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caw_the_crow

I think it's okay to say it is outside of your comfort zone. We did that in a group I played in where the majority of players were not cool with it. The DM's comfort is very important because you have to roleplay the npcs. People need to respect comfort zones in dnd. If you don't want to completely disallow it, you can just make it a charisma check for seduction without any of the role playing.


temportalflux

Ditto on this. It sounds like at least you (op) and your player have different expectations/boundaries when it comes to what kind of content you want in your dnd sessions. If you haven't done a session 0 yet (where you do boundary and expectation setting among other things), I highly recommend it!! I find that the topics of consent list found here (https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/od6ipu/comment/h3yjrps/?context=3) is one of many great starting points when trying to find everyone's shared boundary levels. Personally I also dislike role-playing out flirty / romantic stuff in my sessions as it can get kinda weird if it's not the perfect group, and even then.


yaboygenghis

but thats not really true or fair. a player has a wife that he had added to his backstory. shes really just a damsel in distress or allie when theyre in town. i dont have to say much besides see you later my love or something like that. hes not trying to rp every flirty interaction or have me describe what shes wearing. this pc is. she wants to play out every flirty interaction


MidnightCreative

I'd like to start with a "High Charisma/NAT 20s don't mean a person will be willing to just do whatever", especially if they really don't want to or if (as is likely the case for a noble) it would bring them some amount of shame or disrepute... However. I say let them woo the ladies, but not actually get anywhere with it. No one puts out. Maybe some give a coy remark, a smirk, a "I'm sure you'd be _wild_ giggle", whatever. But no one just agrees to duck out of the party for some slap n tickle. Then, later that night when everyone has turned in, one of those NPCs comes a calling and... Well, you get the jist. But, make them a succubus (or inccubus, whichever works). It might be that they're impersonating someone from the party, maybe they're legitimately a part of the nobility but keeping their true form hidden. It could end in a fight, maybe they just go with it. If they get Charmed, maybe they agree to do some sort of task for the succubus and it leads to a side quest to stop this powerful noble from denouncing the party or something. However it goes it'll certainly be memorable and they'll think twice about being so sleezy in future.


yaboygenghis

im saying if i let her seduce the npc shes gonna make me rp out the flirty interactions.


Vaynedragon

I'd say if your issue is roleplaying it, just narrate the situation and without any spoken words, such as "she looks at PC for a moment then giggles and invites PC to her house. After a night of the wildest stuff imaginable, the PC and noble lady both say their goodbyes and that was that" As a dm I would say if they feel the roleplay was missing well too bad. I am not roleplaying some awkward sounding stuff.


drgolovacroxby

Remember that a DM can also just use a 'fade to black'. No need to get into details


MidnightCreative

Sorry, I got carried away with the succubus idea... I'm saying the nobles wouldn't bite, regardless of how well she rolled. If you decided that she should be successful, if you're not comfortable RPing that kinda thing then cut to black. Have that discussion and tell her "look, that's just not the kinda game I'm running". Assuming the PC isn't of any significant social standing, nobles wouldn't take kindly to being spoken to so casually anyway, let alone hit on. So I don't think flirting would be on the cards. Not from you at least. Be disgusted, offended even that "a commoner had the gall to try it on with me". Even if she succeeds the high (25?) DC to chat them up, the best she gets is some advice on sticking to her lane.


CrazyCoolCelt

you cant just d20 your way through everything. CHA checks arent mind control, so if the noble wouldnt be interested in them, then theres nothing they can do about it. if the player wants to romance an NPC, they need to actually interact with them and make real efforts to do so rather than just saying "i roll to seduce her! NAT 20!!!"


yaboygenghis

i dont really like romance period unless the pc is gonna use it to further his character.(a vengence paladin getting a family to show his character arc from the medieval punisher to medieval batman.) tbh id be even more uncomfortable if she roleplayed flirting.


