Wheel of Time fucking sucks

>games?
Anyways, yes. Usually not between players, though. A lot of people can't separate IC from OOC and then it gets weird or creepy or just blatant flirting at the table.
But obviously unless you're playing in a setting with nothing but rape as a form of conception, humans and elves and most playable races are going to have romance just because it's arguably the most widespread shared feeling between all kinds of people. Romance is also core to many fantasy stories anyway.
A quest where you're saving a damsel and they marry your party's Fighter or Paladin is so ingrained in fantasy stories that it's hard to avoid.

Plus it's cool if you're playing a game with long time skips. One party member's children could be that person's next characters, playing alongside the long lived races who were friends of their parents. I like that sort of thing. It's not really possible without romance, at least in a vague sense even if it's not directly roleplayed out.

>>97548666
you are a sodomite spammer

My setting involved having people around, who reproduce sexually. There are approximately ~80-ish million individuals currently engaging in activities, with another few million living underground.
If we assume that a negligible number of them are a product of bizzaro accidents, then my setting, by default, includes ~80-something million instances of romance having occured at some point.
So the answer is yes and also OP is a faggot.

File: 1740510588976472.webm (459 KB, 542x524)

459 KB WEBM

When appropriate.

Romantic attraction is not a single system. it’s an emergent state produced by neurochemistry, endocrine signaling, sensory processing, reward learning, and social cognition networks interacting over time.

Phase 1: Lust (Days - Months)

This initial stage is driven primarily by the endocrine system. It is less about "romance" and more about basic pheromonal and visual signalling to initiate the mating process.

Dominant:

>Testosterone / estrogen
>Hypothalamic activation

Goal: Sexual opportunity detection

Key Drivers: Testosterone and Estrogen. These steroids create the "craving" for sexual gratification. While often associated with gender, both hormones play a role in all humans to drive the initial search for a mate.

Phase 2: Romantic Attraction (Months ~2 Years)

Dominant:

>Dopamine
>Norepinephrine
>Low serotonin

Features:

>Euphoria
>Intrusive thinking
>Risk-taking for partner

This is "romantic love" in the classical sense. This stage mimics the brain activity of addiction.

Dopamine (The Reward): This is the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. It creates a feedback loop where thinking about the person provides a hit of euphoria, leading to obsessive focus and high energy.

Norepinephrine: This triggers the physiological symptoms: racing heart, sweaty palms, and "butterflies." It’s essentially a heightened state of alertness.

Serotonin (The Drop): Serotonin levels drop during early romance. This depletion is similar to levels found in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which explains why you can't stop thinking about your new partner.

Phase 3: Attachment (Years - Decades)

Dominant:

>Oxytocin
>Vasopressin
>Endogenous opioids

Features:

>Calm security
>Reduced novelty drive
>Stress buffering

Breakup or rejection activates:

>Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (same region as physical pain processing)
>Endogenous opioid withdrawal-like state

This is why heartbreak can cause:

>Appetite loss
>Sleep disruption
>Somatic pain sensations

File: romanticroleplay.jpg (704 KB, 1062x1062)

704 KB JPG

>>97548666
>digits
All right satan, here's my answer: yes but as a background element mostly paraphrased at best.

>>97548666
No, but sometimes players do. That is, I don't actively include, but if some player decides to go for it, then okay, it's fine.

>>97548726
Is randomly bringing up Wheel of Time when no one else is talking about it a habit of yours, or some weird conversation starter, or what are you doing, anon?

>>97548842
>soibeard soillennial with quirkchungus wife comic
Tracks

Wouldn't adventurers have trauma-bond romances and thus unstable? High-intensity environments make "normal" life feel boring or alien. This can lead to a relationship that only functions when the stakes are life-or-death. Most would likely be intense and volatile

>>97548925
Exactly, that's what makes it fun to spectate.

>>97548666
No because I’ve never experienced romance in my life.

But I do say that different species like elves dwarves humans and goblins don’t produce hybrid offspring so racism stat autism doesn’t bog me down.

So there’s a table joke that one’s own species is for procreation and everyone else is for recreation.

Occasionally I will have a character develop a crush on another PC or NPC because it gives them more "things to do". It adds depth by realigning their motivations in a way maybe they weren't prepared for, and I think it's fun to play thst sort of thing out.

I'm playing a character who is almost certainly on the road to being brutally rejected by a close friend in the near or far future and I'm kind of excited to see how that will effect them based on what else is happening at the time. I love playing characters who are really going through it.

>>97548773
From what videogame? Or is this web cartoon?

>>97548998
NTA, but The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince (or something like that). Very cute puzzle platformer that sorta feels like you're playing through a storybook. I recommend it.

>>97548998
the Liar Princess and the Blind Prince

File: Human Champion Fighter.jpg (25 KB, 522x587)

25 KB JPG

Romance is for gay fags and it gets in the way of exploration and adventure.

