[YA BoEF thread] Usefulness of BoEF in your campaign?

[Savage Wombat]

That's funny; I had a character in the 2nd ed Planescape game I ran who took the Gigolo kit.

 

[kenjib]

Some of the questions that have come up in my games.

Effects of spells on unborn children? Will, a child born under the effects of a polymorph spell change after birth or be effected by dispeal magic?
What are the chances of VD? If people really knew, they would not have sex!
What can I get from having sex with a hag?
So, how much does it cost for a night with a Succubus? Answer: your life.

Okay, I am sure others have had questions along the same lines, if BoEF can help answer I am for it. Otherwise it is juist a collectable.

I'm just curious as to why you need a book for these things. You can answer these questions very quickly on your own and there aren't really any balance considerations. For example:

1. Depends on the campaign world and your plot needs. I would most likely extend the spell to the child and allow it to be dispelled.
2. If you really want a random roll for this (you can also just wing it without a roll), just come up with a percentage depending on circumstances. 5%? 20% for a low class prostitute? Whatever. Just pick something and go with it. You're the DM!
3. Pick a disease from the DMG depending on how hard you want it to be to shrug off and change the descriptive effects to have sexual ramnifications.
4. You already answered it when you asked. This is just an issue of how you want the plot to go in the campaign. It's a story thing, not a rules thing.

Is the idea of winging it so imposing that we need someone to come along and tell us what kind of skill check to make to flirt?

So far, the only rule based thing I've heard tossed around that actually really needs rules expansion is tantric magic. As a side note, did anyone read the tantric magic example from Anthony Valterra? Granted it was just something he threw together and not reflective of the final rules, but imagine that same scenario where the players and DM are all replaced by a group of verile 13 year old boys. *shudder*

The advice portions might be useful, but I kind of think that if you need it, you probably won't handle those situations all that well advice or not...

 

[kenjib]

Re: Re: Re: [YA BoEF thread] Usefulness of BoEF in your campaign?

Good, though that doesn't really add to my faith in Valar.

Here is the quote:

1) That was the intention and BoVD is my model on alot of the things I am doing PR and marketing wise. Once again I am rethinking that strategy.

It remains to be determined whether or not he was one of the people who unsuccessfully pressured Monte Cook to rework the contents of the Book of Vile Darkness so as to be more graphic, since whoever did this was only referred to as "WotC". AV was the brand manager for D&D though.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Re: Re: Re: [YA BoEF thread] Usefulness of BoEF in your campaign?

Originally posted by Azul


I can imagine elves not caring about homosexuality but being shocked by S&M (well, except the drow I suppose).

I assume you are not thinking of the Tolkeinesque elves that most D&D is generally modelled on. Tolkein elves certainly would not approve.

I'm curious where you get this definitive a statement. What was ever said in a tolkein book to support such a comment? I find it hard to belive homosexuality was ever broached directly, so are you refering to some other sexual/relationship mores that were displayed?

Kahuna Burger

 

[Hand of Evil]

I'm just curious as to why you need a book for these things. You can answer these questions very quickly on your own and there aren't really any balance considerations.

I know and I did. I just am not sure that BoEF would be useful in any campaign without expanding and detailing material and issues such as the questions or those type of questions.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Good poll.
While I'm all for this book being published, I have no use for it myself.

Sexuality is a common theme in our current game (somebody's playing a prostitute-turned-assassin), but honestly we've never gotten stuck trying to figure out rules for such an... encounter. She just rolls a Profession: Prostitute check and we move on (Her husband is the DM. Some of us secretly think she "role-plays" such encounters with him in more detail later that night... ) But honestly, how much more than that do we really need?

We have combat encounters all the time. A good chunk of the core books has to do with combat. You don't really need a whole book devoted to the erotic side of D&D unless you have THAT many erotic encounters... which I find very unlikely.

OTOH, maybe I'll get the book just to look at the elf boobies (Like most everybody else who actually buys the thing, I'm thinking).

 

[Psion]

Chances of pregnancy, and (if you aren't too much into roleplaying this aspect) rules for attraction and compatability would be good... but this book certainly wasn't my starting point for considering that.

Even if this book does provide that, I don't need the elf pron baggage.

 

[kenjib]

I know and I did. I just am not sure that BoEF would be useful in any campaign without expanding and detailing material and issues such as the questions or those type of questions.

Ah, I see.

 

[carpedavid]

Fourthly, it would be a shame to see the max/min munchkins get hold of possible crunchy material in the book. The use of sexual and erotic material to beef a character up would set a new low in fantasy role-playing - My Charismatic Sorceress who has 4 levels in the Tantric Prestige class is pregnant meaning I get +3 to...
Please!!!

Just out of curiosity, why would this neccessarily set a new low? Sexual politics and power play a very large role in how people interact with each other in the real world, why not in a fantasy world? Even the example you give, of a pregnant spellcaster, could have merit of you were talking about a cleric of a fertility goddess instead of an arcane magic user.

IMC, one entire nation is ruled by the matriarchal priesthood of a fertility goddess - their customs and morals are both significantly different from more "traditional" societies. This could provide inspiration for the attitudes and powers of her priestesses.

Does it have the potential to be handled badly? Absolutely - but so does every other ruleset that is produced nowdays. Does it have the potential to be abused by min/maxers? Perhaps, but so do most rulesets.

I think the attitude that this book and/or ruleset will be abused by 13 year olds who don't understand the consequences of these situations in real life fails to recognize that most rulesets will be abused by 13 year olds who fail to understand consequences in real life - rulesets that involve sex or violence are equally succeptable in those hands.

I'm not 13, though. I DM a group whose median age is quickly approaching 30. We're all quite capable of handling the topic of sex in both a mature and immature manner, depending on how the mood strikes us. I'll reserve judgement on the utility of this supplement until I have a chance to preview it.

 

[Bagpuss]

No use but I might buy it for the pictures.