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I have a new PFS character, a young (63 years old) Tiefling Cleric of Besmara. He's cute, got decent Charisma, no stats below 10 (his lowest is Strength). He's fit and healthy. So he's able to get lovers when he wants them.
He's also a bit of a slut. However I don't want to squick out other people at the table, EPICALLY because he's a PFS character. However I also don't want to have to censor his sexuality to the point of neutering him just because someone his freaked out that he's flirting with another guy.
Help?
This might be a bad fit for PFS. Talking about it out of game in a regular gaming group or PBP would be fine and let you gauge everyone's comfort level, but having to have that conversation before every single PFS game would not be fun.
Also, I've noticed that any time someone has to have a talk about their character's mannerisms before a game with people they don't know, it tends to put some people on the defensive right off the bat.
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I have a new PFS character, a young (63 years old) Tiefling Cleric of Besmara. He's cute, got decent Charisma, no stats below 10 (his lowest is Strength). He's fit and healthy. So he's able to get lovers when he wants them.
He's also a bit of a slut. However I don't want to squick out other people at the table, EPICALLY because he's a PFS character. However I also don't want to have to censor his sexuality to the point of neutering him just because someone his freaked out that he's flirting with another guy.
Help?
If you want to play a flirty character, I recommend observing Captain Jack Harkness :)
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Wait, is PFS enforcing those erroneous tiefling/aasimar age numbers?
If you want to play a flirty character, I recommend observing Captain Jack Harkness :)
Good choice, really. It's rather fitting that he's often put forward as the poster boy for the Ethical Slut trope. :)
Actually been thinking about this for my Lymnieris preistitute for PFS. Depending on the table, he might just explain his day job as a "marriage counsellor".
(he just won't say where he counsels couples)
How far past "I flirt with the cute stable boy" are you planning to go?
The main problem is that most PFS games go by too fast to do anything else.
That's why I use my version of this in the home game, and he's a cleric of a philosophy, hedonism, not a god.
Also remember the trait "charming," I think, for flavor and bonuses.
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Wait, is PFS enforcing those erroneous tiefling/aasimar age numbers?
A character can not be younger than the minimum age listed on Table 7–1 of the Core Rulebook, or listed on Table 5–1 of the Advanced Race Guide, and must be younger than venerable, as listed on Table 7–2 of the Core Rulebook and Table 5–4 of the Advanced Race Guide. A character that ages past venerable, for whatever reason, dies of old age and is removed from the campaign. Characters do not alter their ability scores as a result of this choice.
While it does clash with Mr. Jacobs' views on the native outsiders, them's the breaks. I've never seen anything from Brock, Compton, or Moreland that implies otherwise.
It would be a lot easier to do this in a tactful way if you have another player who will play off of you.
For instance, a friend is playing an elven cleric of Calystria, and I'm actually playing her character's son. Not being an ardent devotee of Calystria, I get to role-play being constantly embarrassed by his mother.
What you don't want is a long silence after you roleplay your character's actions.
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Captain Jack is a good place to start. I'm doing something simular (summoner/eidolon married couple, adventuring to support the kids, but also a disgustingly cute middle aged couple who flirt, cuddle etc) and I've noticed a couple things.
When in doubt direct your romance toward NPCs. It lets players who might be uncomfortable with romance not be involved.
Take refuge in audacity. I do it with my eidolon (literally). You pick some outragous NPCs to flirt with. This includes venture captains, guards, prisoners, hell knights, eagle knights (bonus if you can do both at once). people in authority etc. Flirt with a few unusual characters, like a goblin prisoner (your a teifling so your tastes are unusual), but with no chance of an actual connection.
Players like to see others succeed in big ways. Try to succeed in big ways that aid the party romantically.
Know when to pull back, i.e. don't be too much of an attention hog. This includes things like when you have half an hour to play, scale back the flirting and start kicking rear. You have the great romance, but leave space for the barbarian smash things REALLY GOOD.
Drop hints, but don't be explicit. Let people speculate whether that NPC who is being really nice to the party is being nice because of last night or not.
Know occasionally you will get a GM who is a stick in the mud. Have some idea of how you will deal with it in advance.
Hope that is helpful.
PFS might not be the place to rp that character. Too many unknowns at the table.
the primary response to every sexual innuendo attempt made by a male player in a game I've GM'd:
Yeeeeaaaaa, no.
I am not going to roleplay you having intimates with my barmaid npc. I am not going to tolerate 'in character' attempts to hit on the female player in the group. If you want a relationship, especially a really weird one played out before other people, go to a bar. No, a real bar in real life.
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the primary response to every sexual innuendo attempt made by a male player in a game I've GM'd:
Yeeeeaaaaa, no.
I am not going to roleplay you having intimates with my barmaid npc. I am not going to tolerate 'in character' attempts to hit on the female player in the group. If you want a relationship, especially a really weird one played out before other people, go to a bar. No, a real bar in real life.