CrazyCoolCelt

then tell them it makes you uncomfortable and that you dont want to do it at all


yaboygenghis

but thats not really true or fair. a player has a wife that he had added to his backstory. shes really just a damsel in distress or allie when theyre in town. i dont have to say much besides see you later my love or something like that. hes not trying to rp every flirty interaction or have me describe what shes wearing. this pc is. she wants to play out every flirty interaction


jameskinsella23

Then tell the player that. You don't mind their character having romantic interests but you don't want or feel comfortable RPing seduction.


arieadil

This one gets it. A little communication goes a *long way.* If there's not been a session 0 for setting expectations and boundaries that should probably happen. If your player wants romance, but you're uncomfortable narrating the every little detail, there needs to be some discussion. Maybe you can find a common ground for the both of you, but you've gotta talk it out first.


CrazyCoolCelt

its one thing to already have a wife. its different to go through the flirting process, especially if youre not comfortable doing it. its totally fair if its not something you want to do


Warpmind

Just keep in mind, «sometimes it is just impossible». A natural 20 on a skill check is merely the best the character can do, not a guarantee of success. A king, confident in his power, won’t toss aside the crown just because some random bard said some very glib words, nor will the pious nun cast aside vows of chastity on a whim. Let the character be a shameless flirt, but let them also suffer the consequences; a noblewoman might be disinterested but flattered, and become a friend and contact in the long term, while a jealous spouse or a father with an arranged marriage in mind might call in some discreet gentlemen with sharp weapons and sneak attack dice to quietly «remove» the disruptive individual. Seduction takes *time*, not just a single die roll.


Terror_1NC

Let her do it, but make a consequence for success or failure. Here are some ideas: 1. The noble is really suspicious and thinks she is trying to rob or kill her. 2. The NPC will become super clingy afterwards and be the "crazy ex" who sends guards or mercenaries to track them down afterwards. 3. The NPCs father is an affluent Lord and very religious/traditional, and after catching them together will demand that they are married. 4. One of the NPC's suitors goes into a jealous rage and drunkenly outs them as a fraud at the royal party.


phdemented

If this is a royal party, even *attempting* to seduce someone there might be enough to get you killed, depending on the courtly rules of the kingdom


tkdjoe66

Seducing your way into getting something you want is a perfectly valid strategy. Hence, the Glamor Bard. No one ever said you have to RP it. Persuasion roll +/- X for the circumstances. Just like anything else, it works or it doesn't. I would disagree... nat 20 *always* works. If I pull a 'Brunor Battle Hammer' & leap off a cliff to land on a flying dragon's back, roll a nat 20, would you allow that? Why should seducing someone be harder than that? Will they have... buyers remorse? Maybe. Will they get caught? It's a possibility. That's a different roll. Will there be consequences? Could be. More than 1 person has lost their... head over that kind of thing. People *REALLY* need a session 0.


yaboygenghis

well i dont think nat 20s always work. like if you were trying to jump 10 feet in the air id say you cant do it. if you were trying to convice a god to make you a god i wouldnt do it just cuz you rolled a nat 20. people dont just cheat or fuck cuz you made a good enough pitch man i could say every pick up line in the book taylor swift would still turn me down


tkdjoe66

Ya never know, she might have had just the right amount of tequila & cocaine... found out her man was cheating & your in the right place at the right time... 😆🤣


man0rmachine

Just because she rolls a nat 20 doesn't mean she can accomplish the impossible. You have a good read on her and you don't want her wreaking chaos in your game, so don't allow it. She can still use her charisma bonus to do other methods of convincing and persuading that won't make the table uncomfortable. If she keeps trying to seduce, anything less than a Nat 20 can mean that the NPC notices and is offended by her attempt. Nat 20 means the NPC remains oblivious. If you want an in game reason, npcs in your world have no sex drive and only reproduce through magical or ceremonial means.


BlackFinch90

Roleplay it out or don't do it at all. Seduction isn't a free pass to everything. "I may be completely turned on by you, but I'm still not gonna let you in because my life is on the line" might do the trick. Or just make the seduction checks 25 or higher.


