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A recent thread brought this up in passing, and I thought it was worth examining in more detail.
Sometimes, a DM or Author will use the rape of a female character as a plot device or motivation for the story. And is this wrong?
99% of the time, it is wrong. Rape or attempted rape is almost never used well, because it's virtually always cheapened. Character gets raped, plot stuff happens, they get over it.
But that's not how it actually works. Rape is a violation on the most personal of levels, and I haven't yet heard of a case where the victim just 'got over it'.
Let's look at what Rape is used for in games. In the best cases it's used as part of establishing the villain as a truly despicable individual that the party is quite justified in pulling all the stops while pursuing. And this is a bad use for it. Why? Well, because there are so many better ways to accomplish the same reaction. This fact increases several-fold when the victim is a PC. Yes, you'll get a strong emotional reaction from your players, but you're doing so in the most cliche and unimaginative, not to mention unpleasant, way possible.
In the worst cases Rape is used to degrade a female PC. I say female because the number of male PCs I've heard of getting raped is virtually nonexistent. If this is your motivation for having rape in your story... stop DMing. Forever. This is seriously not cool. No further comment.
That said, rape is not completely without a place in RPGs *Takes cover*.
Seriously. Rape is a real issue, and so if the group is mature enough there is no reason why it shouldn't be part of the plot. It should be used sparingly if at all, and should only be used in situations where nothing else will do the job, but it does have its place. A woman gets raped and becomes pregnant from it is a moral issue that can't easily be gotten to another way. Hell, since this is fantasy with magic a plot with a serial rapist making Men pregnant could have some interesting repercussions, with the PCs racing to stop the rapist before they strike again and no-one knowing what will happen if the victims come to term, or what action to take, could be a strong motivation behind an adventure. However, even then this should be used sparingly and with players who're mature enough to handle it. If, for whatever reason, you feel the need to have a PC raped you should talk to the player OOC first and make sure they are willing to have their character put in that position and mature enough to play it.
There, I've said my piece.
TL;DR: Rape is bad, don't do it. There are better ways of upping the stakes.
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*readies the flamethrower* =)
Another risk in using rape in game is that you don't know how it will affect the other players. It's reasonably likely that someone at the table will have had direct experience with the act or its repercussions, whether you're aware of that or not. Maybe they'll be unfazed seeing it in a game, but why take the chance?
There's plenty of bad things that can happen to motivate the heroes which don't carry the same high risk of upsetting people.
Rape is a strange topic in my opinion and a difficult one obviously. I see it often considered to be worse than murder, even particularly violent and torturous murder. And I'm not ging to make a judgment here wether that is right or wrong to do. Both things are absolutely despicable and horrible, no matter who you do it to, but when it comes to killing of a character horribly in your story, a lot less people will take offense than when someone gets raped.
I do think rape should not be a topic to be censored out from story telling. Even roleplaying games, but it has to be handled differently, because rape victims have to live with the trauma, and might come across your work. And the consequences of rape are not nearly as clear cut as those of murder, to anyone who hasn't had such a thing happening to them or someone close to them, so you are playing with fire when you use rape in your story. You have to handle it right or not at all. But it should not be an a priori taboo.
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Yeah it really should be unanimous from all players before hand whether to include things like rape or torture and just how far you can go in describing them. The default being don't even go there unless you've had that talk. And if someone says no don't go there... then don't pressure them for a why.
About a month ago I told a player "No, your orc cannot sneak-up and have his way with the man in the pillory. That's rape and if your character does it, there will be repercussions. There are people standing nearby talking so even though he's sneaking, that wouldn't go unnoticed. At the very least he'd be arrested, but being an orc, he'll probably just be attacked outright. Anyway, we're playing in a shop, and I don't think that kind of thing belongs here. Even if other players are fine with it, I'm trying to run an R-rated game, and I think that pushes it too far into NC-17 territory. It's not appropriate for the game."
