JoeGKushner
Adventurer
At Gen Con, Valar Project had a sneak peak at their new adult product, the Book of Erotic Fantasy. This wasn't some cheap flimsy thing either, but a full color, glossy 32 page book that ran for $9.95 giving buyers a good idea of what the rules will be like when the finished product comes out. What I found strange was that this is compatible with 3.5 D&D so it's one of the handful of products (not counting Sword & Sorcery Studio's massive Gen Con Launch) of 3.5 products. In some ways it's a very smart move as it not only helps fund the product but allows people to see what's coming down the line. Still, I can already hear people moaning that they spent $10 on a preview book and want to trade it in.
The book starts off with how the various alignments view sex and love. At first, it struck me as a strange thing to start off with, but the material allows a reader to have some idea of what effect alignments, an artificial role playing tool, can have on a real event, like love or sex. It's pretty obvious in most cases that lawful good people are going to be up front and honest while chaotic neutrals are going to do what they please. It helps reinforce alignment types in different actions and uses small vignettes to illustrate the point further.
My own favorite is probably how the book twists the old local noble rights in the lawful neutral section. See, in this case, it's the young male monk who must go perform on the noble, as opposed to the nobles coming in the middles of the night like in Braveheart.
The important thing to note right off the bat is that the material ranges from soft core with the good alignments to more hard core with the evil ones. The bad news is that right away, I can tell for my group, I would not let this book pass into the hands of about three of my seven players, not because they're under 18, but because they're still teens in their behavior and think that movies like Coyote Ugly and Charlie's Angels are great for all of the t&a. Private opinion, if you're seeing a pg-13 movie for such things, get a clue, rent a porno, go watch a normal movie. Nothing against the old t&a but when it's the focus of the movie, it's moved beyond me.
After the alignments, it moves onto Skills, Feats and Variations. One thing that amused me right away was the optional checks for skills like Appraise, where you can determine how much stamina a partner has or Bluff, to hook up with a partner. Some of the feats provide real benefits, like Kundalini, where you get a +2 bonus to your Wisdom score for 24 hours after having sex for 20 continuous minutes. For those who've wanted an Appearance stat, we've got App, which changes skills like Bluff, Disguise, Intimidate and Gather information to either App, or App or Cha. Bad thing about this is it'd throw off a point buy system which is designed for six stats. Hopefully the book will have more information on how to counter such a factor or what to do with players who already have their 8 charisma orcs and now get to have an 8 charisma and an 8 appearance.
Some mythos have fertility deities and I know one of them at least, “Black Goat with 1,000 Young”, has been in more than one game before. Here, that title falls to Vershnat, a member of the goblin pantheon. Also described is Kaladis, a lawful neutral deity whose duties involve things like marriage.
Those looking for Prestige Classes can choose from the following:
Vestal Virgin: A 5 level PrC that focuses on Chastity and the power gained from purity including such benefits as a unicorn mount.
Disciple of Aaluran: Pleasure seekers, in a 5 level PrC, who strive for both love and sex, gaining access to a Pleasure Prestige Domain. Strange as I've not noticed other publishers using prestige domains for spellcasters but interesting. The bonus feats and ability to disguise oneself are nice bonuses.
Dominator: This is a 10 level PrC and I'll give you one guess what they specialize in. The thing I was pleased with, is it's not just a sex thing here. They want to dominate people and aren't afraid of doing things like embarrassing others, pulling psychological plays, and other methods, to gain that power over another. Hate to say it, but they'd probably be perfect for say, Bane of the Forgotten Realms.
Rake: A 10 level PrC that is roguish in nature and is a combination between a bard, rogue, and some of the courtesan PrCs on the market already.
After the PrCs, we get new domains and spells. The Joining, Perversion (Prestige) and Pleasure (Prestige) domains include special abilities and specific spells. Many of the spells are found in this book but there are quite a few from the PHB like Symbol of Persuasion and Suggestion, from the Pleasure domain.
