None of it is unacceptable out of hand and any of these things could be done in an acceptable manner. It all depends on context in a very complicated way. I think the criteria is not something I can lay out as a set of rules so much as I know what I don't like when I don't like it. On a larger scale, this also happens to be the legal approach to obscenity.
[BoVD, BoEF, Vile] Where do you say "unacceptable?"
- Thread starter The Sigil
- Start date
Ravellion
serves Gnome Master
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: yes. No detailed descriptions though: I am not trying to turn my players on, I am however telling them there is a nude attractive woman in this room.... with bat wings
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: No exposed genitalia. See no need for them. Overuse of breasts could be annoying after a while.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Getting past 1st base is partly behind the curtain. I might add a description of the general mood of the sexual activity (wild/tender/inexperienced/clumsy etc.)
SEX IN MY BOOKS: nah.
NECROPHILIA: Hasn't come up yet. Might use it once for the whole king/queen of the dead vibe: undead necrophilia.
BESTIALITY: Nah, no need for it. It isn't twisted enough for evil: yet it is very disgusting in our eyes.
VIOLENCE: Yes to overly graphic descriptions (blood, guts, crunch of bone).
TORTURE: Yes.
MUTILATION: Yes.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Yes, as a very Evil activity, and possible background material. This would all be offstage though.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: No exposed genitalia. See no need for them. Overuse of breasts could be annoying after a while.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Getting past 1st base is partly behind the curtain. I might add a description of the general mood of the sexual activity (wild/tender/inexperienced/clumsy etc.)
SEX IN MY BOOKS: nah.
NECROPHILIA: Hasn't come up yet. Might use it once for the whole king/queen of the dead vibe: undead necrophilia.
BESTIALITY: Nah, no need for it. It isn't twisted enough for evil: yet it is very disgusting in our eyes.
VIOLENCE: Yes to overly graphic descriptions (blood, guts, crunch of bone).
TORTURE: Yes.
MUTILATION: Yes.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Yes, as a very Evil activity, and possible background material. This would all be offstage though.
BLACKDIRGE
Adventurer
Well, for me anything goes. I will not balk at any subject matter for the sake of the subject matter alone. If it is useful to my story and has a compelling reason to be there then thre is very little I wont use.
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: Yup, if needed.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: The human form clothed or otherwise does not offend me.
SEX IN MY GAMES: If it adds to the story absolutely.
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Sure, i enjoy the odd bit of erotica.
NECROPHILIA: I like this one for villians, it is especially appropriate for necromancer. I doubt that i would go into great detail describing said villian's amorous acts with a corpse though.
BESTIALITY: Same as above
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Yeah, I like half-breeds.
VIOLENCE: Folks, melee combat was anything but clean and quick. I let my players see the results of their handiwork in vivid detail.
TORTURE: It happens, and truly evil characters would certainly rely on it as a standard method of getting what they want from recalcitrant prisoners (PCs)
MUTILATION: Same as above
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Handled carefully I have used this before. My PC's recently took down a brothel that specialized in children, killing the madame and freeing the children. But all of the abuse is offscreen, i have no desire to describe such a repugnant act.
Here's one that might throw you Sigil.
EVIL PCs: No, never and absolutely not. I agree with you on this point Sigil, the PC's should be heroes and not evil doers. I have yet to see an evil party, played appropriatly, do anything but self destruct. I use things like the BoVD to make compelling villians, I don't let my players near the thing.
Dirge
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: Yup, if needed.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: The human form clothed or otherwise does not offend me.
SEX IN MY GAMES: If it adds to the story absolutely.
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Sure, i enjoy the odd bit of erotica.
NECROPHILIA: I like this one for villians, it is especially appropriate for necromancer. I doubt that i would go into great detail describing said villian's amorous acts with a corpse though.
BESTIALITY: Same as above
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Yeah, I like half-breeds.
VIOLENCE: Folks, melee combat was anything but clean and quick. I let my players see the results of their handiwork in vivid detail.
TORTURE: It happens, and truly evil characters would certainly rely on it as a standard method of getting what they want from recalcitrant prisoners (PCs)
MUTILATION: Same as above
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Handled carefully I have used this before. My PC's recently took down a brothel that specialized in children, killing the madame and freeing the children. But all of the abuse is offscreen, i have no desire to describe such a repugnant act.
