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I've had several games where the PCs had romantic interests. Why aren't you tastefully including them in your games OP?

>>92546191
Because romance for TTRPG players is rare.
>t. 30 year old wizard

>>92546214
How do you do it tastefully?

>>92546191
It's really gay to have the GM roleplay as the NPC your PC is trying to fuck.

>>92546191
kinda gay

>>92546191
TTRPGs are an experience shared with a bunch of sweaty nerds. My particular bunch of sweaty nerds is pretty great, but still, romance is not something I'd consider best enjoyed when shared with any bunch of sweaty nerds. Battles, triumphs, danger, intrigue and all kinds of adventure, on the other hand, are best experienced with bros.

I've had a few romantic arcs in my time. Notably

>My old D&D campaign, one of the PCs was a selkie the rest of the party rescued from an evil pirate captain. One other PC, upon rescuing her, gave her her cloak back, which meant they were technically married by selkie law, and this lead to the two flirting and eventually ending up together
>The party also rescued an NPC medusa girl(they had a habit of picking up strays) and she ended up developing a crush on one of the other PCs after he saved her life several times and they spent a lot of time together. He rejected her, claiming he didn't want to strike up a relationship.

In my current campaign, two of the PCs are a couple. Haven't done much with it though.

>>92546191
Because most TTRPGs are minmaxxing power fantasies for nerds. They don't really do much character development.
>>92546273
Unless you run your games online. I find that its much easier to do raunchy shit when you don't really know who's sitting on the other computer.

>>92546357
Yeah, if you find out Mike is a foot guy you have to think about that every time you look at him. Easier if you never have to actually look at him

>>92546372
Exactly, but I also find that it works in relation to other stuff as well. Its a much less sterile environment, because you can RP an asshole to your heart's content.

Its like what that old show Westworld said. People can more easily do stuff they want to do, and thus result in a better, 'real' experience, than if you gotta go to work with the guy who's avatar you sold off to elf slavers.

>>92546191
Because it can be very awkward to roleplay that out when you're playing with either a bunch of strangers or your pals. Proper use of romance in TTRPGs is going to require a good justification for it happening in the first place (ie, what does it add to the story?), and a very PG approach to the topic itself. We're all adults, obviously if two characters are in love they're probably boinking, but there's zero reason for it to be spoken out loud or have any attention called to it. Use love as a tool in your narrative toolbelt, don't turn every interaction with an attractive NPC into a game of ERP-chicken.

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>>92546191
Because TTRPGs are based. Everything is about romance: movies, books, music, anime. Give me a break, I want to argue about plate mail, maces and potatoes.

>>92546214
It's cringe to role play romance with another dude in front of other dudes. The stork delivers babies in my games.

>>92546505
Can you even roleplay romance without going into My Magical Realm?

>>92546191
>Romance is a common theme and plot element in fantasy
Is it? Are we counting, "And then Sam married Rosie Cotton" as romance? Or Conan picking up wenches? I'd say it's less common than in most other genres.
Besides, games are not books, movies, TV shows, radio plays, or puppet shows.

>>92546191
Because romance is fucking gay.

>>92546621
YA fantasy is all about romance, but mostly because it is YA.

>>92547017
This is why you can't get a date.

Because official adventures are written with children in mind.

>>92547030
No, I can't get a date because I don't go out so I don't meet new people, and there are no good photos of me so using dating apps does not work.

>>92547043
Dating apps are scams anyways. Go to places relevant to your interests and meet people. You'll feel better if you do.

>>92546191
Because nobody wants to put on their robe and wizard hat with the lads on Friday night.

>>92547085
Not much opportunity for that where I live in combination with how I am. But things have gotten better recently. It's not like I am using dating apps anyway.

>>92547100
Go to conventions. No joke. Might happen once a year, but I've made friendships that have lasted twenty years by going to one every year. Might cost a pretty penny, but so does going to the bar every weekend.

