Handbook of Erotic Fantasy: Faun and Games (Patreon)

Laurel's Note: This one gets in just under the wire as our first official 'second HoEF comic a month.'  Beat the deadline by 9 minutes!

One of my favorite convention stories involves JK Rowling. Apparently it was during a Q&A when an adorable, bright-eyed child headed up to the microphone to ask a question. I like to imagine this kid just old enough to start wondering why her Hogwarts letter was late. 

“Ms. Rowling? Hi. Ummm…. You know when the centaurs carry off Professor Umbridge at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Well I was wondering: What did they do with her?” 

If you are familiar with the centaurs of classical mythology, then you may understand why Rowling’s reply was, “Ask your parents.” If you’re not familiar with classical mythology, here’s a Cracked article for you.

Interspecies loving is tricky topic in fantasy fiction. We know that the half-dragon template is a thing, but figuring out the mechanics of acquiring said template is an exercise best left to 4chan. Deciding how long to “let the camera linger” on those moments in your fantasy world is easier said than done. I mean, you can come up with some fairly interesting plot hooks, and you don’t even have to resort to giggling behind you hands to do it. For example, I invented a romantic relationship between a siren and a sea captain in one of my mini-dungeons, and it was done in a completely self-serious high fantasy tone. When I stop to consider the union of man and hawk-bodied woman-headed magical beast, however, I immediately begin making feather duster jokes. 

How about the rest of you guys? Have you ever encountered this issue in your games? Did you go full fade-to-black, camera-pans-to-the-fireplace, or did you allow the relationship to take center stage? Let’s hear your tales of faun and games down in the comments!