>>97548726
>>97548867
I got the reference.

>>97548666
Yes, but only women's romance when playing with men and men's romance when playing with women.

>>97548867
WoT is a western Iseakai harem story.
The op image shows the male romance ideal as a harem.
It makes sense.
Also WoT does suck.

File: IMG_3367.jpg (738 KB, 2400x1350)

738 KB JPG

>>97549134
>>97549135
Big, big thank you.

File: TheCruelKingAndTheGreatHero.jpg (420 KB, 1600x800)

420 KB JPG

>>97549252
there's also a second game, that's more of a hero's journey

>>97548666
There is a very specific group of grown ass men who want to larp as horny teenage girls and I guarantee you it's not the type of people anyone wants to associate with

>>97548785
Thanks Rick.

>>97548666
>romance
Nah, I play games so I can forget how much of a sack of shit I am, not to continue reminding myself of it.

>>97548666
Why not but I only have one player who's down in any way

The closest is that in one pulp adventure game my character had a wife who was managing his estate while he was on his constantly prolonging "one last adventure", and he had to write soothing letters and make up excuses to keep money and equipment shipments coming.

>>97548666
hail satan
I have yet to see it done in a tabletop setting and not be totally awkward. I think it's one of those things that's very hard to do in tabletop, like actual horror .

>>97548666
that's literally just Xenoblade 2???

>>97548925
>High-intensity environments make "normal" life feel boring or alien
Realist cope that has no bearing on the setting

>>97548666
When I GM, I'm upfront in saying I won't do GM-PC romance but if groups of players are comfortable with PC-PC I'll weave that in. It's yet to happen.
The table I play at however has tried GM-PC romance in exactly one session and it was awkward enough that it never happened again.

My character is an Incel King

No, because girls are yucky and have cooties. My players just want to explore dungeons and kill monsters and recover treasures. Romance would make it gay. So don't!

I like how OP is asking about settings not games.

I mean, even if you played the most purist COC scenarioes, hard to think there is no romance in big octopus world, no?

>>97548925
This

I work an irl dangerous job (my job has a live death tracker hosted by FEMA) which is known to produce trauma bonded relationships, not just in the romantic sense either, coworkers in my field tend to become quick irl friends for life. We are actively advised against forming romantic relationships with our coworkers because not only would it tank morale if we were to break up, if I’m expecting someone to be watching my back, but something happens involving their gf/bf/husband/wife somewhere else, how can I trust that they’re gonna remain level headed enough to keep watching my back?

>>97548666
>in your game's setting
It would be kind of alien if romance didn't exist in a setting, don't you think OP?

>>97548785
Got a sauce on that?

>>97548666
I would not know how to write romance given that I'm a 32 years old kissless virgin

Clearly a higher love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9olaIio3l8

>>97548666
Of course, I love nothing more than looking into my fat neckbeard friend's eyes from across the soda-sticky gaming table cluttered with minis and dice, putting on a falsetto and pretending to be a fair half-elf maiden smitten by the charm of his level 7 gnome wizard to an audience of our closest friends as they look on enraptured by the passion of the love story unfolding between our two characters. If he rolls a nat 20 maybe I'll let him fuck my ass while we're at it.

>>97548916
>you don't want to roleplay kissing and fucking with your bros instead of killing goblins in cursed ruins? what are you, some kinda soillennial quirkchungus?

>>97553503
Exactly.

>>97553503
Why not both?

>>97553503
if you dont bend your homie over the table and fuck his ass while you play youre a coward

File: vampie vampire hunter.jpg (685 KB, 1920x2610)

685 KB JPG

>>97548666
In the setting? Yeah, people have to get married and have relationships and shit.

In the game? Sometimes. Among players or NPCs, I'll let them do what they want. I don't play out sex scenes, but the players are free to try and flirt with whoever they want (unless they want to flirt with another player who isn't okay with it).

>>97548666
In the background, sure, but not in games. There's no appeal for me in getting romantic with my friends. We're all men and have our own spouses.

>>97548773
>hand holding
anon what the fuck this is a blue board!

File: 1769740992184934.png (1.33 MB, 2310x1997)

1.33 MB PNG

>>97556970
How else do you expect her to guide him around?

>>97550995
Beyond the potential discomfort, romance can run into the "Thief stealths ahead/Decker goes online" problem. Something that's very involving for one player, the rest of the table gets to watch. And I say this as a Pendragon GM (where Romance is literally built into the rules) who occasionally gets the urge to break free of the 'roll on the chart' straitjacket. That might not be satisfying, but it at least moves game night ahead for everyone.

>>97548666
>harem
>romance
it's hard enough to love 1 woman, don't try and pretend it's possible to love multiple

File: 1770045040693319.jpg (158 KB, 409x339)

158 KB JPG

>>97548666
>women's smutslop
>bad
>men's smutslop
>good
Neither of those are romance; you just have a porn addiction.

