TheRPGSite

A Dark Glimpse at  the Darkest Underbelly of Swine RPGs
or RPGPundit's Wraeththu Rant
 
Today I give kudos to JRients who has written a thurough review of "Wraeththu", an RPG in serious competition for "worst roleplaying game of all time":  according to jrients, it doesn't quite make it to that depth, but it is a horrifically bad game; based on a series of horrifically bad novels, and written by a guy who isn't so much a Swine as he is a piglet, a wanna-be Rein·Hagen that no one could take seriously.
 
Now, those of you who are unfamiliar with Wraeththu will find the following summary hard to believe, but I swear by the Magic Deer that what I'm about to tell you is absolute truth. Really. I couldn't make this shit up.
 
The story behind the RPG is about the Wraeththu, a race of gay androgynes that evolve from regular humanity and reproduce by raping teenage boys, which either kills them or transforms them into another Wraeththu, who then goes around raping more teen boys. In the novels, the Wraeththu eventually wipe out humanity.  And these are the characters you're expected to play.
 
Oh, and I have yet to mention the really fun part: the Wraeththu are all beautiful goths with superstrength and magic powers, who's penises are shaped like flowers and shoot acid.  And no, this isn't exageration. I mean it. Literally. Their penises are shaped like flowers and shoot acid.  That's not a metaphor or a secret code, it means exactly what it says. In Wraeththu you play a goth with a flower-shaped penis who shoots acid and rapes teenage boys.
 
The system is basically a fantasy heartbreaker, something the author "Gabby" (yea, I know, it just doesn't have the "i am a dark lord of the night" ring to it that something like Rein·Hagen or even Justin Achilli have) had actually designed 15 years ago, apparently as a kind of variant to D&D. Its the total opposite of a unified system, from what I've read in Jrient's blog. He has a thurough summary of those rules there, so I won't bother going into detail.
 
Except to mention how Gabby had gone on RPG.net in a now infamous thread a while back proclaiming that Wraeththu would be the most innovative new system of all time.
 
Besides trying to have the general swine attitude and pretentiousness, the creators of this game had made several wierd claims over the course of the creation of Wraeththu, including that White Wolf's Vampire was directly inspired by Storm Constantine (the authoress of the very and justifiably obscure Wraeththu novels), and not Anne Rice. Or that Storm Constantine was thanked in the credits to the first edition of Vampire, which she was not.

So, in other words, bold-faced lies.
 
None of that matters much, what does matter is that in the game you're playing gay pedarast-rapist supergoths WITH ACID-SHOOTING FLOWER SHAPED PENISES.
 
I mean, I can certainly see how any gaming party composed of normal well-balanced human beings will just love this game and thank goodness that Gabby and Storm Constantine have finally brought us an RPG that allows us to run campaigns for years and years of teenage boy-raping flower-penised fun.
 
Aw, just go read his review:
http://jrients.blogspot.com/2005/07/wraeththu-report.html (http://jrients.blogspot.com/2005/07/wraeththu-report.html)
 
Its good, but lacks the righteous bile this game deserves.  Really, this game and everyone connected to it deserves a vicious sack beating.
 
Actually, I think the industry as a whole would be a much better place if many people in it received vicious sack beatings.
 
RPGPundit july 19th 2005

Wraeththu is what you get when a 13 year old girl holds on to a sex fantasy a little too long.

Quote from: RPGPunditThe story behind the RPG is about the Wraeththu, a race of gay androgynes that evolve from regular humanity and reproduce by raping teenage boys, which either kills them or transforms them into another Wraeththu, who then goes around raping more teen boys.

...And so once again it's time to correct that little misconception: at least in the original novels, the Wraeththu reproduce either through blood transfusions with humans or simply by growing from pearl-like eggs. The vast majority of them do not go around raping anyone, and in fact will regard any deviants who are found guilty of such crimes with nothing short of pure horror, as consensual sexuality is sacred to them.

I wouldn't call this a 'swine' game since pretty much everyone universally loathes it whatever their affiliation.  I think it's just a case of an obscure fandom cross pollinating with an RPer and producing some odd offspring.

I found this review to be fair and balanced, and much better than the hate filled tirade a mod posted on rpg.net in which he exposed himself as a hate filled bigot  towards overweight people who, I hope, gets his ass pulped by an overweight person someday.

