For a victorian-adjacent gothic romance. This one's more game-y, but still very slushy
Courtship
Courtship is highly systematized and divided into stages (levels, even) with specific rituals for moving between them. Here's a simple map:
You take strings on other characters when they break a promise, reveal a secret, or break etiquette.
This may be too much system for the thing I want: basically, players should pay attention to each others' etiquette, and choose when and where to break the rules in service of romance. (this isn't historically accurate or genre convention- i just read a lot of romcom manga)
Gender + Etiquette
A respectable man is...
- Traditional, yet fashionable
- Secretive
- Violent; duels on his and others' behalf
- Pious
A respectable woman is...
- Traditional, yet fashionable
- Candid; never whispers, never gives the impression of keeping secrets
- Nonviolent
- A little mad; which is why they aren't allowed to duel or drive or go to church
Those
who do not fit the binary are forced to pretend. Nonconformity is not
welcome here. (Other forbidden things: premarital sex, queerness in all
its forms, divorce, secret relationships, visible piercings, bigamy, talking about death, speaking french)
Your House further modifies your etiquette:
- House Devinsen must wear black and never laugh in public: they are all collectively in mourning over the death of their ancestor-patriarch. They're also comfortable talking about death in polite conversation.
- House Norbury have a vendetta going with House Larsene. They cannot cut their hair and must be visibly tattooed. (Visible tattoos are not forbidden for other houses, but they are considered non-traditional. House Norbury considers them extremely traditional, but only these specific designs in these specific locations. God forbid you use them to express yourself.)
- House John cannot marry members of their own House. (The major houses are groups of multiple families, united by geopolitics and a shared ancestor. It's much more common to marry within one's house, frequently between first- and second-cousins. House John considers this yucky, but they're the weird ones here.)
- House Sardon is ruled by matriarchal harems. Men wear veils, and never speak unless spoken to. Women chosen by the heads of house must marry at least twice and have as many children as years of marriage. Other women are not allowed to marry or have children.
- House Oleone are socially acceptable to make fun of to their faces. They may present as either gender (i.e. men may be candid, women may be violent) and change social gender as often as six times a day. To compensate, gender performance is particularly extreme- big beards, big dresses, and so on.
- House Larsene have a vendetta going with House Norbury. Both men and women must duel often and aggressively to remain in good standing; the heads of house keep score.
- House Rhayadder are socially acceptable to insult, albeit not to their faces. Women must go to church. (Their churches are still segregated by men and women.) Men are not allowed to openly duel; all violence must be implicit or covert. (Poisonings are standard.)
- In House Mything, men are allowed to be a little mad. Fashions and etiquette change four times a year. It is good manners to play along; they are taste-makers as much as any other House.
Social Combat
Spend two(?) strings on someone to coerce them with lies, threats, or charms. Choose an approach and roll 2d6. If you beat their defense (1 = gullible/craven/lustful; 12 = telepathic/fearless/vampiric), you change their mind permanently. If you fail, they change yours instead.
trying to add some kind of social combat option, so you can do battle with romantic rivals. Each dinner party should feel like a battlefield, but with your character's ego at stake instead of their health. I like when characters get their limbs lopped off, and this is somewhat equivalent: pick a bad fight, and suddenly you're a snake-worshipping libertarian
Strongly held beliefs are challenged, not broken: a follower's faith shaken, a spouse's loyalty tested. Put a crack in that belief, like an injury; if its cracked again, it breaks. You can repair cracks in downtime on a 2-in-6, or with the help of a trained professional.
You can't make someone fall in or out of love this way.
The Most Beautiful Woman You've Ever Seen ← nothing to add, i'm just linking this here because I like it a lot
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| by suzushiro this image is irrelevant to the rest of the post |
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