>>97559192
The fact that the picture didn't frame any of the two as bad or good (it's just a funny observation) and yet you though that it was made to represent the first frame as "bad" and the second as "good" tells more about your character than anything else.

>>97549206
>WoT is a western Iseakai harem story.
WoT isn't isekai
>inb4 it's native isekai
Still not a thing

>>97558929
A leash like a civilized pet owner.

>>97559073
>it's hard enough to love 1 woman, don't try and pretend it's possible to love multiple
That's why you get the women to love each other, too. Makes it easier. And hotter.

Anyway, polycules aren't that unheard of anymore. Sounds like you just have a skill issue.

>>97559427
It's not like you refused his point anon. Personally i subscribe the notion that there's a finite amount of investment a single individual can manage, and people with LOTS of energy in this regard actually exist (and by so capable in handling multiple partners at once) but the investment distribution will always be unequal and always shifting (over time). The truth is that the vast majority of people can only focus emotionally (in a romantic mean) on 1-2 people tops at time, for the most part current year "poly" relationships are just socially accepted adultery with extra steps.
t. I have anecdotal experience plus it came to me in a dream

File: ad.gif (312 KB, 220x290)

312 KB GIF

>>97559300
>uum achually framing one as fetishizing murder and the other as just being representative of boundless love doesn't hold any value judgement
You are such a monumental idiot that it's unreal.
Stop your stuttered attempts at conversation and go change out of your cum-stained underwear you subnormal little dweeb, because God knows that you're nowhere near intelligent enough to pull of whatever you're trying.

>>97549206
Bro fucking Narnia is right there. Apparently Star Wars is fucking isekai now. Dumb fuck

>>97548666
Demonic propaganda to fool men into thinking that having multiple women around them is paradise.

>>97549140
Exploration and adventure are romance, you incel. Quite literally, the two most important aspects of romanticism.

>>97548773
This

File: 600full-vizzini.jpg (23 KB, 600x400)

23 KB JPG

>>97560514
>fetishizing murder
I said that you were showing your character previously but now you're just going all-out with your power level here.

>>97548666
>Male romance is loving women and benevolence and never ever ever ever liking murderous women
This is a degree of delusion I didn't think possible

>>97548666
No, that's gay and retarded.
Games should be about murdering fantastical manimals and stealing their pulsating rubies.
When I DM I punish attempting to get kissy with my alter-egoes.
Hexes, imprisonment, plausibly delayed poisoning incidents, etc.
I'm not here to ERP with my homies, I'm here to trick them into opening a magic box full of rape and fire, then challenge you to put it back in.
If I'm running sexy you should know it's just the lantern on an anglerfish.

File: 1571984553727.jpg (61 KB, 724x576)

61 KB JPG

>>97563101
What, no marrying a princess after killing a dragon?

Current campaign has:
>noble PC's NPC sister being married off to another noble despite not really loving him (typical)
>that same noble family now wants to marry their eldest daughter to the PC
Nothing romantic really, just her taking an interest in the PC with normal conversation. If he wants to encourage the union, he can keep getting to know her off-camera, unless she is going to say something plot-relevant.

>>97559415
How all women would transport their toys in an ideal world.

>>97563134
I am a middle-aged man with food in my beard, a receding hairline, and several black teeth.
And statistically, so are you, whatever your therapist says.

>>97563926
Just saying, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of incentive for killing dragons in your game.

>>97563926
Wash yourself.

File: Princess.jpg (1.48 MB, 2459x3500)

1.48 MB JPG

>>97563134
>marrying a princess
Based

>>97559413
World of Tanks added a harem mechanic? Not sure how that ties in with armored combat but sounds cool I guess

>>97564316
lmao

>>97563926
>Admits to having bad hygiene habits
Crazy work

>>97548666
Off screen is the best way to handle romance imho. Play out the initial meeting between the PC and the NPC and then everything else happens off screen unless its significant. Whenever the party is in the town, let the player know they can choose to go off and find their romance while the rest of the party rests and goes shopping for supplies. Let them know that if they do they wont be able to get as good of rest as the other characters, but perhaps give them some sort of buff if they choose to go anyways, bonus points for tying the specific buff into the NPCs character. Say the PC is crushing on a healer, give them some temporary hit points or an extra health potion. PC crushing on a priestess? They come back to the party with a scroll of turn undead

>>97564344
I like to vividly describe sex scenes.

>>97564359
If you're not pulling your cock out and jizzing all over the table out at least once a session your a bad GM

>>97564372
Based and true

>>97560688
>Apparently Star Wars is fucking isekai now
Always has been. Traveling to other planets always counted as isekai and there's been numerous prominent uncontroversial examples from A Princess of Mars to The Vision of Escaflowne to reverse isekai like Urusei Yatsura.

It's just not really focused on for certain series.

>>97563146
Why double dip like that?