Given the nature of the wraethu game and it's subject matter I feel this reviewer acted with style, professionalism, intelligence and fairness. Wraethu can be quite shocking, especially when it encourages players to descibe having wraethu sex with each other, and this writer managed not to let the shock overcome his reason and professionalism.

I will try to find other reviews from this reviewer, and pay heed to them due to his obvious professionalism and because he, unlike Fox news, is truly "fair and balanced".

Quote from: Dominus NoxWraethu can be quite shocking, especially when it encourages players to descibe having wraethu sex with each other, and this writer managed not to let the shock overcome his reason and professionalism.

To be fair, that particular subject is something that any game based on Wraeththu would have to address in one way or another. Going by the books, we are talking about beings that quite literally need sex with others of their own kind just as humans need food.

Quote from: GrimGentTo be fair, that particular subject is something that any game based on Wraeththu would have to address in one way or another. Going by the books, we are talking about beings that quite literally need sex with others of their own kind just as humans need food.

Grim... that's TWICE in this thread that you've defended Wraeththu...
   :confused:
do you... I mean... do you LIKE Wraeththu?
   :jaw-dropping:



"Jimmy Joe... get me somma them there viscious sacks..." :kjtw:

RPGPundit

Oh wait.. its two different grins.  That just makes the whole thing even creepier... :eyecrazy:

Its like there's a secret cult of Wraeththu fans out there that use certain keywords to identify each other, one of them aparently being the word "grim" in their username.

I mean, sweet christ, if this is true we have to find these fuckers, bring them out and throw them to the fucking lions! And right quick before they take us out from within!

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditdo you... I mean... do you LIKE Wraeththu?

Well, it might be more accurate to say that Wraeththu itself doesn't bother me nearly as much as the immense amount of vitriolic misinformation about the novels which tends to crop up in every single thread on this topic; and while Gabby's game by all accounts fails in every respect, I can see how the setting could serve as a basis for a decent RPG. Besides, all the "hur hur, flower penis" jokes grew tiresome awfully quickly.

Quote from: GrimGentBesides, all the "hur hur, flower penis" jokes grew tiresome awfully quickly.

I disagree, sir.

Quote from: GeekkakeI disagree, sir.

I almost wish that just for the sake of variety someone would read Imajica by Clive Barker and start going "hur hur, dove genitals"...

On Wraeththu Genitalia

As I understand it, they are dual purpose. Closed up they act like a penis. Opened up they act like the opening to the vagina. Beyond that I haven't the foggiest.

Quote from: mythusmageClosed up they act like a penis. Opened up they act like the opening to the vagina.

More or less: both the Wraeththu and the Kamagrian are hermaphrodites.

The level of discourse about Wraethu genitalia on this thread is simply too cunty for words.  What's next, critical discussion of the Star Wars doujinshi where Obi-Wan is buggered and impregnated by Qui-Gon Jin  and then marries Darth Maul, who *knows* that Obi-Wan's carrying another man's child but is compelled by the purity of love to raise the bastard as his own?

Holy shit, people.  This is a slippery slope that leads to twenty-page threads about lesbian-only fuck and meditation parties in the WORLD OF DARKNESS.

Quote from: fonkaygarry...lesbian-only fuck and meditation parties in the WORLD OF DARKNESS.

Damnnit...why didn't I sign up for that WOD LARP when I had the chance?!?!?!


KKKKKKKKHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote from: fonkaygarryThe level of discourse about Wraethu genitalia on this thread is simply too cunty for words.

Hmm. Perhaps the thread might benefit from some comparisons with the Gethenian anatomy in The Left Hand of Darkness, then? Or the mystifs from Imajica which was already mentioned earlier? Posthuman or alien hermaphrodites like the Wraeththu are really nothing new in fantasy and science fiction.

Quote from: GrimGentI almost wish that just for the sake of variety someone would read Imajica by Clive Barker and start going "hur hur, dove genitals"...

See, I like Imajica.

And then I tried to read the Wraeththu books.  It was as if I had moved from Anne Rice (terribly pretentious, but fairly stylish) directly down to the last few Laurel K. Hamilton Books (head-bangingly Mary-Sued and Smutty).

