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Sex in the Shadows (serious thread; don't be a heel)

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firebug

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« Reply #15 on: <04-25-14/1856:38> »
Being transgender might not be a specifically erotic thing for them, but it's definitely related to sexuality. [snip]
dinosaur was rightfully pointing out the difference between gender and sexuality, the two are completely different and separate: unrelated things. You can be transgender and straight, transgender and gay (or bi, etc. etc.), just like you can be male or female and be straight or gay (or bi, etc. etc.). "Mainstream society" confusing - or rather conflating - the two (gender and sexuality) is pretty much the summation of the whole problem faced by the LBGTQ community. Even the conflation of gender and sex-organs is a painful thing for some people to have imposed upon them by others.

He totally was; I hope I didn't seem to be saying he wasn't.  I just meant to say that, as part of it being "LGBTQ", and how transitioning can allow the person to be comfortable enough to enjoy sex (believe me, if you feel the kind of disconnection with your own body, it's very difficult to get intimate for a lot of people) that the two things are not completely unrelated.  That's all.

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Now, on-topic, in retrospect it's surprising to me how sexually charged/vulgar our groups dialogue can be, but sex acts rarely (if ever) come up in play. We have a gay player, have had gay NPCs, have hookers and potential love interests come up regularly, have off-handed flirting between PCs and PCs, and NPCs and NPCs, and between PCs and NPCs, but I don't think we've ever had sex acts pursued or enacted by anyone in play. Not even in a fade-to-black kind of way. I think this is mainly because sex can be a powerful story-telling tool, but it can also be an incredibly lazy or cheap one.  Especially in the cases of sexual-assault or rape, IMO, it is real easy to use this as a cheap tool, at which point it can become a pretty repugnant form of emotional exploitation - even having played with the guys I game with for over 4 years now (we all know each other really well), I'd be very very careful how I used those elements. For it to be the powerful tool, you can too easily bump up against the borders of too dark or too personal.

Ugh, I agree about that sex can very easily become a cheap and tasteless story element.  Like extreme violence, it absolutely needs to be used respectfully and not as the solitary focus of an event or scenario.

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As others have mentioned, I think things like changelings (fur, tails, scales, all that) and 'ware-augmented sex (multiple or unusual sex organs or limbs, obvious cyber-"abdomens", etc.), and just about anything you could dream up as an Icon and in your cyberspace Node would be among the popular things in the sex-trade in the 6th World. What about sex-bots, is the technology there? That would seem to be a means for lots of otherwise taboo (violent) behaviors. And you could probably do magical bondage, have your body under the control of your Awakened Mistress, but still be allowed to have control of your voice to use that safe-word?

Honestly, if I was in the situation of said mistress, I'd probably also be using a spell to read the emotional state of the target, or some kind of mind-reading.  The amount of intimacy that having a literal emotional connection to someone could bring would be pretty intense.  It'd also immediately let you know if you're doing something that's pushing them (in the wrong way) and know to back off or change the situation.  Also, if the Orgasm spell exists, it's entirely reasonable to assume there's spells made specifically for sex.  They're certainly not main-stream, and likely difficult to learn, but there's definitely spells for it.  Probably ones that amplify sensations (pain, or pleasure, or both) or even ones to share sensation.  In fact I think sharing senses actually was a spell in 4th...

As for sex bots, and this takes a bit of a downer turn, they probably don't really exist for two reasons.  I'm sure there's drones that look mostly (meta)human and stuff like those "Real Doll" things, but they're not full on Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence levels.  Also, bunraku parlors exist and they make quite a bit of money.  Though clearly there's a lot of people who would probably feel more comfortable having a "rather close approximation" than a metahuman with a personafix chip installed.  To be honest I think the only reason it probably doesn't exist, is because Shadowrun seems to be trying to avoid the "androids among humans" thing, hence why cyberzombies are being researched and why biodrones are a thing.  I dunno, I guess they probably do exist on some level since most of the technology is there, even if androids aren't really a thing.
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Bewilderbeast