Here's one that might throw you Sigil.
EVIL PCs: No, never and absolutely not. I agree with you on this point Sigil, the PC's should be heroes and not evil doers. I have yet to see an evil party, played appropriatly, do anything but self destruct. I use things like the BoVD to make compelling villians, I don't let my players near the thing.
Dirge
ArielManx
First Post
hunter1828 (my husband) covered most of the details of what's acceptable in our campaign, so I'll just touch on a couple of things:
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: One particularly fun moment from our campaign - during a huge battle a wizard threw a Fireball, centered on one of our thieves (we were still playing 2e at the time). He had a good save roll, plus a ring of fire resistance, so the DM announced, "You survive. Your clothes don't." Luckily his magic bow and arrows made it, so there's a nekkid moon elf shooting arrow after arrow at the Zhents. (He got some new clothes eventually.)
NUDITY AND SEX IN MY BOOKS: Well, what kind of books are we talking about here?
Gaming books: The core books should be acceptable for the masses, because they're required to play the game and everyone should be able to play the game. But the supplimental stuff, which no one is required to buy, is a different venue. Nudity and sex are fine there in the appropriate doses - by that I mean you would expect there to be maybe some reference in something like the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, considerably more in Races of Faerun, and a LOT more in a Book of Erotic Fantasy.
Art Books: Nudity is just fine here. Sex...well...it better be good art to begin with. For me the biggest thing with art books is that the art has to be good! If the art is good, the bared bosoms and shaved oiled chests will be fantastic. I would never want to see anything naked drawn by comic book artist Frank Quitely, but Larry Elmore can draw all the nudes he wants as far as I'm concerned.
Novels: Nudity and sex can be wonderful additions to a good story so long as they're not gratuitous. When reading a fantasy novel I want the story to flow and for the events that occur to make sense regarding the context. If I want to read about sex that doesn't fit in with any story line...well, there are places I can go online for that.
My feeling with anything like sex, nudity, violence, gore, etc, is that it should fit the situation and not be just thrown in or overdone for sheer shock value. Sometimes you need to be more graphic than others, and learning when is the right time to go into detail is the key.
Ariel
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: One particularly fun moment from our campaign - during a huge battle a wizard threw a Fireball, centered on one of our thieves (we were still playing 2e at the time). He had a good save roll, plus a ring of fire resistance, so the DM announced, "You survive. Your clothes don't." Luckily his magic bow and arrows made it, so there's a nekkid moon elf shooting arrow after arrow at the Zhents. (He got some new clothes eventually.)
NUDITY AND SEX IN MY BOOKS: Well, what kind of books are we talking about here?
Gaming books: The core books should be acceptable for the masses, because they're required to play the game and everyone should be able to play the game. But the supplimental stuff, which no one is required to buy, is a different venue. Nudity and sex are fine there in the appropriate doses - by that I mean you would expect there to be maybe some reference in something like the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, considerably more in Races of Faerun, and a LOT more in a Book of Erotic Fantasy.
Art Books: Nudity is just fine here. Sex...well...it better be good art to begin with. For me the biggest thing with art books is that the art has to be good! If the art is good, the bared bosoms and shaved oiled chests will be fantastic. I would never want to see anything naked drawn by comic book artist Frank Quitely, but Larry Elmore can draw all the nudes he wants as far as I'm concerned.
Novels: Nudity and sex can be wonderful additions to a good story so long as they're not gratuitous. When reading a fantasy novel I want the story to flow and for the events that occur to make sense regarding the context. If I want to read about sex that doesn't fit in with any story line...well, there are places I can go online for that.
My feeling with anything like sex, nudity, violence, gore, etc, is that it should fit the situation and not be just thrown in or overdone for sheer shock value. Sometimes you need to be more graphic than others, and learning when is the right time to go into detail is the key.
Ariel
Norfleet
First Post
Where do I say "unacceptable"? I say "unacceptable" at the point where it costs too much money for the content I'm getting. If I can get something for free, there's no such thing as unacceptable. 
Quantity is irrelevant. It's the quality which counts, and more importantly, it's the quality relative to the amount I have to pay for it. The more quality sex, violence, and gruesomeness there is, the more money it's worth.
