I Made Dating WORK in D&D

[@MangocheeseLlama]

“So I watched a bunch of harem anime to learn what NOT to do” - Blaine 2023

[@RavenCloak13]

What he actually did: "So I watched a bunch of romcom love story type anime to learn what NOT to do." Seriously. It's literally the exact opposite given how NOTHING HAPPENS in the average romcom romance anime, meanwhile a harem anime stuff ACTUALLY HAPPENS. Like Jesus, it's dumb and telling the show he picked to show a harem WASN'T a harem. Only two girls like the MC and the main girl is specifically the one whose being the main love interest while the other girl ends up falling in love with a different guy. This also being a show where all the characters are trying to make a VN story. The anime being "I raised a boring girl into a main heroine".

[@salvadortoscano2534]

Best way to do it, learn the red flags

[@skyking4557]

​@@RavenCloak13Saekano Has pretty Good finale,the Two girl abandoning him because he only thinks about himself and restrict the two from achieving their dream.That crappy MC should have Worse ending than ending with kato.also i reccomend 'Oregairu',it has a bunch of Character and story development

[@skell6134]

@@RavenCloak13 It depends on specific anime rly You can find harem anime where nothing happens or just situation with clueless MC,lol

[@scottygagnon4287]

Thank God, harem is a blight.

[@birdup1_2]

“Dnd players usually make idealized versions of themselves, as characters” Me with my sad, drunk, old, half elf paladin

[@markkiefer3243]

Me with my horrifically scarred, PTSD ridden fighter with soldier background.

[@birdup1_2]

@@markkiefer3243 ayyy

[@SaiCantLie]

Everyone's first few characters resemble themselves and the characters start getting depressed the more they are made

[@cydonia1]

ironically that's the description of my pc's mentor, who is a happy baker half elf paladin

[@sovereignflux]

Me with my overly paranoid and unstable elf wizard.

[@mikemullen2047]

Blaine 'The Master Rizzler' picks up yet another girl in a Dungeon.

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

More like the rizztraning ordor

[@jgr7487]

Because of course Blaine had to. After seeing the vid, I'd just like to add 2 things: 1) don't force romance on your PCs, sometimes they'll just answer "ny character has someone waiting for him at home" or they won't want to have this type of relationship in the game; & 2) beware the trope of giving PCs friends, family or dates just so you have a low hanging target, bc it will make your players shun all further relationship hooks. Sometimes a friend who symbolises a safe space inside this tactic game is a great boon for the party. Ah, &, if you have a social session in which no social skills are rolled, you don't have a D&D social session.

[@magi-qrow4025]

Some valid points!

[@MythicMachina]

As a DM I actually really like it when a player gives their charatcer some kind of love interest in their backstory. It's a great way to have a reoccurring npc in your game. Not to mention it's a prime motivator to make a player character spring into action if they are in danger.

[@StapleCactus]

Do you let them have a love interest or immediately go "Oh cool, another NPC to kill off"? Cause I swear, everyone seems to think D&D characters have to have horrible lives.

[@MythicMachina]

@@StapleCactus No, I actually let them have a love interest. But putting them in danger can be a good way to motivate them, even if I have no plans to kill them. Hell, they might even be able to team up with them for a bit!

[@StapleCactus]

@@MythicMachina Cool. Hey, while I have you here, can you give me your opinion on why "motivating" players is a thing? I mean, if they aren't motivated, why are they playing? I've only played with one group and all the motivation we needed was "stop the bad guy from killing people cause that's what the game is."

[@MythicMachina]

@@StapleCactus When people refer to "motivation" for the players, it's less about the players themselves, and more about their charatcers. Every player charatcer is... well a charatcer. They are going to have wants and goals in the story besides just "follow the main plot forehead". leaning into those wants and needs gives a reason for the charatcer to continue their journey, but also makes the player feel seen. Having the charatcer's backstory actually matter makes them feel more invested, as now it's more personal. Having the reason for the game just be "we gotta kill the maim villain becuase plot demands it" can be a bit boring. Even doing something simple like "The BBEG punched my wife in the face, and now I want revenge" is better becuase now its fucking personal!

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

@@StapleCactus Vengeance is a pretty shallow motive. It's a lot easier to motivate the character if you keep the things they care about around.

[@PancakePlanet.]

Man imagine needing this.... *aggressively starts writing notes*

[@IDragon1930]

Do it.

[@Lancer8Ithink]

Oh so you think that I PLANED for the romantic subplot... that's cute...