I would do the opposite. I'm more than happy to role play NPC characters being talked up by the PCs, but I tend to make my comfort levels known right at the get-go.
I think it is always important for me as the GM to let players (preferably before characters are created) what kinds of games I run, and what things I find appropriate as well as what things will get you kicked from the table.
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the primary response to every sexual innuendo attempt made by a male player in a game I've GM'd:
Yeeeeaaaaa, no.
I am not going to roleplay you having intimates with my barmaid npc.
Eh my local PFS group has Barry the flaming gay bard and a zon kuthon inquisitor that does auto erotic asphyxiation to pray. A little flirting is nothingThis shows one thing. PFS varies from community to community and standards vary. In my area there are at least four different subgroups of players who play mainly at different stores. Needless to say, this comes under expect table variation.
I am not going to tolerate 'in character' attempts to hit on the female player in the group. If you want a relationship, especially a really weird one played out before other people, go to a bar. No, a real bar in real life.
This is a different issue from playing a flirtatous character and connecting the two is a little unfair. This comes under don't be a jerk and I have no problem kicking such a player from the table or passing the word about 'that' player to the local VO's.
Spoiler:And I've done it once.On the other hand, if the pc can romance with the NPC in a way that advances the plot, doesn't take too much time, and avoids hogging the spotlight, and fades to black in a PG fashion, I see nothing wrong.
And having a GM target you just because he doesn't like 'that one thing' about your character is bad behavior on the GM's part, not yours.
Spoiler:I've twice seen PC's have the condition 'Married' written down by a GM on the chronicle sheet.I will say, at the very least, make this your second or third character to be introduced once you know the local scene.
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The problem is that Jacobs is right. Aasimar and Tieflings should have been statted as having standard humanoid lifespans, the age range as they are pretty much eliminates the possibility of fitting them with the Human families they're supposed to be born into.Wait, is PFS enforcing those erroneous tiefling/aasimar age numbers?A character can not be younger than the minimum age listed on Table 7–1 of the Core Rulebook, or listed on Table 5–1 of the Advanced Race Guide, and must be younger than venerable, as listed on Table 7–2 of the Core Rulebook and Table 5–4 of the Advanced Race Guide. A character that ages past venerable, for whatever reason, dies of old age and is removed from the campaign. Characters do not alter their ability scores as a result of this choice.While it does clash with Mr. Jacobs' views on the native outsiders, them's the breaks. I've never seen anything from Brock, Compton, or Moreland that implies otherwise.
I know, I played that AP. I even agree; the two races (especially those of more chaotic heritages) should have more random and varied lifespans. But James makes a lot of calls that don't mesh with the actual, hard-coded rules of Pathfinder in general (which is great for a home game.) Anything James Jacobs says doesn't make Table 7-2 any different; I'm just stating what the actual rule is that we should be following, since that's what Mikaze asked.
The problem is the ARG is setting-neutral, and somehow the age thing got past editing. If anyone in a position of power in the realm of Society says otherwise, I'll be happy camper along with you guys. Until then, I'll enforce the age rule in the very, VERY odd case it should be relevant, not that I can think of any off the top of my head. In the typical case of a tiefling's age not being relevant, I probably won't ask or hear about it and what I don't know can't hurt me (except traps. Traps and rogues.)
That said, this is kind of irrelevant to the original topic. On the original topic, I'll admit I adore interaction of the raunchier nature, but it's more because of my general audience (i.e. not a public area, home game with friends) and how awful of a person I am. As many have said, it's a thing where you need to know your audience. If you don't, restraint is probably the best bet.
The problem is that Jacobs is right. Aasimar and Tieflings should have been statted as having standard humanoid lifespans, the age range as they are pretty much eliminates the possibility of fitting them with the Human families they're supposed to be born into.
Really, only the lower bound of the rule is a problem. If they mature as quickly as humans(or whatever race they're born into), but just happen to live a couple hundred years or whatever, they'd probably still be fine.
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I'm less worried about the super raunchy and more worried about the occasional guest to our table, or when I bring him to cons, and end up tabling with a homophobe. Or at the very least someone who finds a guy even flirting with another guy "gross". (yet likely would be fine with my other homosexual character, Jade, flirting with other ladies)
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I'm less worried about the super raunchy and more worried about the occasional guest to our table, or when I bring him to cons, and end up tabling with a homophobe. Or at the very least someone who finds a guy even flirting with another guy "gross". (yet likely would be fine with my other homosexual character, Jade, flirting with other ladies)
It sounds like you already have a good handle on watching other people's reactions and adjusting to them, which is the most important part of this.
Anytime you're in an environment where you don't know the people, here's something to keep in mind: You can flirt and flatter without actually being sexual about it.
Compliment the character's other attributes: their skill, their brilliance, their nimbleness, etc. Gush over how awesomely they flayed that goblin, or ask them if they can teach you that cool trick they just used. Offer to buy them a drink in response to something cool they just did ("For that, I owe you a drink"), without any overtones of it being a date or a pick-up attempt. Basically, you can come across as an outgoing, friendly person who finds admirable qualities in your companions and is not shy about mentioning those qualities.
