TS - Danger zone

Coin

( @bored was kinda right when he said this feels like I'm running a survey here)

TS with NPCs or during PrPs. Where do you stand on this? What I'm thinking is PrPs involving one ST and one player but y'all might surprise me.

Here's the real deal:

Even if there is a situation in which you can adequately justify explicit sexual interplay (i.e. not just bartop seduction or flirty conversation) between a PC and an NPC (putting aside whether you can or can't), unless what you're running is a small, private game in which everyone is explicitly okay with that, FTB is in everyone's best interest. It's easy not to do it and it will save you and everyone else tons of headaches. That's just the truth.

WildBaboons

If an NPC is there for Story, the story probably isn't the detail of what is being put where in sexy times. FTB, move along, it's best for everyone.

If there is an actual story point that comes out in sex (like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

Derp

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax

Quit reading my character sheets!

Auspice

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

(like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

I want that page.

Staffer pages you: NPC takes you to his bedroom while the rest of the group remains at the party. You have a good time, but as NPC climaxes... they turn into millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO?!'

I'm for it.

Rinel

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO

...I put on my robe and wizard hat.

mietze

I think it is probably best practices for staff to fade to black unless they are pretty sure that the player is capable/willing to communicate openly if they are feeling that they do not want to do it. Sometimes people find it hard to just communicate to another player that they'd prefer not but are going along to please that person. I think it is more of a risk someone will do that with staff.

But honestly, otherwise who cares.

Both player and staffer should probably be prepared for some people to totally flip their lid and do the omg ts whore gets everything for TSing the staff thing, which probably doesnt feel great.

Coin

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

(like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

I want that page.

Staffer pages you: NPC takes you to his bedroom while the rest of the group remains at the party. You have a good time, but as NPC climaxes... they turn into millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO?!'

I'm for it.

Are there any girls in room?

Cuz if there are, I wanna doooooo theeeeeeeeem.

Auspice

@Coin said in TS - Danger zone:

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

(like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

I want that page.

Staffer pages you: NPC takes you to his bedroom while the rest of the group remains at the party. You have a good time, but as NPC climaxes... they turn into millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO?!'

I'm for it.

Are there any girls in room?

Cuz if there are, I wanna doooooo theeeeeeeeem.

Pandora

People like TSing 'important' characters. If the only thing the player is getting out of TSing the NPC or ST character is a memory of TSing someone important, there's no harm. Unless fucking players is noticeably distracting said NPC/ST from doing their bit for the story, why is it any of anyone else's business? Someone did bring up the point that it'll draw a bunch of slut-shaming and accusations from players, but that's a player-problem, not a TS-problem.

Alamias

@Coin magic missile

Tinuviel

@Pandora said in TS - Danger zone:

why is it any of anyone else's business?

The only time I honestly care is if it's a communal NPC, potentially run by multiple people. Any other time I just think it's stupidpants.

Jennkryst

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

(like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

I want that page.

Staffer pages you: NPC takes you to his bedroom while the rest of the group remains at the party. You have a good time, but as NPC climaxes... they turn into millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO?!'

Depends, did I get off yet? If I got off, I dunno, probably make a show of enjoying the whole spider-kkake sequence. I'm sure the NPC has their own weird kinks they need to do!

TiredEwok

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@WildBaboons said in TS - Danger zone:

(like NPC turns into a millions spiders upon climax or something), just skip to that point

I want that page.

Staffer pages you: NPC takes you to his bedroom while the rest of the group remains at the party. You have a good time, but as NPC climaxes... they turn into millions of spiders that swarm all over you... WHAT DO YOU DO?!'

I'm for it.

newp

Ganymede

@Auspice

I did that. ICly. Ask skew.

bored

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

( @bored was kinda right when he said this feels like I'm running a survey here)

TS with NPCs or during PrPs. Where do you stand on this? What I'm thinking is PrPs involving one ST and one player but y'all might surprise me.

We had part of this in one in that prior thread (and boy was the response from certain folks telling). I'm going to repeat what I said there:

Talking staff-established NPCs, 100%, at the point you're TSing on it (and that means detailed erotic posing, not just 'some sex happened') this is no longer fully an NPC and you've strayed into GMPC territory and serious a ethical (wait for it) danger zone.

Your "one on one PRP" case is a weird one, because that's essentially not a PRP and just two people sandboxing, which may violate game rules and be a concern for reasons beyond TS. Beyond that, if you've designed PRPs to be an avenue of player-driven narrative development on your game (ie, if you've empowered players to direct the story to some degree), you probably don't want your overall story being skewed by the drama that accompanies the OOC aspect of TS, which again I separate from 'these characters are having sex, that counts as story.'

Tinuviel

@bored said in TS - Danger zone:

Your "one on one PRP" case is a weird one, because that's essentially not a PRP and just two people sandboxing, which may violate game rules and be a concern for reasons beyond TS.

Wait, what? How would a one-on-one PRP be against any policy?

Arkandel

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@bored said in TS - Danger zone:

Your "one on one PRP" case is a weird one, because that's essentially not a PRP and just two people sandboxing, which may violate game rules and be a concern for reasons beyond TS.

Wait, what? How would a one-on-one PRP be against any policy?

I've ran so many one-on-one PrPs it's not even funny. The majority didn't even include sex!

bored

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@bored said in TS - Danger zone:

Your "one on one PRP" case is a weird one, because that's essentially not a PRP and just two people sandboxing, which may violate game rules and be a concern for reasons beyond TS.

Wait, what? How would a one-on-one PRP be against any policy?

Sorry, I don't mean any one-on-one PRP. I meant in the context of @Arkandel's question, ie a one-on-one PRP that includes TS. In the same way I don't really trust that a staffer using an NPC for TS is really using the NPC to further story, I don't trust that two players playing in total isolation and TSing are really furthering the game's story even if they label what they're doing as a PrP.

Edit further: Also with the caveat that 'PrP' is a game defined term whereby you are getting some form of benefit greater than any one on one private RP would generate.

Arkandel

@bored Hm, I wonder if the problem is in the terminology then.

My idea of a PrP (and I'm not saying it's the correct one) is that it's a scene in which someone - who doesn't need to but could be staff - controls the NPCs and the environment, and everyone else is playing their PCs.

No benefit or inherent advantage is given in that context for participation.

bored

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

@bored Hm, I wonder if the problem is in the terminology then.

My idea of a PrP (and I'm not saying it's the correct one) is that it's a scene in which someone - who doesn't need to but could be staff - controls the NPCs and the environment, and everyone else is playing their PCs.

No benefit or inherent advantage is given in that context for participation.

I don't think your definition is much different than mine. But you're missing that there's already an advantage there: the NPCs you get to run usually violate PC restrictions. This is a big part of the staffside problem that people seem much more on board with: your uber powerful NPC Vampire Prince, elf Prince, Jedi Master, etc being used to do RP that seems much more PC-like rather than being used a critical force to drive the plot.

On top of that, XP rewards, stat increases, items, faction improvements, etc are pretty often PrP rewards. Many games will demand you run a PrP to justify any kind of larger impact on the world. So again, benefit.

To be clear: I don't care if the story two people really want to tell involves them fucking each other nine ways to Sunday. My concern here isn't that TS is happening. But in my mind, PrP runners are acting as storytellers and thus mini-staffers for the game. When TS seems the purpose, the motivation and ethics comes into question. Does it seriously matter? It probably depends on the game. I think most people would be upset if they found out, for instance, that PC X became the controller/leader of a new org/fief/resource/whatever based on having been granted a boon by fucking an influential NPC run by their usual PC TS partner. Right?