[@JamSpaceCloud]

I made it so the barista is a bald and jacked dude that is a gossip lover, and will basically reveal some secrets of random people in the town, which only a few are actually ploy relevant...he is there to basically say "this is very sus" or "this person is this" in a way that isn't just like lore dumping...

[@The_Darke_Lorde]

If an NPC your player is dating is known by the PC to be tiugh as nails/a fighter, having them be captured, only for the party to meet the NPC as they're breaking in to save them and ghe NPC's fighting their way out can be neat.

[@gahhck_9170]

The best way I’ve ever seen a DM handle general romance was during one instance where the romance was never planned by anyone. Was playing a halfling bard and went to the local hunters outlet in the new town. Place is owned by an NPC who is a Half-Orc. Not human/orc though. Dwarf and orc. I randomly ended up losing my character voice as the interaction began, and I decided to play it off as if my bard had merely gotten nervous at the sight of the Dwork (yes that’s what the DM called the race). Fast forward a bit and me and the DM work together to build a narrative for how my bard would eventually get on good terms with the Dwork, and eventually make a good relationship out of it. Unfortunately the story never finished as the campaign fell apart due to everyone’s lives getting hectic (because it was when Covid really hit where the group lived), but, the DM was working on a resolution to the narrative, which is way more chill than most DMs are about romance in campaigns (at least from the horror stories I heard from other players).

[@RavenCloak13]

Wait, that isn't normal? Who the fuck plans this shit? The only plan comes AFTER you meet the random NPC the Players/Player ACTUALLY like.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Least Horniest Japanese Bard: "It is time to make everyone from eldritch monsters to cute elf girls pregananante"

[@MagnaFae]

In the campaign I currently DM (set in high fantasy Edo-period Japan), three of the PCs have an NPC love interest. The artificer and the rogue are dating a tanuki and a jorōgumo (spider yokai girl) respectively, both of which I introduced as plot hook NPCs with no expectation of romance, and the bard has an ongoing slow-burn with a kitsune from his backstory! So as a seasoned DM with lots of experience facilitating romance subplots, I can say that while romance in D&D is definitely not for everyone, it can really elevate a campaign when done correctly. If anyone has questions or just happens to be curious, ask away!

[@scrapbotcommander]

That's awesome! And yee, I has a question :D I know Blaine talked about date sessions during downtime and in-between arcs a little bit, but I still feel really unsure on how to pull it off 😂😅 He mentioned that, on the one hand, at the end of the day D&D is about tactics, and failing to give your players a chance to use their abilities turns the session a boring talking simulator. But on the other hand, I wouldn't want the party to feel like dates are a bad idea if _every single time _*_without fail_* they have a date, they always ends up getting attacked by something and it just turns into a mess. I'd want to be able to run a more relaxed, casual type of session, something where combat is an option but there isn't an inherent _need_ for it... but I don't really know how to do that to be honest. The sand castle building competition and Siren ideas were really cool, but those are really specific and idk how he thought of those, lol I used to DM for my school's D&D club, only did it for a year and a half. The format I developed was 1. First check where we're at in the story to get a general sense of what's next, 2. design next mission around traveling to a location to do X objective that's guarded by some lore-based enemies, then 3. treat the mission like a sandbox and let however they handle the mission -and how I improv in response LOL- inform how the story shifts from this session to the next. No one really tried to date any of my NPCs, and I had never even considered a "lets just wind down and have some fun" session outside of the mission format. What could I do to make sure a date session like that feels peaceful compared to the usual chaos of chasing after the BBEG, without sacrificing the opportunity for the players to use their abilities and engage with the game on a level beyond just talking simulator?

[@scottygagnon4287]

​@@scrapbotcommander IDK how your group does stuff, but speaking as a player, talking simulators are not neccicarily bad. It's fun to interact with well-written NPC's. Dont know how much this helps, but one time, we had something like a date in game (my and my girlfriend's characters hanging out, no fighting). We just decided to mess around and have fun. We didn't really roll anything, but we got into hijinks that started with a fancy lunch and ended with an illusionary fireworks show cortesy my sorcerer. Sometimes just hanging out is nice.

