[RPG]: The Book of Erotic Fantasy, reviewed by Christine Morgan (3/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9953.phtml

Christine Morgan's Summary:

The author of Naughty and Dice takes an admittedly biased look at the competition.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Jackob at 2003-12-19 06:37:58
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I paged through this when I visited a friend of mine who actually had the money to spend on it and I wondered what all the fuss and hubbub was about.

I mean, spend 30 seconds searching the 'net or buy a porn magazine and you'll see things that are much "worse".

But it's a beautiful book, that's true. But it's kinda strange, because for me, the most memorable picture is of the wounded angel (straight male here).

Maybe it's because I am Danish.

Post originally by Anders at 2003-12-19 06:48:27
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Probably.

Post originally by The Old Geezer at 2003-12-19 07:32:40
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Ms. Morgan said:

"I have known plenty of players – mostly female – who have been told, without so much as a yea, nay, or saving throw, that their characters have been seduced and/or impregnated against their will....I argue that the presence of sex rules will protect characters from this kind of behavior. "

Um.

This situation requires not rules, but rather that the game master (I assume male, for that sounds very like an almost exclusively male malefaction) be siezed by a half-dozen stout lads* and true, dragged outside, and wuss-slapped about the head, neck, and shoulders until his butt falls off.

That's not "bad gaming rules", that's psychopathic behavior.

-- Old Geezer

*Please note that "lad" in this case is in no way restricted by gender or sexual preference, but is used rather to mean "anybody you would want guarding your back in a dust-up". One of the stoutest lads I know is a pretty, slender young blonde woman who just happens to have been studying Aikido for many many many years...

Post originally by Jak Spade at 2003-12-19 08:54:15
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Sorry Jakob, but I feel that this book is a redundant resource for the gaming community. It's not a book that I feel I need to add to my gaming experience. I'm far from being a prude, but if my friends and I felt that we needed to sit around and roleplay sex, we would become swingers and do it in real life.

We roleplay to act out heroic acts that we normally wouldn't or couldn't do. I could just as easily write letters to Playboy or Penthouse if I wanted to experience fictional sex.

Jak

Post originally by Darrin Kelley at 2003-12-19 10:09:06
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I've seen the phenomenon too. Pretty disgusting.

There was one GM I had in the past who would go out of his way to do such things to any female character. regardless of whether the player was female or not. Pretty sick and twisted. And definately no fun to deal with.

Post originally by Cosmic Janitor at 2003-12-19 12:25:17
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You mean the Penthouse letters are fake? Zounds!

Post originally by Shumway at 2003-12-19 14:04:53
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It may seem a bit off-key to post a grammatical question after an article about RPG sex manuals...sorry.

What is Ms. Morgan's preferred way to handle the gender issue? Don't like a universal he; s/he too clunky; don't like switching back and forth. What does that leave?

Post originally by Kobold Lord at 2003-12-19 15:55:54
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Try using the broad range of grammatical constructions available in English writing to avoid the problem entirely. Seriously. We have dozens, perhaps hundreds, of perfectly grammatical ways to write any particular idea, most of which don't happen to require a gender-sensitive third-person singular pronoun. Try the imperative. Try passive. Try inventing a hypothetical player and character. There's an infinite amount of choices, so take advantage of them.

Post originally by Truthmaster at 2003-12-19 18:09:36
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If it gets the women off the gaming tables then all is fine and well.