This is where TSR jumped the shark, isn’t it?
http://x.delcarsdungeon.com/components/com_mojo/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/derail.thumbnail.jpg
Ok,
Let me set it up for those of you that A) don’t know me personally and/or B) aren’t mind readers.
With me? Both of you? Good.
I’m grateful to have new players for my World of Greyhawk campaign. ‘Mark Caliber’s’ missus, their spwan, my son, and his buddy are now all playing as well as my wife.
File that away, we’ll get back to it.
I’m flirting with disaster already; the game is chock-full of GMPCs - they literally ARE my old PCs.
Add to the mix the fact that my wife’s beloved half-orc pitfighter is happily married and has spawned two kids.
So; Missus ‘Mark Caliber’ (hereafter MMC) has taken over MC’s character Shethba, evolving her from a manipulative, greedy, selfish twit, into a manipulative, greedy, selfless lady.
The whole family are munchkins, MMC just smiles and disarms me. Her shopping trips are endless lists that make my eyes glaze over and when I handwave and say ‘Yes, you can have all of it.’ I later regret it bitterly.
So ANYWAY. The lady Shethba (now a baroness) is long overdue to find a husband. (Queue the theme to Jaws someone)
To my growing horror, my story-heavy style of game has gone heavy on the romance and I haven’t noticed it.
Delcar and Neltara’s marriage needs occasional intervention from the PCs.
Kepthea (Neltara’s cousin) is an invited guest, but seemingly would like to be ‘kissing cousins’ with Neltara, and is a bit of a cad with ladies of any species.
Turgor has fallen hard, and has had a whirlwind courtship with Grozlynn… the dwarf runesmith, they’re now married.
Turgor’s daughter has moved in, and is one of Shethba’s ladies.
The half-orc shaman girl Fang (shapeshifter, and don’t laugh, her brother’s name is ‘Fist’) has a crush on Nosajaryen - my son’s PC.
Suddenly, MMC has designed two characters for Shethba to marry (I neatly ignored the first one making vague non-promises about including him at a later date) and now she’s made MC roll a new character… so she can marry him again.
…
Add to this the fact that my son’s buddy has told me what he wants his character’s girlfriends name to be and wants her added soon, and suddenly….
http://x.delcarsdungeon.com/components/com_mojo/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/b0ff_1.thumbnail.JPG
Buwaha-ha-ha-ha-HA.
Yup, I’m THAT Mark Caliber.
Yes, we just spent three sessions (THREE LONG SESSIONS) watching Turgor and Grozlyn getting married. (That’s one GMPC and an NPC.)
Watched them get married for three long sessions. On the plus side, Jaerrick finally got drunk for the first time. Unfortunately it was on that rotgut Dwarven swill. On the plus side, he’s becoming a tee-totaler (total abstinence from alcohol.)
Now on the contra side let me give you the list of PC’s
1) Rashida (GM’s wife. Be afraid. Be very afraid.)
2) Shethba (Yes, my lovely wife.)
3) Nosajarian (GM’s son) I routinely want to call him “Nosaruto.” Orange jumpsuit and all.
4) Tashakina (the Cobra) my son
5) Jaerick (Like shakespear I spell his name differently every time.)
Now go back and read through Delcar’s list of NPC’s and GMPC’s. He only listed about 1/3rd of them in his original post, by the way.
NPC’s
Fist - Half-orc Male (Yeah, the parents were imaginative)
Fang - His sister
Thorn - the Imaginative Fatehr (GMPC)
Azule - the Imaginative Mother (GMPC)
Beth - Y’llaines Daughter
Y’llaine - Shethba’s former maid
Maerick - Y’llain’s new husband
Turgor - GMPC
Gwyn - Turgor’s Daughter & lady in waiting for Shethba
Grozlynn - Turgor’s new beau.
Gilaine - “minor” GMPC
Baltric - minor NPC enemy of Jaerrik’s
Bedemere - Knight supervising the male “squires” But we’ve all been recently knighted and act as “Junior” knights.
Stormchaser - drop dead gorgeous centaur (if you’re into half horse people.)
Flit - The Fairy Dragon who’s latched onto Shethba
Zifnab - the obnoxious gnomish illusionist. (Somewhat minor)
Rygar - Rashida’s Husband
Rashgar - Rashida’s son
Rykina - Rashida’s talkative disobedient daughter
Delcar - THE GMPC!!!! Count of Eiberen, Archmage of the Flanaee
Neltara - GMPC who married Delcar
Kepthea - the aforementioned cousin
So off the cuff that’s 22 NPCs/GMPC’s who enjoy considerable screen time for us 5 PC’s.
As of late we’re in the middle of a pitched fight of us verses them. (Them being about 100+ mooks* and BEBG’s*.) Out of session, Delcar was complaining about how long the fight was taking. (3 hours of game play and counting.) He mumbled something about how this fight would be over now if we were using another system (say D&D in any of its vanilla flavors.)
My retort was, “You’ve got too many NPC’s.” (I’ll let you readers do the math.)
Mook’s are cannon fodder. BEBG’s are Big Evil Bad Guys who are considerably stronger that Mooks.
So yes, my wife want’s to get married to me. (As if the first time wasn’t enough.) Mind you I can’t refute her very logical reasons (which I won’t go into detail in front of the GM.)
Being the dutiful husband I sat down and put together a character who would be suitable for the lovely Shetbha. Mind you this character, let’s call him Ari Glyndwr (cause that’s his name,) isn’t precicely the character I would play normally, especially with the skill points dumped into gardening, naturalist, herb lore, macrame, sculpture (wood), singing, etc. Normally (being a munchkin) I’d have thrown all of those points into Weapon Master, single deadly weapon and mega damage of death!
Still being a shallow He-man isn’t the type of guy Shethba is looking for.
As an aside, its interesting having your wife take over your former female character. (Okay, put aside the therapy jokes.) I have had to field questions like, “So, what kind of guy WOULD Shethba go for?”
Pft. Easy. Tall, slightly balding, computer geek from the future, a little over weight . . .
Yeah, my wife disagrees too.
And HA. First post!
I’ve always thought in-character romance has to be one of the stickiest subjects approachable. Having the players already in a relationship obviously removes a lot of the land mines, though it sounds like there are still plenty
Casino 1250724169…
Casino 1250724169…