[@MagnaFae]

@@scrapbotcommander My go-to scenario for a low-key session that still employs the PCs’ class abilities is a carnival! Maybe there’s a festival for a calendar holiday, or a circus has come to town. Either way, it creates more dimensionality to the world, because real cultures have all sorts of reasons to celebrate! There’s no shortage of hijinks and possibilities with a festival/carnival/circus/etc. Maybe the Fighter decimates the strength tester and wins a huge prize for their date to impress them. Maybe the Druid takes on the wildshape of a huge hog for a county fair livestock contest to win a blue ribbon and some prize money. Perhaps the view from the top of the Ferris wheel affords the lovebirds a scenic and romantic moment under the stars and fireworks. It’s the kind of event that keeps the party (and their dates) moving and engaging with the new environment, rather than just sitting across from each other at a restaurant and playing 20 questions. It helps if you come up with niche common magic items that can only be won as prizes from the carnival games, to incentivize them to play. Nothing too powerful, just a nice momento to remind the party of that one magical night. If you want to inject some low stakes conflict into the carnival date, maybe the party finds evidence of someone stealing food or prizes, or one of the rodeo bulls breaks loose and the party has to lasso it and stop it from stampeding. Hope this helps! It has certainly helped me in the past!

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

​@@scrapbotcommanderthats a lot of words to bad i aint reading em

[@KaminoZan]

If you ever put a "Monster Man-ual" book together, with bara-style artwork... I'll buy it. Edit to add: That's a promise.

[@EricJAllain]

Sorry, you're getting monster Manuel instead. Though he has some of what you're looking for.

[@ceiling_cat]

haven't some japanese dude already made it?

[@TruthKeepersOfficialHD2]

Worth it?

[@GeorgePtacek]

So far in DnD I’ve seen one main romance happen and that was between my brother’s oblivious Cleric and a dragon. I forget the specifics because it was so long ago and I missed that session due to hockey practice but from what I remember the two were talking and the Cleric was just being a genuinely nice individual to the Silver dragon to the point the DM had him make a charisma check, which he rolled a Nat 20. This made Ellea, the silver dragon, fall for him. For the major battle at the end of that arc Ellea watch over him like a hawk and sometime afterwards she visited us at our base and got more “intimate” with our oblivious Cleric. Now my brother is planning on playing their daughter, a draconic bloodline sorcerer, in either his next campaign or his first Baldur’s Gate 3 play through.

[@demonmysterykid3343]

That so cool.

[@argentandroid5732]

Ooh, I just had a thought. A minimal combat murder-mystery campaign centered around a serial killer. The serial killer turns out to be Murder Hobo styled npc that rants and raves about the world and people being a simulation.

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

Huh

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

Thats neat

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

Yes!

[@TaurusWT]

After awhile I started noticing that my DnD characters would usually fall for anybody who is both strong enough to and willing to carry them around.

[@TheNeoVid]

Romance is just about the oldest and most powerful plot hook there is, don't leave out of your arsenal! The one time I played a character motivated by love, it was in an evil campaign. He'd been exiled from his home city due to her influential family pulling strings to get him away from their invaluable daughter. His exiting words during the exile were, "I'll reunite with you even if it has to be at the head of an army!"

[@JohnBenjamin1]

“Dnd players usually make idealized versions of themselves, as characters” My idea for a super powerful great wizard that got turned into a animal like a rat or a frog

[@LeviathanNightDragon]

Oh my gosh, I love the Interspecies Reviewers style on the sample document. This and Stuart's Waifu handbook fill me with glee and motivation to get my Nsfw rules rolling!

[@MaeMaeStro]

When I heard you talk about your Monster girl manual, you caught my interest. Then I checked the kickstarter page and saw the interspecies reviewers reference. Now you also have my money

[@alexandruhugyesz8409]

Not related to romance. Last session we managed to open a chest that we had been carrying for the previous session, and there was a speaking frog. It was enough for us to include it in the party. Now everytime the coDM says "Forg"(the name I gave the frog) it sticks its tongue in my ear, or if it says "ribbit" it means it sticks its tongue in my nose. It is actually funny to roleplay this, especially while having a dialogue with the opponent xD.

[@seanr.6498]

7:02 Wait, is Owlbear copywritten? They're in both D&D and Pathfinder, so I figured they were public domain.

[@starhalv2427]

It's possible it's in Pathfinder as per old license and will meet the same fate as Drows soon enought

[@SunWukongTheMonkeyKing]

Better safe than sorry.

[@KameronTV]

can we PLEASE date silver in mgm 💙

[@LemonadeStand618]

Simp/Simpette

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

Simp

[@TheConfusedBard]

Thx Blaine! As a new and upcoming dm this could help a lot!

