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Love

The document discusses ways to introduce love as a motivation into roleplaying games in a way that enhances enjoyment and avoids discomfort. It provides tips for gauging group maturity and tailoring romantic elements accordingly, screening ideas beforehand, and building relationships gradually over time.

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Chris
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77 views4 pages

Love

The document discusses ways to introduce love as a motivation into roleplaying games in a way that enhances enjoyment and avoids discomfort. It provides tips for gauging group maturity and tailoring romantic elements accordingly, screening ideas beforehand, and building relationships gradually over time.

Uploaded by

Chris
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Love in the Dungeon

by

Rich Staats

Copyright 1995 by Rich Staats

Ah love! Andrew Lloyd Webber warns us that "Love changes everything,


but not always for the
better." His adage is certainly true in the realm of roleplaying games.
Love can: spice up an encounter, add
motivation for a session, or bring the gaming table crashing down around the
gamemaster's ears. In this
article, we will examine some ways to spice up a Campaign using love as a
motivation and some guidelines
for love's introduction to avoid potentially embarassing situations and
maximize both the players' and the
gamemaster's enjoyment of the game. We will consider love from its broadest
definition and include items
ranging from pure lust (e.g. sexual orientation) to platonic (e.g. adoration).
There are many factors which
should be considered when determining if and when love should rear its idyllic
head in the Campaign; these
include: the composition of the playing group, the genre of the Campaign, and
the personality of the
gamemaster. [Warning: this article contains mature themes which may be
inappropriate for children.]

The most important factor for determining how and when to introduce
love into a Campaign is the
make-up of the playing group. The maturity level of the group is a driving
factor in determining the range of
ways love can manifest itself while the mixture of players and their
interpersonal relationships point to likely
Player Characters (PC's) for a romantic interlude. For example, I am
currently conducting roleplaying
sessions with my three children (ages 8, 6 and 6); it would be grossly
inappropriate to introduce notions of
carnal lust into our sessions. On the other hand, while GameMastering (GMing)
at MIT, I had no
compunctions about introducing a gamut of love related complications and
rewards into the Campaign
ranging from platonic relationships and love of the gods to same sex carnal
entanglements.

The interests and maturity level of the group determined what is


germane and interesting. In
session wrap-ups, I typically ask the players what they liked and what they
would like to see done
differently in future sessions. During one such wrap-up a player stated
"let's see something different to
spice things up; things are too much like a fairy tale. We want to see some
variation in your sexual
stereotypes!" The comment was half in jest, but it lead to the group's
interaction with a gay prince and
cross-dressing duchess. These became two of the group's staunchest allies,
and it sated the appetite of the
more politically correct members of the gaming group. ;-) (I have a
caution about blind insertion of outre
situtations into your Campaign later.)

No matter what emotional or age level the players are at, it is


possible to introduce love into the
Campaign to add diversity. But, the particular aspects of love should be
tailored to the gaming group. Even
the youngest players recognize some forms of love. Children can identify with
the love they feel towards
their parents, and the love the children feel toward their pets. Adventures
which involve kidnapping
children or rescuing parents are very effective at the early ages. A
potential reward involving love for
younger players could be gaining an unusual or interesting pet.

Older players can understand the deeper and less obvious forms of
love. Love toward their nation
or their love of God. The players may be able to identify with their own love
of their children. As the
players become more mature, you can introduce complications which embrace a
conflict between two valid
loves. The PC loves his spouse, but to save the town, he must let her die.
This can involve some great
moments of roleplaying.

Even with the most well grounded and mature groups, it is best to pre-
screen your love related
notions before springing them on the unsuspecting party. The good GM knows
his or her party members.
It works best for the group and the GM to avoid situations in the Campaign
which closely mirror incidents in
the players' lives. (Discard this advice at your own peril.) What would
happen if an uncaring GM decided
to have a whole scenario revolve around the death of a PC's father only to
find out that the player had lost a
parent in a grisly car wreck? The GM is well served to ask questions about
potentially embarassing or
incendiary issues before opening them up on the gaming table. I always asked
the players before I
introduced a love interest for them; almost always they agreed. In one
example though, a player confided
they had been raped by a person matching the general description of the
NPC! :-O (You can bet I
immediately backed off from that option!!!)
Love does not have to involve just NPC-PC interactions. Love
triangles solely involving NPCs can
provide great fodder for party interactions. Another excellent Campaign ploy
is to have the party act as
matchmakers for a pair of pining lovers. A truly enjoyable experience is to
have the party STOP a romance
involving unsuitable parties. :-) "Love is blind!"

When introducing love, try to bring it up in a way that is realistic


and sincere. It does not make
sense for the princess to immediately fall madly and deeply in love with the
random rogue (i.e. PC)
wandering half-bathed through her court. (She might fake such a love for a
variety of nefarious reasons.)
Likewise, the prince might confess his love to a PC in order to bed such a
person. Love takes time, and it is
even more rewarding for the players to see their characters building up a
nurturing, loving relationship over
an extended period. I have literally seen players in their late twenties jump
for joy at having an NPC return
their PCs' love; it was a cool moment at the gaming table. :-)

It is not only the players who need to be comfortable with the topics
raised. Ultimately it is the
GM's game, and the GM must be comfortable with the subject matter at hand. I
call this being consistent
with your own moral and political "comfort zones". If the subject matter is
offensive to you then reject it
and plan something else. There is no shame in this. You are the GM afterall.
It would be the height of
arrogance for a gaming
group to ask you to devote dozens of hours preparing a scenario you are not
easeful with. Likewise, make
sure that you are objective on the particular issue. If you've recently gone
through a devastating divorce, it
is probably just as well to avoid any major love involvements in the Campaign
for a bit.

Once you introduce a love interest, let the players take the lead on
it. One of my parties had a hard
time maintaining henchmen. The group got a very bad reputation, especially
with halflings who rarely
returned after signing on with the party. One particular halfling named
Myrtle did survive though due in
large part to the repeated intervention of one of the PCs, Tremir. Now,
Tremir was elvish, and the PC wanted
nothing to do with Myrtle which was all well in good until one of the other
PCs (playing Tremir's brother),
Granth, dropped a love potion into Myrtle's canteen while she and Tremir went
out on a recon. Tremir
continued to politely rebuff Myrtle, but Myrtle was nothing if not
persistent. Eventually, Tremir received a
wish and used it (with Myrtle's permission) to transform her into an elf.
Tremir and Myrtle ended up
founding a line which lasted over a millenia in Campaign years. It was
actually quite a touching session.

Happy gaming, and may Uleria smile on you and your players!

:-)

by Rich Staats

Return to Main Dr. Games Page <http://www.drgames.org/noframes.htm>

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