Characters in Love

[Ergi]

I was wondering wether I should introduce some possible girlfriends for my players´characters. Has anybody experience with the problems and an tell me something about possible problems and how it affected the game?

Any comment will be appreciated.

[Runebear]

Oh, the problems with romance.........
A ST:RPG just isn't the same without a bit of romance; unfortunately, its not the easiest thing to role-play. The first attempt I had at throwing in romance was with the PC's real-life girlfriends. This was a bit of a mistake, as real-life arguments and making-out in the middle of a game can really distract from the action. I even introduced some girls who weren't attached to any of the players, but they tended to go after the NPC's, like the Captain, and shun any advances from the male PC's. The final thing I tried was RPing the potential love-interests myself. Whilst this works fine for the females in the group, the males tend to get a bit embarrassed whilst 'chatting-up' me, the narrator. Not to mention my inability to adequately RP a three-dimensional woman.

In the end, its up to you how you throw in romance- providing your players are experienced enough to handle it well; If you want realistic romances, then its certainly better to get players to 'date' each other; However, if all you want is a love-interest, its perfectly reasonable for the narrator to play that 'cute-looking Betazoid.'

[Diamond]

Here's some tips that might be helpful:

1: Make the romance a part of the storyline, not apart from the story. That is to say, have the romance have an effect on the outcome of the plot. A girlfriend can be more than someone in need of rescue. Does she have abilities, skills, contacts, or advice that might be critical in the resolving of the adventure. She doesn't nevcessarily have to be present for the big battle (although she might), but her influence should be felt in some way, even if it's a simple "be careful!"

2: Have the romantic entaglement add to the game. A simple adventure can be made a lot more complex if the character has made a commitment to be back for a date... or perhaps if they're prisoner of (or even just off fighting) a female villain, the girlfriend might assume the wrong thing. This leads into my final piece of advice:

3: Have the romantic entanglement be a fully rounded character... and I'm not referring to her figure! Not only should she have complex motivations, but she should be cool in some way... after all, she's caught the eye of a high-profile adventurer, she should be beyond the ordinary in some way. Saying, "she is beautiful" is not nearly as memorable as having her *do* something relevant, even if it is not on screen. Maybe she is off having her own adventures when not with the player. Remember, competence is attractive.

Of course, all these tips still apply if the genders in question are changed. A good self-check can be, "Would the way I'm portraying this character be completely ridiculous (as opposed to merely different) if the genders were reversed?"

[Keny Suda]

Nothing compares to a PC whose Vulcan character enters Pon Farr "desperately" trying to find a mate.

[qerlin]

Romance and/or sex is always a good addition to an RPG. Inevitably the player's characters either get involved with each other or various NPCs. Find a good hook for the NPC; sometimes a picture (tastlefully pulled from a nudie mag) aids in the enthusiasm of the male players.

If they're embarrassed by the interaction, spare 'em: make it a die roll off their charm skill (after all...if we all had some, we wouldn't be gaming on a Friday night, would we?)

Romance gives you the opportunity to present femme (or homme) fatales that can screw with the players big time. Or gives 'em that little bit more motivation to do things involved in the plot. (Since money doesn't exist anymore & I'm sure no one does anything for self-aggrandizement in the UFP.)

It also helps flesh out the player characters. Hell, have 'em create characters with families: wives, or exs they still have the hots for, girlfriends, boyfriends, or a 4-way Andorian marriage (with one human involved...loads of entertainment.)

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by qerlin:
Romance gives you the opportunity to present femme (or homme) fatales that can screw with the players big time.

"Hehheh. Hehheh. He said 'screw'!"

Gotta love romance in RPGs--especially Star Trek!



------------------
Don
trekrpg@trekrpg.net

[qerlin]

Heheheh...screwing your players is cool...

Oh, wait! I didn't mean to hit the submit button!

[qerlin]

I meant playing with your players is cool.

That doesn't sound good, either...

[toadkiller]

LOL - I have PC's with kids in college. My campaign tends heavily towards 'storytelling' vice 'gaming' so YMMV but, having a loved one in danger does give the PC a bit more of a reason to save the day. Also to explore the 'why' - why they are in SF, why they want to be going out and getting shot at instead of staying on a nice cushy world somewhere, etc.

One certainly doesn't need to portray anything more intimate than what would occur in a on-screen episode. Much can be made with a simple fade to black....


------------------
TK

[Paul]

Give it up, gerlin...while you're not so far behind.

------------------
Why do banks charge you an "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?

[Dan Gurden]

Originally posted by Runebear:
I even introduced some girls who weren't attached to any of the players, but they tended to go after the NPC's, like the Captain, and shun any advances from the male PC's.

Ah ha... The Monica Lewinski shcool of promotion, otherwise known as how to get ahead in an organisation without even trying... (Pun Intended).

OK, I have now dropped to a new low... And will stop now.

------------------
Dan.

"Cadet Lewinski. You're out of Uniform!"

[This message has been edited by Dan Gurden (edited 01-09-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Dan Gurden (edited 01-09-2001).]

[Paul]

Originally posted by Dan Gurden:
Ah ha... The Monica Lewinski shcool of promotion, otherwise known as how to get ahead in an organisation without even trying... (Pun Intended).

Gee...that sort of puts a new twist to the idea of "sucking up to your CO", doesn't it?

------------------
Why do banks charge you an "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?

[Owen E Oulton]

Gentlemen (and I use that term very loosely)...

Could we please get back to the subject at hand and call a moritorium on jokes about the White House humidor?

Ye Co-Mod...

[Julius]

My game set on the USS Valiant - B, (one after the Defiant class one used by Red Squad) an intrepid class vessel seems to have a number of major love subplots which have been the center a of a number of epsiodes.

Ex: Our Intel officer on a special mission to Xenex killed an Orion slaver there who was part of the plan he was sent to foil/investigate. Unfortunately it left three Orion slave women in his care. Which he with the Captain's permission brought back to the ship. Since then he was duped by one of the women, who pretended to love him in order to gain power over him, except it worked too well and dispite her plan being revealed he still is in love with her. To add to the problems one of the other women, is in love with him, and as the Orion women are beginning to get used to their indepenance a rivalry is forming between the two, which will manifest it's self next session in a fight for who is the leader of the clan they are forming amoung themselves.

This is of course leaving out the complex love life of our other PC, who is equally in a tough position, not to mention the ones forming between NPCs.

Anyhow I find that romance plots can be quite rewarding if, and that's a big IF, the players are willing. Sometimes players just want to have their 'women/man' and leave the relationship implicit, others like my two players right now, enjoy the personal roleplaying experience and I must say some of our best sessions have involved very personal discussions between the involved characters.

For Narators who plan to do work the characters and NPC's love lives into their series, I recomend the following.

Know what your players are comfortable with, and discuss it with them if you feel it is nessisary.

If your players are uncomfortable with playing out romance live, Chat programs and Blue Booking is always a good alternative, as well as just plain fiction writing (which I do for the NPCs most crutial relationship moments)

And make their love intrests as real as possible, meaning make them people not just a bunch of stats with the sexy advantage thrown in. If your players are really into roleplaying their characters in a relationship, they'll thank you for it.

Enough preaching from me tonight. Ja Matta!

[AslanC]

And above all else, never over look the possibility of a romance being an adventure hook. For an example I refer you to my campaign updates in this forum.

Nothing is better than the look on their face when they realise their love is not who they thought they were

But that is if you like to put your players through the ringer a little bit

(My Captain's player is still POed with me after what happened with her love, but she rebounded well in some Blue Booking and is on the road to recovery from a broken heart.)