BoVD, for instance, falls a bit on the short side. There wasn't enough quality sex and violence for the amount the book cost. This is unacceptable!
Quantity is irrelevant. It's the quality which counts, and more importantly, it's the quality relative to the amount I have to pay for it. The more quality sex, violence, and gruesomeness there is, the more money it's worth.
BoVD, for instance, falls a bit on the short side. There wasn't enough quality sex and violence for the amount the book cost. This is unacceptable!
hunter1828
Butte Hole Surfer
BLACKDIRGE said:
Evil PCs is a touchy subject. I generally shy away from letting players play evil characters, and I have never allowed a whole group of evil PCs.
Once, though, a good friend of mine convinced me to allow him to play an evil psionicist (back when the 2e Psionics Handbook came out). He joined the group of good characters as a LE character and soon became the leader of the group. He was delibirate in his thoughts, straightforward in battle and diplomacy and had a forceful personality. He lead them through a series of adventures while he did his own thing, using them to support his goals. He was out for monetary gain and power. He wasn't sadistic or twisted, he just had no problem's with eliminating a threat. Anyway, it was LONG into the campaign before anyone ever figured out he was evil and even then they were like "Oh. He's evil, huh? Well, he's not so bad for an evil guy..." It was great fun, really.
Desdichado
Legend
Because I'm not clever enough to think of new categories I'll just use yours Sigil...
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: I've had it. Never in an erotic context, really, though. More of a helpless context. I had a guy drugged and taken prisoner and left tied up and nude in a neighborhood in Buenos Aires in a Top Secret S.I. game. Of course he escaped and ended up running naked through the neighborhood in a tense but somewhat surreal chase scene before he finally was able to round up some clothes. But the nudity is not ever in any form of erotic context.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: No thanks. Although perhaps I'm not quite as sensitive to "boobies" as some -- I've lived in places where it was quite socially acceptable to breast-feed in public, for instance, and to a certain extent, a naked breast has lost a lot of its sense of eroticism for me, at least in certain contexts.
SEX IN MY GAMES: I've only ever had it off stage. I certainly will continue that trend!
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Yeah, prefer it to be offstage and not present at all unless its key to the plot.
NECROPHILIA: Offstage, if at all. And only vaguely hinted at even then for the most perverse and villanous of characters.
BESTIALITY: Same as above.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Not really ever an issue, except I guess if we think a bit more about the origin of half-dragons, half-fiends and the like.
VIOLENCE: Typically not graphic at all.
TORTURE: Offstage.
MUTILATION: Offstage.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Not really something I'm comfortable touching on, as you never know the background of people in your group in this regard. Some statistics suggest that having survived sexual abuse is much more common than most would think. For that reason alone, I'd tend to shy away from it, although in theory my position on this is similar to my position on necrophilia. As a vaguely referenced offstage act, it makes for very creepy and detestable villains.
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: I've had it. Never in an erotic context, really, though. More of a helpless context. I had a guy drugged and taken prisoner and left tied up and nude in a neighborhood in Buenos Aires in a Top Secret S.I. game. Of course he escaped and ended up running naked through the neighborhood in a tense but somewhat surreal chase scene before he finally was able to round up some clothes. But the nudity is not ever in any form of erotic context.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: No thanks. Although perhaps I'm not quite as sensitive to "boobies" as some -- I've lived in places where it was quite socially acceptable to breast-feed in public, for instance, and to a certain extent, a naked breast has lost a lot of its sense of eroticism for me, at least in certain contexts.
SEX IN MY GAMES: I've only ever had it off stage. I certainly will continue that trend!
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Yeah, prefer it to be offstage and not present at all unless its key to the plot.
NECROPHILIA: Offstage, if at all. And only vaguely hinted at even then for the most perverse and villanous of characters.
BESTIALITY: Same as above.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Not really ever an issue, except I guess if we think a bit more about the origin of half-dragons, half-fiends and the like.
VIOLENCE: Typically not graphic at all.
TORTURE: Offstage.
MUTILATION: Offstage.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: Not really something I'm comfortable touching on, as you never know the background of people in your group in this regard. Some statistics suggest that having survived sexual abuse is much more common than most would think. For that reason alone, I'd tend to shy away from it, although in theory my position on this is similar to my position on necrophilia. As a vaguely referenced offstage act, it makes for very creepy and detestable villains.