[@LTMStarlight]

I am rewatching this video and I forgot how chalk full of good advice this video has even if you just apply it in a general sense. It’s beyond hilarious to me lol.

[@Kaze_Saikuron]

if someone goes "your princess is in another castle" their organs will be in a diffirent body

[@some_random_asian_guy]

"I added romance to dnd" Bard already exists

[@robertallen789]

This video is a couple months late (though I say this knowing this is sheer coincidence, nothing on you Blaine) I sort of had that moment in a tabletop game where a player did just some ABSOLUTELY selfless things for one of the NPCs that they had a lot of history with, I just sort of "Oh fuck, she totally loves that player character now."

[@AstolfoGayming]

Fun low-stakes date idea: Waifu wants to try adventuring, so you go hunt some giant rats or goblins or something. Basically 0 risk of death for anyone, but if you stomp them too hard, she won't feel like she got the real experience

[@transyuri4534]

6:14 This reminds me of something that happened with me recently. I was reading through the monster Manuel for the first time and had an interesting thought. The harpy's origin is so tragic, and it seems like it could be the perfect set up for a beautiful romance. So from now on, in my homebrew setting of Alcadia, if someone shows compassion for a harpy, and matches her song with one equally as beautiful, they are freed from their curse of hunger and hatred.

[@CrazyLegoMan_II]

Was in A campaign Where one of my friends playing a Half Sea god Half Human (I think) ended up in a relationship with The Ships' potion maker, A female Frog woman. And now the phrase The Water Is Making The Frogs Gay Is A common Occurrence.

[@NRMRKL]

Blaine: "even if it's a nice little side story" (Shows episode 1 of Goblin Slayer) Me: "You're crazy. Don't ever change 😂"

[@TehGnomeh]

Even more terrifying kidnapping idea: Everyone gets kidnapped by Sylvia

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

But its oppiste day

[@1717.illust]

deep down we're all bards on the inside

[@SnakewithaGun]

Too many monster girls look like just a normal girl in an outfit for a comicon.

[@_Hamler]

I want an eldritch monstrosity I can bang

[@RavenCloak13]

The very first thing shown was a girl with crab legs and pincers.

[@Zulk_RS]

I think you may want to look into the furry side of the internet if you want monster girls that aren't "Normal girl in a monster outfit"

[@skell6134]

@@Zulk_RS Yeah... monster girls usually look weird when their appearence gets into Furry area...

[@sentrydraws25]

​@@RavenCloak13tbf those are pretty cosplayable, just build claws and an outfit that can handle pincers and boom you got that monster girl

[@asahearts1]

I like how some characters were hooked up in some of the later Completionist Chronicles books. The MC was an enemy of the Architects Guild due to being better at their job than they were. After several books of back and fourth, and after the leadership of the guild was shaken up, they sent this one lady to negotiate with the MC. Through the whole story everyone has seen the MC as a villian and hasn't really understood what he does. When he's giving this chick a tour of some of his buildings we finally get someone who admires and understands him, but he is completely oblivious and we don't see her again until a few books later. Really built up a desire to see more of her.

[@adamperdue3178]

The whole 'give the player something they want and then immediately take it away from them' tactic is very tricky to pull off without causing bad feelings. Most often what will happen is that you'll do it once, and suddenly your players will be less likely to let themselves get invested in anything in the future out of fear that you'll take it away from them. Quite possibly you'll encounter a player who is sensitive to the tactic because it's happened to them a lot in the past, and they'll blow up when it happens, or quietly quit the campaign. ESPECIALLY if the player has taken steps to prevent exactly this from happening, and it still happens anyways because well you're the DM, of course you can make whatever you want happen.

[@kitsunami7251]

They never said "immediately" and I do not believe it was the intent at all. You could always discuss it with your players beforehand though, communication is always good.

[@atashgallagher5139]

I run a D&D game with my girlfriend in as a player. It always gets a good laugh when she decides to flirt with *every, single, effing, NPC, I voice*

[@talenstout8324]

You could even breed your party members of different races to get powerfull hybrids.

[@bastionsea2829]

I love the variety of anime used, some of those I wasn't sure how many people knew about them

[@derpbeholder1905]

One of my players actually romance an ancient gold dragon. I know that may seem impossible but he did it. She liked to take the form of a halfling and one of my players was a halfling monk. He instantly fell in love with her because she shot him down every time they seen each other. I do believe the first line she said to him was "ew gross" and considering his monk seduced every woman or attractive man he seen this blatant act of defiance intrigued him so much that he fell in love

[@a-listgamer7873]

That’s no monk… That’s a bard!

