Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition – A Review by M

Cover of Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition

(Trigger warning: discussion of suicide in relation to the plot of Romeo and Juliet) Time for a bit of manga-style Romeo and Juliet! No, no, not THAT version of Romeo and Juliet… I’m pretty sure that has about as much relationship to the original text as I have to Marilyn Monroe. Today’s dabbling in the crossroads of bishoujo and the Bard comes from an American produced manga by Adam Sexton and Yali Lin, published by everyone’s favorite “WTF Shakespeare?” publisher, Cliffs’ … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part X: Love Among The Races

TerminusLithra_WIP_3

Regardless of whether or not you play against your gender when you create a new RPG character, odds are you play against your race. Yeah, humans are great and all, but when such a big part of the fun of roleplaying is escaping from the real world, why be a human? Especially when there are so many wonderful races to choose from! Elves and dwarves are just the tip of the iceberg, baby; depending on your game world/system, there are many more options, from annoyingly adorable kender and prideful … [Read more...]

Our Wedding Bands Don’t Match (And It Doesn’t Matter One Bit)

loveepcot

This past Tuesday was my 6th wedding anniversary. Yes, now you all know the date, good readers, or will if you consult a calendar. I will expect presents next time. ;-) “We’re at six years,” I told my husband on the day itself. “In traditional gift terms, that means candy or iron.” We laughed over it, then decided to put off any celebrations until Thursday night. I had an office party on Wednesday I needed to cook for, and the holidays had us both rushing around. We decided to … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part VII: That Blessed Arrangement

impressive clergyman

After last week’s column, you’ve figured out how to get the proposal out of the way. Now it’s time for the characters to make everything official and get hitched. The easiest, quickest option is for the characters to head to the justice of the peace, or simply turn to the holy man or woman in the party, and get it done in a matter of minutes without the commotion of a big damn wedding (I know my husband and I wish that’s what we had done in real life…but that’s another story). It … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part VI: Will You Marry Me?

princess-bride-kiss

When two people fall in love, the urge to marry usually follows. Whether they want to get married just to make it official, to benefit from some rights granted to married couples, or for spiritual reasons, that short formal ceremony holds quite a bit of importance. If a couple of RPG characters fall in love, it makes sense that they’d want to get married too. Sometimes, though, marriage seems even harder than romance to work into a game. It’s a big commitment, after all. What if it … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part V: Romance As Plot Device

butterwes

Love is, as we all know, an important and integral part of human existence. It even goes beyond humanity – some animals mate for life, after all. Yes, technically speaking, romance is not essential to procreation and the furthering of the human race, but it certainly makes it all a lot more worthwhile. The quest to find true love is a common one, and it’s not always easy (if it was, GDG wouldn’t exist!). There can be lots of bumps in the road and obstacles to overcome, be they the … [Read more...]

Ask Y: Going From Dating to Exclusive

Dear Y, I've been dating this girl for a few weeks now and really like her.  We're going out at least 2 or 3 nights a week and have started to get physical. But I'm not sure how to start the conversation about whether we're "exclusive" or "official" or "going steady" etc.  Do you have any advice on how to broach the subject? - Is She "My Girl?" Dear ISMG, There comes a time in every relationship when the dreaded question must come up... "Are we exclusive?" How though, do you GET … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part IV: Your Taboo Is My Vanilla

girls

We’ve already established that romantic elements in your game can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, from as little as brief flirtation to fully detailed bedroom scenes. Likewise, the amount of detail you put into your campaign notes about the norms of love and sex in your game world can range from broad-brushed statements to outlines and flow charts. Even if romance gets no more than a passing mention in your game, it’s worthwhile to establish some standards. Why? Because … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part III: Roll For Random Sexual Encounter?

naughtydice

You’ve decided to add some love to your campaign, and have figured out how much, and how it’s going to be played. Now open the Pathfinder Core Rulebook to page 242 and… Wait. There really aren’t rules for this kind of thing in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Or the DMG. Or any game master’s guide. No problem, you can pick up any of the third-party products out there and… Wait again. Rules for sex and love? Srsly? Do we need rules for this? In my years as a gamer, this seems to … [Read more...]

What’s Love Got To Do With It, Part II: Bringing In The Lovin’

Zorra-Devin

So after reading the column I posted last week, maybe you’re thinking about adding a little love and emotion to your RPG. That’s great! But now that the decision’s been made, how do you go about it? And how much romance should you bring in to the game? You didn’t really think I’d leave you hanging without answers to those questions, did you? Two of the main things you should consider are the intensity level you want for your game, and what style of play you plan to use for the … [Read more...]