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Where do I draw the line ?
In terms of the moral outrage, I have yet to feel it with regard to the game or gaming situation (real life moral outrage ofcourse, my characters and NPC are plenty outraged when appropriate).
In terms of gratuity I draw it very strictly. I hate sex because of sex in gaming and literature but hate it less then dragons because of dragons (it is a fantasy book OFCOURSE we have to have dragons) or any other element that is introduced without regard to its place in the greater whole.
In that vein I find the whole situation (which seems to be quite common) where party barbarian (or whomever) goes of to have sex with the tavern wench in an inn to which party never intends to return pointless, but pointless in a same way as if the party mage insisted on roleplaying his visit to the art galery in the big city that has equaly no plot significance.
All that said, sex (and violence, and torture, and child abuse and most of the other above mentioned) that has a place in the plot is more then welcomed in my campaigns. Sex has been used as a tool for social manipuation as well as for its own sake since the dawn of humankind. It has been at heart, or close to it, of the most of the "real life" occult practices and most importantly it has been a probably the most important element of human narative, even the traditional epic narative that gaming draws uppon.
Think about it;
at the most crude, and with the right players ofcourse; but is your crusade against the orcs going to be more or less well played if you are sent of by the temple of Pelor or if you begin the first session with the players as the group of teens hidden by the stroke of good (?) luck watching as the raiding ork chieftain and his lieutenants torture their peers, then rape and murder their mothers and then rape and enslave their (younger ?) sisters.
I do not say it works for everybody but with the right group it can provide the sort of intensity that turns an otherwise mundane green-bashing campaign into something worth the label of epic.
My present campaign, I like to think, is nothing as crude as what is described above but it has somehow managed to contain an example of every thing from your list except for Necrofilia and Bestiality, not because I have something particularly against those two but rather because they are both, essentialy, forms of mastrubation and thus short on interaction which is necessary for any form of plot advancement.
In short, one of the PCs in my party is a courtesan, she is a female PC played by a female player and her choice of class was influenced by the venice-like nature of the setting. Sexual manipualtion is her trade, her class abilities are based on it. Her seducing, "convincing", provoking or exhausting the NPCs are as important to the party sucess as fighter's gutting them open, and are given no less "on screen" time and (hopefully, though my efforts are slim compared to those of the writters of so many books) no less game-mechanical considerations.
Simmilarly, the party has been given a glimpse of the vast underground (figuratively speaking) slave trade cartel that underfunds much of the prosperity of their city. For a number of sessions they have been systematicaly exposed to seeing (and for a brief stint experiencing) the depravity which was no less surreal for being extensively based on the real life sources on the venetian-arab slave trade in the 1300's, with rape (of both sexes), torture and mutilation being rutinely used for maintaing the control over the slaves and even as moral boosting and "implicating" mechanism for the crew.
All of this was given, less in order to motivate the party to develop the gut-hatered of the slavers (even though that was an expected and salutory bonus) but more to explain motivations (later revealed) of one of the campaign's main villains who has sold his soul to the devil in order to gain ecclesiestical power with which to combat the slavery he experienced first hand as a youth.
Finaly, I want to adress the whole issue of "I would never do this in my game because i have experienced it first/second/third hand myself". I understand that this is a valid position to take and do not wish to imply that anybody is in wrong for adopting it.
What I do not like is the unspoken part of the message that reads "...and if you only did neither would you." To couter this implication (if it is indeed present) let me note in a way of disclaimer that I am originaly from Bosnia and know a number of people who have been wounded or killed (not to mention worse things of which I fortunately have no first or second but plenty of third hand accounts) in our little altercration there, and am aware (and have felt a portion) of immense suffering such a fratricide can bring.
If I were, though, because of that to rid my games of all warlords, hate mongers, ethnic clensers, "rapists for a cause" and religious bigots, I could not but think that my games would be poorer for it.
In terms of the moral outrage, I have yet to feel it with regard to the game or gaming situation (real life moral outrage ofcourse, my characters and NPC are plenty outraged when appropriate).
In terms of gratuity I draw it very strictly. I hate sex because of sex in gaming and literature but hate it less then dragons because of dragons (it is a fantasy book OFCOURSE we have to have dragons) or any other element that is introduced without regard to its place in the greater whole.
