Damsels in distress

Has anyone created any rules for handling this kind of situation?

Other urls found in this thread:

sinfulpersuasion.deviantart.com/art/
twitter.com/AnonBabble

FATAL has in-depth rules on this.

Step one: unzip pants.
Step two: masturbate

You're not allowed to eat the rescued hostage.
You're not allowed to rape the rescued hostage.
You're not allowed to use the rescued hostage to test if your food is poisoned.
You're not allowed to sell the rescued hostage back to their erstwhile captors then rescue them again more than once.

Empowered Volume 9 has some good tips on what NOT to do.

They are safer with their captors then they would be with the PCs.

>TFW there aren't actually games that let you save proper Damsel in distress, much against what Antia Sarkesian might protest
>Skyrim didn't provide random encounters with damsels to save from Dragons in sacrificial ritual, necromancers or Daedra worshippers
>No escorting the fair lady out of harms way bridal style
>No game with this as a proper feature
>Have actually been stuck with blue balls mario for decades now

Seriously, there is not a single game that offers you the classic golden age hyper-masculine hero experience.

There's still someone around who hasn't gotten fed up with escort quests?

>You're not allowed to eat the rescued hostage.
man I wish somebody told me that before my first rescue mission.

You usually don't get to rut a Princess in the dirt during an escort quest.

Why do you need them?

/thread

It's too natural for humans and therefore uncool in a post-modernist era where every woman is a lesbian and every man is a beta.

Except every game of D&D can do this as an adventure. They don't want to because it's too much of a boring stereotype, but you can if you want to.

>Grab damsel.
>Fuck off immediately and take her to whoever told you to rescue her.
>Get sweet, sweet rewards.
>Profit.

Describe the situation where you need such rules.

So far in my experience, I fail to make the players give a shit about the kidnapped's life. Since they don't know her/him

this

But just make the Damsel in distress random,and not stops the player from making an strong female and saving the boy/girl

Fun has been banned ever since the 70s. Nobody is allowed to enjoy things unless they're transgressive.

>you need to be a womyn to be a hero

Nah fuck that.

This, unless it "pushes boundaries" it's not good, apparently. Fuck Hollywood, let's go back to Tolkien, Lewis, and Howard style masculine fantasy.

Thats not what I meant, take skyrim for example: You can make either a man, a woman, or a furry, all could save people.

>You're not allowed to sell the rescued hostage back to their erstwhile captors then rescue them again more than once.
But are we allowed to kidnap hostages for the villain, collect our pay, then rescue them and deliver them back home for the reward?

Well, that's fucking easy, take that one npc they care more about than any of your carefully crafted plot and make THEM the kidnap victim

>Fallout 4
>Settler is kidnapped by bandits
>Meh
>My power armour is also missing
>Oh no they didn't
>Go to map location to get my power armour and replacable schmuck back from the shitheel bandits that stole both
>Murder my way through the hideout, finding lots of useful junk but no power armour
>Get to final room
>Kidnapped settler is wearing my power armour and has the Kiloton radium rifle I mounted on a wall somewhere equipped
>Stands up in spite of supposed to tied up and guns down all of the bandits in the room
>Feel like I wasted my time.
>She never gets out of the power armour, even after returning to the settlement
>Have to get a new one and place it at a settlement with no one in it.

Bitch is still watering potatoes in my X-01.

I can see Bethesda lack of logic in these siatuations is still wtrong.

It's cliched, but I'm wondering if things have gone full-circle, so playing it straight would be ok now if executed well. One would argue that a cliche executed good is better than an original concept executed poorly.

This.

No, they are angry at you for ruining that job for them and want you dead.

How many games actually had saving Damsels as a core mechanic? Really?
Usually the Damsel is just a plot device, an excuse to go on the adventure, they very rarely have any meaningful effect on gameplay, and reaching them is usually your ending, the reward for playing.

Yes, it's called the restrained condition. It's in 5e.

This isn't rocket science.

Do you ever think that there'll be a day where "this isn't rocket science" becomes as outdated as "the best thing since sliced bread"?

>mfw trying to explain "force projection" and "deterrence" to the bumblefuck king who's refusing to pay us because "we haven't done anything"
I say we let hm fly off.

