Do your characters have love interests?

[StalkingBlue]

Swashbuckling cards?? Do post them *please*, barsoomcore, they sound great.

Whether there are love interests or not varies widely between the groups I DM/play in.

In the campaign I DM, there is a shy, very long-term flirt going on between the bard (shy player) and an NPC half-elf caravan guide. The PCs played by the only real-life couple at the table don't satisfy prejudice in that they are not getting romantically involved with each other.

In one of the two groups I currently play in, there's a great deal of flirting / getting romantically or sexually involved with NPCs, and a little less with PCs. The gnome illusionist has just married a halfling cook he freed from slavery a few months ago and who's been travelling with us since. (Cool gnomish wedding party!) Couple of sessions ago, the group tried to persuade the male cleric (played by a female) to get the female rogue (played by a male who is the boyfriend of one of two alternating DMs) to fall in love with him through the use of a love potion, all in order to get her to "settle down a bit". The tone is very relaxed and mature overall so all this can be great fun.

The tone in the other group I play in is "sanitised" to a degree that can get uncanny. I was rather relieved when a couple of sessions ago one of the other characters went off to a temple of some love goddess to purchase some services there - good opportunity to let my character wander off with some sailors from her home region for the night! All of that absolutely off-stage, of course. The waves have closed over that incident since and the old tone is back - lots of game time spent ordering and eating meals and drinking, though .... sigh ....

 

[Xarlen]

The human cleric in my group currently is in a relationship with the NPC natural werewolf ranger. There was some sexual tension, at first, little hints at interest, but during downtime, that sort've... dissolved into fun. Now, they're openly in a relationship. Me and the cleric's player did some 'downtime' RP outside of the session, which was basicly leading up to the action in question.

I believe we handled it very well, though. The log can be found here: http://pandora.merkava.org/index.php?id=79

I think we handled it very maturely, respectively, and romanticly.

 

[drothgery]

Hmm...
My tabletop characters have rarely had much of a love life; that requires a more charismatic player than I am. My female paladin PC in a message board game had to expend quite a bit of effort to keep one of the other PCs from hitting on her when he just met her (stereotypical paladin meets stereotypical bard).

In the online games I dm...
In the 2e game that I just can't seem to finish off...
One PC cleric is is married to an NPC bard. A PC bard/wizard and an NPC rogue/fighter have a serious relationship. A PC rogue/wizard is dating an NPC wizard. And an NPC wizard has shown a lot of interest in a PC ranger. The other PCs (ten PCs, as a result of consolidating to games in the same world down to one) haven't taken much interest in romance.

In my d20 WoT game, it's pretty clear there's at least one 'couple' among the PCs (initiate and armsman), and may be another one (initiate and wanderer/wilder).

 

[Ace]

Just curious as to how many of you incorporate love interests into your campaigns. Since epic romance is a staple of high fantasy, it usually ends up in my campaigns in one way or the other.

Do you/your players weave romance into your adventures? If so, is it as a diversionary challenge (get the girl, get laid, move on), or as a primary means of developing the characters and fleshing out the campaign? For me its the latter, and can often take precedent over the more traditional conflicts.

I tend to play/DM solo adventures or with two players and a DM at most, which obviously lends its to more character development.

I would like to have more of that sort of subplot but the players aren't capable of of RPing it alas.

We do get to use use social skills now and again but mostly for information gathering and interogation before our crew of Pyrates goes and wacks on the man eating voodoo drow elves (no I am not joking)

I have a couple of characters who are insane and have no interest in a personal life too. They would be more interesting to play in a social game though. Can the irrasible wizard avoid social entaglements long enough to pursue the drak arts. Tune in next week on DAYS OF OUR DUNGEONS

 

[the Jester]

While it's not a major theme of the games I run and play in, romance does come up and can sometimes dominate play for a few sessions.