>>92546509
Yeah, you can. It just has to be long-distance, online games and not people you regularly interact with in the real world and probably wouldn't even meet.

Of course, it helps that I keep my /tg/ related hobbies strictly to myself, and indulge primarily online in them. If you're too used to the get in a room with some buds and go bust some dungeons, that'll be harder to adapt from.

>>92547109
I don't have any interests that have conventions, and I don't really want nerd friends.

>>92547213
You're on /tg/ not /r9k/ Eeyore.
Some real Chad fathers out there BBQing, pounding a few beers and then playing a war game.

>>92546191
You tell me, Nogameso Bumpfaggins

>>92546214
This. As a Dm who got most of my PCs married with children in a game that took over a year, this is a skill issue op.

>>92546214
FPBP
/thread

>>92546191
Because romance is based on intimacy, and intimacy is rarely a group thing.
I had a long campaign in which most of my players had romantic interests and spouses, but it's generally hard to make these aspects of the game meaningful and also avoid cringy situations.

>>92547814
fuck intimacy my heart cold

I used to run the best dnd5e erp friendly pbp server. True romance (neither detached cooming nor saccharine immature infatuation) was rare but was nice to see when it did happen. Some of the players even got together irl

>>92546191
Because a bunch of hairy dudes RPing romance with each other is a bit weird.

>>92546191
Why do you care how I play TRPGs, faggot?

>>92548330
My group is young and mixed gender, but it'd still be fucking uncomfortable to RP romance.
Fights and shenanigans are just more fun.
We did have romance in a single mini campaign, as an accident (a pc accidentally said something to an NPC that sounded romantic, we rolled with it). It turned out awful fast (and thankfully, it was very one sided).

>>92546191
Because it's lame to play pretend romance over a tabletop game

>>92546191
Do you really want to rp a romance with your, buddy across the table?
OP might actually be a legit faggot.

Most people that play RPGs are way too awkward and insecure to try.

To the faggots in this thread who think romance is lame in games, it's literally skill issue and get good.

>>92548790
>>92548801
>if you don't want to play imaginary grabass you are LE INSECURE!!!
God I hate theater kids.

>>92546191
>>92542937
I have 2 anecdotes:

>Running a game for a friend and a few first-timers
>A female player is of the "eternally horny" type
>Attempts seduction in every tavern and even sleeps with one of the PCs played by her irl "best friend"
>Amusing the 1st time
>Annoys the rest by 4th
>Always tries to push erotic descriptions
It became mostly tolerable once I incorporated it into humor and story:
>You explicitly described how you you run, somersault and land of the PCs dick?
>You failed acrobatics check so you land on the bed-frame- hurting your back and landing a kick on the guy's testicles. You both have long-lasting issues, respectively.
>Want to seduce the chad in the tavern? Yeah, you succeed.
>He takes you to his room, orders you to undress and ties you to the bed
>Turns out that's the guy you were chasing- he steals your stuff and escapes through the window so the rest of the party thinks you're still together

Other story was a decent player who's drow fell in love with Eilistraee. So after a kingdom-saving adventure in "her name" he managed to woo her and became her lover. We later continued with the same characters, so now the romance was a story and personal motivation.
Was not as cringy because the events/descriptions were rare and only went as far as "you embrace passionately as you both lay on a moon light beam until another night falls, you wake up on a patch of land in the center of the lake".

My conclusion: is tolerable in small doses, but it's better without. Goes smoother with a group of strangers, preferably adults (in mind more than body).

>>92548969
>Romance is grabass
Yeah, skill issue dork

>>92546214
Came here to post this. The only one of the PCs in my current campaign who isn’t already married is betrothed to an old flame, but hasn’t had the time to tie the knot between all the responsibilities he’s gained over the past several months. It’s really just a matter of if the GM is capable of running multiple believable characters with meaningfully different personalities.