What I was thinking, of course, was "uh, what the...? Are you mental? Seriously?" I tried to be judicious in my wording with the player, but that's a line you shouldn't cross in a group-narrative without mutual understanding. If it's an NPC, it's one thing for a DM to use it as a plot device. It's quite another, as was the case at the table, for a player to invoke it against another PC whose player isn't there for the session. Against an NPC is bad enough, seriously, and even that can seriously mess with someone who has had personal experience with that kind of trauma.
Rape is a taboo topic in gaming, and a lot worse than murder in the sense that it is about the worst thing one person can do to another and have them survive it. A person can murder someone, but that person is dead and isn't living with the aftermath of the murder. A person that survives a murder attempt isn't a murder-survivor, they didn't get murdered. A large percentage of women (and a small percentage of men), on the other hand, feel that they've been sexually violated in some form or another, whether that was actual rape, or other inappropriate touching, they have to live with that experience. People who have been close to a murder get upset sometimes with stories of murder, but the number of people who have survived a murder attempt to be traumatized by it is much smaller.
Anyway, the point is, I'd say such things should be handled very delicately, if at all.
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But judging from other threads, torture is apparently something many are completely fine with. Which is odd, because rape figures quite frequently against both men and women in situations of torture. I get the feeling that it's the same people that claim "torture is nothing to get your head in a bender about, I mean, they survive, don't they?" and "rape is the WORST thing anyone could do to another person, because you have to live with it and don't just die!"
I usually stop watching a TV show when they do what I call "jumping the rape shark."
That means using rape as a means of generating drama or interest, when rape is a fairly awful thing that has little entertainment value. Rape is usually depicted in the most asinine way in media. It is often meant to titillate. It is usually sexualized. It's a cheap shot.
If you wish to have a female character raped in your story, how about this, have one of the male characters raped too. See how that works with your players.
Personally I could not endure a guy describing a rape in a game environment. It would be MAJOR AWKWARD.
I think the chance of gaming with someone who has been tortured is much, much less than that of gaming with someone who has been raped.
Personally, I don't think it's anything about the acts themselves. It's about respect for the people you're gaming with and minimising the risk of upsetting them. (If I was running a game for a torture survivor I wouldn't include that without their express desire for such elements either).
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That might have a lot to do with the the fact that far fewer people you're like!y to ever game with have been exposed to any kind of systematic torture than have been exposed to rape, as a victim or knowing one, etc. Torture is still presented on TV fairly frequently as an almost pornographic tough-guy thing. It isn't real to most viewers in the sense of having an aftermath, etc.
I can't speak for others, but to be honest I would be kind of creeped out if PC's I was playing with decided to imaginatively torture someone.
If torture is considered more acceptable, it's probably because society hasn't completed accepted it as a bad thing. See shows like 24 or debates over what constitutes torture regarding people suspected of terrorism. Yeah there are certain elements that people will always see as bad, but there is gray areas there for some people.
I don't think including more mature elements is wrong, but it's really really difficult to pull off, and some of those elements are likely to contain triggers or make people uncomfortable. So you should really determine if a group is okay with it, and have a really sound reason beyond "being EXXTREME" for including it.
I think that one reason that torture is less frowned upon than rape (I'm not saying it should be, just that it often is) is that torture is associate with interrogation.
If you're torturing someone with a goal in mind, then you can almost wriggle around until it's kinda sorta justifiable for the greater good, because if you fail at extracting the location of the ritual from the evil cultist then the dark gods may be summoned and all life is doomed.
It's far harder to justify rape to yourself in the same way. It's unlikely that having sex with an unwilling partner is vital to the survival of the town.
Another factor is that when you're torturing someone for information they're likely to be the 'bad guy', like a bandit or an evil cultist. If your anti-hero is extracting information he can justify his extreme methods to himself by saying 'these are bad people, they deserve it'.
Once again, it's far harder to justify rape in the same way.
Torture isn't okay, though sometimes it's arguably necessary... though given that information revealed under torture is fairly well known for being suspect, even that argument falls flat.