Based on the other character's (or player's) reaction, you can decide whether to include any innuendo ("Maybe you can teach me that trick later...in my room"). If you're still not sure, drop stray comments about the character's looks into the compliment mix ("Wow--deadly and good-looking: that's a dangerous mix").
If the response is less than positive, back up to the previous level and stay there. And make sure you have an easy "exit" for the interaction if it doesn't go well (Something like "You would be perfect for my sister" lets you keep the sincerity of the comments while removing the possibility of it progressing any further.) If the response is distinctly negative, back up two or three steps. Be prepared to apologize, either in or out of character.
One other suggestion:
Don't focus on one character or on the flirting. Drop the compliment and move on to someone else or on to a different topic. This keeps the other person from feeling pressured and leaves the continuation of the interaction under their control. It also helps avoid any awkwardness if the other person chooses to ignore it.
To me, this last bit is a large part of what makes Jack Harkness work: he doesn't pursue anyone and he doesn't demand a response. He just doesn't see any need to hold back what he's thinking. He can say "Damn, you're hot!" with the same matter-of-fact attitude as "Look, it's raining," which leaves it completely up to you what you want to do with that piece of information. (Of course, the fact that everyone else's responses are scripted doesn't hurt, either.) :-)
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I'd say your character should follow the same guidelines for not being a jerk or a harasser that people should follow in real life:
--Go ahead and make a flirtatious, but not graphically sexual, remark to someone.
--Respect their boundaries. If they respond in a way that indicates they're uncomfortable, or are uninterested in flirting back, stop immediately and interact with them in non-flirtatious ways from then on.
--Respect the boundaries of the other people at the table. If your flirtation is reciprocated, pay attention to the comfort levels of the other people in your group. If they're uncomfortable, tone it down. It's a group setting, and you're there to play a game and have fun, so if sexually-charged language or remarks or imagery are making anyone uncomfortable, keep the language clean. That doesn't mean that you can't indicate that your character is flirting with NPCs, but keep any discussion of it short and matter of fact.
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To me, this last bit is a large part of what makes Jack Harkness work: he doesn't pursue anyone and he doesn't demand a response. He just doesn't see any need to hold back what he's thinking. He can say "Damn, you're hot!" with the same matter-of-fact attitude as "Look, it's raining," which leaves it completely up to you what you want to do with that piece of information. (Of course, the fact that everyone else's responses are scripted doesn't hurt, either.) :-)
The fact that John Barrowman is a real-life example of a human with a Charisma score of 20 doesn't hurt either. :D
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To me, this last bit is a large part of what makes Jack Harkness work: he doesn't pursue anyone and he doesn't demand a response. He just doesn't see any need to hold back what he's thinking. He can say "Damn, you're hot!" with the same matter-of-fact attitude as "Look, it's raining," which leaves it completely up to you what you want to do with that piece of information. (Of course, the fact that everyone else's responses are scripted doesn't hurt, either.) :-)The fact that John Barrowman is a real-life example of a human with a Charisma score of 20 doesn't hurt either. :D
True. (I still giggle at the fact that John Barrowman auditioned for the part of Will in Will and Grace, but didn't get the part because he "wasn't gay enough".)
A lot of this really depends on the table and the scenario you're with. I have a really pretty half-elf bard priest of Callistria.
On some tables I play her at full tilt, but that's when I have players that I know can work with it and have fun with it.… and we're not in Cheliax or some other setting that has a problem with open followers of chaotic gods. These are home tables or a local game day table with people I've played with before.
When I'm at a con or a game day able with people I'm not as familiar with, I'll tone her lust back and emphasize the trickery aspect (or revenge in a couple of scenarios) of Callistria.
If I'm on a table with kids, even if I know the parents, I play her nice and mischievously friendly, and that's it.
If you want to play a flirty character, I recommend observing Captain Jack Harkness :)The original question asked about playing a flirty character with tact.
Yeah, I was starting to think I was the only who didn't think he's a very good role model. Isn't there even an episode where he makes out with a dude while he's dating someone else? :/
If you want to play a flirty character, I recommend observing Captain Jack Harkness :)The original question asked about playing a flirty character with tact.
I think that's real life tact, not in-game tact.
You just have to find out if your local PFS scene is like shadowmage75's or Louis Lyon's.
well, you character being a flirt doesn't necessarily means he has to be lewd. Charming swashbucklers are flirty, though seldom tend to offend people. If you character flirting with another male squicks people out, then maybe they aren't playing the right game. whether they like it or not, Golorian is a pretty open minded setting when it comes to homosexuality, so your character's preferences shouldn't be a problem. A friend and I who are playing lesbian characters who might be attracted to each other plan on taking a few notes from Puella Magi Madoka Magica for ways to use subtext and symbolism to portray their feelings without outright shoving it in the faces of the rest of the table.