Main Topic

Romance can be kind of a third rail in gaming. Please remember that we are not medical or therapeutic professionals and that nothing we say should be taken as medical or therapeutic advice. Things to keep in mind:

• Consent. Consent. Consent. – Romance is one of, if not the, most intimate activities a character can undertake.  It is important to talk to your players and know where their comfort levels are and where they are absolutely not comfortable.  
• Character versus Player – Suffice it to say that this is a role-playing game.  It is important to remember that there is a distinction between the player and the character but that characters will not always be able to make perfect suspension of disbelief.
• NPC romantic interests – Most commonly, you may have players who want their characters to have existing romantic interests or, in many cases, look for them during the game
• Romance doesn’t always mean S-E-X.

Games

Blue Rose

Stat Blocks

Zendead-

Electron Ring-

This simple unassuming ring is a masterpiece of modern tech-wizardry. Buried in the ring is a complex series of circuits and wifi enabled tags. Just a simple knock on the door activates the ring kicking on the wifi to connect to the electronic locking mechanism. The second knock sets off the AI which in nanoseconds rips through all the code to figure out the first set of alarms attached to the lock and sets to disable them. And with the third knock it sets to work running the combinations to the lock. It can take from a second to a minute.

The Electron Ring is a modern tech miracle for the pilferer of goods and people. Yes you heard me right. Most people don’t use it for trafficking in people but some do. The few that know someone that can make one of these have put them up for sale on the black market right next to Cybernetic interface systems.

Once you get your hands on one it can be a massive boon but be sure you know it that mark is home or not. The jail time may not be worth it.

Joules-

Recycled Whimsey

Hi-diddely-o, didn’t ya know?

You fade once you glow

Didn’t ya know, child?

After the rhyme, high time

Diddely-o, didn’t you know?

You fade once you glow

Didn’t ya known, child?

After the rhyme, high time

We’re all forced to grow up.  To discard the joys and innocence of our past to make room for the lessons and pains of our future.  To forget the mother goose tales and trade them for heavy allegories and rote formulas.

But we all remember, don’t we?  We remember what we wanted the future to be.  Full of opportunities and magic and infinite possibilities that have no ties to the real world.

But where do our dreams go?  And the possible realities we longed to manifest?

It’s said that there is a vault.  Guarded by the fair folk. When children cast aside their dreams and grow up, it is a race against time for the pixies and brownies.  They rush to save the remnants of the dreams before they fade away. And they’re not always successful. Yet they still try to save what they can.

It’s a truly heart wrenching task.  But necessary.

To keep nihilism and despair from subsuming the world.  To keep the idea of “a future” alive. To sustain the magic of hope.  The fair folk learned their lessons well during the industrial revolution.  The concept of a childhood was nearly destroyed back then.

Recycling the make believe of the past, saving it for a child who may be able to keep it and grow it.  Children who, even if they do grow up, still keep a thread, a scrap, a remnant of that magic. And who can pass it on.  That’s where our storytellers come from, our comedians. Creators of toys and games. Teachers who grow the magic within a child instead of snuffing it out.  Giving hope to the hopeless. Saving a child from despair and arming them against the creeping dark.

And when it is their time, the pixies and brownies visit them again.  And as a gift, the dying get to see what their lives truly were. No glamour to hide the truth.  And as they pass through the vale, the pixies and brownies call them heroes and record their names.  For it is said, he who saves one child saves the entire world.

nulloperations –

Sword Eater Glove
“Apparel that’s quick to the cut.”
It appears as a simple leather and chain mail glove, but adorned on its knuckles are several blades that appear as mouse sized weapons. But these weapons look worn, scratched, and used. It is not until someone wearing the glove wields a sword for the first time that the glove manifests its power. The sword will vanish in the user’s hand, suddenly becoming a small blade on the fingers of the glove. Don’t think the wear is defenseless now, as the wearer defends themself against their attacker they will find they can deflect blows with the glove as if wielding a full blade. More, their punches pierce and slash with the damage of the most effective blade adorning the glove.
The Sword Eater is a partially intelligent item, selecting whatever weapon it has consumed to use against a foe. It only consumes the weapons it has in hand, and not those it blocks or parries. Weapons cannot be removed from the glove without destroying the entire glove in the process.

Guard-a-Manger

Alethia’s Loupe

By all appearances, this hand magnifier is just what it seems.  A simple and useful tool that consists of the magnifying lens, it’s case, and a simple way to attach it to ones spectacles.  It is most certainly an excellent addition to any craftsman working with the finer details like a jeweler or a geologist. It may be a bit too delicate, or refined in its case to truly be useful that far outside, but do treat it as one would.  

The secret, or at least the truth about his Loupe is when you look beyond the detail work at hand.  It works so well, so easily there, that why would you ever think to have this Loupe up to your eye when you walk down the street or into an audience? It would be absurd, wouldn’t it?  For whatever reason, you can’t seem to get it to stay affixed or otherwise be permanently attached – it must always be a temporary fixture on your head and face. Why would you want it there? Because it shows The Truth.

The details it helps magnify and show the wearer extend beyond the simple physical facets of a gem, or the precise angle of a blade.  Alethia had a loupe that showed the precise details of the world. The amount of information at the wearer’s fingertips astounds the mind.  It is not enough to know that the room of powerful people controls the city, no. You can see which one holds the leverage in the room. It isn’t enough to see that clouds are rolling in for the afternoon shower – you can see the currents behind the front pushing it forward.  How this fell from Olympus is a question we dare not answer.

Be careful, though, because that much Truth can reveal more than you intend.  And perhaps more than you are ready to comprehend.

Lexicon

Temerity    noun te·mer·i·ty  \ tə-ˈmer-ə-tē \

Definition of temerity
1 : unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness
2 : a rash or reckless act

Origin and Etymology of temerity
Middle English temeryte, from Latin temeritas, from temere blindly, recklessly; akin to Old High German demar darkness, Latin tenebrae, Sanskrit tamas

First Known Use: 15th century

Popularity: Top 30% of words

Closing remarks

Zendead- Sandpoint Light of the Lost Coast  Such a great book packed with a great deal of ideas and points of interest. It is a deep dive into a small coastal town that is pivotal to many things in Pathfinder.

Joules- Grab a book of Fairy Tales or Fables from your local library.

nulloperations- SCP First Contact. Wonderful machinima of building tension set within the Secure Contain Protect universe. Good for some inspiration for adding horror into a campaign.

Guard-a-Manger-Marvel’s Runaways.  Yes I am late to the TV show, but catching up on it after starting a free Hulu trial for the second Fyre Documentary.  Fun characters with good use of romance and coming from a new cult classic of a comic book.

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

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And Thanks to Merriam-Webster for our Lexicon segmentFind us on Patreon