Even if it isn’t the focus of the game, one of the reason combat is done in such detail is the fact lives are at stake. It is an easy way to add excitement to the game, assuming your players don’t hate combat. As with everything else in tabletop RPGs there’s a continuum of detail - you could easily do a very long and detailed scene where the party tries to climb a mountain in adverse weather for example, or you could handle a duel to the death with a single roll. It’s not a binary thing with “hack 'n slashers” vs “true roleplayers”.
That, too. Go back to the origins and it wasn’t about “Oh, my character is going to write a sonnet praising the admirable character of the Doge so he will be favourably inclined to approve the trade agreement I am trying to negotiate for the Bessaravian ambassador, and once I’ve earned my way into the Bessies’ minor nobility I’ll be entitled to sport boots with heels two inches higher than before which will technically push me over the minimum height requirement to court the Count’s daughter…” and more “Guys, we’re picking up a little while after last week’s table-top session, only, get this, we’re not playing a clash between armies - you’re all just playing as one person each and you’re scouting the caves nearby, which the old legends say were full of goblins a thousand years ago, and it’s going to play out kinda like a Conan novel just when you know things are about to get lively. Plus, you get to keep any stuff you find and use it next time…”.
A little late to the discussion, but thanks for the link. I didn’t know that the “What’s New?” strips were online.
This was my favorite “What’s New?” comic from back in the day:
http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20070114
Nothing to do with sex, but Trampier’s “Wormy” comics have also been published online:
Forgot to add: My 5th level 2E illusionist once had an adventure in which he pissed off the mages’ guild, took the thieves’ guild for 20,000 GP, and knocked up a weretiger. Since he was Chaotic Good, he married her.
I’m running a group now where the druid just got pregnant. Only a couple of weeks, but the character doesn’t know yet. It will be interesting to see if the baby comes to term considering all the monsters they will face to accomplish their goal of destroying an evil artifact.
Perversely my current group is almost exactly opposite this: my character is halfheartedly warding off the in-character advances of an ex of mine, and her current boyfriend thinks its absolutely hilarious.