Rape is likewise not okay, but lacks even the flimsy justifications for torture. I believe that is a major factor in why one is more accepted than the other.
I avoid it.
Look at it this way: with all these bladed weapons being used so liberally in the game all the time, have you noticed that nobody ever gets emasculated with a battleaxe ever?
How about this for a plot line....
"The evil cleric got a really nice critical with his morning star. Both of your character's testicles have been crushed beyond repair. They had to be removed, for the spikes of the morningstar were treated with some form of contagion and the wound would've led to an abscess."
Sorry; your character has no balls. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to seek out a wizard who knows some secret treatment? You have to capture a troll for him though. Alive.
How come nobody ever uses the emasculation trope?
Because there is always a cleric of some love and/or fertility deity who would have a regenerate spell ready just in case something like this happens.
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As with all these things, it depends on what your players will tolerate. Including the DM as well, of course - personally, it's not something I would use as a DM. If you like very character-driven stuff and D&D for you is all about roleplaying, maybe it's something you can use responsibly as part of the story-telling but you run a very difficult line in avoiding making it exploitative and gratuitous. If you like a bit a knockabout fun, it's about as much fun as a dose of herpes, and as that's broadly my style it's nowhere in my game.
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Because there is always a cleric of some love and/or fertility deity who would have a regenerate spell ready just in case something like this happens.
How convenient that there isn't a sacred chastity belt spell, with all those orcs running around all over the place.
I searched rape and emasculation at tvtropes.com. The closest trope to emasculation was something about "A day in her apron."
It's a totally untapped trope, man. Gee I wonder why.
"Whelp, the dire lion got a critical. He removed your external genitalia."
Never gonna happen. You'll never see it.
It is unwise, and rarely does the benefit of using this device outweigh any potential awkwardness.
Its a trap.
Actually it did happen to a character of mine - though the fact that were schoolboys at the time is probably the most relevant factor.
It could've been the basis of this awesome quest, to the Temple of Osiris, to get a magical wooden artifact created by Isis herself.
Elvis Presley was making a movie. He was riding a motorcycle alone, singing some song or another. There were backup singers on the track, and they wanted to remove them. Elvis said to leave the backup singers in.
Somebody asked Elvis where the backup singers were because he was riding along alone and Elvis replied something to the effect of, "hell I don't know, I guess the same damn place as the drummer and guitarist."
That nebulous place is usually where I leave the rape stories.
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I think anything that is socially taboo is a concern when thrown into a game for any reason. I actually had this problem with a game I recently ran because I didn't know one of my players well enough.
I started off as a horror fan, developed a liking for Sci-fi and only later on (when I was about 16 or 17) developed a liking for fantasy (but am still not a fan of Tolkien-esque high fantasy).
So I have been horror fan since I was in single digits and have explored just about every kind of macabre and horror based theme (both western horror and eastern horror). I'm not squeamish and in my home brew games tend to have some rather mature themes.
I once ran a game which centered around a cannibal cult whose primary victims were children (based on folklore and pagan practices centered around virgin sacrifice but then amped up to add an unsettling horror element, I was also watching a lot of horror movies at the time that seemed to center around children). One of my players had a rough childhood and the theme did not sit well with them. They handled it with grace but later told me that it had really disturbed them and that they had not found it fun (while the rest of the players loved it). I apologized and attempt to keep myself from going to a place some might consider too dark when running a homebrew.
I consider rape to be one of those taboo, too dark, unfun themes.
A red button issue, and a common one at that. Meaning that it is a subject that will cause problems and should be avoided in game play.
When playing with new groups, always ask if there are red button issues with anyone in the group (this issue is always a red button issue for me).
I always ask because I don't know what issues people may have that are less common (severe phobias or past issues). For example, if someone - a player - suffered a dog attack as a child, they might not want me summoning riding dogs to sick on opponents, or druids with wolves attacking people. An extreme example, yet one I try to get out in the open so we all know what to avoid.