>>92546191
tried it and the players make it not worth it.
>as a GM I try to introduce an abused but open druid to a character that has a soft spot for working women.
>payer proceeds to totally ignore them after they dont sex them immediately

>as a player the one time something happened between my character and another the DM never shut up about it. The dm is making me more uncomfortable then the character sex did.

its not worth it.

I'd like to roleplay some romance one day, but it would take a few girls at the table to make things not awkard, especially if it's gonna lean toward ERP. I'm just not playing pretend with a bunch of hairy dudes. I'm also not sure how others would react if I wanted to play a gay character for the sake of it.

>>92549320
I accept your concession, theater tranny

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How do you not? Romance is one of the primary motivators of a good story (note for retards and ESLs: one of, not only) and a good romance adds so much complexity and nuance to a game

>yesterday's game
>daimyo commands a shugenja not to reveal something to his ex-wife
>due to circumstances, his ex-wife is his ex-wife because she's forced to hide as a monk
>shugenja loves his ex-wife dearly, despite having an actual wife
>he goes and disobeys the daimyo's direct order in secret
>now the shugneja has to live with the guilt of having disobeyed his daimyo in the name of love

>a different game a couple of sessions ago
>party manages to talk down an insane death knight who was being manipulated by an outside source of evil
>she's actually a pretty lady, who feels awful about the things she did while mind-controlled by the necromancer
>she makes up her mind to atone for the damage she did and then destroy herself since she can't come to terms with being undead
>one of the party members, an elven lord decides to help her through it because it would be the proper and courtly thing to do
>she falls for him hard because he's showing her compassion, he's hitting her right buttons, and he's helping her come to terms with her new-found immortality (elves are also immortal so he's got context)
>he is now considering doing some alteration to her necromantic spell that animates her so that she's more like a valkyrie than a death knight
>I as the GM welcome this and actually work it into the campaign (since the goal there is to find the physical location of the afterlife)

And these are the two most recent ones. There's one where a sentai stops being suicidal and learn to laugh from his relationship, there's one where a crazy bitch gets less crazy and calms down after getting into one, there's a sea captain who is adventuring to impress her wife, there was a political marriage between a CEO of a megacorp and a foreign religious leader, and so many more.

>>92549671
Skill issue

>>92549673
These sound rad! I'd love to hear more about the seacaptain. Can I also ask about the gender distribution of your table? These stories sound a lot like ours, and my group is about 2/3rd women.

>>92551713

One woman, the rest are guys. We have rotating DMs.

The sea captain is our CATastrophe game and I'm not the player involved (this is actually the woman player), but best as I can tell:

>our captain SomeJapaneseLastName is a member of the aristocracy of the Bird Pun Empire
>she has a wife back in the capital
>during the first phase of the campaign when we were couriers, she would constantly send letters back home
>the characters played it off close to her chest but we do know that she's also a catgirl
>they're okay with keeping the relationship semi-open when a guy is particularly hot because of the CATastrophe gender ratio (9:1 girls to guys)
>later on she was a victim of her own success because once this particular mail run would've finished, she would've retired
>instead we got promoted to being Imperial Auditors so instead of retiring, we were sent to a different continent where we're still adventuring
>letters are less frequent due to the distance and non-functional radios, but she's now accumulating wealth and trophies to retire when she gets back, along with political favors to tell the Empress to fuck off

It's funny because two of the campaigns I'm currently in are very romance heavy - ESPECIALLY for my PC specifically - yet I still find this thread and all the proponents of it cringe as fuck.

>>92546191
Many of my players feel uncomfortable with it, same as sex. Also I do strive to give every character the same ammount of attention, so none of my players feel left out.

>>92552386
Thank you for the storytime! CATastrophe is not my cup of tea, but the captain herself sounds like a fun character.

>>92546191
I have a safe rule at my table: your characters can't be going balls deep in each other unless you're doing it in real life. It stops weird situations, not that I think my friends would. But it nips that completely.

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>>92546471

>>92546191
Let's be honest. Till the "drama club rejects" watched CR and Stranger Things and wanted to do their "fanfics" with their OCs. Most "Romance" was done with NPCs outside of RL couples. So you might have the classic "Bard" or a couple having a game/date night during down time.