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« Reply #16 on: <04-26-14/0844:08> »
On the subject of trasngender people in Shadowrun, this is one of those things that kind of brings the dystopia out of the setting for me a little bit. Yes, it's a grim dark future, but holy crap some of this stuff is amazing! Imagine having a transgender individual at your table and saying, "Gene therapy and medical science has advanced to the point that sexual reassignment is basically perfected, but no guys, Evo is seriously bad and evil for umm reasons."
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firebug

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« Reply #17 on: <04-26-14/1638:09> »
On the subject of trasngender people in Shadowrun, this is one of those things that kind of brings the dystopia out of the setting for me a little bit. Yes, it's a grim dark future, but holy crap some of this stuff is amazing! Imagine having a transgender individual at your table and saying, "Gene therapy and medical science has advanced to the point that sexual reassignment is basically perfected, but no guys, Evo is seriously bad and evil for umm reasons."

Hahaha.  Totally.  But that's the best part of the setting, that even the "worst" corps make huge contributions to society.  Hell, I think Stuffer Shack is owned by Aztechnology for christ's sake.  And let's not forget that every runner uses something made by Ares or SK.  Also why the Sixth World is still worth fighting for--  It may be dystopian but that doesn't mean there's no good in it.  If dystopia meant that, then you'd end up with too much Darkness Induced Audience Apathy and nobody would care about the characters.
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« Reply #18 on: <04-26-14/1700:10> »
The one fetish I imagine that has had the most interesting transformation is the vampire fetish.

I can imagine there are vampires who meet their hunger needs just by working as prostitutes and being open about what they are. Someone with a vampire fetish visits them, and as part of it the vampire gets to feed on them.
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Bewilderbeast

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« Reply #19 on: <04-26-14/1716:29> »
The one fetish I imagine that has had the most interesting transformation is the vampire fetish.

I can imagine there are vampires who meet their hunger needs just by working as prostitutes and being open about what they are. Someone with a vampire fetish visits them, and as part of it the vampire gets to feed on them.
Yeah... vampires are interesting because they're something that has been kind of sexified in real life but is distinctly unsexy in Shadowrun. Sure, I imagine there are people that are into it, especially since a vampire's essence drain causes a feeling of "ecstacy" and is literally addictive. But it would be seen as an extreme, extreme kink. Something self-destructive and insane, sort of like a castration fetish or seriously out there BDSM stuff is viewed today.

Ideas for plots or scenes I've had that were sexual in nature:
-Shadowrunners are hired for a "hooding" run to break up an illegal simsense porn studio that specializes in vampres draining simrigged victims. Their drain experiences are recorded and amplified to BTL-levels and sold as chips. Users end up hooked on both BTLS and Essence Drain, and the bodies pile up quickly.
-A scene that takes place at the site of an "astral orgy" where projecting magicians and spirits get freaky in the astral space a mile above Seattle. A literal mile-high club!
-Every shadowrunner deserves to blow up a benraku parlor at least once.
-A Humanis-sympathizer politician with a commlink filled with gay troll-on-human porn. I mean... filled. Infinite storage space, and it is freaking filled.
-A "snuff party" where organizers intend to kill a female "performer." What the monster running the show hasn't told people is that this is for more than a dark sexual thrill; the act is actually a ritual designed to allow temporary access to a very scary metaplane.
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firebug

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« Reply #20 on: <04-26-14/1725:22> »
The one fetish I imagine that has had the most interesting transformation is the vampire fetish.

I can imagine there are vampires who meet their hunger needs just by working as prostitutes and being open about what they are. Someone with a vampire fetish visits them, and as part of it the vampire gets to feed on them.

Probably happens...  An interesting thing that things called Vampires exist in an extension of the modern world, where everyone thinks about vampires as they do today.  That would lead to a lot of deaths though, since Essence Drain is literally addictive, and Essence doesn't "heal" over time.