>Mind breaks girls into joining a harem
>Hypnotizes chicks to get their way with them
>Reincarnates, keeps adult mind and memories, grooms teens into sex
>Does absolutely nothing and still has power and girls want his cock
>Sometimes all of the above and it's still seen as a hero.

I'd say we're even.

>>97559555
I'd say a somewhat mitigating factor is different people also have different demands for investment from their partners, creating an effective affection economy based on balancing the polycule's supply and demand.

I do still think 95% of the time the polycule is a cope or heading for an inevitable catastrophic collapse, and I never wanna get involved in that mess myself.

>>97548726
It has some ok lezdom moments, but otherwise I don't care for it.

>>97562603
The level of zero.

>>97562603
The murderous woman is part of the harem, she gets converted by the power of dicking love

>>97548842
>This

>>97564583
to strengthen the alliance

>>97559192
That's all most men are going to get going forward. Let them enjoy it.

>>97548666
We play games.

>>97564316
yeah the Girls und Panzer crossover got pretty out of hand

>>97569933
Is there historical precedence?

>>97559427
>polycules
Don't all of those end in abuse, drama, and child exploitation?

>>97572479
The 1 guy and two women configuration can work out if the guy is the primary breadwinner and at least one of the women has a kid for the two of them to keep busy taking care of while they guy works. Its basically a historical regularity except that the guy is boning both of the women instead of one of them being the wife's mom.
But the modern "three people who fuck each other have orbiters they sometimes sleep with" type always collapses.

>>97548666
Of course I do, Satan. I run and play a variety of games with my Discord friends where, among the more conventional aspects of TTRPGs, we engage in vigorous goon-sessions where our characters are vividly described as having sex.

>>97570643
I genuinely don't know. The PC's noble family married their youngest daughter to the other family's eldest son (the heir) and now the 3rd son of the PC's noble family (i.e. the PC) might be married to one of the daughters of the other noble family. It's mostly just to strengthen the ties between them, I think. There are five houses in total and one might be basically annihilated soon so it would make sense.

>>97565684
>I never wanna get involved in that mess myself.
have considered larping to get more consistent games

>>97572518
>[polygamy but with gay ass modernist titles tacked on for no reason] works!
>but [the gay ass modernism that is trying to shuffle in under the umbrella it just attached polygamy to] always collapses!
Funny how that works

>>97548666
All of us have fucked the DM.
And because I, both ic and ooc have problems with emotions, not only have I fucked the DM, I have full blown romance thrown to my character's direction.
By different femnpcs.
It's lovely.

>>97559413
Native Iseakai is a thing. Cry more.

>>97548666
No there's no romance in my setting, everyone is assigned a co-reproduction unit and no one ever develops feelings for them.

File: 1771499253370454.jpg (1.59 MB, 2877x5000)

1.59 MB JPG

>>97548666
Yes, but I use romance as a spur, not a reward.
The most straightforward way to do it is to introduce competition. If there's a hot girl (say some sexy knight or sorceress) make it clear that the NPCs want her too. If the PC does not dedicate effort to the romance (sacrificing time, treasure and other opportunities) he'll get her, and they'll hook up, leaving the PC to lament what may have been.
Also, emphasize that some beautiful, powerful women have their own lives and their own desires. The hot girl is not going to sit there and wait for the PC to romance her, he might get only one shot to start up a relationship. If he doesn't go for it, she'll pick someone else and he's shut out.
Also, ensure that there's ferocious competition (i.e. stakes). Women choose the best men - Whenever there's an objective, emphasize that another NPC is also trying to get there first.
Sword tournament? The girl likes the winner.
Public speaking? If you fuck up she gets the ick.
And obviously whoever gets her is the better man.

File: choi-tae-hyun-knight.jpg (1.32 MB, 1920x2560)

1.32 MB JPG

>>97586086
Finally, consider the nature of antagonists and NPCs. Point out how tall and strong and handsome the men are, how virile and sexual. How every interaction feels charged, because when they're near a girl they're thinking of fucking her. They wanna get BALLS-DEEP in that.
Remember that most of your players are probably not very confident individuals. Make them compete against Chad. Make them fear that if a male NPC is ever left alone with a girl, she'll succumb to his charms.
When the party meets an NPC Elven swordsman dude, don't just go "Oh he's pretty cool." Make the cute squire they're traveling with blush, bite her lip and go "Wow he's so cool."
Channel the seething sexual frustration of your college days, it should all be coming back.
Make your PCs fear having to watch a girl kiss someone they hate and LOVE IT, while they can't say anything because it'd make them seem petty and small-minded.
Point out that other characters are having sex. Never be explicit, but state that there are sex-havers and non-sex havers, and the non-sex-havers are losers.
Really hammer on this. Make the players feel that they NEED to get a love interest or they'll be inadequate or incomplete.
The sex itself is just a fade-to-black, and is unimportant. It's the emotions that you can arouse in your players that they care about.

>>97586086
>>97586091
I've seen a post EXACTLY like this before.

