tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post4172795678277801319..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Sexless GrailAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-61129084006020393442012-12-20T17:51:01.210-07:002012-12-20T17:51:01.210-07:00Watching the Guns of Navarre revenge comes to mind...Watching the Guns of Navarre revenge comes to mind as an interesting topic for love.Lukashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05779189363430537747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-64852415840932065162012-12-20T15:17:22.923-07:002012-12-20T15:17:22.923-07:00Sex in my early games went along the lines of &quo...Sex in my early games went along the lines of "roll to see if you get laid." Because 6I adolescent dudes were not about to role play that out. Love was even more awkward. Read into that all you want. I can remember a character getting married once, because he got the farmer's daughter pregnant. <br /><br />In my current games, I see my players actively avoiding romance. As typical adventurers, they are nomadic almost by necessity. Marriage tends to entail settling down, children almost certainly do. Typically, romance only really crops up when characters are thinking of retiring.<br /><br />As for love rules, I'm not sure what, if any should be drafted. I see love as more as a role playing tool, but then again, I'm one of _those_ people.joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351926278188565029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-37063325195060341642012-12-20T07:16:53.182-07:002012-12-20T07:16:53.182-07:00To open another can of worms...
If you think some...To open another can of worms...<br /><br />If you think <a href="http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-sex-please-we-play-d.html" rel="nofollow">some male players have a problem playing female characters</a>, just wait until you tell them that, by the way, Ragnor the Barbarian is gay.<br /><br />And then are you going to also get into, for lack of a better term, kink -- is your character attracted to dominant women? little boys? sheep?<br /><br />Maybe he's really into BDSM, and has a +2 saving throw to resist torture because he likes it.<br /><br />But since you allow players to pick their character's gender, I'm assuming you also are allowing players to pick their character's sexual orientation... and any accompanying fetishes.<br /><br />Which means we might as well go ahead and assume that all male characters are straight and all female characters are lesbians. ;)Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-28690983786190037702012-12-19T19:58:06.653-07:002012-12-19T19:58:06.653-07:00This is an interesting one.
I was just about to c...This is an interesting one.<br /><br />I was just about to churn out something I thought was super-enlightening, but then noted the "unresearched, pulled from ass" above, and decided to mull it for a bit.<br /><br />Suffice to say the idea was thus:<br /><br />What if we took Stats as a measurement not just of ability, but of values?<br /><br />We could assume the bond of love was stronger if more of those values aligned, and assign an increasing "Love Spell" based on those ideals.<br /><br />The idea being that exceptional people would look for exceptional matches, and that Charisma counts for a lot, but not everything, in choosing a mate.<br /><br />I imagined professional matchmakers trying to work out the maximum potential from each possible mate, imagined "bad matches" being a more severe term, etc.<br /><br />If this still seems a bit long, then you might begin to understand why I opted NOT to send the whole shebang in one go.<br /><br />I'd love to know if any part of this intrigues, or if there are holes I've obviously missed.Pandredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03917809464727878157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-67366882058210985132012-12-19T19:54:26.155-07:002012-12-19T19:54:26.155-07:00I agree that incentivizing love would be a better ...I agree that incentivizing love would be a better way to include it in RPGs, rather than turning it into a low-level charm person spell.<br /><br />Although one could argue that you already do have a system in place -- the Seduction card in Conflict!Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-18824886857383716852012-12-19T15:10:59.115-07:002012-12-19T15:10:59.115-07:00I can guarantee you some social bonuses would be a...I can guarantee you some social bonuses would be appropriate. Like 'threatens your loved ones with their actions' or 'knows loved one would disapprove'.<br /><br />Perhaps some kind of morale bonus for combat related to 'protecting loved ones.' A good reason for some of the propaganda out there.<br /><br />I mean, it doesn't line up with the Parzival example quite, but then again, we already said that was a spell to start with.Lukashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05779189363430537747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-15513589638319052912012-12-19T14:58:43.053-07:002012-12-19T14:58:43.053-07:00Is there a difference? LOL.
Yes, rules. Here, l...Is there a difference? LOL.<br /><br />Yes, rules. Here, let me pull some out of my ass that won't work because I've had two days to think about it and no feedback.<br /><br />Oh, wait ... perhaps I should write some kind of post so people could give me ideas!<br /><br />I'm actually not interested in binding people's arms by making them love people. My bigger point would be, what makes people rush after treasure? Power + Opportunity.<br /><br />So rather than FORCE people to be in love, what bonuses/abilities could we give them that would make them lust after love the way they lust after treasure? The whole point in my writing out the tale was to show that Parsival is one mean motherfucker when he's in love; name me a player who wouldn't want some of that mojo.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-85083956018691403382012-12-19T14:06:05.349-07:002012-12-19T14:06:05.349-07:00So... make some rules!
But I'd be against it....So... make some rules!<br /><br />But I'd be against it.<br /><br />For example, let's say you create a rule requiring you to, essentially, roll a saving throw or you "fall in love". When you're "in love" -- requited or not -- there are restrictions on your interactions with that character.<br /><br />But you seem to be more interested in talking about sex than love?Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-82447056360348278432012-12-19T13:52:50.770-07:002012-12-19T13:52:50.770-07:00This is why I say there has to be some kind of ...This is why I say there has to be some kind of 'practical' value to falling in love.<br /><br />But there are no rules.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-70759015931752612202012-12-19T13:26:49.999-07:002012-12-19T13:26:49.999-07:00Have you had a chance to read any of the Icelandic...Have you had a chance to read any of the Icelandic sagas? There are some interesting descriptions of love as sorcery in Njal's saga, and the Saga of the people of Laxardal. Particularly in reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnhild_Mother_of_Kings" rel="nofollow">Queen Gunnhild of Norway</a><br /><br />If you haven't, I'd highly recommend that you check them out, they seem right up your alley.Maximillian Boiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712157905126165888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-5488161598179496962012-12-19T13:17:04.770-07:002012-12-19T13:17:04.770-07:00It's a touchy subject, and not just because of...It's a touchy subject, and not just because of ridiculous, hypocritical attitudes towards sex.<br /><br />As you've pointed out a number of times, players don't like to relinquish control of their characters. they're perfectly fine with an npc falling over themselves to jump the bones of their 16 charisma rogue, but when they encounter some fecund beauty with an 18 charisma, well, they may fuck her, but they sure as hell are going to chafe if she wants them to stick around in the morning, particularly if they know as players she's using them as pawns, and _particularly_ if the DM tries to enforce their behavior. Most of the time, PCs are treated as emotionless golems, with no expectation for consistency or illogical behavior.<br /><br />Of course, there are the other type of players. The ones who just want to be "In character" You've pointed out several times the pitfalls with this type of player, how they rarely put their head up to experience the rest of the wold their character is living in. These players may "fall in love" with the first available npc that shows some interest, but this sort of player is very unlikely to step out of their own mores, so you'll either have no consummation, or the game will devolve into a cheap romance novel for that player.Maximillian Boiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712157905126165888noreply@blogger.com