New spells deal not only with sex but also birth control, both in preventing it and corrupting it. For example, Block the Seed is a 1 day/level spell that makes you sterile while Fiendish Seed causes the child to be born with the half-fiend template. I guess the next question is where's the Angelic Seed? Not all of the spells are such though, take Find a Soulmate, a low level spell that can be used to set a member of the party on the quest for his soulmate or Healing Sphere, a sphere of light that cures damage. A mix of role playing material and sexual pleasure for both camps probably won't please either of them, but those who are just interested in the subject will enjoy all of them.
Chapter Five, Creatures, includes Fallen Cherubs, Pleasure Golems and Greater Succubus. A nice mix of monsters and I hate to say it, but the Scarred Lands beat Anthony to the punch with the Pleasure Golem in their Shalazar book. The Fallen Cherub was an interesting twist, a mean version that sets out to find people who'd probably hate each other and whose hate is pretty justified, getting them into potentially dangerous situations.
One thing I don't like about the book is the art. Ironically enough, it's not because it's 'adult' themed. Not all of the pictures are naked women or anything. It's because, and I'll probably get flamed for this, the pictures often can't compare to the fantasy. What the hell does that mean some may ask. On the cover is a demonic looking woman, very much the temptress. I personally think that Dragon magazine #306, with it's clawed sucubuss, looks better. Or even when looking at Dragon #310 with it's Elmore Cover. Here's the master of the genre with a classic piece featuring two women. Sure, the adventuring swordswoman in the front of the preview is impressive in her stance and bloodied sword, but she doesn't compare to Elmore's work.
And once again, I'll probably get flamed for this, but due to the nature of the clothing some of these models are wearing, when it cuts into their skin, that doesn't look attractive. The blonde on page 4 looks like she's being tortured by her chest piece. When it works, it works best when it looks more fantastic than realistic, like the spellcaster with her back to the reader, facing the woods, but that's my opinion.
Lastly, on the art, it's not just all women and t&a. There are male servitors and male warriors and there is some violent content in here as well. All of it done in a adult context.
The book uses two columns of solid text with a nice stylish border. The material is slick glossy paper and the interior covers are used. With this features, it's very competitively priced.
If you're interested in this subject matter, Valar Project has created a product with high quality productions and a lot of variance in the material that should satisfy not only your basic questions but those you might not have thought to ask.
The book starts off with how the various alignments view sex and love. At first, it struck me as a strange thing to start off with, but the material allows a reader to have some idea of what effect alignments, an artificial role playing tool, can have on a real event, like love or sex. It's pretty obvious in most cases that lawful good people are going to be up front and honest while chaotic neutrals are going to do what they please. It helps reinforce alignment types in different actions and uses small vignettes to illustrate the point further.
My own favorite is probably how the book twists the old local noble rights in the lawful neutral section. See, in this case, it's the young male monk who must go perform on the noble, as opposed to the nobles coming in the middles of the night like in Braveheart.
The important thing to note right off the bat is that the material ranges from soft core with the good alignments to more hard core with the evil ones. The bad news is that right away, I can tell for my group, I would not let this book pass into the hands of about three of my seven players, not because they're under 18, but because they're still teens in their behavior and think that movies like Coyote Ugly and Charlie's Angels are great for all of the t&a. Private opinion, if you're seeing a pg-13 movie for such things, get a clue, rent a porno, go watch a normal movie. Nothing against the old t&a but when it's the focus of the movie, it's moved beyond me.
After the alignments, it moves onto Skills, Feats and Variations. One thing that amused me right away was the optional checks for skills like Appraise, where you can determine how much stamina a partner has or Bluff, to hook up with a partner. Some of the feats provide real benefits, like Kundalini, where you get a +2 bonus to your Wisdom score for 24 hours after having sex for 20 continuous minutes. For those who've wanted an Appearance stat, we've got App, which changes skills like Bluff, Disguise, Intimidate and Gather information to either App, or App or Cha. Bad thing about this is it'd throw off a point buy system which is designed for six stats. Hopefully the book will have more information on how to counter such a factor or what to do with players who already have their 8 charisma orcs and now get to have an 8 charisma and an 8 appearance.