>>97584225
Sounds like your whole discord chat has trouble with boundaries, and you should probably be banned from the internet.
I bet your porn history is something else.

Also, you glossed over the sexes of the actual people involved, so I can only conclude you are all a bunch of men with our without AGP.

Appalling, really.

>>97564271
Wash me, bitch.

>>97586257
most of what you see here is a repost, either verbatim or paraphrasing

>>97555839
what if he bends me over and fucks my ass
is that ok

>>97586086
>>97586091
Man that's fucking terrible
Not even joking

>>97586086
>>97586091
I don't believe for a second this person has ever actually played or DMed a game, let alone using the suggested methodology, but I will concede that the concept of someone doing so is REALLY fucking funny.

File: eleanor (1).jpg (45 KB, 478x691)

45 KB JPG

>>97586408
I have actually done this, and it makes for a very amusing dynamic. It's great with character motivations. Let me give you two examples.
In one early dungeon-crawl, the PCs were actually part of a larger expedition with a representative from their employer along for the ride.
An NPC rogue went - "Hey, let's have a gentleman's wager. The guy who kills the most orcs gets to date the (NPC) sorceress."
The sorceress goes like "...Fine, I'll allow that", and she gets more and more excited as both the rogue and the PC started killing orcs. The PC won, but narrowly, after expending a lot of resources, and he got the date. This genuinely motivated him, and the sorceress / guild factor remained relevant later.
For a Wrath of the Righteous campaign, one PC left Arueshalae in a church to gradually heal because he didn't want to work through her redemption mechanics. When she told him that she was falling for a nobleman who regularly visited the church and was nice to her all the time, the PC immediately decided "Hey, actually we do need you to come along on our adventures after all!" and hastily made sure she was never out of his sight.

>>97586693
"I can't let her roam too far or I'll get cucked" is definitely an interesting basis for a relationship lol

>>97586086
>>97586091
>>97586408
Honestly this shit just sounds really exhausting in the non-fun way
Sure Bioware "We'll bang okay" romances are awful, like BGIII making everyone a gay slut, but this is arguably worse because it makes me hate everyone involved.

>>97586091
>Make players feel like they NEED to get a love interest
Do you like... punish them if they don't go along with it?
>"People make fun of your character for not having sex or getting a girlfriend."
>"Okay, cool."
>"...The sexy elf NPC who seemed really into your character last session seems really into this new NPC I just introduced."
>"...Okay?"
>"...Well, he obviously wants to fuck her. You just gonna accept that?"
>"...I don't care? This is kinda getting in the way of the plot."

>>97587276
Absolutely not. That's the whole point; If a player doesn't want to engage, it's no problem. I'm perfectly happy playing a conventional game.
The thing is, players DO want to engage with this kind of thing. That's why we even have these threads and mountains of articles.
I have my pride, I refuse to pander. This is an RPG and RPGs are about overcoming challenges in interesting ways. If a player wants this, it'll be a mechanical challenge.
If he's not interested, it takes a lot of stress off me to only worry about the search for the Rod of Seven Parts and the dungeon.
I'm not doing this to deliberately antagonize people, it's all in good fun.

>>97587276
Plot? You mean game?

>>97587324
Not that guy, but that actually sounds very fair.

>>97587334
You know what I mean fuckstick

>>97586086
>>97586091
>here's how I would punish people for choosing to spend time with me if anyone would

>>97588579
He doesn't actually play games, he just imagines scenarios where he does. It's next level cuckoldry, I don't expect you to understand

File: 1731654287808675.jpg (110 KB, 662x900)

110 KB JPG

>>97548666
I have and sparingly, so it was pretty successful. A lot of subjects are best used in small ways. It deepens their impact. I had a succubi that looked like this fall for a bard in the party and kidnapped him once. The party got very irrate because he was their face ofc. They rescued him and tried to kill her but failed, again and again. She became a recurring NPC that they loved to hate. It made them very paranoid to the point that every perceived plot point just had to involve her, in their minds. Sometimes, they were right, sometimes, they weren't but it was super fun to watch them jump through hoops every time something even remotely bad happened. That was a nine year long game that had an actual successful conclusion. Pic was actually the cover to a Wizard magazine that I had used as a visual aid and when I pulled it out the first time to show the bard (because he wasn't buying that he could actually be seduced) his eyebrows raised and he was silent for a moment and then said "Yep. That would do it". Lol. He was an older player and an absolutely joy to game with.

>>97587714
Say what you mean or don't speak. Retard.

>>97587324
But what if like, the player just wants a romance without all the drama?

>>97588926
Again, this is an RPG. If you want something, you gotta work for it. Look at Pendragon, romance IS all about the drama. It's the whole point, unless you just want a standard-issue wife to have standard-issue kids with.
If you want a really cool magic sword, you'd have to work for it. So if you want your imaginary NPC girlfriend, it stands to reason you gotta work for her too.
I ain't going to ERP with a player, so the whole point of this is bragging rights. The drama *is* the point.

