Tinker Gnome
Adventurer
Dirigible said:
Yes, curse them.
Romance in Roleplaying
- Thread starter Paks
- Start date
Yes, curse them.
hunter1828
Butte Hole Surfer
A game with Romance can be incredibly wonderful as long as everyone can handle it. I've used romance in the games I DM for nearly 20 of the 25 years of been gaming. I've ran NPC/PC romances between male NPCs and Female PCs, Female NPCs and Male PCs, and Female NPCs and Female PCs. All of my players in all my games have had no problems RPing the romance (not sex) with me, but none have ever developed relationships between PCs.
Romance brings a good story to the game, provides for plenty of fodder of plot ideas, and furthers character development. A lot of the romances have also resulted in children, so that brings yet another dynamic to the game as well.
hunter1828
Romance brings a good story to the game, provides for plenty of fodder of plot ideas, and furthers character development. A lot of the romances have also resulted in children, so that brings yet another dynamic to the game as well.
hunter1828
Galeros said:*Cough*Me*COugh*
Nah, I am such a hopeless romantic that even seeing other people be in love and happy makes me happy.
*Admits he cried several times during Fushigi Yugi*
In the Bubblegum Crisis-universe PBEM I played in, my PC was still in love with his dead wife Sara (murdered by GENOM Boomers), and the romance focussed on his relation with the shy secretary NPC who was trying to bring him out of his shell. It worked very well and seemed quite sweet AIR. It was probably more mature than a typical Anime plot, my PC Derrick was clearly an adult rather than a teenager.
Over the years DMing D&D I've seen a fair number of PC-NPC romances, but they tend to be highly abstracted, at least in recent years. If anything there was more PC-NPC romance when we were all teenagers in highschool than currently, I recall one PC was very attached to the elven Guildmistress of the Wizards' Guild, Elfishna - when she died he yelled "Fishie! NOOO!!!"
My D&D campaign generally focuses on combat & politics, I'd not be averse to a romance plot if it came up but I wouldn't want to shoehorn it in, and I think some players definitely handle these things better than others - some posters here seem very comfortable with romance in RPGs, others have an "eew, cooties!" type reaction.
Shadowdancer
First Post
We recently had an interesting thing happen in our campaign. We finished up "Standing Stone." My character, a male elf, had started a relationship with Tanasha Lou, the farmer's "daughter." We left no one alive in the village except Tanasha and her "father." My character was concerned about her, and whether she would be able to survive after the PCs left. So he asked her if she wanted to go with him to Greyhawk, the PCs' home base. She said yes.
One of the other players, a woman, became upset with me. She said something along the lines of "We have our fun with them (our sexual conquests), and then we leave them behind. We don't take them with us."
We ended the last session with the PCs arriving in Greyhawk, with Tanasha tagging along. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time we play, especially if the female player mentioned above still has an objection to Tanasha being around.
One of the other players, a woman, became upset with me. She said something along the lines of "We have our fun with them (our sexual conquests), and then we leave them behind. We don't take them with us."
We ended the last session with the PCs arriving in Greyhawk, with Tanasha tagging along. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time we play, especially if the female player mentioned above still has an objection to Tanasha being around.
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
I had a romance-based plot in a recent (and short) Fading Suns campaign. For those who don't know it (and if not, why not? There's even an official d20 version out there, for the Prophet's sake!), Fading Suns is a science fantasy setting with liberal influences from Dune, the Dark Ages, the Cthulhu Mythos, and many other cool inspirations...
One of the PCs was Sir Thomas Hawkins, a noble of House Hawkwood and a Questing Knight in the service of the Emperor. For some past deeds, he had been awarded his own fief by the Emperor. However, his mother was worried that this fief would be returned to the Emperor, instead of his family, if he died without an heir. So she conspired to set him up with a suitable wife - and she asked his bodyguard (another PC) to make sure he could spend enough time with this girl.
And this plot succeeded beyond her wildest expectations - for our gallant knight was so smitten with her that he arranged for her chaperone to be distracted so that she could accompany him to the world's premier Sin City. To any observers, all of this looked a lot like an abduction and seduction of an innocent noblewoman, and he simply had to marry her to maintain everyone's reputation.
Not that he objected.
Of course, the wedding ceremony was interrupted by some barbarian raiders, but that's another story...
One of the PCs was Sir Thomas Hawkins, a noble of House Hawkwood and a Questing Knight in the service of the Emperor. For some past deeds, he had been awarded his own fief by the Emperor. However, his mother was worried that this fief would be returned to the Emperor, instead of his family, if he died without an heir. So she conspired to set him up with a suitable wife - and she asked his bodyguard (another PC) to make sure he could spend enough time with this girl.
And this plot succeeded beyond her wildest expectations - for our gallant knight was so smitten with her that he arranged for her chaperone to be distracted so that she could accompany him to the world's premier Sin City. To any observers, all of this looked a lot like an abduction and seduction of an innocent noblewoman, and he simply had to marry her to maintain everyone's reputation.
