Not Your Normal Harem Show - Interest Check

[Top Cat]

Harem shows. If you've ever watched anime, you've come across them - Tenchi Muyo, To Love-Ru, Love Hina, Negima, Ranma 1/2, Ai Yori Aoshi, I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job... the list goes on and on, for literally hundreds of shows.

The idea of there being one male character (usually clueless in the ways of sex and seduction) that is being chased after by several (or many) female characters is a popular theme, and it's not limited to just anime shows. It's shown to be one of the most successful ways to make a romance story appealing to both men and women. Even stories that aren't officially harem-based often have harem fan ideas - I'm sure you've seen some picture of Batman being fawned over by all of the female characters, heroes and villains alike, that are in his orbit. But there's always a catch that's almost never addressed - what happens when the man chooses? Does he pick one woman to be his wife, and the rest give up and move on with their lives, looking for another man? Is he fundamentally unable to make a decision, and keeps all (or most) of the ladies in an illicit harem relationship? Or is there some middle ground?

We're going to explore that here. This is going to be an open-themed game, with a possible ending scripted down the road. The plot is simple - A very rich man has died, and his only son, who has been estranged for years and sent to a boys-only boarding school, is now coming home. But there's a catch - the boy only gets to inherit if he provides an heir himself, continuing the family dynasty.

The family estate has many women who work there, some of whom might be interested in having the place become their homes permanently, by becoming his wife. Some of them knew him when they were young, some have never met him. Some of them are around the same age he is, while some are older... possibly much older! And the heir, himself, hasn't seen women since before he went through puberty, and hasn't got the first clue how to deal with women.

Is this a way for me to have sex scenes with lots of different female players/characters? Well, yes, that's part of the point. ;) But it's also a way to expand the theme - the character set will be open to men as well as women. The butler, the gardner, the mail man... there's a lot of options for other men to take interest in the goings-on, and perhaps some of the ladies will decide that they're more interested in love with someone else than competing with a gaggle of other women for the heir. And perhaps those men might decide to simply take advantage of some of the blossoming beauties in the household, not even waiting for the Heir to make a decision. Perhaps they've been lusting after the ladies for a while, but worried about losing their job if the elderly rich man found out about it. The possibilities here are just as broad as the ladies. And perhaps some of the ladies aren't really interested in the Heir, so much as the other ladies flocking around the Heir...

I'm not going to set an upper limit on the number of characters, but the female cast must equal or exceed the male cast (and ideally be 2:1 or so). Having 12 ladies and 8 men - fine. Having 3 ladies and 10 men - not so much.

Will love conquer all? Or will the frenzied attention of the ladies make the young man simply accept as many of them as he can? Our role-playing will give us the answer to these questions and more on the next episode of Soap! Wait, forget that last part... =>_>=

Story Elements: There will be love, lust, hot sex, cold panics, jealousy, and more, for sure. Possible sex scene elements includes: Straight sex, Harem-ish gang-bangs, embarrassed interruptions, spying voyeurs, bisexual and lesbian scenes, the full range of BDSM, non-consensual rape, semi-consensual manipulation, and more. What there won't be are the more extreme elements in the kettle - no vore, necrophilia, coprophilia, limb removal, and so on - the items commonly set in players' "hell no" categories. ;)

Right now, I'm asking for interest check only, plus one thing: When you post to say that you'd like to play this sort of game, please also include an opinion on whether you'd prefer this to be a strictly normal world, or if you want it to be a fantasy world, where the women and men (other than the Heir) can be any sort of racial type under the sun - human-sized faeries, elves, half-elves, catgirls, dog-girls, werewolves, hobbits halflings, dwarves, dwarfs, succubi, nymphs, lamia - anything under the sun. Oh, and humans, too. ;)

As a side note: I'll expect the OOC thread, or possibly a separate thread dedicated to it, will involve discussions of harem anime shows. I've got a few that are my personal favorites. =^_^=

[jessie20]

I'm in, but I won't be chasing the son.  No fantasy-world elements for me.

