How *mature* is your Conan?

[Aholibamah]

I run things in my campaign kind of along the lines of the way that Howard's work is written--I fall short of the kind of stuff that Jordan did. So for example I may depict slavery, imply lasciviousness, describe things sensually but I tend to draw a veil over actual acts of passion, simply stating that they happen and giving a general sense of the experience.

Has anyone out of curiousity done anything particularly thematic in this regard, ie:
- had a female character (npc or otherwise) tied nude to an altar? (Valeria, Yasmela)
- had a female supporting character remain naked during an important or significant part of an adventure? (Zabibi, Sancha)
- had a sexual relationship be the primary reason for why a pc or leading character gets along with a ruler? (Conan, a few times)
- had characters actually remain enslaved for a significant part of an adventure?
- had a marriage that results in children and responsibility happen to a pc?
- had an npc insist on marriage before any kind of intimate relationship?

 

[Fletcher_Flataroy]

Has anyone out of curiousity done anything particularly thematic in this regard, ie
- had a female character (npc or otherwise) tied nude to an altar? (Valeria, Yasmela)
Yes
- had a female supporting character remain naked during an important or significant part of an adventure? (Zabibi, Sancha)
yes

- had a sexual relationship be the primary reason for why a pc or leading character gets along with a ruler? (Conan, a few times)
Yes
- had characters actually remain enslaved for a significant part of an adventure?
Yes
- had a marriage that results in children and responsibility happen to a pc?
no
- had an npc insist on marriage before any kind of intimate relationship
not yet but i like the idea

 

[Willowhugger]

Has anyone out of curiousity done anything particularly thematic in this regard, ie:
- had a female character (npc or otherwise) tied nude to an altar? (Valeria, Yasmela)
- had a female supporting character remain naked during an important or significant part of an adventure? (Zabibi, Sancha)
- had a sexual relationship be the primary reason for why a pc or leading character gets along with a ruler? (Conan, a few times)
- had characters actually remain enslaved for a significant part of an adventure?
- had a marriage that results in children and responsibility happen to a pc?
- had an npc insist on marriage before any kind of intimate relationship?

1. Princess Yasmeela, first game.

2. Cimmerian woman were naked when they captured the players.

3. It was implicitly implied that the PCs were rewarded by the Lady of Khoraja for their efforts in "kind"

4. Already happening this game.

5. Not yet, in fact. It's been established that one of the PCs has a few bastard offspring.

6. Nope. Would be out of genre, I think.

 

[librarycharlie]

I run an R-rated game. Lots of sex and boobies, but nothing viscerally described.

I also run it illustrated, using my lame photoshop skillz on pictures pulled off the web to adapt them in our campaign chronicle. Several of these pictures are not safe for work. Others are just plain disturbing.

Not safe for work example of a woman selling herself in a ship's hold:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/2223991761_68afc9c47e_o.jpg

Pictish barbarian PC had her foot burned off with magma, only to have it "regrown" as a tentacle by dark Acheronian magicks:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2248/1880621077_d494cbe06a_o.jpg

Size reference chart of encountered beasties from the campaign, with the pictish warrior (mini and topless) for scale.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/2084298761_2f3e20ae8b_b.jpg

 

[Strom]

Very cool librarycharlie! I have not used such a tool for my game - I think you have some mad skills. 8)

 

[VincentDarlage]

I run an R-rated game. Lots of sex and boobies, but nothing viscerally described.

I also run it illustrated, using my lame photoshop skillz on pictures pulled off the web to adapt them in our campaign chronicle. Several of these pictures are not safe for work. Others are just plain disturbing.

Those are pretty awesome! Care to share more? The creativity behind them is inspiring.

 

[Yogah of Yag]

I believe that playing Keep on the Borderland is something of a rite of passage for any true D&D gamer.

8) 8) 8)

For me it's first B1 (In Search of the Unknown) to introduce them, then B2 (Keep on the Borderlands) to open up the gaming possibilities for them! :wink: If they're not into it by then, well, I'll hang up my DM's robe, by gum! :lol:

 

[The King]

I run an R-rated game. Lots of sex and boobies, but nothing viscerally described.

I also run it illustrated, using my lame photoshop skillz on pictures pulled off the web to adapt them in our campaign chronicle. Several of these pictures are not safe for work. Others are just plain disturbing.

