There are some great stories here on this thread, but I'm a little perplexed by how many people here think rape is a worse crime than murder...I can think of several movies I've seen, as well, where the main character is both very likable and a rapist (High Plains Drifter, Flesh + Blood, ect). Now, I'm not usually into highly sexualized narratives in my games, but I have seen it done well a couple of times. I think, in my experience, it comes down to the overall maturity level of a game and whether or not the players are genuinely trying to explore interesting flaws in their characters.
I will agree with this. In my games, nothing is off the table, at least in theory, as long as it's well and tastefully done. The problem is, you don't know if it will be or not until it is attempted, and sometimes that just goes... bad.
That, and you need the right group of players. Most of my group is up for pretty much anything, but one of them is a little squeamish about a lot of things, and another likes to pretend he is 'above' being crass, but when he gives in to it, is just as rude and crude as the next guy.
Actually, the murder thing came up in my weekend game. [sblock=anecdote]The group had just discovered what became of an NPC that they had been trying to scry. One of the party flat out murdered him, in cold blood. It caused a short, awkward silence, and a bit of shock, but that was about it.
That could be because this particular NPC had been set up to be a real despicable guy, right from the get-go. He was the ex-husband of my character, and had been somewhat abusive verbally and occasionally physically (sexually was hinted at). He was a controller and a boor. He then disappeared after being thought dead (got conscripted into the army, never came back), and ended up marrying my character's then-14-year-old sister and getting her knocked up. He continued in his old ways, leaving her little more than a slave. Turned out that he was involved in all kinds of dirty business, including blackmailing and threatening the father of his brides.
The sisters conspired to slip the jerk a sleeping potion, and while everyone was out celebrating my character getting remarried, one of the other party members slipped in, found him unconscious, and strangled him to death, then tossed the body in a bag of holding and took it a hundred miles away into a mountain pass and left it there for the corbies and wolves to eat. nobody had any idea he had done this.
This was the guy that's normally 'above' being crass. It didn't shock the players so much as the characters, I think. I'm still trying to figure out how my character will react once the shock has worn off from him coming out and admitting it.
It only came up at all because the body was eventually found, and my character's little brother ended up being blamed (along with my char, but she was out of town). We came back to rescue little brother, and that's when the guy admitted it.
I'm thinking she will thank him (the killer) for it, and call his debt to her fulfilled (she saved him recently from near-certain death). Maybe give him a peck on the cheek. She's never been afraid to look into the heart of darkness (she's both a necromancer and a healer).[/sblock]