And then I looked over the details of the review again.  As a three -step process (Imajica -> Wraeththu -> Wraeththu RPG) it struck me as basically a straight-line descent from weirdly fascinating to utter crapulence.

Quote from: Levi KornelsenSee, I like Imajica.

Admittedly as far as literary talent is concerned, Barker (one of my favourite authors) is vastly more gifted than Constantine even at her best. Still, as I've said on several occasions, I didn't find her novels as horribly unreadable as they are sometimes claimed to be: often overblown and self-indulgent, yes, but far from the worst the genre has to offer.

Quote from: Levi KornelsenAnd then I looked over the details of the review again.  As a three -step process (Imajica -> Wraeththu -> Wraeththu RPG) it struck me as basically a straight-line descent from weirdly fascinating to utter crapulence.

I haven't read the Wraeththu books or game, but I'll buy that.  

I'd love to see an Imajica or Left Hand of Darkness game, though.  I think GrimGent's point is that people seem to be all homing in on the concept of having hermaphrodites rather than on bad writing.

I'm really glad Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Falwell haven't got wind of this, because otherwise there'd probably be a bill in every state legislature to ban RPGs and fantasy novels for corrupting the youth.

As for my personal response regarding the existence of an RPG of WoD-ripoff flower-penis tragic-figures compulsively copulating and being strongly recommended by the book to RP this:
:seppuku:
Why am I still a gamer after knowing this exists?

Quote from: jhkimI'd love to see an Imajica or Left Hand of Darkness game, though.  I think GrimGent's point is that people seem to be all homing in on the concept of having hermaphrodites rather than on bad writing.

Yup, Imajica would certainly make for a great RPG setting... But I frankly don't understand the visceral reaction which so many people have against the mere concept of the Wraeththu, unless it's a backlash against the same kind of better-than-you perfection which elves in other novels and games tend to exhibit. Tastes in literature aside, I find it odd.

(And no matter how many times I've pointed out that they do not reproduce by raping men, the corrections somehow always get overlooked. That's... baffling.)

It's not that the idea of flower-cocked hermaphrodites repulses me.  I simply see the idea of and entire line of fiction devoted to a world full of flower-cocked hermaphrodites as painfully funny.

You ever spend any time in BL fandom?  Flower cocks might be something new, but that doesn't mean I have to take them any more seriously than:

(a) Gundam Wing characters getting each other pregnant and arguing about who wears what wedding dress.
(b) Hardened (yuk-yuk) yakuza falling madly in love with their wispy little brothers, then fighting to protect them from other boy-crazy gangstaz.
(c) An entire counterterrorism unit madly in love with its wispy little commandant.
(d) Dante from Devil May Cry being put in bondage by the anthropormorphic representations of his handguns.

That shit is just funny.  Really, really funny.

Quote from: fonkaygarryI simply see the idea of and entire line of fiction devoted to a world full of flower-cocked hermaphrodites as painfully funny.

Eh, it's an apocalyptic fantasy in which men and women are evolving into different species as the earlier age of humanity comes to an end: of course there are bound to be physical alterations. Exactly why the notion of a "petalled rod" should sound that hilarious (beyond the schoolboy sniggering at anything even vaguely dirty) is something that still puzzles me, though.

Quote from: GrimGentEh, it's an apocalyptic fantasy in which men and women are evolving into different species as the earlier age of humanity comes to an end: of course there are bound to be physical alterations. Exactly why the notion of a "petalled rod" should sound that hilarious (beyond the schoolboy sniggering at anything even vaguely dirty) is something that still puzzles me, though.

I don't think the flower-penis laughter is about the flower-penises.  I think it's about someone over the age of 7 coming up with the concept.  I know that when I laugh about it, I'm not laughing at the concept (which is actually pretty mundane compared to the thoughts of most 7 year olds).  What I'm laughing about is that someone who has enough intellect to write a novel (let alone a triliogy) put forward the concept.

What's next?  Belly-button vaginas?  A race that survives by eating their own snot?  How about a race of magical ponies that have young girls who do nothing but brush their manes and tails?

The humor is not the concept, it's that an adult took it seriously enough to write a story about.  

The humor is that other adults are willing to defend the concept (I'm looking at the Grims, here) as anything short  of puerile, pre-adolescent sex fantasies gone horribly awry.