[@derpbeholder1905]

@@a-listgamer7873 honestly he might as well have been

[@PhantomGato-v-]

@@a-listgamer7873 doubleclassing.

[@OreoGetDown]

Dang, can't wait for that next book to come out, monster girls are always fun to use

[@derultimativenachahmer74]

I hope Blaine Simple makes a Monster Boy book to.

[@FredzDimension]

the computer animated shot during the line of killing 5 rats is from a computer game I played a lot of as a kid 3d movie maker

[@enderskunk7644]

If things get violent too fast, the calm emotions spell could be a good way to get a moment to talk. Or just putting the party inside a wall of force gives you the timeout you need (and you didn't enchant anyone, so probably better on a moral level)

[@YanYanicantbelievethistakenffs]

I can testify that anything redacted as a statblock truly makes my brain go "roll intiative" like nemo seagulls. I see multiattack 3 and i go awooga. Hell even npcs statblock make me wonder "could i make this work?" So i design npcs and non hostiles with a different style of statblock. One that is more... "you will have to calculate AC, health and dmg, BUT here is a list of what they like dislike and social stats." Truly helps

[@NotTheYuddas]

The moment Ireena was introduced into the party one of my players tried top romance her. Obviously given the circumstances and when in the story my player tried to romance her if yk yk, she was not happy and slapped him across the face. By the end of the game they ended up getting together, escaped together, and lived out the rest of their life as normal.

[@jormungander_the_world_serpent]

POV: you and your barbarian is just here to eviserate goblins

[@nojibjelly]

My DM made a sentient shield that obsessive to a character who attuned so I doubled down on it and made it a loving relationship

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

Me: Demisexual, Demiromantic, and currently complaining that everyone but Wyll in BG3 is trying to move too fast for my liking... My Players: An AroAce, and a Grayromantic Asexual Also Me: This is clearly relevant to the campaign I'm DMing...

[@salvadortoscano2534]

2:34 You made it *IMPOSSIBLE* to not see anything else, Wiz is already high up there, but adding *glasses* into the mix...bro

[@aresnova7143]

Blud played balder's gate 3 and decided to add dating to dnd

[@Griede26]

awesome content. i find this pointing to one of the most important rules for me, have fun. ive noticed in quite a few sessions i participated in that there was more of a focus on rules and content, and not much focus on actually enjoying the game.

[@alexandraelizabeth8522]

I've done a few games with romance before, PC/PC romance usually is more impactful, but I've done romance stories with a few of my characters.

[@Tribox_ishere]

Idc if I can’t find a dnd game to play or sm I’m gonna watch instead of sleeping

[@CptFox]

oh shit new blaine simple episode lets go

[@Demolitiondude]

This further proves that 5th ed is super weenie hut Jr's of rpgs.

[@legendman5934]

I love learning about things I lack experience with

[@kanegawa9718]

9:32, that hand animation was just genius

[@enderfire3379]

now i really want to make a Kyton confused when the Bard invitably flirts with it, then have it begin a lengthy essay about how devils reproduce

[@lekarabbit5181]

This is definitely something you would approve with your group before putting in I can see this being uncomfortable

[@CrazyHawkeComics]

I accidentally rolled an 18 flirting with a giant sentient wasp, so this is very helpful!

[@andrewfuller1446]

Every frame of this video that isn't the ad or pictures of your book look like ai. There's just a faint blurriness almost the entire time that gives me that feeling.

[@BlaineSimple]

Lots of the anime clips are in 720p, and this is a 4k video. We had to do a bit of upscaling to keep the quality bearable lol

[@Shalalalala_666]

Tell me you’re a virgin without telling me you’re a virgin

[@Bondrewd__21]

10:25 imagine you receive a letter from your partner, that have clues that there is False Hydra currently growing under town.

