Approved character count:
Women: 9 Men: 4 Futa: 1
(Not counting the *Heir*)
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 free-form 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 of 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... =>_>=
The basic plot: *Heir* is a young man, only 19 years old. He's returning home after years at a boys-only boarding school, because his father has died. His family is rich beyond compare - money isn't a problem, at all, ever. And Father's only Will statement is that in order for *Heir* to claim the entire Family fortune, he has to get married before he turns 20, and demonstrate his attempts to *ahem* foster an heir himself, to continue the family dynasty through another generation. The problem is that *heir* has no real understanding of
women - he's been in the boys-only school since before puberty.
Note that when the story starts, nobody (other than the Lawyer) knows about the Will clause, and are only about to find out about it after he arrives home.
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.
World Background: The game is set in a "modern-fantasy" world. The technology is a bit behind modern day - cars are rare and generally only owned by rich people, the internet doesn't exist (but Paranet, a magical communication network, does), phones and other devices are partially magic and partially technology. Magic isn't common, but it isn't very rare, either. Players can
ASK if their characters can use magic, but the answer is probably "no" if they're in their teens or very early 20's. Nonhuman characters may have minor magical abilities, however.
Female Character Details: Female characters are generally expected to be more or less attractive, by
any definition possible. Tall and thin, short and plushy, huge breasts, Itty-Bitty-Titty-Committee, whatever. It's your character, not one of a bunch of Stepford Bishojo girls. The creators of female characters
CAN choose to have them know *Heir* from when they were pre-teen kids, before *Heir* was sent off to school. The creators of female characters can
also choose to make it so that they're unacknowledged (and unknown, officially) half-siblings of *Heir* - Father liked to get around and play with ladies all over the place!
Yes, even if you're a half-breed non-human race, this still applies. Father was
kinky. But it's your decision to make, and if I end up having
zero potential incest partners, I'll be
absolutely fine with that. Male Character Details: Male characters are also expected to be more or less attractive, because that's the way anime shows are.
Male characters can also know *Heir* from childhood,
or from school. If they know him from school, then they'll have to be in the 20-28 year old range.
Character race details: *Heir* is human, and so was his father (and mother, for that matter, but she's been gone for years). Characters can be human or almost
any demihuman race you can imagine. That means that they must have two arms, two legs, a more-or-less normal (and cute/attractive) face, and so on. Wings, tails, etc. are fine. A small list of possible character races: elf,
hobbit halfling, cat-girl (both the kind that look human with cat ears and tail, and the kind with fur), dog-girl (same), human-sized fairie, mermaid (if she has human legs while not in the water)... the list can go on and on. They can also be
cute monster girls (or boys), typically explained as being a half-breed. Again, if I end up with all Human players,
I'll be fine with that. Play what
you want to play, not what you think I (or other players) think you should be.
ALSO, monster-girls (or boys) can have a "monster-mode" if appropriate (such as a "werewolf" looking human most of the time, but going wolfy now and then).
Relationship details: You can set up pre-starting relationships between other characters if you have their agreement. Does the Cook want to have an established relationship with the Butler when the game starts? That's fine, if he agrees to it. Are the Chauffeur and Gardener really close friends? No problem. Does one of the Maids get kinky with another Maid when bored? Also fine.
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. =^_^=
