC, etc, but a few times, nope. PC/PC.
Some of the major NPCs of the igbar game are actually a PC and his NPC wife and their daughter, who run the alternative school of Magic.
Quote from: LordVreeg;832872Maybe it's a Massachusetts thing.
Couldn't say. Another factor, of course, may well be the gender composition of the group. For my part, other than a single semester in the late 70s with the Northeastern University gaming group, I've
never GMed a campaign without at least one woman in it, and I think it's been at least twenty years since any group I've run's dropped below 50:50. I'm trying to think back on the last all-male group in which I've been a player, and I can't think of one more recent than 1985.
Quote from: Ravenswing;833044Couldn't say. Another factor, of course, may well be the gender composition of the group. For my part, other than a single semester in the late 70s with the Northeastern University gaming group, I've never GMed a campaign without at least one woman in it, and I think it's been at least twenty years since any group I've run's dropped below 50:50. I'm trying to think back on the last all-male group in which I've been a player, and I can't think of one more recent than 1985.
Funny, 1985 for myself as well.
Quote from: Ravenswing;833044Couldn't say. Another factor, of course, may well be the gender composition of the group. For my part, other than a single semester in the late 70s with the Northeastern University gaming group, I've never GMed a campaign without at least one woman in it, and I think it's been at least twenty years since any group I've run's dropped below 50:50. I'm trying to think back on the last all-male group in which I've been a player, and I can't think of one more recent than 1985.
From 1977 to 1997, my group was 50-50 male-female, even though at times it was very large. That group was disbanded, and my groups now, while not 50-50, almost always have at least one woman.
-clash
- Bluebooking is a great tool for this. One of the players in my current campaign uses this a lot, and it works really well.
- As people have already said in this thread, you don't need to get explicit. The main thing is the relationship, and how it affects the characters' development, and plot opportunities (but please avoid the fridging (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StuffedIntoTheFridge) cliché).
- Two good posts from this thread, that deserve to be highlighted:
Quote from: Gabriel2;831645Play the NPC. Don't play a "romantic NPC." Just have the characters talk about things they would logically talk about. If the player is actively seeking out the NPC to build their relationship, then you're doing it right.
It means getting into the NPC. It means coming up with their hopes and dreams and little anecdotes about their life. I've always found it helps if the NPC has some kind of tragic secret or something dark in their life, but that's far from a true requirement.
and
Quote from: flyingmice;831688All romances are different because what people want from their romances are different. Take the player's lead on this. Apparently, something about the way you have played the NPC has attracted their character. There is no reason to assume the NPC even knows this, let alone reciprocates, but that is entirely up to you.
It could be a slow, gradually increasing romance. One of my players' characters in my Sunday IRC game has been in love with an NPC for years, but for one reason or another - mainly to do with her position - they did not communicate this openly. When she left that position, things opened up, and now they are a tightly bound couple. Another of my players' characters prefers whirlwind romances. She is married to one NPC, affianced to another, and romancing a third with an eye to marriage - the culture permits multiple marriages. Still another player's character responded to an NPC who openly pursued her. She pushed him off while flirting with him, until he left his career to follow her, after which they became a tight couple.
The thing is, let the PC dictate the pace and the style of the romance. They know what they are comfortable with. Since the NPC has attracted the PC already, play the character as they have been played already, but add, when appropriate, flirtations or clever quips or sincere and deep confessions, or whatever it is the PC wants out of that relationship, as appropriate to the character. Do not change the character - reveal another dimension of that character.
Sex - for our group - is always inferred, never played out. That makes many people feel awkward. Thing is, it's not the sex that's important. They want relationships. Romance. Bonding.
Listen to Clash. Clash is wise. :p
Quote from: Zevious Zoquis;831693I'd be more inclined to say that the GM could determine "you find beguiling and you are strongly attracted to her/him." Then, it would be up to me to respond to that. If I didn't want to proceed in a romantic way it might come down to a test of my characters willpower to resist the attraction. I just feel like "love" is something that happens outside of our control and therefore is more of a nature thing that the GM would manage.
I'm inclined to agree with you. Infatuation (or true love, if you prefer) can seem like the effect of a spell. While it may seem a bit heavy handed of the Game Master, I don't think it would inhibit immersion.
Why not have the PC or NPC set up an actual date (meeting for coffee, going out to dinner, a movie, etc.)? During the date, spend a couple minutes on small talk before moving on to the next scene or have something exciting happen on the date.
Put it this way: if you wouldn't be entertained watching it on TV, it's not worth portraying during the game. Maybe compromise by narrating a montage with suggestions from the player?