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Romance in tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) can add depth, realism, and emotional investment to the storytelling experience. Many players enjoy exploring romantic relationships between their characters or between their characters and non-player characters (NPCs).

Including romance in TTRPGs can enhance character development by revealing more about their personalities, motivations, and vulnerabilities. It can also create memorable moments and contribute to the overall narrative arc of the game. However, it's essential to approach romance in TTRPGs with sensitivity and respect for all players involved.

Some groups may prefer to keep romance as a minor aspect of their games, while others may enjoy focusing more heavily on romantic storylines. Ultimately, whether romance belongs in TTRPGs depends on the preferences of the players and the tone and themes of the game being played. As long as everyone at the table is comfortable with it and it adds to the enjoyment of the game, romance can be a valuable element in TTRPG storytelling.

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>>92546191
Because morbidly obese two fat guys romancing each others characters is awkward and gay as fuck. And morbidly obese guy and girl romancing each others characters is awkward and takes the attention away from the rest of the adventure. Worst case scenario the dude is the DM and the whole session turns into the girls personal fanfiction.

Only way couples work in TTRPG is if they're already long married and the initial lust and affection is gone, they're more like bickering best friends on the same adventure.

>>92546191
TTRPG are about recreating the good old days where normal healthy behavior weren't considered "hate crimes" or "warcrimes" , whatever the fuck that means, no place for romance.

>>92557693
see >>92557628

>>92557724
Yeah but my players aren't gay, so I add depth through backstories of the NPCs, dungeons and races they are exterminating.

It's a man thing, you won't understand.

>>92557738
>It's a man thing, you won't understand
>he said, swallowing another mouthful of AIDS-infected jism

>>92557628
AI take

>>92558975
no

>>92546191
They're not. I just find it always silly when you usually have serious stakes, and it all taking a sideline because someone's character romance. Not always, but usually its badly implemented, and they stick out of the main quest like a unhammered nail.

>>92554741
>PCs develop fantastic chemistry
>players want to see them get together
>and so they lube up

>>92558975
Somebody keeps using chatGPT to draft responses to bumpfag threads. I don't know who it is but it's funny to see.

>>92546191
Because Romance is a young woman thing and so is kinda gay

>>92563942
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

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>>92546191
your answer was given, see
>>92546255
>>92546255
>>92546225
>>92546263
>>92546273
>>92546372
>>92546471
>>92546505
>>92546509
>>92547093
>>92547814
this thread should be over.

>>92546191
I'm not flirting with my friends at the table. Be gone you sick fujo woman

>>92546471
>>92546191

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT3D1Cu6g10

Theme of the type of romance I want in my game.

Some players are so retarded they don’t even want to play a game and would rather make the table spend 30+ mins witnessing their boring lifesim

>>92546191
Because the players are overwhelmingly male and the few female ones are just there to supervise their boyfriends/husbands.

>>92582513
Why do they need to supervise their boyfriends when they play TTRPGs? That seems like a pretty big red flag to me man.

>>92546191
It's awkward role-playing romance with your bros. It's even more awkward role-playing romance with women you're not in a relationship with. It's even more awkward to roleplay romance with women you are in a relationship with.

>>92549673
You are the best anon ITT

>>92546191
if you want to roleplay a romance, start a long distance relationship in a chatroom

I want to live
I want to give
I've been a miner
For a heart of gold
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
For a heart of gold

>>92588337
>this post is extremely low quality

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>>92546191
>>92561066
The Tome of Endless Romance just released. It does the needful kino and adds romance to dungeons and dragons.

>>92546191
It's cringe and typically very gay.

This is why I invite cute girls for 1v1 bonus exp sessions, especially if they miss some games.
FatUglyBastardbros our time is now.