Some mythos have fertility deities and I know one of them at least, “Black Goat with 1,000 Young”, has been in more than one game before. Here, that title falls to Vershnat, a member of the goblin pantheon. Also described is Kaladis, a lawful neutral deity whose duties involve things like marriage.
Those looking for Prestige Classes can choose from the following:
Vestal Virgin: A 5 level PrC that focuses on Chastity and the power gained from purity including such benefits as a unicorn mount.
Disciple of Aaluran: Pleasure seekers, in a 5 level PrC, who strive for both love and sex, gaining access to a Pleasure Prestige Domain. Strange as I've not noticed other publishers using prestige domains for spellcasters but interesting. The bonus feats and ability to disguise oneself are nice bonuses.
Dominator: This is a 10 level PrC and I'll give you one guess what they specialize in. The thing I was pleased with, is it's not just a sex thing here. They want to dominate people and aren't afraid of doing things like embarrassing others, pulling psychological plays, and other methods, to gain that power over another. Hate to say it, but they'd probably be perfect for say, Bane of the Forgotten Realms.
Rake: A 10 level PrC that is roguish in nature and is a combination between a bard, rogue, and some of the courtesan PrCs on the market already.
After the PrCs, we get new domains and spells. The Joining, Perversion (Prestige) and Pleasure (Prestige) domains include special abilities and specific spells. Many of the spells are found in this book but there are quite a few from the PHB like Symbol of Persuasion and Suggestion, from the Pleasure domain.
New spells deal not only with sex but also birth control, both in preventing it and corrupting it. For example, Block the Seed is a 1 day/level spell that makes you sterile while Fiendish Seed causes the child to be born with the half-fiend template. I guess the next question is where's the Angelic Seed? Not all of the spells are such though, take Find a Soulmate, a low level spell that can be used to set a member of the party on the quest for his soulmate or Healing Sphere, a sphere of light that cures damage. A mix of role playing material and sexual pleasure for both camps probably won't please either of them, but those who are just interested in the subject will enjoy all of them.
Chapter Five, Creatures, includes Fallen Cherubs, Pleasure Golems and Greater Succubus. A nice mix of monsters and I hate to say it, but the Scarred Lands beat Anthony to the punch with the Pleasure Golem in their Shalazar book. The Fallen Cherub was an interesting twist, a mean version that sets out to find people who'd probably hate each other and whose hate is pretty justified, getting them into potentially dangerous situations.
One thing I don't like about the book is the art. Ironically enough, it's not because it's 'adult' themed. Not all of the pictures are naked women or anything. It's because, and I'll probably get flamed for this, the pictures often can't compare to the fantasy. What the hell does that mean some may ask. On the cover is a demonic looking woman, very much the temptress. I personally think that Dragon magazine #306, with it's clawed sucubuss, looks better. Or even when looking at Dragon #310 with it's Elmore Cover. Here's the master of the genre with a classic piece featuring two women. Sure, the adventuring swordswoman in the front of the preview is impressive in her stance and bloodied sword, but she doesn't compare to Elmore's work.
And once again, I'll probably get flamed for this, but due to the nature of the clothing some of these models are wearing, when it cuts into their skin, that doesn't look attractive. The blonde on page 4 looks like she's being tortured by her chest piece. When it works, it works best when it looks more fantastic than realistic, like the spellcaster with her back to the reader, facing the woods, but that's my opinion.
Lastly, on the art, it's not just all women and t&a. There are male servitors and male warriors and there is some violent content in here as well. All of it done in a adult context.
The book uses two columns of solid text with a nice stylish border. The material is slick glossy paper and the interior covers are used. With this features, it's very competitively priced.
If you're interested in this subject matter, Valar Project has created a product with high quality productions and a lot of variance in the material that should satisfy not only your basic questions but those you might not have thought to ask.