Not safe for work example of a woman selling herself in a ship's hold:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/2223991761_68afc9c47e_o.jpg

Pictish barbarian PC had her foot burned off with magma, only to have it "regrown" as a tentacle by dark Acheronian magicks:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2248/1880621077_d494cbe06a_o.jpg

Size reference chart of encountered beasties from the campaign, with the pictish warrior (mini and topless) for scale.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/2084298761_2f3e20ae8b_b.jpg

Excellent handouts.

 

[librarycharlie]

I run an R-rated game. Lots of sex and boobies, but nothing viscerally described.

I also run it illustrated, using my lame photoshop skillz on pictures pulled off the web to adapt them in our campaign chronicle. Several of these pictures are not safe for work. Others are just plain disturbing.

Those are pretty awesome! Care to share more? The creativity behind them is inspiring.

You can view the last 200 such images here:

NSFW
http://flickr.com/photos/7984163@N04/

There are a whole host of things from crazy monsters to brothels and slave girls. Much of the campaign takes place on the seas, so a lot of good pics of ships are in there. I just ask that if you want to use any of them, do so privately and rehost elsewhere so I don't get booted from Flickr. The letter "c" in front of the images notes that they're from our Conan campaign.

Here's a couple of favorites. From when the entire party was crucified in Hyperborea... Good times!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2156/2127374254_a52506b484_o.jpg
Adapted from a still from Monty Python's "Life of Bryan."

And my interpretation of the Ark of Delights from the S&P article, which my players assaulted with 3 ships of marines, and currently operate, having killed Omu.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/2201375573_722a2dfe79_o.jpg
Cheers!

 

[Aholibamah]

The entire PARTY was crucified? Amazing...really nice handouts btw. It sounds like you have a very vivid game. Are the spider people part of your game as well? And how do people react to the pictish woman now?

Vincent: I know that your own campaign world has a number of mature elements (vampire wives of the dark lord, things like that) but to what degree are they actually in play?

 

[librarycharlie]

The spider kids were part of a "fairy tale" based adventure I ran. A powerful scholar with a musical bent went into the town and drove the rats into the sea, then when the town failed to pay, called their kids into the sewers. There he turned them into "spider-kids," in a horrific ritual.

The party tried to save them, but ended up angering a creature believed to be a dark god, which was basically just a centuries-old scavenger of enormous proportions. The thing ate one of the party members (who cut his way out of its belly with 2 burned fate points) and killed most of the men in the town who had been recruited to act as a rescue party.

The entire adventuring crew had to leave in a hurry.

As for being crucified, it was a unique experience. One of the PCs was introducing a new character from the "healer" class (10th level or so), and pulling the PCs down and tending to their near-fatal wounds the night after crucifixion (hypothermia had also set in... the Martial Disciple lost a toe to frostbite) was a great way to introduce the oft-maligned healer class to the game.

The pict-woman died afterwards, betrayed by 2 other characters who believed the magic had "tainted" her. The 2 others secretly stabbed and then poisoned her.

Good story, actually. The one anti-Pict temptress had hidden a dose of injested poison in her mouth before being crucified (for suicide if they weren't rescued). After being released, she went to the Pict, who was still crucified, and french kissed her extensively. She transmitted the poison without raising the group's suspicions and the Pict died soon afterward.

It was really amazing to watch as the GM. Like somebody had watched "The Departed" and scripted pieces of it into Conan.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Vincent: I know that your own campaign world has a number of mature elements (vampire wives of the dark lord, things like that) but to what degree are they actually in play?

In my D&D campaign, they were in full play in a few campaigns, not so much in others (depended on the players). In my Conan campaigns, most of the mature elements happened off stage.

 

[Hervé]

Vincent wrote:

In my Conan campaigns, most of the mature elements happened off stage.

That's the way to do it. Mature themes don't mean morbid curiosity. Gratuitous sex & violence seems more teenage than mature to me. Mature themes are present in my campaign, because the hyborian world is pretty much a merciless place, but we don't focus on the gory details. As in the real world, evil men of the hyborian world don't always wear black robes or worship dark gods. The horror hidden in the heart of humanity is far much scary than any tentacled abomination from the outer void...

 

[Aholibamah]

Well, even if everyone in a group can handle it intimate moments say between a pc and an npc lover are not exactly going to be interesting for everyone else--no more than say a long conversation that only on pc is party to will be to the rest of the group.