>>97548842
I like the implication that the woman also plays DnD and could clearly be talking about a scenario where he plays with either her or other players in her circles to do that romance, but instead he immediately makes it all about his current group to brag about how none of them would be receptive to such roleplay as a cheap gotcha instead of merely saying "You know, my current group wouldn't, but maybe in a future campaign with someone else".

>>97548666
My party will
>Fuck
>Rob
>Try to convince they did not rob
>Abuse and take advantage of
>Murder in an autistic meltdown spurned by her reaction to any of the above 4 points

Any mildly attractive woman I throw at them before they'd start a reaction.

And I love them for it. But I only put in women rarely because of this, we usually don't have time to mess around like that, so my games all npcs are 85% men.

>>97548666
Yes, but in the abstract narration way. You can explain how you plan to engage in some courtly romance with the noble woman, and you'll get a run down of her reaction based on the rolls. Maybe they'll say a line or two.
I keep in character dialog short, sweet, and meaningful. When I put on a funny voice, the players know someone important is talking.

>>97548726
Agreed. Every male character is a moron and every female character is an insufferable shrew. Though I guess Mat is alright after the first couple books.

>>97588941
Not all drama is universally welcomed. If the DM makes it a huge headache by having all the participants act like over emotional pricks that make me feel like I’m waking on eggshells, that’s the kind of drama that just makes me not want to deal with that DM. Those kind of personalities are draining enough irl, never mind games of pretend.

>>97548842
This explains the issue as transparently and directly as it could possibly be explained.
11/10: show this to womyn every time they ask the stupid question.

File: rllynigga.png (1.14 MB, 1362x915)

1.14 MB PNG

>>97586717
>someone who's not committed to you, who you don't even want to spend time with, having feelings for someone else is "getting cucked"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JJfJgyHYwU
Has your character ever gotten a broken heart?

>>97548867
>Is randomly bringing up Wheel of Time when no one else is talking about it a habit of yours, or some weird conversation starter, or what are you doing, anon?

Reminds me of The Dark Tower.

Newfags won't get this.

>>97548666
No, I browse /tg/. My understanding of romance is as shallow as a puddle. Plus it seems really awkward.

File: G4Yf36sacAAzIEH.jpg (290 KB, 2048x1178)

290 KB JPG

>>97548666
I cant tell if this proves the rule or not

>>97607221
he means if you just want to settle down with a chick, he's not going to challenge you if you pick some pretty peasant girl with big milkers.

but if you want the super hot sorceress, the spunky cute squire, or other dream waifu then by god, you're gonna do some questing for her.

>>97548666

I play out mostly in historical horror. I guess a good deal of shit happens to humans when they're not actively being pursued by eldritch horrors, so, romance as well, sure.

File: 6970-12-971x800.jpg (279 KB, 971x800)

279 KB JPG

>Party hired to dispose of some brigands
>When they're about to depart young lady intercepts and begs them to spare one boy from the gang, explaining he was forced to join and never harmed anyone
>When push comes to shove, the boy plinks them with a slingshot and promptly surrenders when yelled at (at which point 2/3rd of the other bandits are already dead)
>Gets used as a packmule to haul more loot back to town
>Gets used as witness/piece of evidence to confirm mission success
>Then they remember why they've spared him in the first place
>Fetch him back to the young lady
>Much gratitude, some additional rewards, boy getting scolded and put on "home arrest".
>They just assume it's her younger brother.
>They've rolled well enough tp know she wasn't lying about him being innocent and press-ganged against his will. But not well enough to notice she blushes when talking about him.
>One of them even tried to hit on her, got rebuffed that she already has special someone, and didn't connect the dots.
I wasn't trying to be subtle about it, but I didn't explicitly spell it out either.

>>97548842
>pic
That's weird. Author should touch grass.

>>97625872
For what, showing how things are? ERPing is weird shit and needs selected people to be executed. Anecdotal but for example a gm friemd of mine got into extreme details with a (lesbian) sex scene between one pc and an npc, at which another player plainly snapped saying it was turning fucking weird and disgusting (imagine two pudgy guys enacting girls masturbating eachother). You do you but this shit doesn't fly in the average table.

>>97621107
this

>>97584225
>All of us have fucked the DM.
In game, right?

File: 1684376471755159.jpg (223 KB, 1056x781)

223 KB JPG

>>97548666
Yes.
There is WAY too much of a romantic/sexual fantasy aspect in traditional fantasy fiction to not include it to some extent.

It's a hell of a motivator for all sorts of things to go down.
A Romance is basically a free GM worldbuilding tool to start shit.
You don't need romance to make coherent sense (arguably it's better when it doesn't), it's a reasonable motivation for almost any action under the sun, and no one questions that the root of the chain of events starts with two people catching feelings because it's fucking kino.