>calls other men beta
>posts in Veeky Forums

Are we talking didnapper style where everyone tying each other up constantly becomes the core of the battle system? Or are we talking about things to do when a PC or NPC is captured, like sending assistance the party's way via magic or animal messengers? Or are we talking Escape the Room deals.

The big question for me is this, can I opt to rescue the GMILF queen instead of the princess brat?

I say a secondary mechanic as opposed to a core mechanic. It happens every now and then and forces the player(s) to use quick thinking and good rolls to escape and get their hands on a weapon.

What you do is wait till the pcs almost rescue her, then blow her out the airlock

hey fuck you, argonians man they would fuck you up. the made hell close itself to stop from LOOSING

Never had to rescue a princess but did save a prince one, once he got his sword and armor back he became a tornado of ass-fucking to the cultist kidnappers though which kinda made me wonder how this seemingly level 20 paladin got kidnapped in the first place.

Well, it's a Paladin, so baby armor and the usual staples.

Looks like it was never finished.

Are you implying that pre-sliced bread isn't fucking awesome?

If you run a classic rescue the damsel in distress plot nowadays there is a 90% chance that 3d6 feminists spawn and attack while screeching.

...

>Bitch is still watering potatoes in my X-01.

KEK! My sides are rekt.

>try to put arm around the princess
>fail the dex roll
>push her off the mountain by accident

...

can I befriend dragons by kidnapping princesses and giving them to the dragons?

>can I befriend dragons by kidnapping princesses and giving them to the dragons?
No, that just teaches the dragons to be reliant on humans and then they can't fend for themselves and starve in the winter.

My more "adult" themed group I play with has escaping from ropes a fairly regular thing in our games. My current character is the captive of another PC, played by my gf. It's not out of place though since this group is all adults and they're all doing whatever it is they like to do to their respective partners.

As for the trope itself, there's a reason it's a cliche, it's a common thing to ransom a prince or princess for money or political gain. So naturally it comes up.

Is there a set to this?

You mean Tolkien macho fantasy where a woman kills the baddest motherfucker at the final battle and the world is saved by a tubby third grader? That masculine fantasy?

Feminists don't spawn, they kidnap kids and reeducate them.

Is the statline all you care about? Go reread the bestiary.

...

To be honest other giving you example that could serve as the basis for something, it seems like most games would be ill equipped to really go into to detail about what makes the damsel in distress scenario appealing.

It also does seem kind of done to death outside of a sexual context.

I'd be okay without the hyper-masculine hero in a loincloth. Swashbuckling heroes rescuing damsels in distress works too!

You're right though; I can't think of the last time, tabletop or vidya, when I actually rescued a damsel in distress, like in a classic fairytale. Even the Legend of Zelda games feel like there has to be more to it than that, these days.

This.

Yes, I usually have the PCs rescue women from being raped. It's a moment of great vulnerability: Like, it doesn't matter if she's a great fighter, nearly being raped makes you aware of a character as a woman, as she's in a danger that men don't face (except as a joke).

She is married user.

To the dude asking for the rescue.

Running away with her because she wasunsatisfied with her lord after their young age passed away is completely ok tho.

Are you allowed to eat the hostage before you rescue them?

Here's your fedora.

What? It's a classic thing! You know, knights saving women from dragons / villains and so on. It's literally every classic story ever.

At first i thought you meant the fedora.

>fedoras
>classic
They aren't that old.

Old enough to be your dad, son

Does that mean in the post-post-modernist era, everyone will be extinct?

The only rule I have is that the distressed individual doesn't always have to be a woman. In fact, you should go out of your way to never let on that the kidnapped person in question ISN'T a woman, especially if they aren't even human. Its extra fun if they're totally against the idea of being 'rescued'.

>your 'client' refuses to pay you, for one reason or another

Then what, genius?

No, it's just Alex Jones and his more hardcore followers who will have consumed themselves because that was the only thing which wouldn't poison their precious bodily fluids.

Alot of the people I grew up with learned rocket science when we were basically kids. In fact, rocket science was easier for them than many of the skills we take for granted. Of course I recognize that we were in the minority of kids, but it's just something funny to think about.

Just 2 as far as I'm aware.