[Top Cat]

I'm in, but I won't be chasing the son.

And I'm even more fine with that here than in the other game. =^_^=

No fantasy-world elements for me.

Normal 1 - Fantasy 0. Got it.

[Top Cat]

50 views and only one Interest? Clearly I haven't advertised well enough.

Is this an example of losing the Harem setup, or winning?  XD

Just to be clear, this is intended to be a light-hearted game, with lots of comedy and silly adventure going on. It's not intended to be wild, aggressive sex from the get-go, and not really intended to be dark or twisted. Fun times for all, in the bed or out of it. ;)

[AndyZ]

Going to at least keep an eye on things.

What about a world with fantasy elements but where everyone is still human?

[Sarah Morgan]

This could be interesting.  I'll keep an eye on this thread too, and I vote for the possibility of using strictly human characters.  I think the majority is leaning that way, and it also seems like if you open it up to including fantastical characters, we'd have to set a limit somehow.  Personally I wouldn't be opposed to say including elves and other fantasy creatures, but when it comes to mostly human characters with fur and other animal characteristics, it's a bit much.  Other people might be into it, but I'm more the traditional fantasy sort, fine with elves and dwarves, but mixing it with cat girls or dog people is kind of a stretch.  Just my personal opinion though.

[Top Cat]

Normal 1 - Half-fantasy* 2 - Fantasy 0

* Or limited-fantasy, traditional fantasy, etc.
Thanks for the comments. =^_^=

[ReijiTabibito]

You can put me down for interest in the story - and I won't necessarily be playing a guy.  As for which setting, it doesn't particularly much matter to me, but if it needs to, I'll vote.

[Birchleaf]

I may be interested. I would prefer to play a guy, though in a desperate pinch I can play as a girl. I would prefer at least some fantastic elements, though I do not have to have them.

[Top Cat]

So we seem to now be at:

Normal 1 - Half-fantasy* 2 - Fantasy 1 - Indifferent 1

=^_^=

I think we've got enough people here to start this. I'll either convert this tomorrow, or if I end up too busy, I'll do it Friday.

[LeSane]

I'll keep my eyes on this. The minute I read butler I knew I'd be wanting to join this. I'd personally like normal, however I don't the down side to half-fantasy as long as the boundaries are drawn.

[Top Cat]

Your post made me start thinking about age requirements - if you're a butler, you should be older, more mature, and I wasn't sure how old I should limit you...

And then I remembered, we're basing this on anime shows. Screw making sense. If you want to make an 18-year-old Butler, do it. ;)

Normal 2 - Half-fantasy* 2 - Fantasy 1 - Indifferent 1

[iridum248]

This is a fascinating idea - And full points for ambition - but I'm not sure how this is going to work. (Definitely keeping an eye on this, though.)

[Zaer Darkwail]

I voice interest as one male casts (probably gardener or librarian). I would be okay to fantasy or half-fantasy, but main vote goes to fantasy (like those monster girls :P).

[Top Cat]

This is a fascinating idea - And full points for ambition - but I'm not sure how this is going to work. (Definitely keeping an eye on this, though.)

I suppose that now is as good of a time to mention some of the interesting plot/gameplay twists that I have in mind here.

The Heir (I haven't settled on a name for him yet) doesn't really understand women. The last time he saw them was nearly a decade ago, before puberty. As such, he's a bit pliant when it comes to trying to be polite to the ladies. Female players asking/telling the Heir to do something can do light-to-moderate God-Moding while writing their posts with regard to the Heir only. You still need to respect other players' actions and right to control themselves. Note, however, that the Heir is not a submissive, and attempting to strong-arm him into doing things will get negative reactions.