Has anyone brought up that, in one of the 4th edition books (possibly Runner's Companion) it mentions that SURGE changelings sometimes end up working as prostitutes?  Ah, I found the part:

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>  Oh please, drop the blinkers. In the ‘60s, many changelings had
no other choice than to prostitute themselves and make pornchips
for people with certain “appetites” because no one would employ
the freaks. They may have been heralds of today’s transhumanist
trends, but that’s as much due to their exploitation as fashion or
pop idols as idolization by their loyal fans. Let’s face it, their ap-
pearance is still an invitation for harassment and violence in all too
many places.
>  Goat Foot


Ideas for plots or scenes I've had that were sexual in nature:
-Shadowrunners are hired for a "hooding" run to break up an illegal simsense porn studio that specializes in vampres draining simrigged victims. Their drain experiences are recorded and amplified to BTL-levels and sold as chips. Users end up hooked on both BTLS and Essence Drain, and the bodies pile up quickly.
-A scene that takes place at the site of an "astral orgy" where projecting magicians and spirits get freaky in the astral space a mile above Seattle. A literal mile-high club!
-Every shadowrunner deserves to blow up a benraku parlor at least once.
-A Humanis-sympathizer politician with a commlink filled with gay troll-on-human porn. I mean... filled. Infinite storage space, and it is freaking filled.
-A "snuff party" where organizers intend to kill a female "performer." What the monster running the show hasn't told people is that this is for more than a dark sexual thrill; the act is actually a ritual designed to allow temporary access to a very scary metaplane.

That first one is hella frightening just because it sounds 100% possible.  The chipheads hear rumors of the warehouse they can go to experience it for real, and a small cult-like group would probably form.  Runners might be used to occasionally going up against crazed chipheads, but when they realize that half of them aren't chipped-in when they rise to attack, it would give a serious opportunity for thoughts about morals and the frightening affects of addiction.  Could make for a very powerful game!

The last two though, I dunno.  I mean the Humanis thing is mostly humorous, and harmless.  It's literally just a prejudiced politician with a buncha embarassing porn.  Hilarious!  Maybe not "mature", but like I said, harmless.  The last one though is really dark and would be legitimately disturbing to witness.  I imagine at least one PC would be tempted to suggest blowing up the place and killing everyone involved, save for the victims, but including anyone in the audience.  That said, I, if I was a player in that game, would not object to you deciding to GM that kind of story if it was handled respectfully.
« Last Edit: <04-26-14/1729:54> by firebug »
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Bewilderbeast

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« Reply #21 on: <04-26-14/1740:25> »
The last two though, I dunno.  I mean the Humanis thing is mostly humorous, and harmless.  It's literally just a prejudiced politician with a buncha embarassing porn.  Hilarious!  Maybe not "mature", but like I said, harmless.  The last one though is really dark and would be legitimately disturbing to witness.  I imagine at least one PC would be tempted to suggest blowing up the place and killing everyone involved, save for the victims, but including anyone in the audience.  That said, I, if I was a player in that game, would not object to you deciding to GM that kind of story if it was handled respectfully.
That's true, it is kind of a gag, but my point is it's a highly believable run. "Get Senator Smith's commlink, or failing that, every file on his commlink." The team decker tries to hack it, and says, "Hey, guys, there's a LOT of files here." He cracks one, takes a peek, and everybody gets a good laugh... but then they're still left with the practical ramifications of dealing with moving that amount of data. Or stealing directly from a politician who will probably be VERY defensive about that particular commlink. It also lets them poke fun at the Senator's hypocrisy instead of just "lol gay troll porn," which would be pretty darn immature.
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« Reply #22 on: <04-26-14/1745:23> »
I will admit the vampires thing probably isn't that common... which would make it extremely hard to find out it is happening.

Bewilderbeast, it would be even better if, in those videos, the human was the Congressman...
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firebug

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« Reply #23 on: <04-26-14/1823:26> »
I will admit the vampires thing probably isn't that common... which would make it extremely hard to find out it is happening.