In that vein I find the whole situation (which seems to be quite common) where party barbarian (or whomever) goes of to have sex with the tavern wench in an inn to which party never intends to return pointless, but pointless in a same way as if the party mage insisted on roleplaying his visit to the art galery in the big city that has equaly no plot significance.
All that said, sex (and violence, and torture, and child abuse and most of the other above mentioned) that has a place in the plot is more then welcomed in my campaigns. Sex has been used as a tool for social manipuation as well as for its own sake since the dawn of humankind. It has been at heart, or close to it, of the most of the "real life" occult practices and most importantly it has been a probably the most important element of human narative, even the traditional epic narative that gaming draws uppon.
Think about it;
at the most crude, and with the right players ofcourse; but is your crusade against the orcs going to be more or less well played if you are sent of by the temple of Pelor or if you begin the first session with the players as the group of teens hidden by the stroke of good (?) luck watching as the raiding ork chieftain and his lieutenants torture their peers, then rape and murder their mothers and then rape and enslave their (younger ?) sisters.
I do not say it works for everybody but with the right group it can provide the sort of intensity that turns an otherwise mundane green-bashing campaign into something worth the label of epic.
My present campaign, I like to think, is nothing as crude as what is described above but it has somehow managed to contain an example of every thing from your list except for Necrofilia and Bestiality, not because I have something particularly against those two but rather because they are both, essentialy, forms of mastrubation and thus short on interaction which is necessary for any form of plot advancement.
In short, one of the PCs in my party is a courtesan, she is a female PC played by a female player and her choice of class was influenced by the venice-like nature of the setting. Sexual manipualtion is her trade, her class abilities are based on it. Her seducing, "convincing", provoking or exhausting the NPCs are as important to the party sucess as fighter's gutting them open, and are given no less "on screen" time and (hopefully, though my efforts are slim compared to those of the writters of so many books) no less game-mechanical considerations.
Simmilarly, the party has been given a glimpse of the vast underground (figuratively speaking) slave trade cartel that underfunds much of the prosperity of their city. For a number of sessions they have been systematicaly exposed to seeing (and for a brief stint experiencing) the depravity which was no less surreal for being extensively based on the real life sources on the venetian-arab slave trade in the 1300's, with rape (of both sexes), torture and mutilation being rutinely used for maintaing the control over the slaves and even as moral boosting and "implicating" mechanism for the crew.
All of this was given, less in order to motivate the party to develop the gut-hatered of the slavers (even though that was an expected and salutory bonus) but more to explain motivations (later revealed) of one of the campaign's main villains who has sold his soul to the devil in order to gain ecclesiestical power with which to combat the slavery he experienced first hand as a youth.
Finaly, I want to adress the whole issue of "I would never do this in my game because i have experienced it first/second/third hand myself". I understand that this is a valid position to take and do not wish to imply that anybody is in wrong for adopting it.
What I do not like is the unspoken part of the message that reads "...and if you only did neither would you." To couter this implication (if it is indeed present) let me note in a way of disclaimer that I am originaly from Bosnia and know a number of people who have been wounded or killed (not to mention worse things of which I fortunately have no first or second but plenty of third hand accounts) in our little altercration there, and am aware (and have felt a portion) of immense suffering such a fratricide can bring.
If I were, though, because of that to rid my games of all warlords, hate mongers, ethnic clensers, "rapists for a cause" and religious bigots, I could not but think that my games would be poorer for it.
Gothmog
First Post
Here's the rundown for my dark fantasy/horror campaign:
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: Yep, when its appropriate. Slaves are often sold nude so buyers can see the general health of the slave. Prinsoners are stripped, etc.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: Doesn't bother me at all- although art done solely for the cheesecake/beefcake purpose is too much and over the top. Demons/primitives/etc nudity doesn't bother me though.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Flirting is fine to role-play through, but everything past that is off-screen. I have seen this one abused in another DMs game when I was younger, and I vowed NEVER to role-play through it at the table. When I do solos with my girlfriend however....
SEX IN MY BOOKS: I'd prefer not to have this in the books- we all have imaginations after all.