Not that he objected.
Of course, the wedding ceremony was interrupted by some barbarian raiders, but that's another story...
Thanks for the welcome! From the sounds of things, most of the romance happens between PCs and NPCs and it doesn't sound like it has caused to much trouble, or at least no horror stories anyone wanted to share... It also seems that the closer the players in the group are, the more likely romance situations work out. Seems like knowing the people is pretty important to it working out. 
Has anyone been had any experience, + or - with a group they didn't know well?
Has anyone been had any experience, + or - with a group they didn't know well?
dreaded_beast
First Post
I enjoy romance in the games I play, but only as background story.
It starts feeling weird when you are saying "kissing your woman fiercely" when the group is compsed of all males.
That being said, my character had a romance with an NPC that added much to the game. I just didn't want to get caught up in the "details". I prefer doing actions that show that there is an involvement, such as, jumping in harms way to save your romantic interest, giving them the last healing potion, paying attention to them when being addressed by someone else, etc.
I wouldn't want to have to roleplay being "intimate" though, heh.
It starts feeling weird when you are saying "kissing your woman fiercely" when the group is compsed of all males.
That being said, my character had a romance with an NPC that added much to the game. I just didn't want to get caught up in the "details". I prefer doing actions that show that there is an involvement, such as, jumping in harms way to save your romantic interest, giving them the last healing potion, paying attention to them when being addressed by someone else, etc.
I wouldn't want to have to roleplay being "intimate" though, heh.
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
Not in any of the games I have played in myself, but I used to sit in on another groups game where two of the PCs had a thing going on. They actually got pretty graphic in describing it too, and the fiance of the female 1/2 the twosome didn't really seem to care...
Of course...methinks there may have been some real life lovin' going on between the two folks playing the PC lovers too , unbeknownst to the girls fiance (he was a bit slow...). The male half was my boyfriend at the time and I knew about the RPG romance and the real life, and I didn't really care much about either the game or the real life.
Does that make me a bad person?
If I were to suddenly start lusting after one of my fellow PCs, in my groups, I think it would honestly just become more of a joke than a serious thing. That's just the way my groups are. It could be interesting but it would have to be within the context of a plotline that it fit to. If people are really into their characters personal lives in game, than by all means, it could be interesting. But such is not really the case in the games I've played in.
If it were, I doubt very much MojoGM would care. I can't really see why anyone would care about two PCs having a fling...that would be like if you were in a play where you had to play , say, Maria in West Side Story and your BF getting mad at the guy playing Tony. It's not real life.
~Sheri
Of course...methinks there may have been some real life lovin' going on between the two folks playing the PC lovers too , unbeknownst to the girls fiance (he was a bit slow...). The male half was my boyfriend at the time and I knew about the RPG romance and the real life, and I didn't really care much about either the game or the real life.
Does that make me a bad person?
If I were to suddenly start lusting after one of my fellow PCs, in my groups, I think it would honestly just become more of a joke than a serious thing. That's just the way my groups are. It could be interesting but it would have to be within the context of a plotline that it fit to. If people are really into their characters personal lives in game, than by all means, it could be interesting. But such is not really the case in the games I've played in.
If it were, I doubt very much MojoGM would care. I can't really see why anyone would care about two PCs having a fling...that would be like if you were in a play where you had to play , say, Maria in West Side Story and your BF getting mad at the guy playing Tony. It's not real life.
~Sheri
Emperor Valerian
First Post
In my campaign right now (my first as a DM) we actually have two NPC-PC relationships going. Its rather ironic, as both NPCs were initially intended as foils.
My first two players (both females), when they picked character classes, decided upon a fighter,and a bard respectively... so they had very little magical firepower (this was back when they weree 5th level). As a way to help, I threw in some NPCs to help... and being a DM that loves to give EVERYTHING backgrounds, I gave the NPCs backgrounds as well.. one was a young noble who was trained with the sword and had magic in his veins (fighter/sorcerer), while the other was his cleric tutor. My intention was to have the noble play a goofy, kid-like sidekick to them while steadily gaining magic to eventually give them a respectively spellcaster in terms of firepower. As my players liked roleplaying, I flipped a coin and decided he'd have a slight, teenage-type crush on the fighter in the party, to give them a chance to flesh out their characters.
Lo and behold, the fighter felt protective over this charge, and then she slowly became attracted to him. Didn't know this till several more sessions, and the roleplaying opportunities it gave her were rewarding (her character trying to decide whether to actually tell him, or not, etc.). About a month in game after they met, she ended up confessing her love to him (they're married now). After that, the roleplaying turned into her protectiveness of him, and his of her, which helped drive several plots.
Meanwhile, my roomate (a male) joined our campaign. To give him some experience before he jumped in, I ran a couple solo sessions for him with his rogue. He gave the character maxed out diplomacy stats and had an 18 charisma, and through some convoluted plans, ended up schmoozing a barmaid with five rolls all above 23 for various items, and assistance in screwing the barowner out of ale. I decided it'd be fun for me as a DM to have her start following him around (basically she was starstruck), and the two hit it off.