What this means is that if Belldandy the Maid (for example) decides that she wants to talk privately with Heir, she can start the conversation, move to the private room and post him following, without having to wait for my response post. The Heir will do anything that seems polite with the ladies, unless it would mean being rude to another lady. While Heir is in the closet with Belldandy, Skuld the Liquor Expert can't come in and drag him off to some other location for her own private time without giving me and Belldandy's writer to have a chance to react.

I voice interest as one male casts (probably gardener or librarian). I would be okay to fantasy or half-fantasy, but main vote goes to fantasy (like those monster girls :P).

That brings the score to Normal 2 - Half-fantasy* 2 - Fantasy 2 - Indifferent 1. Quite a mix of player ideas here!

[Top Cat]

Sneak peak: Potential jobs list

Accountant (M/F) - The person who helps the Heir take care of the economics of the Family's money and investments. Possibly the job that spends more time with the Heir than anyone else, with the possible exception of the Butler.
Butler (M) - the Butler's job is to take care of the Family's needs. With the Father dying and the Heir-son gone, he's been trying to keep himself busy, but it's time for him to get back to work! Only one Butler.
Chauffeur (M/F) - The person who drives the company vehicles. Not only is the Chauffeur responsible for driving the Heir around, he/she is also involved in supply runs and other instances of driving the household vehicles. Limit of 2.
Chef (M/F) - This is a catch-all for anyone who prepares food. Your character could be the master chef, the sous-chef (second-in-command), or any of a dozen other specialties - or just one of the kitchen workers. Limit of 4.
Gardener (M/F) - Someone who takes care of the plantlife outside of the mansions. A fairly free-form job, the gardeners can probably wander the premises at will. Limit 1.
Groundskeeper (M/F) - The person who keeps the rest of the outside repaired and in good shape. Works closely with the Gardener. May double as a repairman/repairwoman at times. Limit 1.
Housekeeper (F) - The person in charge of the Maids, this person's job is to keep track of what cleaning work needs to be done. Limit 1.
Lawyer (M/F) - The person who is managing the Father's will and testament, and the only person who knows what the Will's actual achievement goals are... Limit 1.
Maid (F) - A mansion this big needs a lot of people to keep it clean! And the Father had a definite preference for young, cute, and scantily-clad. The Maid Uniforms are fairly skimpy and sexy! No limit - a dozen maids is fine, too. ;)

Other possible characters:

Cousin (F) - This young lady still lives in the house and takes advantage of her time there. She's probably between school semesters. Incestuous? Lesbian? Troublemaker? You decide. Limit 1.
Self-Proclaimed Rival (M) - A (former) friend of the Heir, he's decided that it's his purpose in life to do what the Heir does, only better. Limit 1.

I'm sure that there are dozens of other ideas I haven't come up with, but in general, they either need to be employees of the dynasty or have some other plausible reason for being there. Be creative and have fun in figuring out your character.

No Character Application Sheets yet. Be patient. ;)

[LeSane]

I had an idea for the Butler. I figured that the duty was passed down by the men of the family, and this is 2nd since having a daughter and she had a boy to take the mantel. Call him a butler-in - training if you will. I can see some blunders.

[Top Cat]

Sounds fun! =^_^=

[Top Cat]

I'm going to switch this to a full signup thread tonight, most likely. I haven't quite decided whether I'll just convert this thread, or make an entirely new one for it.  :-X

[Sessha]

 I'll throw my hat in this should be fun and interesting.

[jessie20]

I'll take the Cousin.  If the other group games don't get off the ground.  Or if they suck.

[Zeth]

This group has stoked my fires of hentai. I want to play a FEMALE chef and vote full on fantasy.

[Timidity]

I've been debating about throwing my interest in the this.... I think I may take the lawyer position, female. I kind of want to steer her in the direction of she doesn't think anyone is good enough for him, so she tends to stir the pot. Maybe causes some drama. Yet she doesn't want to admit that she too would like a chance with the heir... Opinions?

[Top Cat]

Sounds like an interesting plan from here. =^_^=

[Timidity]

Ok, then you have my interest and I vote for half-fantasy. :3