NECROPHILIA: Yes, it has come up twice- in neither case did the act occur where the PCs could witness it- thats too much. Once was a former noble turned ghoul by his tastes for human flesh. He made his mistress a ghoul, and continued "relations" with her after her death. The other was a very deranged elf assassin who hated humans and would defile their bodies after killing them. (Sorry if that is too graphic- I tried to keep it as tasteful as possible). In both cases, the added horror of necrophilia disgusted the PCs, and really motivated them.
BESTIALITY: Not specifically used- although a sect of barbaric, animal worshipping priests are believed to do this.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: I only use human PCs, and my world is human dominated, so it doesn't crop up too often. It is implied with the rare half-orc and half-ogre though.
VIOLENCE: Yep, I generally leave out really gory descriptions except in the case of horrific wounds, devoured bodies, or infernally-tied killings (sacrifice, etc).
TORTURE: Yes. Usually occurs offstage, although once when a PC was captured, the player wanted to play through his paladin's torture. I was reluctant at first, but after his compelling role-playing and faith to his god during the event, a slave who was moved by his faith and witnessed the torture helped the paladin to escape. In this case it added a lot to the story, but in most cases I leave it offstage.
MUTILATION: Almost always offstage. During combat some mutilations occur, such as the NPC cleric losing several fingers to an axe-blow.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: I ALWAYS ask at the beginning of a campaign what the players are ok with in the game, and I specifically mention this one. I have used it in games- once with a deranged child who engaged in evil acts due to supernatural influence. His father, hoping to purge the evil desires from him had him placed in an oubliette. In another case, a cthulhu-esque entity mindlinked with many children and used them to further its plans. It incited the children into a frenzy by inflicting minor wounds on them, then sent them at the PCs. I never depict child abuse onstage though.
INCEST/RAPE: Yes, although implied and always offstage. I have found this is the topic most people are the most uncomfortable with, and I would be very uncomfortable depicting it during play. It is the ultimate act of degradation, malice, and showing domination over another person.
MENTAL ILLNESS: Yep, all the time. I have degrees in psychology and biology, so I try to portray mental illness as accurately as I know how. Honestly, mental illness fits in with many of the deviant behaviors listed above, and often is a motivating factor. It makes a villian more compelling than just an "eeeevil" factor.
INFERNAL/OCCULT MATTER: Yes, I use this a lot. Demons/devils figure prominantly in the cosmology of my world, and they are insidious, with cults popping up fairly frequently. I have found it most effective to hint at their practices/behavior rather than direct confrontation- the players make up far worse stuff on their own than I could invent.
In general, no subject is taboo from my game unless it REALLY makes one of the players uncomfortable. So far, nobody has complained, and I am lucky enough to have a very mature group of players. The extra depth added to the game by these topics makes the game more compelling for us, and more personally involving than a game that follows the comic book code.
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: Yep, when its appropriate. Slaves are often sold nude so buyers can see the general health of the slave. Prinsoners are stripped, etc.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: Doesn't bother me at all- although art done solely for the cheesecake/beefcake purpose is too much and over the top. Demons/primitives/etc nudity doesn't bother me though.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Flirting is fine to role-play through, but everything past that is off-screen. I have seen this one abused in another DMs game when I was younger, and I vowed NEVER to role-play through it at the table. When I do solos with my girlfriend however....
SEX IN MY BOOKS: I'd prefer not to have this in the books- we all have imaginations after all.
NECROPHILIA: Yes, it has come up twice- in neither case did the act occur where the PCs could witness it- thats too much. Once was a former noble turned ghoul by his tastes for human flesh. He made his mistress a ghoul, and continued "relations" with her after her death. The other was a very deranged elf assassin who hated humans and would defile their bodies after killing them. (Sorry if that is too graphic- I tried to keep it as tasteful as possible). In both cases, the added horror of necrophilia disgusted the PCs, and really motivated them.
BESTIALITY: Not specifically used- although a sect of barbaric, animal worshipping priests are believed to do this.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: I only use human PCs, and my world is human dominated, so it doesn't crop up too often. It is implied with the rare half-orc and half-ogre though.
VIOLENCE: Yep, I generally leave out really gory descriptions except in the case of horrific wounds, devoured bodies, or infernally-tied killings (sacrifice, etc).