VS
The players in the campaign I'm running have different takes on romance:
- The rogue and former pirate has a similar approach to Bronn in Game of Thrones. He's a regular at brothels and has not really shown serious interest in a regular relationship. It's just not the character's style so far, but the player hasn't ruled it out.
- The bard comes from a great noble house, thus making him a highly desirable target for marriage. Even his family is pressuring him into choosing one of many courtiers. While he acknowledges that it's his (eventual) duty as a family member, he keeps finding excuses to avoid this fate until he finds a worthy candidate that he actually likes. We've also had a lot of fun roleplaying his encounters with potential candidates (the daughter of a medieval mafia don, the courtier who secretly engages in forbidden magic, etc).
- The half elf archer, bastard daughter of a elven noble, had a relationship with a half elf NPC that was presented to her by other PCs. While they liked each other and it was the first romance for both character (their naivety was hilarious to play at the table), the PC eventually abandoned him for a priestess.
That new relationship has been very interesting to play, as it grew over years of campaign sessions until the player told me that her character had realized she loved the NPC. The player is also aware that it could have serious consequences in the campaign, both for her and the NPC (who is an important religious leader with many political enemies).
I run romance exactly like I run every other roleplaying in the game, save that in almost all cases the actual 'sexy time' will fade-to-black rather than require any explicit detail.
I'm amazed at how long this thread has been going, and how many good ideas and nice examples from actual play that has shown up. I'd never imagined there'd be so many people who actually played out romance on the table.
Quote from: RPGPundit;833770I run romance exactly like I run every other roleplaying in the game, save that in almost all cases the actual 'sexy time' will fade-to-black rather than require any explicit detail.
I don't think I'll go so far as to even fade to black. Any sexy stuff will have to be strongly implied rather than actually involved in the game, as per Dumas' books.
Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;833777I'm amazed at how long this thread has been going, and how many good ideas and nice examples from actual play that has shown up. I'd never imagined there'd be so many people who actually played out romance on the table.
I don't think I'll go so far as to even fade to black. Any sexy stuff will have to be strongly implied rather than actually involved in the game, as per Dumas' books.
What? No sex on graph paper for you? :rotfl:
Quote from: Exploderwizard;833805What? No sex on graph paper for you? :rotfl:
Roll to orgasm.
Imagine the potential for the miniatures line and battlemaps!
There were also differing levels of romance in my games. A lot of them don't really feature much romance at all; in some cases you get a rare romantic tryst; while a few (like my Legion campaign, some of my Amber campaigns, etc.) are like a fucking soap-opera.
Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;833777I'm amazed at how long this thread has been going, and how many good ideas and nice examples from actual play that has shown up. I'd never imagined there'd be so many people who actually played out romance on the table.
Yep. My overwhelming experience of such threads is that the folks who'll go so far as to say "Eh, I've got no problem with it" -- never mind those who actually profess
enthusiasm for the subject -- are drowned out by the That Mushy Stuff Doesn't Belong In Our He-Man Hobby crowd. (Then again, maybe it was just TBP that was so hostile to the concept.) It's gratifying.
Quote from: RPGPundit;833989There were also differing levels of romance in my games. A lot of them don't really feature much romance at all; in some cases you get a rare romantic tryst; while a few (like my Legion campaign, some of my Amber campaigns, etc.) are like a fucking soap-opera.
I would agree. It depends entirely on the campaign. My long running StarCluster IRC game, which has been running since 2003, is pretty much a soap opera, while a recent game of paratroopers in WWII had very little- and before you assume, my military games have seen some of our most torrid relationships.
-clash
The Legion campaign wasn't just a soap opera, it was like a WB-network teenage-soap-opera. Which I guess is pretty fitting with the particular genre of the comic.
Quote from: RPGPundit;834477The Legion campaign wasn't just a soap opera, it was like a WB-network teenage-soap-opera. Which I guess is pretty fitting with the particular genre of the comic.
The Collegium Arcana game is similar, in that the characters are all teen students. It just gets very gothic horror layered on top. Bloody Ghosts, secret orders, hidden ritual, nasty history, secret rooms, ancient fueds, on top of Harry Potter age.
Quote from: LordVreeg;834620The Collegium Arcana game is similar, in that the characters are all teen students. It just gets very gothic horror layered on top. Bloody Ghosts, secret orders, hidden ritual, nasty history, secret rooms, ancient fueds, on top of Harry Potter age.
Yeah, I guess any game where the PCs are teenagers is likely to have that.
Ironically, the games I ran or played in when I actually WAS a teenager didn't have that at all.
Quote from: RPGPundit;835079Yeah, I guess any game where the PCs are teenagers is likely to have that.
Ironically, the games I ran or played in when I actually WAS a teenager didn't have that at all.
That's why they're
Fantasy Role Playing Games. :D