Last week I reminisced about the FFG April Fool’s product, Romance and Relationships. At the time I bemoaned the failure of the internet in finding the actual fake book cover that the graphic designer whipped up. It appears that I was a bit too fast to claim failure on the part of the internet. I was emailed with the Internet Wayback Machine page that recorded that moment of history.

So for the sake of posterity, here’s the actual post. You can determine for yourself what it means that so many people kept asking for this product for so long, thinking it was really in development.

Fighting demons from the abyss and saving the world can be lonely work, and even the most savage barbarian or cunning rogue needs companionship at some time. Romance & Relationships introduces complete d20 System rules for dating and marriage, from first meeting to lifelong partnerships.

New skills like Small Talk and Wine & Dine and new feats such as Sex Appeal and Smooth Talker give your characters the tools they need to compete in the brutal fantasy world of dating and relationships. An important equipment section gives expanded rules for fine clothing, covering social modifiers for clothing, and a complete guide to accesorising. New prestige classes such as Cassanova and The Ex give expanded options and development paths for characters in social campaigns. But new abilities and mechanics alone won’t put a beau or belle at your side — roleplaying is key. An in-depth DM section covers advice for incorporating roleplaying conversations, wooing, and poetry.

Romance & Relationships is a 176 page hardcover book, coming this August at GenCon by the masters of romance, Greg Benage and Wil Upchurch. Check out the FFG booth at GenCon for live-action demos!

DD30
$24.95
Available August

Free Preview!

Asking Someone Out on a Date
This exciting, and slightly nauseating, system based on the new d20 rules found in Romance and Relationships encapsulates FFG’s commitment to stomach-turning realism and d20 compliance.

One of the hardest things for an adventurer to do is approach a female and ask her out on a date. Slaying beholders and turning zombies is easy work compared to this nerve-rattling task. After all, she could say no, or worse, insult you in front of a tavern full of brawlers. Approaching someone in your own adventuring party is even more difficult, as a rejection could lead to awkward moments in camp (“Yes that’s my rod of lordly might!”) or in battle (“I jumped on you to cover you from the fireball….what?!”). Open relationships might cause envy or ridicule from other members of the party.

With these dangers in mind, here are some modifiers to your Asking Someone Out on a Date roll, which is a Bluff check (“I’m not nervous.”) opposed by the target’s Sense Motive (“He’s not a moron.”):

Adventuring companions heckling nearby: -2 penalty
Target’s Charisma modifier: multiplied by -1
Smooth Talker feat: +2 modifier
Sex Appeal: +2 modifier
Successfull Small Talk roll: +1 for every 2 over DC
Grappled with an otyugh within 3 days: -4 penalty (would you want to succeed?)
Anatomically Over-Endowed feat*: +4 circumference bonus

*OGC used from the Ambient product Portable Hole Full of Beer