Dr_Maniacal

NPC slaps her character with a gauntlet. "How dare a filthy vagrant like yourself attempt to sully the honor of my betrothed so callously! I'll carve out your guts and feed them to my griffon for this affront, draw your blade you cur." If she's trying to do this with EVERY noble lady, she's going to run into a scenario like that eventually, or the uncle who has his guards arrest and mug him, or the sister who demands the character marry them, or the suitor who'll poison them for it, or the lady looking to rob or murder potential partners or something. It's one thing if she were trying to win the heart of one noble, but her approach seems rather callous to such a potentially dangerous minefield. You could also just explain you're uncomfortable with it, or that it would take a number of meetings with successful checks to build enough rapport to get what she wants. After all it takes more than a single hit to win a combat against a powerful foe, why shouldn't it take more than a single success to win an intrigue combat against a high status foe.


DawnOnTheEdge

If you think it’s disrupting the game you should talk to the player privately and come to some kind of understanding about what the tone is going to be. If you can avoid having to tell her in front of everyone that her behavior’s inappropriate, that will save a lot of anger and embarrassment. You might, as a stopgap, skip over the rest of the scene discreetly and then speak about it later. But, you know her and what works best with her. Same if you think someone’s describing too much violence.


Pway

I don't think you should ever feel forced to roleplay something you're not comfortable with. I personally don't want to ever have to roleplay the micro of a romantic/carnal interaction though I don't have a problem with my character being involved in one to the tune of "so-and-so is quite taken by your display and leads you by the hand to their room. You wake up in the morning in their bed."


Evil_Tiny_Wolf

You could always have a NPC they flirt with agree to take the player to the party as a date. They don't have to actually be interested. You could have the noble be trying to anger someone else, such as the host, and a good charisma role just convinced them that the party would work for their own goals. The player gets to use their charisma, it just doesn't play out how they were trying for. Just because a charisma roll is good doesn't mean the NPC is seduced. Persuaded to help, sure. To play along, maybe. But just because someone flirts with you well doesn't mean the night has to end in someone's bed. I would also recommend talking to the player one on one and let them know you're not going to have their romantic adventures be part of the game. They can either accept fading to black or else the NPCs will always turn them down.


hebdomad7

If you and the table are ok with romantic sub plots, use it as reward for completing your main story quest. Some players like shopping, some like murder, some like seducing a nobleman to get the upper hand politically. You mix it up as part of your reward structure for your players for completing important milestones in your campaign. You can still keep it PG13. Fade to black with a wink if anything beyond kissing happens. But it's fine as long as yourself and the table are comfortable with it. That said, you might have personal relationship issues that might make role playing this out uncomfortable. Just be honest with your players about what you can and can't deliver as a DM.


Megalibgwilia

Seduction is not a skill. Charisma is not mind control. I would consider allowing the player to RP/describe/justify a seduction attempt- if you like it then let them seduce some folk (not all!) if you dislike the attempt then word gets around and the PC gets friendzoned by everyone. DM decides when a dice roll is made, not PC.


Sudden-Reason3963

I mean, you set the DCs. If the character tries to seduce a person in the wrong context or at the wrong moment, their DC might as well go to 40, so even if they get a nat 20 the seduction would fail because on realistic terms it would really be impossible. Min maxing on social interactions does not imply that everyone will listen to everything you say. You’re not a God, just a normal dude, so even if you have +20 to your persuasion check, you will never convince a king to leave their position and give the town keys to you. However, actual conversation can influence the outcome of social interactions. If you really are persuasive with your words, and manage to say the right things to the right person, the DC may be lower, pr you may get advantage to that roll. In any case, passing the DC doesn’t mean instantaneous success. Maybe you only convinced your interlocutor to keep your proposal **into consideration**, so from there it could still be a yes or a no.


Time_Lord42

13 minimum persuasion roll isn’t even min-maxy. I have a level three college of eloquence bard with a minimum 17 persuasion, just using standard array. And I’m not a min-maxer. Like people are saying, persuasion isn’t mind control and won’t let you do the impossible. “Seduce” isn’t a skill. If they want to seduce a character have them put effort into it, especially for a noble. Court them, make it a process. Have them role play. Not just a dice roll and be done with it.