>>97586086
>>97586091
As outrageously funny as this is to imagine being used in a game... if your players start getting horny at the table and chasing after love over gold, it's not terrible advice.

>The players want to hunt pussy more than monsters.
>The party quest is now about hunting pussy.
>This will come with challenges and difficulties that will absolutely test the party. Straight Charisma checks to talk her into bed don't work alone, it needs to be as part of a sequence of events to get her interested.
>Success is not guaranteed, and you may well lose to an NPC more often than not.

>>97632957
Based take

>>97621810
that's a penis.gif

File: 1771110109188497.jpg (177 KB, 1116x805)

177 KB JPG

If you're not marrying at least one savage creature woman in a campaign you're wasting your time regardless of what else you accomplish

>>97634407
Thank goodness imagine if it was a woman.

File: boobies.png (1.27 MB, 1415x790)

1.27 MB PNG

>>97636048
Yes, Imagine what kind of vile sorcery the female could have conducted on hatemonger.
the female is designed to tempt psychowarriors from the path of HATE with their boobies.
stick to the hatemarch brother.

>>97633002
I mean gold is dirt fucking cheap
You get absolutely absurd amounts of gold at higher levels, everyone knows that

File: Wizardess.jpg (1.2 MB, 2638x3500)

1.2 MB JPG

Would your character romance an introverted, intellectual, perfectionist wizard girl?

>>97650226
There's so many way to drain their coffers it's not even funny

>>97650234
My grey elf bladesinger, sure. My half-ogre barbarian, oh no, no, no. What he would do no one in their right mind would call romance

>>97650234
>intelligent
>girl

>>97548726
Yes it does lol it's crazy to me the audacity of Jordan to make half the pov characters women and write them all identically and terribly

Also relevant reaction too bad newfags don't get it

>>97587276
>Do you like... punish them if they don't go along with it?
You could have a god come to their camp and shit on them for being incels, like BG3

File: Izutsumi glasses shop.png (332 KB, 1012x1080)

332 KB PNG

>>97650268
Sir, we're playing make-believe.

>>97548666
I only ever included romance in text campaigns.
The wall avoids it from being cringe.

File: 06a1ded24634965abdf7f0ec0(...).jpg (483 KB, 690x1300)

483 KB JPG

>>97633002
You know, our party had a funny romance. We picked up a hot but completely useless NPC who appeared to be a noblewoman in disguise, she was utterly useless in a fight but really hot and would cower behind everyone else.
Also, the sorcerer started waking up missing spell slots, so we thought she was some kind of demonic infiltrator.
It turned out she was actually a giant spider. Like a fucking enormous spider who had learned how to transform into a human, but she needed spell energy to stay in her hot form.
So she went from a liability to a really useful companion, at long as the spellcasters fed her junkie-like addiction to magic.

>>97655074
How was she useful, exactly? Did she steal enemy casters spell slots?

>>97655079
In her true form she was a fucking CR8 Huge Monstrous Spider.

>>97655105
Oh, gotcha

>>97655074
Ahh, the ol' Arachnae trick, a classic.
Glad the DM didn't cheap you out by saying she was only interested in being a dirtbag and didn't want to do a fair trade for her services.

File: 1690118936863723.jpg (35 KB, 700x700)

35 KB JPG

>>97560731
It's just japanese VNs, light novels and video games, which incels and third worlders have latched onto. For some reason, japs and third worlders yearn for harems.

File: 1596154012949.png (556 KB, 600x820)

556 KB PNG

>>97548666
Trashy thread meant to bait responses, but I guess I'll take the bait because it's something I want to talk about.

Yes, I allow romances in my games, and most of my players are reasonable enough to not force full on ERPing. Most of the time, the sex is just a brief description or implied. One time, the romantic partner was actually important to one of the characters and the overall "plot", as it was, of the campaign.

However, one of my players ACTUALLY fell in love with one of the npcs I created and it made me very uncomfortable. I won't get into specifics because I know he browses this board and he'll suss me out. But god damn, he made me feel the weirdest mixture of sadness and shame as I had to provide fake-love to someone that clearly lacks affection in his life.

>>97655975
Pay a hooker to LARP as her and help him get it out of his system.
It'll pay in the long term when the campaign starts to come to a close.

>>97655832
You've never heard of this before.

>>97650240
Can't force the players to spend anything at all, actually.

>>97624657
No, I'll romance whoever I want, successfully, without any questing at all.

File: file.png (338 KB, 412x538)

338 KB PNG

>>97656029
Red Hand of Doom; page 44
Aranea are maybe the 2nd most popular "This cutie patootie is looking for you to save her, won't you please be noble, brave and so on so she can take advantage of your stupid ass?" monster out there after the Succubus.
I'll admit I misspelled it, but no need to get shirty over it.

>>97656057
Nope.

>>97584373
The term is narou-kei dipshit, and it isn't that either.

