Seduction
Many espionage and fantasy genres feature seduction as a significant narrative element. For games operating in those genres, it would be amiss if GMs disallow the use of seduction as a means of building alliances or misleading opponents. In truth, however, there is little that GMs can (or should) do to prevent players from flirting with each other in any kind of social game format and actual romantic relationships between players have a tendency to influence character interactions in game. The situation where players attempt to seduce players for the purposes of achieving game goals has been jokingly referred to as “WYSIWYG,� computer shorthand for “what you see is what you get.� GMs sometimes write the phrase “seduction is WYSIWYG� in rule sets to imply “if any seduction occurs in game, we didn’t intend nor plan any of it,� absolving themselves of any emotional fallout that may occur between players after the game.
This simplistic approach to the issue of seduction may seem convenient but in many cases, it fails to capitalize on the potential of romantic relationships between characters. Often WYSIWYG seduction results in no seduction at all. Players are likely to conduct themselves on strictly platonic and professional terms. Thus, their characters interact in a similar manner. At worst, WYSIWYG seduction can lead to some unpredictable or nonsensical results in the game as players twist events and alliances in ways that may have little relevance to the personalities of the characters or the circumstances of the game.
Providing mechanics for seduction might seem to be problematic but many Guild games feature seduction mechanics, implying that there is some popular merit to the idea. GMs that provide mechanics for character seduction acknowledge that, at least for certain kinds of games, affairs of the heart should play a major role in the decision-making of characters.
There have been a large variety of different seduction mechanics for Guild games, suggesting the many different aspects of charisma and attraction that GMs see as applicable for different games. Most seduction mechanics, however, occur in three overlapping stages: a preamble, a competitive action, and consequences. The preamble usually requires players to interact in some conversational way for a limited amount of time. Once accomplished, a player might play an ability card or use rock-paper-scissors to determine if the seduction was successful. If successful, rule-based roleplay opportunities and competitive advantages and disadvantages come into play.
GMs can control the use of seduction mechanics by determining the possible results of seduction, thus encouraging seduction to occur in a manner that would be appropriate for the genre of game. Some seduction mechanics are merely brainwashing mechanics in disguise, a means of altering another character’s loyalties by willfully playing with character emotions. Some facilitate goal achievement, where a character actively works to attain another’s affection through gifts, words and deeds. Some create competition between otherwise unrelated characters by having them struggle over the attentions of a shared love interest. Some games simply highlight “flirting for the sake of flirting� as being appropriate for the setting, structuring their seduction mechanics to that end.
All seduction mechanics, barring WYSIWYG, share one trait. They allow players to conduct and resolve romantic character interactions without depending on the mutual attraction of the players. Seduction mechanics act as a layer of abstraction that divides the action of the player from that of the character. This means that players who may not be predisposed or skilled in seduction can have their characters engage in romantic relationships that are entirely confined to the limits of the game world. This “safety layer� encourages players to initiate and maintain character romances, thus allowing the romances to play a major part in determining the course of a game in a way for which the GMs can adequately anticipate, plan and cater.
In A New Deal, a film noir game I wrote in 2002, I created a complicated seduction mechanic that involved nested preamble and competitive elements in an attempt to capitalize on all of the possibilities listed above into a single mechanic. It involved players having to strike up banter, compare cards, find an empty classroom, and engage in a game of blackjack that could result in a number of different consequences. One of the primary challenges in the design of this mechanic was finding ways for players to engage in such complicated interactions while staying in character and reinforcing the atmosphere of the film noir setting. The following chapter addresses this tension and different approaches to make abstract mechanics seem a little less abstract.