Again, to run this into the dirt completely, it's not the concept of a flower penis that spits acid that is so mind-jarringly funning.  It's that adults perpetuate (through the writing of, or the defending of) this callow, juvenile and immature sex-fantasy.

Quote from: VellorianAgain, to run this into the dirt completely, it's not the concept of a flower penis that spits acid that is so mind-jarringly funning.  It's that adults perpetuate (through the writing of, or the defending of) this callow, juvenile and immature sex-fantasy.

But precisely what about the fictional genitalia in question is "callow, juvenile and immature"? That anatomical detail is described as looking "petalled", and that's where its resemblance to actual flowers ends, despite the jokes which stretch the metaphor too far. And we are not just talking about a "penis that spits acid" here: the entire body chemistry of the Wraeththu is poisonous to humans, one side effect of which is that, yes, sex with men or women would be lethal (which is why it isn't done except by murderers and diabolists of the worst kind).

And "sex-fantasy"? Only in the sense that alternative sexuality forms the central motif in the books. There are more explicit scenes in Harlequin romances: if you expected the novels to consist of one chapter-long copulation after another, you'd be sorely disappointed. The characters need the energies released through intercourse to survive, true, but what bedroom antics there are mostly take place off-screen.

Quote from: GrimGentBut precisely what about the fictional genitalia in question is "callow, juvenile and immature"? That anatomical detail is described as looking "petalled", and that's where its resemblance to actual flowers ends, despite the jokes which stretch the metaphor too far.

Firstly, all of what you say is derivative of juvenile naivete concerning sex.  The fact that an adult mind superscribed additional intricacies does not redeem the puerile concept from being what it is: a flower penis.  It's not a "metaphor," by the way, which would require that it represent something else.  I don't even think I could give it the literary nomenclature of "simile."  One might argue that the whole of the books are a metaphor, but the flower-penis?  That's just a juvenile sex-fantasy gone awry.

QuoteAnd we are not just talking about a "penis that spits acid" here: the entire body chemistry of the Wraeththu is poisonous to humans, one side effect of which is that, yes, sex with men or women would be lethal (which is why it isn't done except by murderers and diabolists of the worst kind).

In her own words:

QuoteThe Wraeththu hated mankind. They were different; on the inside and on the outside. Hungry, baleful fire smouldered in their skins, you could see it looking out at you. They drank blood and burned the sanctity, the security of society, infecting others like a plague. Some even died, it is said, at their touch.

That does not bespeak a society that looks upon a rare few who are "murderers and diabolists."  It nearly states that such is the base condition for the entire group of people.  Humans become less to them than they are to vampires.  At least to vampires, humans are "cattle."

Once you have completed your defense of this group, perhaps you could next defend the unabashadly loving fan-fiction devoted to pedophiles, rapists and serial killers?

QuoteAnd "sex-fantasy"? Only in the sense that alternative sexuality forms the central motif in the books. There are more explicit scenes in Harlequin romances: if you expected the novels to consist of one chapter-long copulation after another, you'd be sorely disappointed. The characters need the energies released through intercourse to survive, true, but what bedroom antics there are mostly take place off-screen.

It's a fantasy...

It's about sex...  (alternative or not, splattered on the pages or not, graphically described or not)

Thus, it's a "sex-fantasy."  

Comparing it to other, more mainstream, sex-fantasies does not erase the fact that it is a sex-fantasy.  Puerile, immature, debased and surrounded by the affectations of rape, pedophilia and serial-killing does not exactly make for a "redemption" in my eyes.

Quote from: VellorianIn her own words...

Yes, those are the rumours which were spread about the new species in the beginning, and how they were perceived by humanity which blamed them for its own self-destruction through war and pollution. That doesn't change the fact that there's not a single instance in any of the books where "pedophiles, rapists and serial killers" would be glorified or treated as anything other than terrifying villains.

Quote from: VellorianFirstly, all of what you say is derivative of juvenile naivete concerning sex.  The fact that an adult mind superscribed additional intricacies does not redeem the puerile concept from being what it is: a flower penis.  It's not a "metaphor," by the way, which would require that it represent something else.  I don't even think I could give it the literary nomenclature of "simile."  One might argue that the whole of the books are a metaphor, but the flower-penis?  That's just a juvenile sex-fantasy gone awry.