>>92590928
>this post is advertising or begging

>>92546251
Turn the lights off, have a few candles maybe

>>92590928
Why does the woman look shocked like she just got NTRd

>>92590928
>tome of slop

>>92590928
>adds romance to dungeons and dragons.
hold your horses bucko, it is literally just a list of npcs and what kind of adventurer they want to bang, come on now.

>>92590928

The image is also AI generated

>>92546191
Because reading it in a novel its not weird and uncomfortable. Play-acting it out with your friends is weird and uncomfortable.

>>92592538
Wrong. Completely wrong.But let me guess. You also complain about "le theaterkids" ruining your games

>>92592758
No, they self select out when they hear I roll in the open and don't fudge dice, and run an unleveled sandbox world where the players decide which challenges to go after, and which hooks to follow upon and who to ally or oppose.

"Theatre kids" don't want an actual game.

>>92593619
I wouldn't wanna play with a boring GM either

>>92593619
Does your open world sandbox include things like a functional, responsive economy and political simulation? If not, you're just running a dungeon/hexcrawl and thus can be done by a computer.

>>92595545
Political simulation and factions and NPC vendettas and goals yes, economy, typically not, but I've been considering it for my next game. Usually its an urban faction he with lots of NPCs, not a dungeon / hexcrawl. As you say, if you're not doing something a computer can't easily handle (like NPC stuff), that could just be a videogame.

>>92595440
>I get bored an leave if my GM won't ERP with me. Why would I join a non ERP game?
Dunno. But I wouldn't want to ERP with you, so I'll play political faction games, and you can play RP sex games with someone else. Win/win.

>>92596531
What if part of the political stuff is ERP? Like my snake sorceress lady is going to use her feminine wiles to ensnare politicians in honey traps and use it to advance her snake cult?

>>92596626
Then I abstract that to a dice mechanic and don't act it out with you in detail, and you roll some dice to see if the enemy politician falls for your charms, and then we skip until after the romancing and the coitus, wherein you use their attachment to you to kill them in their sleep / slowly poison them / exact political favors / whatever.

>>92596626
>>92596671 Contd.
Which is to say, I would not be comfortable pretending to be seduced by you and voice acting the sex scenes where your sorceress lady ensnares the mayor into supporting the snake cult. So we skip the awkward shit the same way I skip over torture scenes and don't turn it into a torture minigame because that makes other people uncomfortable (I let someone do that 'I torture the prisoners for information' thing indepth once, and it made two of the other people really uncomfortable, though - of course they didn't say anything until after the session was over). That was much less awkward for me than pretending to be seduced by one of my players was, the one time I tried to play along with that. So 'torture for information' gets covered in session 0 to check with the group and make sure everyone is on the same page, and sex scenes being out gets covered before session 0 because it's no bueno for me and I'm the one running the game.

>>92596671
>>92596773

Okay. I would also be uncomfortable exacting out the details and do think that a fade to black is the best option. Just making sure we're on the same page. You're not as much of a cunt as you sounded like with your first post who only does pointless hex/dungeoncrawls with no rhyme or reason.

>>92546191
It's extremely, almost irritatingly, common, anon

because it amounts to romancing one of the bros, and no fucking thank you

it inevitably devolves into some variant of
>kissing my crush gives me infinite mana
which is cringe

>>92548452
>My group is young and mixed gender, but it'd still be fucking uncomfortable to RP romance.
People here are saying how gay it is to RP romance when you're playing with your bros, but doesn't it feel more weird to do it in a mixed gender group?

>>92603362
I'm the guy who nopes out of romance entirely. I've basically always had at least one female player in the group. I can't tell you if its less uncomfortable if its all guys.

>>92601834
100%, anon. 100%.

>>92600831
I didn't say dungeon crawls. I just said sandbox. You assumed npc-less dungeon / hex crawls instead of urban political faction sandbox, but you did that on your own.

I think the difference is you'd fade to black and skip the sex scene, and I'd fade to black to skip the flirting, romancing, lovey dovey PDA shit AND the sex scene.