How do you handle mature topics in your games?

[Whisper72]

Second, I have no great desire to rp a love scene with another 20 - 30 year old male gamer.

Heheh.... and the other gamers are prolly not really interested in watching you do that either....

In a game run for relaxation, I simply have not the inclination or desire to roleplay too similar to 'real life' (tm) as far as the graphic violence is concerned and agree with Greatwyrm on the sex issue....

 

[Umbran]

1. I never said one caused the other. Just that this thread runs parallel to popular culture.

2. My statement about people making culture and culture making people is correct, but it was not meant to imply a relationship between the way people game and popular culture.

Your claims of innocence notwithstanding, the structures you chose to use are common rhetorical tools for making sure the reader infers relationships. It therefore called for debunking.

4. In a well written novel the description of sexual conduct can be just a descriptive and well done as a scene of violence.

That's a case of sex being used as art, which I allow for. Note that such scenes, while occasionally descriptive and well-done, don't generally move the story along much.

The novel's author has more freedom than the GM for including artful bits that don't move the story. Typically, the GM has only a few hours a week to cover a great many things. He may give passing mention to how good the inn's plum tarts are, but he won't wax rhapsodic about them for any period of time. Same goes for sex. A long explicit description of sex generally serves little purpose in most RPGs.

5. I never sited a single study, just a generalization of studies done. I didn't offer judgment one way or the other, just that studies have often linked the two subjects. Are the studies correct? I sure don't know, but there is some correlation between the two.

The fact that you are being vague and general makes pointing out probable logical fallacies even more important, rather than less. If you werre being precise, the fallacies would be more evident to the reader.

 

[Pants]

We're pretty graphic and lighthearted; the combo leads to a lot of inappropriate laughter and humor.

Ditto.

 

[Talon5]

A number of my characters have had relations with a number of N/PCs in campaigns through the years- we have never truely talked about positions or details (thou one of the female players did once place her characters figure in a position with two other figures that made eye brows rise).

Things like sleeping arrangements are dealt with- "join him in his bedroll. To many people around to do anything, so just stay warm." Which can also be brought to- "finally an Inn. Get a room and take her upstairs." GM- "ahh, okay?" Player- "been out in the woods for weeks, no place to do it." GM- "oh, sorry, wasn't thinking. What are the rest of you doing, while the chandaller shakes?" Players- "eat, drink, try no to think about what they are doing- lose and go across the street to the whore house."

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

Graphic violence tends to be tolerated in small doses; it gets weird if someone lingers over it, spending several minutes describing a particularly gory act. There's something distinctly off-putting about that.

Also, on a personal level, I hate describing torture scenes; so much so that I try to avoid having NPCs who use torture to get what they want, and if I can't, I fade-to-black over a torture scene and just let people imagine whatever they want to. I don't get any thrill out of trying to describe it, I guess.


As for sex, just in everyday life my friends and I tend to adhere to the philosophy that the only people who really care about your sex life are the people you are having sex with (unless you're a porn star, in which case I suppose you can add in all the people who buy your DVDs). We're aware that, yes, people have sex, but we don't ask for details and none are volunteered. That carries over into the game, so pretty much all sexual description is confined to a few off-color jokes and fade-to-black scenes.

--
and on some nights, more than a few off-color jokes
ryan

 

[Zappo]

It's a tough world, bad things happen, and sometimes they happen very close to you. When I want the players to think that a person or creature is evil, I don't just drape him in black. I know that none of us is going to be offended by anything I can think of, so I completely ignore ratings and just use whatever the story calls for - which also means not overdoing graphic sex and violence. Excessive use, or excessively graphic descriptions, ridiculize the whole thing even if noone gets offended. Since what I want from on-camera graphicness is to underline how very serious the situation is, I don't use it lightly.

Of course, when playing with new people, or people that I know could be offended, I adjust the style accordingly. I think you need to know your players before pulling out the emotional "unconventional weapons".

 

[frankthedm]

i get graphic with my desciptions when the party chooses to take 20 on seach checks.

i stop descibing atrocities when the players say their characters close thier eyes.

My players know abandoning a pregnant mother will adversly affect thier alignment, almost as much as commissioning a churgeon, herbalist or necromancer to slay the child in the womb. This discourages romps with the barmaids.

PCs in my game usuall are killed with dignity rather than be taken captive. Slavers and orcs tend to know competent combatents are best dead or physicly crippled.

There are worse things than death and PCs may wind up in situations where suicide may be a better choice thanwhat awaits them.

I go over the top when i don't want a new player coming back.

see my sig for more information.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

The people I game with are mostly either very immature or my young siblings, so no so-called mature topics there. I had a game going for several months with some very good friends of mine, and untill it was put on the shelf for scheduling reasons it was pretty graphic violence-wise. The only sexual thing I can remember was Inshon-human hybrid cultists. I don't think either of them pictured the unions though, which is just as well.

 

[WayneLigon]

I don't think we've ever had out-and-out descriptions of sex; we generally do the 'fade to black' scene cut but I will answer questions of the 'hopefully we have a good time?' type. Sometimes, sex becomes a significant plot point or character development tool esp if it's that characters first time, or if it's a significantly good or bad experience; much more rarely the actual act itself becomes a significant plot point. It rarely gets acted on or asked about, but it's something I at least give a bit of thought to for major NPC's. What is the NPC's attitude, preference, experiences, etc; generally it's glossed over in a sentence or two, or it's something that flows naturally from other aspects of his or her personality.

I generally know my players fairly well and the limits that they will tolerate (which tend to be pretty broad). That said, if anyone has a problem, the problem is fixed quickly. That's only happened a couple times in my entire gaming career. With sex or anything related to it, I think it's also a part of being a good player or GM and having good taste to know when to create situations related to it or not. Know your group and their limits, and find out when you can - very occassionally (like, maybe, once or twice a year, if that) - push past those limits.

Graphic violence.. hmm. Most of our games are probably rated R. Call of Cthulhu or other horror-themed adventures: that probably goes up to the occassional NC-17 or beyond, strictly on the violence meter, but a lot of it is hinted at rather than described outright. Most of the times, I let them use their own imaginations and describe the reactions of others to the scene. (You put in the DVD you found at the suspected cultists house, the one with the suspiciously well-designed and sound-proofed basement. Ten minutes later, Hardened vice cops with 20 years experience are turning green and throwing up. Two pass out and one gets up, walks to the desk, hands in his badge and moves to New Zealand to raise ostriches.)

 

[dren]

Vile and graphic.

Some things might get skimmed over, but wretched and horrible things happen to the PCs and NPCs. I have had one player (a long time ago) say that I used too descriptive imagery, but unless the current players object, I will continue my style.

Yet, the game is light-hearted. (I knew two of them six months ago, the other five are new found friends and amazing players!) They know that this is a game, and don't take it too seriously. As much as they actively fight the evil, the game is just as much about the player's interacting with each other and some of the quirky npcs that they meet along the way. This certainly keeps the players laughing and joking, even as they face the most horrible things that are put in their path.