Bewilderbeast, it would be even better if, in those videos, the human was the Congressman...

Of him going to a bunraku parlor with a male troll set to the Cellmate Bubba the Love Troll personafix.  I'm sorry, I just talked about maturity and then I say that.  >.>
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« Reply #24 on: <04-27-14/0554:29> »
As I said earlier there's a lot of potential for darkness here and since we're sharing here's two that occured to me.

A new drug to induce an incredible high and interconnection. Essentially two people take it and even if the lack the power/training they astrally project and make love in astral form over the city sharing each others emotions ans sensations ... Said drug being manufactured and dustributed by a Master Shedim who then summons more normal ones to possess the vacated prepared bodies of uts customers.

A ring who pick various people in for skill wire implants and fit them with a sim rig they then sell the happy/pleasureable moments of that persons life online without tjeir knowledge or consent. If possible maybe even selling control coded to various special customers so they can upload different persona fixes to the victim then uninstall them and bask in the negative emotions generated as they find themselves in various situations ranging from the humiliating to the tragic.

And then there's the ones I wont share here.

You've also got the potential for some unusual punishments e.g. you boys beat up this transgendered individual so your all getting court ordered sex changes for a year so you can experiencr what its like to have your mind and body not match up personally. Cosmetic surgery on a polu club member to make them look like an elf/ork.

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« Reply #25 on: <04-27-14/1138:58> »
A new drug to induce an incredible high and interconnection. Essentially two people take it and even if the lack the power/training they astrally project and make love in astral form over the city sharing each others emotions ans sensations ... Said drug being manufactured and dustributed by a Master Shedim who then summons more normal ones to possess the vacated prepared bodies of uts customers.

The shedim are gone.  The drug might still exist though.
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« Reply #26 on: <04-27-14/1229:15> »
Any game where the social setting is just as important as the martial or magical one is GONNA have some sex in it, if im running the game. PCs are GONNA have sex at some point. I don't like to dwell on it ingame though. It's usually the sort of thing that's handled during downtime. "Ok, it's been 3 months since the last run. Bob, you've been shacked up with that ork rigger you met in jacksonville, right?"
The player understands that sex is occurring and so when that ork rigger hits him up about whatever she hits him up about, he reacts to her as a lover. Later on, if that rigger steals his helicopter and pawns it for a ny100,000 BTL block party, he reacts to her far worse than he would some random junkie off the street.

I got long winded, but my point was that sex IS important to any large scale social setting, but to dwell too much on it for too long in character, tends to creep players out a bit.
It's a fun little balancing act with every group.
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« Reply #27 on: <04-27-14/1243:52> »
honestly, given that the time period of shadowrun is only 60 years ahead of us, i honestly don't think much will have changed
you know that it wasnt much more than 60 years ago, we had "whites only" drinking fountains in the US, right?
SO MUCH can happen in 60 years, dude. so much.
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Senko

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« Reply #28 on: <04-27-14/1254:22> »
Yep now we've got humans only drinking fountains. :D

I'm thinking the Ork riggers hitting him up about being pregnant.

Also while I'm glad the sheddim are gone (no stealing my body while astral projecting) where they just dropped or is there an ingame explanation about what happened to them.

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« Reply #29 on: <04-27-14/1304:10> »
Also while I'm glad the sheddim are gone (no stealing my body while astral projecting) where they just dropped or is there an ingame explanation about what happened to them.

The explanation is that when the Watergate Rift was closed, the shedim sort of vanished.  No one knows where they went, and there's certainly some possibility that there are a few left over, but it appears that the connection between our plane and there's is closed.  If one were to encounter shedim now, they're nowhere near as scary and powerful.

The out-of-game explanation is that shedim were a tie in with Earthdawn, which is no longer an IP owned by Topps.  This means that Earthdawn can't be used by Catalyst, and can't be tied in to Shadowrun anymore.  Of course, this might change in the future (as this IP has changed hands more times than Paris Hilton's sex tape).
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