I haven't read any of the Wraeththu stuff, so I don't have an opinion about it either way.  But I'm curious -- do you think any case of fictional beings with different genitalia than us be juvenile sex-fantasy?  Or would hermaphrodites who had a different set of equipment potentially be less juvenile?

Quote from: fonkaygarryThe level of discourse about Wraethu genitalia on this thread is simply too cunty for words.  What's next, critical discussion of the Star Wars doujinshi where Obi-Wan is buggered and impregnated by Qui-Gon Jin  and then marries Darth Maul, who *knows* that Obi-Wan's carrying another man's child but is compelled by the purity of love to raise the bastard as his own?

Worse:

(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/rvilliers/Posters/FanArtposter.jpg)

:devil:

Quote from: jhkimI haven't read any of the Wraeththu stuff, so I don't have an opinion about it either way.  But I'm curious -- do you think any case of fictional beings with different genitalia than us be juvenile sex-fantasy?  Or would hermaphrodites who had a different set of equipment potentially be less juvenile?

No, I don't think "any" case of different genitalia would be a "juvenile sex-fantasy."  I know several people in real life who have "different" genitalia and I do not consider their real, tangible and significant differences to be amusing in the least.  (Not that we haven't shared jokes about it, as with anything else.)

The whole thing strikes me as the raving fantasies of a very disturbed little girl, resurrected into a book as a catharsis to resolve her seriously abused concepts of sexuality and relationships, crafted and molded into its present form.

I have written a number of stories and racial descriptions that depicted different forms of genitalia and sexual proclivities.  I have read quite a few different and alien forms of sex and sexuality.  Some if it has been juvenile sex-fantasies and the authors and readers have readily admitted to the fact.  Why this is different and the writer/defenders cannot come to terms with the facts is beyond me.

I mean, even the Wraeththu word for "rape", pelki, is the most hideous one in the entire language, and many of them desperately deny that such a thing could ever exist because surely no one could bring themselves to do something that vile. Most of them see themselves as spiritually elevated beings, after all, and above deliberate cruelty. You can call them arrogant and aloof, sure, but they are not sadistic monsters.

(Although of course there are barbarians among some of the tribes, no one is claiming that there's anything honourable about those brutes.)

Quote from: VellorianI have read quite a few different and alien forms of sex and sexuality.  Some if it has been juvenile sex-fantasies and the authors and readers have readily admitted to the fact.  Why this is different and the writer/defenders cannot come to terms with the facts is beyond me.

I've never made any claims of the trilogies being worthy works of fine literature. But what is beyond me is your insistence on labeling them as "juvenile sex-fantasies" when judging by your railing against rape and pedophilia these "facts" of yours don't even fit in with the content of the books.

Penises are inherently funny

Penises that blossum out into vaginas are at the creepy end of funny.  It's not quite "shitting dicknipples" territory, but it's getting there

Quote from: Hastur T. FannonPenises that blossum out into vaginas are at the creepy end of funny.

Hum. Consider for a moment Pie'Oh'Pah from Imajica: a mystif (the third sex, in a way) whose anatomy is a "function of the spectator's desire" so that it can be either male or female depending on whichever its company is attracted to, or in its natural state appear to have something much like a bright and fluttering dove between its legs. Now, what is the decisive difference between this condition and that of the Wraeththu?

Quote from: VellorianI have written a number of stories and racial descriptions that depicted different forms of genitalia and sexual proclivities.  I have read quite a few different and alien forms of sex and sexuality.  Some if it has been juvenile sex-fantasies and the authors and readers have readily admitted to the fact.  Why this is different and the writer/defenders cannot come to terms with the facts is beyond me.

Well, now you intrigue me.  In your stories, what were the beings with different forms of genitalia like?  What were the stories like (esp. the non-juvenile ones)?  Have such beings ever appeared in your games?

Quote from: GrimGentHum. Consider for a moment Pie'Oh'Pah from Imajica: a mystif (the third sex, in a way) whose anatomy is a "function of the spectator's desire" so that it can be either male or female depending on whichever its company is attracted to, or in its natural state appear to have something much like a bright and fluttering dove between its legs. Now, what is the decisive difference between this condition and that of the Wraeththu?

