Friday, August 23, 2013

End-of-Week (NSFW?) Elmore and Question (8/23/13)


 
I've pretty much avoided showing any of Larry's many "cheesecake" illos on Fridays, just because I don't find them all that interesting or relevant to gaming. But I thought that, in light of what I'm going to ask all of you this week, one of Mr. Elmore's more "lascivious" pieces might be appropriate. Just a warning: the image that accompanies this post might be considered NSFW by someone out there, even though it is far more tame than some of his most risque offerings.
 
Anyway, Alexis at Tao of D&D wrote a post about sex in roleplaying, sort of a follow-up to an earlier post he did on the subject. I'm curious, folks: how has the subject of sex manifested itself in your games, and how has it been handled? What place, if any, do you think sex should have in RPGs?
 
Note: the D&D episode of "Community" had a pretty funny depiction of a roleplayed sex scene, actually.
 
For my own part, I think reluctance to explore sexual situations in RPGs can stem from the simple fact of a roleplayer's gender; i.e. a DM must "adjudicate" a sexual situation with a player of the same sex (and isn't attracted to others of the same sex). Some people, in that situation, can't maintain that "in-character versus out-of-character" separation...perhaps because of some ingrained "I don't want to appear homosexual" tripe, among other reasons. Beyond that, in single-sex groups or mixed-gender groups, the reluctance might stem from how well the people know each other.
 
In the example that Alexis gives at the end of his most recent post, the DM mostly describes the female NPC's actions/reactions, rather than speaking AS the NPC. I think some male DMs lose sight of the fact that they don't have to start speaking in a falsetto and pantomime provocative feminine body language ;-) If DM and players agree to that level of immersion, that's what they're comfortable with. But if they want to have sexual situations in-game, there are other ways to go about it that are perhaps less descriptive, but no less impactful. I would describe Alexis' example as being indicative of the latter.
 
As for me, when I gamed with my friends ages ago, there were times when sexual situations arose, and when that happened we did something similar to Alexis' example, and most often "faded to black" before the commencement of "the deed." These days, gaming with a new group of friends, I've mostly avoided the topic, except for the players running across NPCs that might be prostitutes. There's also been a couple brothels that the players have come across. And of course there's been double entendre and the like. But I am not sure the group would be comfortable with, say, the adjudication of an encounter that might involve sex.
 
So anyway, I'm interested to hear what you've experienced!

4 comments:

  1. I keep my games PG-13 and if the issue does arrive it usually is resolved with a "fade to black" type setup. I've had groups which were more than up to the challenge, and my games often have adult themes and plenty of inferred mature content, but on average I've found that somewhere deep down I have a streak of puritanical heritage which just makes any in-game exposition on actual RPG sex a bit too uncomfortable for my tastes.

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  2. I'm not the least bit interested in adjudicating, or Role Playing such a situation. What on Earth does it have to do with the game?

    My games are about "rescuing" the Princess, not "making out" with her. I've had players try it with NPCs, but the NPC always gives them a "cold shower," in my games.

    For those of you that like it . . . knock yourselves out. But no one will ever convince me that it has an "appropriate" place in a medieval fantasy game (which is my preferred gaming world), because it doesn't.

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    1. Seduction and courtship are a part of medieval fantasy from the Arthurian legends to A Game of Thrones. A campaign without them would feel stilted and incomplete to me.

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  3. You'll notice that there are romance rules in Five Ancient Kingdoms. Not sure what you think of these.

    Love, romance, and (yes) sex have their place in fantasy adventure stories. But there are certainly different ways to couch (no pun intended) the concept. It really depends on the fantasy adventure you're creating.

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