>>97641489
Space King is fucking cringe, if you can't tell that Tom and Don don't fucking like 40k, think it's fucking gay, and think 40k enjoyers are fucking cringe, the you might be legit retarded.
I do find it funny that they are now trapped by their audience to keep making shit based on 40k when they clearly don't give a fuck about it. And I'll be blunt, the one that writes and doesn't animate is basically talentless, he isn't good (I think it's the Brit?) the one dude can at least draw

>>97656824
Why do you think anyone should give a shit about his opinion of 40k players?

>>97656034
If they want new gear they are gonna pay for it. They're not going to finesse their way into it unless I allow it obvs

>>97658572
Nope.

>>97625025
based bride's tale reader.

File: 1f56da83892e484ca0cb3463c(...).jpg (18 KB, 360x240)

18 KB JPG

>Be in a game with my bro
>he makes a cute tomboyish rogue character
>I joke about how much I like her/how cute she is
>His character starts flirting with mine (Male human fighter)
>Mostly just brush it off as a joke
>During our last game he rather descriptively posts in the text chat about how his character drunkenly comes onto mine and grinds up on him lustfully
>Everyone seems to think this is hilarious including the GM
>Think it's a little odd but don't want to harsh the group's vibe
>think I might have brought it on myself
>People are now posting "shipping" memes
Is this gay? Should I be offended? Am I just being a prude? Everyone seems to be into this and I don't know if I shoukd bring up that this is weird to me, or even if I'm the weird one for finding it weird

File: 1754146853700359.gif (561 KB, 220x220)

561 KB GIF

>>97662393
You gave an inch and they took a mile. It's weird. Your brother is probably gay. That group in general is probably zesty. But you might be too for going there in the first place. Dudes that create female characters to play as are defacto troons in online games, let alone dudes that have the balls (lmao) to do it in real life. It's gonna get weird. You should probably stop. Unless you're into that I guess?

>>97548666
I play with 3 dudes and we are not roleplaying romance, I'm sure to the chagrin of fujos. But it's not gonna happen.

>>97662828
NTA but I don't see it the same way, maybe because I think there's an extra layer of separation with video games.
In TRPGs (You) yourself will voice the character and interpret their feelings, that's why I don't think there's anything weird with playing with a female character in a video game, but it might imply [something] for tabletop campaigns.

File: 1770667526860569.png (375 KB, 1080x1349)

375 KB PNG

>>97663231
20-30 years ago I'd buy that. Current year, nah. I also made it a point to say that dudes who create female characters to represent themselves are defacto troons. Suspect at best. Such as in MMOs and IORPGs. Many games do have established female characters that you'll play as and take control of. In that regard there's no issue because it's not (You). No ones going to think you're a troon for playing Chun Li or Peach. Unless you're that one pro bro who started going drag as her, but there's neither here nor there.

If you're in a character creator for a game that has you make your own avatar and you unironically make yourself a female to present to the world, you're off kilter. TRPGs just make that unmistakably apparent.

>>97663543
...You see characters you create as (You)?

File: 1761228353928076.jpg (208 KB, 2726x1532)

208 KB JPG

>>97663991
Read what I said again and get back to me.

>>97650234
No, my character is in his twilight years and has a death wish. If anything, he'll try to set her up with an up standing young gentleman (not his son because he died).

Why is everyone acting like the romance needs to be actively roleplayed to be relevant in the game? It can be a passive element.

>>97650332
In his defense women are all identical and terrible irl

>>97662393
If you're not into it that's fine, but I think you're worrying too much about it tbqh.

I has a 3 year campaign with friends where my (female Drow) PC was meme'd into being a hardcore masochist.
I distinctly remember the line "Trying not to orgasm, you stab yourself in the leg." she had to do emergency surgery on herself to remove a fuckoff big parasitic worm that'd dug its way into her calf.

No one meant anything weird by it, it was just a gag about funny PC's doing funny things or responding to things in funny ways.

Again, if you're not into it, talk to the table, but it just sounds like the same thing in your case.

>>97664130
NTA but that's what you implied at.

>>97662393
I dunno, it really depends on the dynamic between you guys and how you view yourselves and your characters. Would it be weird if the two of you were writing a short story, and talking about two characters and how they fall in love with each other and the cute things they do together? Probably not. Would it be weird if you were in a LARP and he was dressed up as the tomboy and acting it out by rubbing up on you and hitting on you? Probably. How you roleplay falls on a spectrum somewhere in between the two and only you can really answer a question of what you're comfortable with. If you're not comfortable with it? Just tell your buddy, dude. No worries.

>>97673108
Said the stupid faggot who know no women.

>>97673554
*Knows

>>97673554
>>97674443
Lmoa, waht a ghey

>>97674890
*What *gay

>>97674890
>>97674913
Good job finding yourself

>>97676226
I'm just correcting people, like everyone here likes to do incessantly.

>>97586339
lmao

>>97549167
I didn't, can you explain it for illiterate retards like me?