Also gratuitous violence or torture loses power. The sense that violence is a desperate necessity now and then is lost and it just becomes a lot of pointless hack and slash--unless say you're running a battle or something like that.

 

[Majestic7]

My campaign certainly contains mature themes, as I try to portray the Hyborian Age of REH as accurately as I can, combined with more Lovecraftian elements. However, I'm not sure if our game sessions are mature in the sense... I must admit that when the Corrupted, decadent, drug-addict scholar/tempter/noble of the group makes passes on random men and has oiled, topless guards in his entourage who have higher Charisma than Strength, people tend to degenerate in to giggling teenage boys... However, all this stuff is not rubbed at the face of the players. When the characters go to spend an evening at the Temple of Ishtar and spend several gold coins each for it, it is pretty obvious what they are doing, but no need to start rolling Constitution checks or Perform (Erotic Art) or anything..

Oh and one of the characters is married, with the wife as a cohort. The marriage itself involves getting lost in Pteion, losing memories from six months and waking one morning next to a Spawn of Dagoth Hill in a same bed. So not exactly a typical marriage.

 

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

Looking back in the last twenty years of roleplaying we had some mature moments.

Has anyone out of curiousity done anything particularly thematic in this regard, ie:
- had a female character (npc or otherwise) tied nude to an altar? (Valeria, Yasmela)

Yes. It was the introduction of my character into the campaign.

- had a female supporting character remain naked during an important or significant part of an adventure? (Zabibi, Sancha)

Yes, but the whole group was all nude.

- had a sexual relationship be the primary reason for why a pc or leading character gets along with a ruler? (Conan, a few times)

No.

- had characters actually remain enslaved for a significant part of an adventure?

Yes. It was part of the adventure to escape the slavery.

- had a marriage that results in children and responsibility happen to a pc?

No. The only marriage in the group was a forced one between a human warrior and a lizardmen princess. (German DSA-players may know that adventure.)

- had an npc insist on marriage before any kind of intimate relationship?

Never.

 

[Aholibamah]

Barbarossa Rosbart:
What actually happened in your slavery adventure and stuff? It would be interesting if people responding to my questionnaire gave me a sense of context.

 

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

Slavery:
It was an official adventure for a german RPG (DSA). There we had to infiltrate a slavery ring as slaves. But something goes horribly wrong and we were sold to the wrong person, who carries us of to his fortress in the jungle where we have to work on his plantation. After an unsuccessful escape attempt he throws us into his dungeons and tells us that we are free to go if we manage to escape.
That dungeon was one big riddle which some unnecessary tasks, some hints, some very deadly places and one escape route which brought us into the throne room of the fortress. There it became clear that our "master" had lied and wanted to kill us anyway. But we managed to kill him and to escape this place after his death.
Although this adventure was written for a different RPG it could be adjusted for the Conan RPG.

Nudity & Sex:
Well, the world the adventures described above took place does include nudity. There a cultures which do not know clothing. There are spells which have sex or nudity as a spell component. There are dwarven druids who cannot cast spells when clothed. And there are deities whose portfolio include sex. And the world is still rated PG.
In the real game sex happens off screen.
And nudity is not described in detail.

 

[Clovenhoof]

Weeee-eee-eell.... I have written about this game here before (The Dark Eye), and even though I do not know this particular adventure (we never played in the Deep South), it is safest to AVOID any official TDE-modules at all costs. They are essentially railroading from start to finish, and the dungeons (which do occur every so often) suck ass.

On topic:
I describe these things very casually, to convey that nudity, public sex, even rape is altogether common in this Barbaric world. "Might makes right" and all. However, so far my group's PCs have been neither victim nor perpetrator, though sometimes witness, of slavery and/or involuntary sex.

 

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

@Clovenhoof: Well, many (but not all) of the modern DSA-adventures are railroading adventures par excellence, but the old adventures (and "Lost in Al'Anfa" is very old (1985)) are mostly dungeon crawling.

Back to the topic:
I agree. The way WotC did things is the wrong way, but I think that the problem is that most americans have a bigger problem with sex and nudity as they have with violence.
It is interesting that according to the rulebook a loincloth is the minimal clothing to wear in polite (= civilized?) company. Does that also apply to female characters? Or have they to wear something on the upper body?