I've never read Imajica (/wiki's).  

Firstly I don't think I could get past this character's name

Secondly "bright and fluttering dove".  Is that a quote? In what way is it like a "bright and fluttering dove"? Are we talking beak, feathers, talons, etc?  Does it have a pair of beady little eyes starting at you while you're trying to go down on it? Or is the metaphor totally and ridiculously ludicrous?

It's not creepy in the Gigeresque manner of the flower penis, but, from your description, is rather silly

Quote from: jhkimHave such beings ever appeared in your games?

Incidentally, lately I've been looking through some notes I once wrote down for a little game inspired by Pimeästä Maasta by Maarit Verronen. The novel is set in a world where everyone is asexual, the distinction between male and female simply doesn't exist, and the children are born half-formed from the special soil whenever any two individuals have touched each other there during a specific time.

Quote from: Hastur T. FannonFirstly I don't think I could get past this character's name.

What, you have something against Pie?

QuoteSecondly "bright and fluttering dove".  Is that a quote?

Not quite verbatim, but close: I left the book in Lappeenranta so I don't have it at hand right now. Folding and unfolding wings are what Gentle thinks of when he first sees the mystif as it really is, during their wedding night.

I'll reserve judgement on the mystif, but I think I can explain why the flower penis thing is creepy, with reference to HR Giger's "Facehugger"

The Facehugger is a vulva that transforms into a penis and if it has sex with you it, it will kill you

The Wraethu have a penis that also transforms into a vulva and, if it has sex with you, it will kill you

See?

Quote from: Hastur T. FannonSee?

Yup, that's a plausible interpretation. Then again, the difference between the two is that unlike the Alien, the Wraeththu (with a few exceptions) aren't out to kill you.

Quote from: jhkimWell, now you intrigue me.  In your stories, what were the beings with different forms of genitalia like?  What were the stories like (esp. the non-juvenile ones)?  Have such beings ever appeared in your games?

One of my stories was called "The Embrace."  It centered around a race who had a series of genitalia from the center of the chest to the crotch.  They would "embrace" to breed and the level of contact that was allowed between the partners (who both had penetrating and receiving apparatus) determined how "intimate" the connection.  A superficial pair of lovers may only have allowed a few minor penetrations and receptions while lifelong lovers would use every connection possible.  

Another race that I developed were male, female and trimale (who hasn't done something like this?) ;).  The male and female could breed, but not produce offspring without the addition of the trimale.  A Trimale could carry the seed from a male for a long period of time before implanting it within a female.  The society that developed was interesting in that the only truly "free" people were the trimales.  Males and females had their highly organized and politicized and socially striated structures and the Trimales moved in and out of society.

Something I didn't write, but that I thought was quite well done, is the Centuari sexuality written by JMS from Babylon 5 where the males have 9 penises and the females have 9 vaginas.  The number of penetrations by the male (extremely long and tentacular) penises determines how perfunctory or intimate the encounter is.  Political marriages may require a specific number of penetrations on a scheduled basis, but a mistress may allow complete penetration in a happy, cavorting style.  I thought it was very well done.

My most favorite odd-genitalia race centered around the union between a male and female whose soul focus was upon their "progeny."  The female's genitalia, when pressed into the mud of the swamps would create a shape that defined the icon for their race.  An egg would be deposited in each depression and then the male would guard over the eggs until they were able to fend for themselves.  I can't say much more at this time, but the shape of the female genitalia determined the course of their race and culture in quite a number of ways.  It was the conflict over the control of how the shape was used and who chose that use that defined their culture (it was a metaphor for men controlling the details of a mother and her off-spring).

Quote from: VellorianHow about a race of magical ponies that have young girls who do nothing but brush their manes and tails?

Actually, that one could be the setup for some really freaky sort of horror story/adventure.

"My Little Pony"; only the ponies in question are wierd psychic entities from some other universe that use their enchanting cuteness to kidnap and enslave young girls to be their semi-willing caretakers.  The PCs/heros have to go to "ponyland" to try to save these girls...

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit"My Little Pony"; only the ponies in question are wierd psychic entities from some other universe that use their enchanting cuteness to kidnap and enslave young girls to be their semi-willing caretakers.  The PCs/heros have to go to "ponyland" to try to save these girls...