F'rinstance, Krunkshank (the dwarf elementalist in my story hour) has gotten the hots for the harbormistress of the town the group's in imc because she's salty and swears more than any sailor ever could. (He likes that she's "talking dirty" to him.)

Malford, the one pc still alive from game session #1 of my current campaign world, is a king who courted and married a queen. The wedding was one of those instances where romance dominated the game for a couple of sessions. Cool wedding gifts, politics, etc... all good rp material!

Several of Malford's old adventuring buddies have romantic attachments to different things- a sylph and what they refer to as a "fur golem", to be precise.

I try to dangle the opportunity for romance before my players a lot more often than they take it.

The best romance in gaming story I have relates to Nerull. Back when I was running Greyhawk, before Tharizdun ate it (imc), there was an evil pc priest of Nerull (this was in 2e; I'd made individual specialty priests of all the gods around in my campaign at that point) and a good pc ranger who fell in love. After one of those earth-shattering adventures that pcs have where they were rewarded by the gods themselves ("ask for what you will" kind of thing), Egypt (the ranger) asked to bear Carrion's child (Carrion, natch, was the cleric of Nerull).

Well, her request was granted, but Carrion was deeply disturbed. After all, Nerull's creed is to end all life, and creating new life was the worst sin he could conceive of. So the two went on a honeymoon after getting married, far away from any of the rest of the group. One day Carrion walked up to her. "Egypt?"

"Yes?"

"I love you." With that he pulled out his scythe and attacked, trying to slay her. She fought back, not understanding why, until she was on the edge of death. Finally, Carrion threw down his wicked weapon and said flatly, "Kill me."

She was shocked, and in the end, when he told her it was him or her, and made it clear that there was _no way_ to avoid it, she slew him.

It was one of the most shocking bits of play I've ever been involved in. I'd never expected anything like it; I'd not set up any of the story's elements. The players made all the decisions, there was no fudging, and there was real emotional roleplaying going on there. I couldn't believe it; it isn't every day someone sacrifices their own favorite character. He could have renounced his god; he could have slain Egypt; but he chose to die.

Even now, prolly over 10 years later, I can't think of any game I've been in with role playing to match it, or with more of a romantic- and tragically doomed- feeling.

Star-crossed lovers, indeed.

 

[mseds99]

Jester, that's got to be one of the more intense stories I've heard. Wish I could have seen it in person.

Generally, I play with all guys and it doesn't quite work out. Most guys, try as they will, cannot properly play a female, especially regarding romance. I put a considerable amount of effort into it but always fail miserably. As a dm, I try to incorporate all types of stories in. Romance usually ends up being the comic relief. Unfortunate, but true.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Romance usually ends up being the comic relief. Unfortunate, but true.

That is how it tends to end up in rl as well... for spectators anywya.

FD

 

[HeavyG]

You know, I'm just going to have to post these somewhere. Morrus?

The idea is that each session, you hand out a card to each player. Some of the cards are very specific (automatically make one saving roll), others are more generic (natural phenomenon lends timely aid), while still others are story-affecting (NPC falls in love with PC, or NPC turns out to be long-lost acquaintance). The players can "play" the card at any time, at which point they get a new one. In practice, it's rare for any player to use more than one card per session -- often the card doesn't get used at all.

The "Love" card has had the most impact on the campaign, but all of them are great -- and allow things like romance to develop on the PCs terms.

Email me, I'll send the set to ya. Dunno where they originally come from -- I got mine from a post on the WotC boards.

Those sound like the cards from the Torg game.

They were fun.

 

[madriel]

Please post the swashbuckling cards, barsoomcore.

Romance just doesn't come up in the groups I've played with. The DMs I've played under like to run fast-paced adventure-oriented games. Doesn't really leave room for much more than the occasional one night stand. Only two or three people have chosen to get their PCs laid.

 

[Terraism]

That is how it tends to end up in rl as well... for spectators anyway.

FD

[Chuckle.]