I ran a one shot where the plot was that a lord's prized concubine had been stolen away by a young upstart noble and the players had to go get her back. When they found out she'd actually eloped with the young guy they turned on their hirer, killed him, then set up a scheme to allow the young noble and his new bride to obtain his wealth.

In the main campaign, would I be a terrible person for forcing their main characters into a situation where she'll forfeit her life to stop them?

But wouldn't they be poisoned in the first place, so the poison would still be in them?

Unless they used the water filters on their blood.

>he rescues damsels in distress
>but doesn't bring a tactical comfort blanket to drape over their shoulders
Explain yourself.

Goblins for ransom? Liches for a ceremony? Dragons for dinner? Evil princes for unwilling brides? Who is the distressors of damsels in your game?

This is a thinly veiled thread

Okay, what the hell is the source, this almost looks familer?

sinfulpersuasion.deviantart.com/art/

Found at least two more for ya guys. Not postable on this board, though.

Or you could just have hostages.

>Are we talking didnapper style where everyone tying each other up constantly becomes the core of the battle system?
Totally Spies the RPG?

I think that qualifies as being too magical realm, just by nature of that show.

gotta make sure they can't cast spells with verbal components, too

Technically that is acceptable but you have to be a certified kidnapper and rescuer by the union.

>Asphyxiate the hostage
This is why you don't cut costs on hiring minions.

This happened in one of my games...I was playing a cleric and another PC abducted me, and this was their excuse for gagging me. But I have all buff/healing spells so it wasn't necessary, I could sit and cast all day and not harm or help escape.

But I mean, it was just an excuse of course.

I'll try and make this system agnostic. This is just to generate the amount of details that could influence a captivity situation, assuming a somewhat fair amount of agency for the damsel.
Units of action or time or stamina:

Short:
1d6+2 lock points
1d4+1 key points
Damsel is expected to escape simple bonds with a few actions before returning to play.

Nickel has been captured by Mr. Fang in a factory for snooping on behalf of her bumbling cyborg foster father. GM rolls 4 lock points, allocating 1 to tie her feet, 1 for a cloth gag and 2 for a box tie that keeps her from easily getting the pocket knife out of her jeans. He then rolls 2 key points, and allocates 1 for a shard of broken glass and 1 for a fixed buzz saw blade.

>First action, Nickel inches over to the buzz saw blade since it is closer. Since it will take a while, the GM changes scenes to Detective Nick Nack receiving a cake. One that is ticking! GM returns to Nickel and resolves whatever skill system is needed to cut her ankle ropes without turning on the saw. The GM informs the player that using the saw to free her torso might be too risky. Second action, with her legs free she can race over to the glass shard to work on her arms. Because one key point is working on two lock points it will take another scene. Flash to Nick getting to chase after a dog who took his cake and therefore must be an agent of Mr. Fang.

>Back to Nickel, she has managed to loosen the ropes with the glass to get one arm free, and her player negotiates that she should be able to easily use her pocket knife for the rest. Now freed she finds a factory phone to warn the police station that Detective Nack is unwittingly bringing them a bomb for the Chief's birthday, and that Mr. Fang is preparing to move his dastardly operation out of their jurisdiction.

Key points aren't at a one to one ratio to lock points. One key might open many restraints, some restraints might not be necessary to remove for escape. Even if the damsel is unable to fully escape then it may still be possible for her to be freed enough to stymie her captor in some way. In most cases a player may use their innate abilities or equipment to bare. Higher lock points on a restraint indicate how difficult or fetishy it is and higher key points indicate how easy or fast a key is to use while bound or how encompasing it is on removing hindrances. Some lock points aren't used to prevent the character from doing things but may pose a drain on physical or mental stamina and make actions take longer.

>she's in a danger that men don't face

Confirmed sheltered first world civilian

Medium:
2d6+4 lock points
2d4+1 key points
Damsel is expected to take up to the whole session or half a session to escape, although allies may save her before that long.

