A Book of Vile Defenses?

[Kahuna Burger]

To follow up on my general forum post on DMs who insert "mature" themes such as torture and rape without allowing the PCs to prepare for them, a bit of brainstorming.

In a world with magic, magic items, supernatural abilities, occasional psionics, extrordinary feats and insy teeny poison needle traps, what are the defenses an adventurer, traveling entertainer or well off NPC could be expected to have against "ehem" unwanted advances?

A wide range of mundane, magical and poisoned 'dentatas' are a must of course (see Snow Crash, Theives World and military legends about vietnamese prostitutes.) How would they be statted, what damage could be done, what would be their detection or disable DCs?

What feats or powers could a psion or psychic warrior use to encourage people to 'not even think about it'? (a Mark of Repulsion might be a radical step for a PC to take but one inflicted on whores by the vice squad or commoners who foolishly reject the king's advances.)

could a variation of Detect Thoughts alert a character to the general emotional state with which they were being regarded? (such a spell could be a must for sneaking around, as well as letting the pretty bard know which guy not to accept a drink from.)

In other news, could an extension of the Iron Will feat provide defenses against torture (make a concentration check to be aware of but emotionaly univolved in any physical or mental pain expereinced)?

Any thoughts?

Kahuna Burger

 

[Xarlen]

Um, I think I'm feeling a little dense, but exactly what are you asking for? Could you be a little more Blunt? Are you wanting sexual defenses?

If you're asking waht I think you are, check out the Guide to Carnal Knowledge, both 2e and 3e (The thread's here).

I could recount a few ideas.

 

[Crothian]

I really think that items of resistance would be fairly populiar.

 

[Jeph]

All I have to say is, I respect you for mentioning Snow Crash. Awesome book.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Um, I think I'm feeling a little dense, but exactly what are you asking for? Could you be a little more Blunt? Are you wanting sexual defenses?

sorry, I was posting in a hurry and didn't know how to link to the thread that started this line of thought. In essence, I was complaining on another forum that DMs who inserted "mature" themes such as rape or torture, often seem to just throw these events into the stock D&D world. Of course since the stock D&D world does not include these issues, it also includes no defenses.

While there are major player/DM comunication issues that come up here a secondary issue is realistic defenses. There are criticals and sneak attacks, so the game has fortified armor. There are rules for poisons, so there are also spells, class abilities, etc that help defend against poison. There is magical scrying, so there are magical defenses. Etc.

So the question is, if we are playing in a "realistic gritty" campaign, what devices, spells, feats etc must be added for true realism? (I was very disapointed that with the exception of a spell that protected against addiction, the BoVD did not seem to include even an aknowledgement that defenses would be part and parcel of realistic inclusion of such themes; nor was the subject discussed in the "how vile to make your campaign" Dragon article)

The most common idea, used in some gritty fantasy and sci fi is the Dentata. That is Vagina Dentata or the devouring vagina. (its a freudian term, but also makes a cool name for a device.) From the mechanical bladed device that the madam in Thieves World wore to ensure that "any man who had her would pay some price" to the drug loaded needle YT always wore in Snow Crash, there's definitely something to consider there (if only a tendancy towards revenge and perhaps deterance.)

other ideas might also be helpful for torture (an escape/suicide 'pill', or feat to allow you to detatch emotionally from what was happening to your body), social control (a magical brand which caused veiwers to feel sexually repulsed by the character), or aftereffects of possession or death and resurection (an atonment like spell which allowed the subject to put aside any emotional scarring from a specific event while remembering the facts of the event).

Hope that's a more clear intro to the topic, sorry the original post was rushed.

Kahuna Burger

 

[Kahuna Burger]

All I have to say is, I respect you for mentioning Snow Crash. Awesome book.

I think it did a better job than much speculative fiction of really considering some of the gritty repercussions of changes. Way too much sci fi (esp movie or TV versions) is just Modern Society With Cool Toys. Or a very shallowly imposed New World Order. Snow Crash hung together better...

Kahuna Burger

 

[Gez]

I'd also cite Hyperion (by Dan Simmons), where a girl "turn into" The Grietch (basically, a metallic monster made of supersharp pikes and razors) during the act.


Some spells could come in handy.

With Alter Self, you can close all orifices, which is a form of protection (you can't modify your body in order to deal damage to someone, so no teeth and horns, but you can at least do that).

Contagion, and any other touch attack spell, may be used as a revenge; your agressor is not going to be able to avoid touching you if he's actually touching you.

In Magic of Faerûn, you have Mestil's Acid Sheath. A good way to make sure noone is going to stay in contact with your body. It's a level 5 sor/wiz spell.

You enclose yourself in a fluid sheath of acid that does not harm you. You can breathe normally and cast spells while the acid sheath is present. Any creature striking you with its body deals normal damage, but at the same time the attacker takes 1d6 points +2 points per caster level of acid damage. If a creature has spell resistance, it applies to this damage. Weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. The acid sheath does not protect you against other attack forms, such as fire.

Any creature you are riding automatically takes damage every round as if you were touching it with a corrosive grasp. The mount tries to remove the source of pain, requiring a Ride check (DC 30) each round for you to remain mounted.

You may make melee touch attacks as if you were using a corrosive grasp spell. A creature that swallows you does not take damage from this spell if its stomach inflicts acid damage.

You could also polymorph into a hag, or something equally repulsive.

And, although a bit extreme, you may consider adapting Glyph of Warding on yourself.

 

[kolvar]

Or you could go over to the Guide to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (sorry, I had to write this).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Or you could go over to the Guide to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (sorry, I had to write this).

hmmm.... the first bit deals with nipple rings and when I skip to the end its a lot of editorial. Perhaps you could post a link to the part relevant to this? (no offense, but wading threads over 4 pages in the hope that something relates... *shrug*)

kahuna burger

 

[kolvar]

sorry, i did not mean the thread but the
pre-pre-pre release version:
Guide to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge