The recent threads about cheesecake art and how women are depicted in D&D got me thinking about the last version of the 3.5 d20 liscense and what people's feelings were on the banned content that is typical in sword and sorcery style fantasy. Basically, moderate gore and nudity, when is it appropriate and when isn't it? Do you like the conan-esque subject matter? Is it to much for D&D or does it give a fantasy setting a more points of light feel?
For the poll above, nudity and gore would be on a PG-13 level. So no sex or mutilating bodies. Sensuality and blood, some suggestive imagery or subject matter (like Frazetta's slave girl picture).
Appropiate means that it adds to the setting and atmosphere of the product. Just putting naked girls everywhere or hulking barbarians slaughtering anything in their path is not what I consider appropiate. But, having a harpy, dryad, mermaid or medusa with exposed breasts adds to the realism of the creature in my mind. Likewise, scantily clad barbarian clans, tribal folk or gladiators and pit fighters (like in Dark Sun or Conan) makes sense to me to. I can buy rich nobles, priests/preistesses and arcane casters wearing revealing clothing too, depending on the climate and culture. This is the sort of "nudity" both literal and suggested I am refering to.
As for gore, mass battles, horrible monsters, violent arena fights, sacrifices in dark temples, creatures that transform or manipulate living flesh, these are the sort of subjects that are found in dark fantasy. Elric, Conan, Game of Thrones, Warhammer, all have this sort of stuff. When you tone it down to much, it loses something. I am not advocating blood and guts everywhere, just in the appropiate places. The movies Gladiator and Braveheart come to mind.
For the poll above, nudity and gore would be on a PG-13 level. So no sex or mutilating bodies. Sensuality and blood, some suggestive imagery or subject matter (like Frazetta's slave girl picture).
Appropiate means that it adds to the setting and atmosphere of the product. Just putting naked girls everywhere or hulking barbarians slaughtering anything in their path is not what I consider appropiate. But, having a harpy, dryad, mermaid or medusa with exposed breasts adds to the realism of the creature in my mind. Likewise, scantily clad barbarian clans, tribal folk or gladiators and pit fighters (like in Dark Sun or Conan) makes sense to me to. I can buy rich nobles, priests/preistesses and arcane casters wearing revealing clothing too, depending on the climate and culture. This is the sort of "nudity" both literal and suggested I am refering to.
As for gore, mass battles, horrible monsters, violent arena fights, sacrifices in dark temples, creatures that transform or manipulate living flesh, these are the sort of subjects that are found in dark fantasy. Elric, Conan, Game of Thrones, Warhammer, all have this sort of stuff. When you tone it down to much, it loses something. I am not advocating blood and guts everywhere, just in the appropiate places. The movies Gladiator and Braveheart come to mind.
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