[@jkosch]

Let's see. One of my characters is now married to Black Dragon who is shape change-locked into a human form. Originally she used a human guise to get close to the party and did put the moves on my character just to get the drop on us for the Cult of the Dragon. Then she started to show genuine feelings and decided to save the party (dying in the process) when her Cult allies cruelly did not keep a deal and attacked us during a hostage exchange. We met her in an afterlife where she acted as out appointed guide and ultimately the scene of her death almost repeated, but through some divine intervention she was allowed to revive and given the choice of her old self, with none of the memories about my character and the party or being revived as a human version of herself with all memories intact. In a different campaign (with a different DM, one I introduced to D&D) we have three of the parties characters in a relationship. Our chef-ex-mercenary-orc-barbarian is romancing a Winterwolf druid (she was orphaned and learned enough druidic magic from her druid foster father that she eventually could wild-shape into a human form). Our wild-mage has hooked up with an elf priestess of the goddess of luck who grew up among humans. And our ran-away-from-home-but-fell-in-with-organized-crime-before-breaking-free-when-meeting-the-party-rogue is dating a warlock of great Fae. She used to be one of a couple of prisoners we freed when fighting a bunch of bandits (together with her mother and her little sister). The mother later heired us to retrieve a family heirloom from a now ghost town she had to leave decades ago, but once we had brought it back the older sister vanished. As it turned out the heirloom had been a sign for a pact an ancestor of the family had made with a Fae and a fae servant of that fae was checking up on it now that it was on their radar again and did lure her into the Feywild. The party adventured there and during the events were at Fae ball where the atmosphere was just right for the rogue and the lost girl to connect a little more. Eventually the pact of the ancestor was "upgraded" when the liege the fae whose servant had lured her into the Fey Wild - Lady Titania herself - forged a contract with the girl who had impressed her. Honestly, the fae were less of a hindrance than the warlock's overprotective mother is. It took some serious convincing (and getting on the good side of the little sister) for her to give approval for the rogue and the warlock dating. Bottom line is: the (NPC) girlfriends of our party members have started forming a party of their own. And in yet another campaign, my dashing swashbuckler is flirting left and right and has two reoccurring exes (thouhg one of then is more an on-again-off-again kind of relationship).

[@nyankers]

On the player side of things, having an idea of your character's perspective on relationships can be fun, even if it's not ever going to be a main aspect of the game. If it's well thought out, it'll just be roleplaying and storytelling rather than weird.

[@SaryM29]

As an asexual person, it's true that your characters will mostly fall into your own attraction. Also, I find it so weird that some characters can just try and seduce others out of the blue and it actually works??

[@wahoobidy4912]

Love how you got the 3 most insane types of people to date as a reference lol. 0:14

[@Meme-pg5tw]

I wanna see the monster dating thing for general writing and the art looks really good

[@Elemental_131]

As an AroAce, I feel like a DM trying to throw a bunch of characters to try to get my character to fall in love with them. I'd likely be pretty uncomfortable TBH. This is definitely not just a "I'll go start trying to add romance interests for the characters because it'd be fun to ship their character!". This is defo a Session 0 thing to ask. Be sure to remember that Session 0 doesn't always happen at the start and can be done multiple times despite the name!

[@BlaineSimple]

Yep! I just quickly went over that at the start to get into the meat and potatoes, which was how to incorporate it after you've done all the safety prep

[@psachickennugget8617]

Eh, honestly I think I’m more interested in how much money I can make in a game since my unreasonable fantasy is having money.

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

Gold before gold diggers

[@Handinmapocket]

2:50 Orc Muscle girl Harem it is!

[@meeedicthethird6423]

I acidentaly got the players fall for a lamia. Backstory time. So basic concept for em was so be a semi reacuring npc in a sandbox world. And how that encounter whent would determine if good or bad things hapened (the players where getin a lil murderhoboey so i trew a carecter that woudnt fight unless provoked). Their brief backstory being that they are a outcast for beaing a yknow, snake. And when the party finds her shed have a diquise self spell active. But the players figured out the disquise and imediatly thought murder like all other monsters. What they didnt expect was for the lamia to cast mayor illusion to "summon" a creature (homebrewed summon) and then used the ilusion to run away. The players realising that she didnt whana muuuurder them, litrely chased after her for in game hours. And then when they cought up some nat 20 carisma checks aaaand she becape a part of ther crew on thier ship. And then after the fact got the carecter icon for her. And once i stated she was a goth. Players whent at it. So the secret is to know your players kinks and fetishes cause god dayum they where thirsty for goth. And theen during a mini sesion where me and one player where testing a custum cooking mechanic. And i was reading a list of fantasy mushrom names and found one that does the "aphrodesiact afect" (mind you i wasnt gona add it but the players thought it be funny that that was only obtainable by foraging and geting a nat 20). Aaaand during the mini sesion the player that was helping doing the tests roled a nat 20 to forage and failed the wisdom to know what it was. So they made a soup out of a unknown mushroom. Aaaaaand it dosent go the way youd expect. The two npcs (the lamia and a dwarf) fail their con saves. While the player books it for the hills. So after the "steamy sesion" the dwarf and lamia got engaged. Then the players put a entire scheme to subtily break them up (they are curently as of writing at the stage where they are cudling whit the snake goth whamen and have sucseded in performing the breakup)