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Position threads like this always cause me to raise an eyebrow. Its like a one-sided tongue-lashing against an unknown opponent. It actually makes me want to defend GMs that use rape as a storyline tool - which is pretty disturbing.
Anyway, it seems like common sense that you should only be as descriptive as you and your players are comfortable with. Saying that an NPC woman was violated by marauders or an NPC man was violated in the prison cell should be sufficient.
If you get to the point where you're wanting to describe in-depth the exact sequence of events, its time to take a step back and examine what you're trying to bring to the game.
This, like all other evil acts, comes down to knowing your audience.
My group generally consists of three couples and a single guy. I can use any dark evil act I want, but I stay away from rape as much as possible. They can handle any subject matter, but two of the three women were raped as kids. If I don't have to go there for the story to work, I won't.
I admit I have used the threat of rape as a way to make it clear one of the bad guys was really an evil a!%!@&+.
In my Rise of the Runelords game, the subject came up a few times during the Hook Mountain Massacre adventure. The ogres spouted "fresh meat" and similar threats to the whole group (not only the female character) a couple rounds before being completely disemboweled. When the characters found the ogres' three unconscious prisoners, they discovered signs of sexual abuse on one of them. The G family is really disturbing, yo.
In the course of a game (happens to NPC etc), it would be situational and based on where the game is (store or convention, probably not appropriate; Jims basement, OK) and the nature of the players themselves.
Having a PC (of either sex) raped... my gut says "not cool" but again I suppose it would depend on the players. Some folks might be OK with it.
But judging from other threads, torture is apparently something many are completely fine with. Which is odd, because rape figures quite frequently against both men and women in situations of torture. I get the feeling that it's the same people that claim "torture is nothing to get your head in a bender about, I mean, they survive, don't they?" and "rape is the WORST thing anyone could do to another person, because you have to live with it and don't just die!"I'd actually say the reason its worse is because its violating in a way that flat torture isn't. Sex is usually something thats considered to be moderately intimate or at least quite personal. Even people with fairly low standards tend to do it with someone that they at least like a little. One night stands don't consist of grabbing any old jackass from the bar.
So its a personalized act, and they're taking something intimate and violating you in a way that usually only happens with someone you're pretty dang close with. So afterwards, every time you go to be intimate with a person, or even think of it, or another person makes a move, trying to get close to you, all it does is bring up the memories of that violation again.
On the other hand flat torture is blankly impersonal. Waterboarding? Pulling out fingernails? Stretch rack? There is absolutely nothing in day to day life, or at least very very little that the feelings involved will cross contaminate.
Well, I'm no psychologist, but I've had my fair share of experience with torture so that's my best guess.
Quite aside from the fact that rape of men and women is a common form of torture...
What torture does to you is trigger off being bound, restrained, wrestled, or thoughts thereof. Claustrophobia and panic from loud noises is common. Getting pushed or brushed by roughly. Someone quickly opening a door. And so on and so forth. I have met enough people with experience in the matter. The tough-guy romantic image of it is Western culture's greatest cultural lie.
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As a storyline impetus, it is best avoided.
Thomas: The things we do at all are the things that make us feel something. Not feeling something is worse than feeling bad things, oddly.
But since the vast majority have no real personal connection with torture or even gory battles, while a significant majority have such a link to rape, it's risky bringing up rape even without detailed description. Especially since rape is still often hidden, so even with people you know, you might not have any idea.
Agreed, but I don't think that precludes rape or any other controversial topic's use in a fantasy setting. A GM should give a decent summary of the campaign theme and elements that might be included, especially with players that haven't played with that particular GM.
If any players are uncomfortable with any elements described in the summary, they can ask for certain things to not be included, or they can choose to not play in the game.
Lastly, I think it is very important to always remember that players and characters are different. Beyond obviously obnoxious acts, a player should come to the table knowing that there is a possibility that their PC might get slashed, bashed, crushed, beaten, eaten, incinerated, poisoned, diseased, cursed, decapitated, etc, etc.
And the GM should be aware of the group's comfort level with how much in detail these type of actions are described.
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