TORTURE: Yes. Usually occurs offstage, although once when a PC was captured, the player wanted to play through his paladin's torture. I was reluctant at first, but after his compelling role-playing and faith to his god during the event, a slave who was moved by his faith and witnessed the torture helped the paladin to escape. In this case it added a lot to the story, but in most cases I leave it offstage.
MUTILATION: Almost always offstage. During combat some mutilations occur, such as the NPC cleric losing several fingers to an axe-blow.
CHILD MOLESTATION/ABUSE: I ALWAYS ask at the beginning of a campaign what the players are ok with in the game, and I specifically mention this one. I have used it in games- once with a deranged child who engaged in evil acts due to supernatural influence. His father, hoping to purge the evil desires from him had him placed in an oubliette. In another case, a cthulhu-esque entity mindlinked with many children and used them to further its plans. It incited the children into a frenzy by inflicting minor wounds on them, then sent them at the PCs. I never depict child abuse onstage though.
INCEST/RAPE: Yes, although implied and always offstage. I have found this is the topic most people are the most uncomfortable with, and I would be very uncomfortable depicting it during play. It is the ultimate act of degradation, malice, and showing domination over another person.
MENTAL ILLNESS: Yep, all the time. I have degrees in psychology and biology, so I try to portray mental illness as accurately as I know how. Honestly, mental illness fits in with many of the deviant behaviors listed above, and often is a motivating factor. It makes a villian more compelling than just an "eeeevil" factor.
INFERNAL/OCCULT MATTER: Yes, I use this a lot. Demons/devils figure prominantly in the cosmology of my world, and they are insidious, with cults popping up fairly frequently. I have found it most effective to hint at their practices/behavior rather than direct confrontation- the players make up far worse stuff on their own than I could invent.
In general, no subject is taboo from my game unless it REALLY makes one of the players uncomfortable. So far, nobody has complained, and I am lucky enough to have a very mature group of players. The extra depth added to the game by these topics makes the game more compelling for us, and more personally involving than a game that follows the comic book code.
Sepulchrave II
Legend
Interesting thread.
I wouldn't necessarily rule anything out on principle, but its hard for me to see exactly how certain things can enrich the game.
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: I don't need to describe what a succubus looks like to my players, and that's really the only time it tends to come up.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: Usually indifferent. I tend to find most fantasy nudity is replete with tedious chauvinistic stereotypes, but occasionally there is good art.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Occasional allusions to the act, always behind-the scenes. Never graphic. One of the PCs is a satyr, so its kind of important to his character.
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Milan Kundera? Anais Nin?
Gaming books - no: not much point to it, really, is there?
Fantasy literature - sure, why not - if its well written.
Thinking...thinking...thinking...nope, I can't recall any that is well written.
NECROPHILIA, RAPE, PEDOPHILIA, BESTIALITY, BRUTAL SADISM, RECREATIONAL TORTURE etc: The evil guys do all kinds of evil things. Do I mention any of it? No, except vague allusions to 'dark desires' etc.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Same as 'Sex,' above.
TORTURE: Offstage. The results of several mutilations have been presented to the players, however.
I wouldn't necessarily rule anything out on principle, but its hard for me to see exactly how certain things can enrich the game.
NUDITY IN MY GAMES: I don't need to describe what a succubus looks like to my players, and that's really the only time it tends to come up.
NUDITY IN MY BOOKS: Usually indifferent. I tend to find most fantasy nudity is replete with tedious chauvinistic stereotypes, but occasionally there is good art.
SEX IN MY GAMES: Occasional allusions to the act, always behind-the scenes. Never graphic. One of the PCs is a satyr, so its kind of important to his character.
SEX IN MY BOOKS: Milan Kundera? Anais Nin?
Gaming books - no: not much point to it, really, is there?
Fantasy literature - sure, why not - if its well written.
Thinking...thinking...thinking...nope, I can't recall any that is well written.
NECROPHILIA, RAPE, PEDOPHILIA, BESTIALITY, BRUTAL SADISM, RECREATIONAL TORTURE etc: The evil guys do all kinds of evil things. Do I mention any of it? No, except vague allusions to 'dark desires' etc.
INTER-SPECIES SEX: Same as 'Sex,' above.
TORTURE: Offstage. The results of several mutilations have been presented to the players, however.
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