You are a sad, sad little man, Pundit.  :D

Quote from: VellorianOne of my stories was called "The Embrace."  It centered around a race who had a series of genitalia from the center of the chest to the crotch.  They would "embrace" to breed and the level of contact that was allowed between the partners (who both had penetrating and receiving apparatus) determined how "intimate" the connection.  A superficial pair of lovers may only have allowed a few minor penetrations and receptions while lifelong lovers would use every connection possible.  

Another race that I developed were male, female and trimale (who hasn't done something like this?) ;).  The male and female could breed, but not produce offspring without the addition of the trimale.  A Trimale could carry the seed from a male for a long period of time before implanting it within a female.  The society that developed was interesting in that the only truly "free" people were the trimales.  Males and females had their highly organized and politicized and socially striated structures and the Trimales moved in and out of society.

Something I didn't write, but that I thought was quite well done, is the Centuari sexuality written by JMS from Babylon 5 where the males have 9 penises and the females have 9 vaginas.  The number of penetrations by the male (extremely long and tentacular) penises determines how perfunctory or intimate the encounter is.  Political marriages may require a specific number of penetrations on a scheduled basis, but a mistress may allow complete penetration in a happy, cavorting style.  I thought it was very well done.

My most favorite odd-genitalia race centered around the union between a male and female whose soul focus was upon their "progeny."  The female's genitalia, when pressed into the mud of the swamps would create a shape that defined the icon for their race.  An egg would be deposited in each depression and then the male would guard over the eggs until they were able to fend for themselves.  I can't say much more at this time, but the shape of the female genitalia determined the course of their race and culture in quite a number of ways.  It was the conflict over the control of how the shape was used and who chose that use that defined their culture (it was a metaphor for men controlling the details of a mother and her off-spring).

The race from babylon 5 with the long tentacle weiners were the centauri and they had 6, not nine.

As to weird sexual creatures, ever read the Gaea trilogy by John Varley? The titanides were centaurs who look femal and had 3 sets of genitals, each had a rear vagina dna penis like a horse, but had a forward one that was either male or female.

Quote from: VellorianYou are a sad, sad little man, Pundit.  :D

I like how all of you are talking about wierd aliens with multiple penile appendages and other bizzare sex organs, yet the guy who talks about evil ponies is the "sad" one...

Yup...well.. there's another sentence I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd ever be writing...

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditI like how all of you are talking about wierd aliens with multiple penile appendages and other bizzare sex organs, yet the guy who talks about evil ponies is the "sad" one...

*Snerk*

Okay, funny.

To me, though, Pie'oh'pah was oddly compelling not just for the weird gender-bending deal.  There was also the weird "you see what you desire" thing, which could have been cast as "the character is queen bee!", but was instead slightly bitter.  And the whole 'magically bound personal loyalty' bit.

Basically, the character had depth.

Much of the time, "freak" characters have only one thing going for them - their freakiness.  And that's crappy.

<-----  Safely away from the alien bits discussion.

Quote from: Levi KornelsenBasically, the character had depth.

Now that is something I absolutely agree with: Constantine's characters are shallow in comparison.

A little tidbit about Pie's loyalty for those unfamiliar with the novel: after the earlier attempt at the Reconciliation of the Imajica had failed catastrophically, Gentle (known as Maestro Sartori at the time) told Pie to perform a certain feit on him, an enchantment which would rewrite all his memories again and again so that he wouldn't have to live with the knowledge that his actions had nearly destroyed the world. Desolate, the mystif asked what it would then do without its master, who replied that it could become a whore or a killer for all he cared. And because of that offhand remark, for the next two hundred years that's exactly what Pie was: an assassin and a prostitute.

Quote from: fonkaygarry<-----  Safely away from the alien bits discussion.

Smart guy. :D

Quote from: RPGPunditOh wait.. its two different grins.  That just makes the whole thing even creepier... :eyecrazy:

Its like there's a secret cult of Wraeththu fans out there that use certain keywords to identify each other, one of them aparently being the word "grim" in their username.

I mean, sweet christ, if this is true we have to find these fuckers, bring them out and throw them to the fucking lions! And right quick before they take us out from within!

RPGPundit

Don't you mean "take us from behind"?