Once again, the roleplaying that came out of it was rewarding, as his character suddenly gained depth of opening up to her, letting go of being supremely overconfident and actually becoming human (as well has helping the player figure out a backhistory of his character). At present, these two characters are married, and expecting triplets.
In both cases, things turned out really well and the roleplaying rewards for the players, as well as me, were great. Both of the NPCs, which originally were meant to be either short term or background, ended up being regarded by the players as full equals, and greatly beloved, with personalities and traits (the barmaid has now spent a while studying wizardry under the tutelege of a powerful friend of the party, and now she's a wizard that can beat people over hte heads with beer mugs, for example). Everyone enjoys the sessions immensely when they're around... so much I restructured my campaign to include those two in more adventures.
It depends on your players. Some, like my players, can gain alot out of in character romance and NPCs that bounce off of them. Some campaigns, probably won't. The key is to know your players and their likes and dislikes before proceeding with things. That way, regardless of how they stand on the issue, you can make the campaign be one that they enjoy and have fun in.
My first two players (both females), when they picked character classes, decided upon a fighter,and a bard respectively... so they had very little magical firepower (this was back when they weree 5th level). As a way to help, I threw in some NPCs to help... and being a DM that loves to give EVERYTHING backgrounds, I gave the NPCs backgrounds as well.. one was a young noble who was trained with the sword and had magic in his veins (fighter/sorcerer), while the other was his cleric tutor. My intention was to have the noble play a goofy, kid-like sidekick to them while steadily gaining magic to eventually give them a respectively spellcaster in terms of firepower. As my players liked roleplaying, I flipped a coin and decided he'd have a slight, teenage-type crush on the fighter in the party, to give them a chance to flesh out their characters.
Lo and behold, the fighter felt protective over this charge, and then she slowly became attracted to him. Didn't know this till several more sessions, and the roleplaying opportunities it gave her were rewarding (her character trying to decide whether to actually tell him, or not, etc.). About a month in game after they met, she ended up confessing her love to him (they're married now). After that, the roleplaying turned into her protectiveness of him, and his of her, which helped drive several plots.
Meanwhile, my roomate (a male) joined our campaign. To give him some experience before he jumped in, I ran a couple solo sessions for him with his rogue. He gave the character maxed out diplomacy stats and had an 18 charisma, and through some convoluted plans, ended up schmoozing a barmaid with five rolls all above 23 for various items, and assistance in screwing the barowner out of ale. I decided it'd be fun for me as a DM to have her start following him around (basically she was starstruck), and the two hit it off.
Once again, the roleplaying that came out of it was rewarding, as his character suddenly gained depth of opening up to her, letting go of being supremely overconfident and actually becoming human (as well has helping the player figure out a backhistory of his character). At present, these two characters are married, and expecting triplets.
In both cases, things turned out really well and the roleplaying rewards for the players, as well as me, were great. Both of the NPCs, which originally were meant to be either short term or background, ended up being regarded by the players as full equals, and greatly beloved, with personalities and traits (the barmaid has now spent a while studying wizardry under the tutelege of a powerful friend of the party, and now she's a wizard that can beat people over hte heads with beer mugs, for example). Everyone enjoys the sessions immensely when they're around... so much I restructured my campaign to include those two in more adventures.
It depends on your players. Some, like my players, can gain alot out of in character romance and NPCs that bounce off of them. Some campaigns, probably won't. The key is to know your players and their likes and dislikes before proceeding with things. That way, regardless of how they stand on the issue, you can make the campaign be one that they enjoy and have fun in.
I think romance can add a lot to the game. I have always enjoyed it. I agree it shoud not take over the game but it can add depth to the role playing.
It can change how your PC reacts to things for example in a one game my sorcereress would try and help her love first before helping anyone else in the party because that made sense to her. But them that was true of my character and another character who were sisters. Things like romance and family attachments can really take the gane farther than we met in a tavern lets go kill something.
Romance has been in four games I have played in. In a Shadowrun game my character had a romance with another PC character we started the game with the relentionship. The player is a friend of mine so is his wife.
In another game DMed by his wife we decided to play married adventurers.
The maturity of the players make this work also we praticed the old fashion fade to black for the more steamy stuff.
It can change how your PC reacts to things for example in a one game my sorcereress would try and help her love first before helping anyone else in the party because that made sense to her. But them that was true of my character and another character who were sisters. Things like romance and family attachments can really take the gane farther than we met in a tavern lets go kill something.
Romance has been in four games I have played in. In a Shadowrun game my character had a romance with another PC character we started the game with the relentionship. The player is a friend of mine so is his wife.
In another game DMed by his wife we decided to play married adventurers.
The maturity of the players make this work also we praticed the old fashion fade to black for the more steamy stuff.
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