Handbook of Erotic Fantasy: Blind Date (Patreon)

There’s this wonderful tension built into sexy monsters, and Medusa is the poster girl for the trope. You see, depending on who you’re listening to, Medusa is either the monstrous offspring of ancient marine deities or a once-beautiful maiden punished by the gods. That second interpretation comes from Ovid, and what’s interesting to me is that it’s a Roman revision of the older Greek monster myth. 

That tendency to revise and to humanize lives on with GMs whenever we imagine sympathetic versions of monstrous creatures. This game we play tends to treat monsters as walking bags full of XP, but narrative-style play tends to reject that idea. We instead invent redeemable (sex) demons, misunderstood (but well-hung) minotaurs, and dragons that want nothing more than to make baby sorcerers. When we meet these strange inhuman figures, it’s only natural to engage our empathy and try to understand the monstrous perspective. For some players, an invitation to bed follows shortly thereafter. That’s a good thing for pinup artists and fetish sites, but I’ve got to wonder whether it’s good for a game. 

You see, the twin traditions of Medusa tend to butt heads in practice. A player might roll to seduce a dragon while a GM wants to play “monstrous creature who terrorizes the countryside” straight. Conversely, players might burst into the glade of the wicked fey with swords drawn, while the hapless GM just wanted to try a sexy nymph encounter for a change. My take, on the other hand, might be best expressed by a certain Old El Paso tacos spokesman.

Did any of you guys see the Neil Gaiman Beowulf?  Angelina Jolie's take on Grendel’s Mother is the best modern example I can think of. Even the characters in the film don’t know which tradition they’re dealing with: the demon or the lover. And for me, that’s the best way to play the duality. Lowering your defenses enough to schtup the monster ought to feel dangerous, and wondering whether you’ll be devoured or “devoured” ought to remain a tension throughout the encounter. In that sense, it doesn’t matter whether you actually switch frames halfway through and get unexpectedly attacked / unexpectedly seduced. The possibility remains open, and so the frisson of excitement remains. 

So how about it, gang? Have any of you guys ever made it with a monster? Was it safe sex, or did you wind up with a CR (☠) encounter? Let’s hear it in the comments!