Post originally by Johnny McKenna at 2003-12-31 12:55:47
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You just can't read, can you? Did you even bother to look past the first two paragraphs of the review?

This book is not the infamous "D&D Sex Manual" that circulated around the internet years ago. This is a serious, mature attempt to incorporate sexual themes into a role-playing game. As it has been said before, sex is something that has not been given proper attention in most RPGs. In d20 terms, the closest you get is the "Book Of Mild Darkness", and there it's just lurid and exploitative. Uber-geek whack-off fantasies of demon dominatrixes.

I'm looking forward to getting a copy of this book for many reasons. The new classes actually seem viable and well thought-out, and I think it would be very interesting to try and incorporate them into a fantasy society. Goddesses like Innana/Ishtar and Bast had very sexual churches, and this book seems to want to portray such things in fantasy with all the reverence they were given in ancient times. Many mystical traditions place a great deal of power and importance on sexual well-being and the sexual act, and this can also now be reproduced well in a game.

While I know that I can handle the book without tittering like a schoolgirl at the mention of the word "penis", it's sad to say the majority of gamers that I know can't do that. Sex and the like in a game is something to be giggled at, silly and trashy. But why should it be? Why shouldn't something that is so basic to life and the human animal be addressed with all the maturity (if not more) of the concept of slaying a giant fire-breathing lizard?

Unless of course, that's your thing. Sublimation can rear it's warped head any time.

Seriously, though, I think that incorporating the elements of this book in a tasteful, mature way in a group of well-adjusted gamers could add another dimension to both characters and the setting. Thanks for the review, arcady. It was well-written, thorough, and gave me a very good impression of what to expect in this book. As for the nay-sayers, go out and date already. Jeez.

--JKM