[@MemphiStig]

5:55 I doubt the monster would find a character's infatuation with them harmless, especially if they knew they were being objectified for the kind of creature they are. "Bird-girls are *SO* sexy!" In fact, they'd probably find it just as racist as anything irl, and maybe that's a teaching opportunity for us all. Also, if you're trying to romance anyone or anything that's trying to kill you, you have a problem. Even if you're a bard.

[@grottlesgrotto6152]

the "readying your fireballs" comment was very apt

[@jpjfrey5673]

The problem with this is that the monsters described in the Monster Manual and further monster books like XTGE which *aren't* humanoids have minds alien to our own unless otherwise specified. The Owlbeast example in the video doesn't work because this isn't a monster - this is a humanoid that has minor monstrous traits, therefore it's not an actual Owlbear/Owlbeast, it's an example of a homebrew furry race. Actual *monsters,* if they're not humanoid, only look like people in order to gain an advantage for themselves, it's a disguise meant to fool or lure their victims in in order to do whatever they're bent on doing. You can't feasibly date an actual Owlbear because *it doesn't understand the concept of dating, it wants to mate and create offspring and you're not a compatible father/mother.* You can't feasibly date an Ochre Jelly because it's too stupid to understand what you're saying and just wants to eat your gear. You can't date an illithid because it obeys the Elder Brain and Elder Brain just needs thralls. You can't date a Succubus/Incubus because they see you as a plaything, a means to an end and just want your soul to turn dark so they can easily snatch it away. These examples are just a few, there are far FAR more. Blaine doesn't seem to understand that concepts like compassion, love and interest beyond instinct are *human* concepts, they're not universal concepts. It comes from an IRL human bias and wish to try to anthropomorphize everything and project upon it. Just because we *want* someone to love us doesn't mean they will or are even able to, it can easily not be in their nature

[@shiningluxray6572]

Ok, but you're forgetting we're all playing make believe. If people want dateable harpies or slime people let 'em have it. The DMG tells you straight up you can ignore, alter, or add rules as you see fit for your game. If it's not your thing that's fine, but don't tell other people how they can play their games.

[@djpanda4992]

The bbeg " so you have come to stop me" the party " no just looking aeound" bbeg sighs points gun at loved wons head

[@xiongray]

Welcome to Otome Dnd! We got... Just Monica. Just Monica. Just Monica.

[@PacmanPac-m8y]

the beach setting he mentioned when talking about chill sessions has one thing that might get you killed (which are the sirens unless they want to be bootleg succubi) and one thing that would def get you killed (giant octopus).

[@ZarHakkar]

2:32 "A cute *lich* girl" Ay yo that's a dead body you're rizzing up

[@TheSteam02]

Consent. Rule number 1 is consent. You do not want a Title IX violation.

[@isaacgleeth3609]

That is Rule 0.

[@Randomdudefromtheinternet]

First we get the Waifu Handbook and now this? Life’s good.

[@Evelyn-rb1zj]

My first character was a fire genasi bard/wizard named Roast who developed a little bit of a crush on an npc after touching a cursed sword and seeing a vision of her killing the old king (who happened to be her father) and when we did eventually meet her she was the princess of a neighbouring kingdom who we learned was named Zariah, the two of them had a friendly conversation and Roast didn't steal anything from the castle (she had just stolen from her new brother in law's castle the session before). at this point in the campaign, Clam, the water genasi druid who had lots of sibling energy with Roast, had just gotten married to the King of the other kingdom and now had a stepchild as well. In the final session Roast bonded to the cursed sword and used it to trap the bbeg's soul then the other party member steal it from her and I basically warned the player that if he actually tried it Roast was going to stab him because I couldn't see any alternate response from my treasure goblin of a character especially when the sword was definitely a bad influence and even the DM warned him against it but the player insisted on the action but luckily for him the rogue managed to hold him back so we basically ended the campaign but we brought back some of the children of Roast and Clam later on and it was established that Roast and Zariah got together post campaign and adopted a fairy named Camara who'd strayed onto the material plane Camara was a circle of wildfire druid but so far has only been played at level 1 and her cousin Coral is a human barbarian who was adopted by Clam and their husband they were level 1 because we all decided it'd been fun to play a really goofy game with everyone being kids and ageing as we levelled up (which was partially to remind the DM to level us up because we were all just really chaotic little kids) iirc Coral was 5, Camara and one of the other tieflings (either a rogue or a barbarian) were 7 and the eldest was an 11 year old tiefling sorcerer it was a load of fun Camara stole some fishhooks (any child with Roast as an influence would have to pick up sleight of hand to some extent but I decided Cami liked shiny or colourful things so she'd value pretty buttons and fishhooks like Roast valued money) she also stole a monkey from a circus train and she met an older fey who said they'd take her to the feywild someday I remember coral spent some time sitting and crying because everyone disappeared the sorcerer pickpocketed a minotaur, Camara and the other tiefling sought out a fat tabby cat, Camara refused to heal the sorcerer so we went to a doctor and someone stole a healers kit and we all drank milkshakes together in a café instead of meeting in a tavern it was a great session