Sally Kidneysticker is a stripper ninja who has been caught by a sleeping trap while scouting away from her adventuring party. She wakes up in a dungeon cell in trouble. The GM rolls 15 lock points, and allocates them to a ball gag (2 points), shackled wrists (2 points) in an arm binder (3 points), shackled feet (2 points), and she is wearing a collar that is leashed (2 points) to the wall furthest from the locked cell door (2 points). With 2 lock points left and the basics covered, the GM rolls the key points: 6. Three key points go to a mop that was left in the cell that is long enough to reach the pile outside the cell that includes Sally's daggers, lock picks, and pants. Two key points to go a metal hook in the adjacent cell wall that a skeleton's arms are shackled overhead to, the remaining key point goes to a literal dropped key that goes to the lock that holds the leash to the wall. With a clearer picture of the situation, the GM uses the last 2 lock points on a loose blindfold and a hidden bell trap on the jail's exit door.

>First action, Sally takes stock of her bonds and negotiates getting the blindfold off. The GM tells her player it's easy to raise off of her eyes and that while she does so she can hear her captors carousing a few rooms away, then he describes the room and her restraints. Now the party is testing a ten foot pole on an ooze that is in fact just some discarded jell-o. 2nd action, Sally tests the length of the leash and finds she will need more slack to get the mop to reach far enough.

>There are two locks she can test the key on and the GM hints that if she tries it on the cell door it might fall to where she can't reach. Carefully she holds the key between her go-go boots and she makes her way to where the leash is fastened and uses her ninja stripper footwear proficiency to manipulate it in the lock. With two lock points versus one key point it will still take some time, even with her innate skill. Flash back to a riveting Kobold fight where the Cleric notices Sally is still missing and hopes she isn't taking all the treasure again.

>With the hard stuff out of the way Sally inches over to the mop and uses it with her feet to easily reach her gear. Sally can't use any of it with her arms like they are, so she looks for a way to get the binder off. With great flair, the mage adeptly banishes the guardian demon and muses that they could have killed its ogre minions faster if they had more dps. The amazoness quips that its okay because rogues suck in this edition anyway. "AHMMMPHH," Sally suddenly sneezes through her gag, then she works on getting the metal piton on the wall in between the armbinder straps, while hoping that the skeleton at her feet is inanimate. The nearby revelry is starting to quiet down and that worries her, and her player is starting to get anxious about missing XP. Her party finally comes across a tripped wire with Sally's hairbow on the floor nearby.

>With the armbinder out of the way, Sally dips her shackled wrists under her legs to the front and then uses her lockpicks on her leg shackles. Rolling successfully she then picks the cell door, also rolling successfully. In a hurry she leaves the rest, and with her pants and equipment in cuffed arms she leaves the jail room through the entrance.

>"AHMM AHH SHHOOO GGGHD DD SHHEEE UU GGHHSSHH" a leashed and gagged Sally greets her party with 20 hobgoblins running behind her. All have learned a valuable lesson not to split the group.

Long:
3d6+10 lock points
3d4+4 key points
The damsel's escape may take an entire adventure or most of a campaign. If the damsel is a PC and this is not the focus of the game, the player will usually want a backup or replacement PC to play. At this length, the question is probably not whether the damsel escapes, but whether she endures and finds ways to disrupt the villain's plans.

Princess Apple has been captured by the overbearing lizardborn, King Croco. the GM rolls 24 lock points. For now King Croco locks her in a lavish tower cell, isolated by a 5 point barred door and barred windows, and has locked an opulent jeweled choker (4) around her neck that seals her Princess Power and, at times, makes her body feel scandalously tingly. The GM rolls 10 key points. Apple-hime's lady-in-waiting has also been captured and although her wrists are shackled in front (2 lock points) and she has a strict plug gag harnessed and locked around her head (3 lock points), she is a loyal and skilled retainer (4 key points). There are now 10 lock points and 6 key points left. The GM lets the Princess overhear the guards talking about how they will send the Sledge Siblings to eliminate the peskily intrepid Romero Brothers. They can only be defeated by brick material impacting their undershells at high force! According to the GM, Apple remembers that there is a messenger pidgeot in the castle along with stationary and quills that will let her send a message to her heros (2 key points). King Croco naturally has the keys to the cell and to her choker (1 point each) but he is wary and Apple's retainer is a noble, not a pickpocket. The messenger room has roaming guards along the way (2 lock points). The situation stands with 8 lock points left and 2 key points.