[@Introvertextrovertstudios]

5:23 he knows our plan

[@LT_Aegis]

5:50 If a creature doesn´t pose a direct threat to humans (and in some cases, even if it does), they will have this urge to bond with it; it just works.

[@TheGenericavatar]

Q: What anime was the nun with the golden gun from?

[@siriusindustriesllc238]

Black lagoon

[@TheGenericavatar]

@@siriusindustriesllc238 Thanks! :)

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

​@@TheGenericavatarno its boondocks

[@lilylunamoonyt]

8:37 me: sees one piece, also me: insert excitement and happiness, also yea, giant octopus attacks are a good addition to a beach episode cuz why not

[@armartin0003]

0:57 Bro is dating so far above himself he has to literally grab her by the throat to keep her from flying away.

[@GrimCrayontheWraithLord]

This line caught me off guard💀 "If I was playing a wizard and my DM dropped a cute lich girl with glasses, you would instantly have my character's attention."

[@BahamutEx]

Just ordered your mega collection book, can't wait for the mgm to be available. (=

[@iateitguy903]

My group's not even interested in this kind of thing, but I like seeing how different things can be executed and why. I might try a couple of modified ideas inspired by this to make a couple recurring npcs eventually! (non romanceable. when my current group actually gets back to town. it's been a while. gonna be a while)

[@layaden]

Ok. As an Italian, I can’t believe you talked about Brancalonia

[@JeffreyBrown-o8v]

The problem with my party, is that they already cooked a goblin alive and ATE IT I’m not hopeful for giving them romancable monsters

[@Drayg0Fire]

the whole "human empathy" thing just reminded me of a DnD story I saw about a party and a ogre smith wanting to be a disciple of the god of Forges even though its a dwarven god and ends up not only saving the party but the world too by sacrificing himself to give them hope when fighting the BBGE and ended up a honorary Dwarf in the god's forges I hate I don't remember his name cause I would like to feature him in a campaign I'd like to do but not in need of players but a experienced DM to Co-DM with me so I can play the Character I want while sticking with the story and that can help me be flexible with it among other things

[@_Hamler]

Oohgie?

[@tridentgreen3346]

I too will fight for head. And heart.

[@buttmuncher-cm5tl]

*Rips out your head and heart*

[@koboldsage9112]

As much of a staple as it is in classical storytelling, I've always felt that romance and especially bedroom stuff belongs in the backstory and, at most, can be hinted at in the sidelines, but really has no place at the game table. As such I added a session zero ground rule stating that if my players want to roleplay bedroom stuff they are welcome to do it in the privacy of their own bedrooms. Imagine my surprise when my wife invoked this rule. Fun times.

[@leopardian]

somehow all of our party's favored NPCs are throwaways from the DM that we decided were important (and in one case managed to make into a god).

[@beefyblom]

I incorrectly read "dating" as "mating" and I think that says more about me than I'm comfortable with

[@NRMRKL]

Nice 😉 To be fair, considering fantasy (and specifically D&D) humans' ability to produce offspring with almost anything, it makes just about as much sense as the actual subject of the video.

[@RedSunUnderParadise]

I’d say profligates like you belong on a cross but what a waste of perfectly good wood.

[@siryeeschair]

Great video

[@boothead9495]

I added that my PC Paladin had a love interest when he left home to enlist in the army. When the party finally made it back, she was still there, we went on a date while the others did some stuff around town and the next day, my own family killed her to make way for an arranged marriage. I broke my oath to protect the people of my country that day.