To be a D&D character is to be an undesirable. Someone for whom society does not care, and who must step outside the bounds of ‘acceptable behavior’ to survive. That’s why they’re willing to face absurd dangers; why they plunder tombs, and dare the mythic underworld; why the Thief is a quintessential class. Sex Workers are D&D as hell.
The Bangtail was originally published in April of 2016. I originally wrote it as a sort of reskin of the Thief, and I think I did a truly terrible job of it. I’ve had a player running a Bangtail in one of my games for a couple years now, and I frequently forget that they’re playing one. The original draft of the class so thoroughly fails to make any notable mark on the game. It needs a much more dramatic overhaul than the Bear in Disguise or Giftgiver did.
Bangtail
There’s a skill to being a courtesan. It’s more than just being good at doing a sex on the peoples what that give you a money. To be a true queen of the craft you must understand your own charms, and your quarry’s weaknesses. You’ve got to know how to draw them in, and how to keep them where you want them: in the palm of your hand.
Bangtails have a d6 hit die. They advance according to the Fighter’s experience table, and attack as a thief/specialist/rogue.
Saving Throws
The Bangtail’s work can be pretty gross. They’re regularly exposed to all manner of vectors for disease and infection, and have accumulated great stores of knowledge for how to protect themselves. The generally low regard with which they are viewed prevents their knowledge from being taken seriously, and has thus become a sort of ‘trade secret.’
Most saving throws are rolled as a thief of equivalent level. Saving throws versus Poison, however, are always one rank better than a thief’s would be. For example: a Labyrinth Lord thief’s Poison save is 14 from levels 1-4, then drops to 12 at level 5. A Bangtail’s Poison save would start at 12, and drop to 10 at level 5. (Which for the thief, does not occur until level 9.)
Life of the Party
Bangtails are skilled in a wide variety of party tricks and performances: singing, dancing, games, comedy, etc. At character creation a player ought to pick one sort of performance at which their Bangtail excels.
Sneak Attack
One can’t make it far in this profession without the anatomical expertise to make a person feel great pleasure or great pain. Because of this, Bangtails may Backstab as a thief of equivalent level. If playing LotFP, assume x2 at first level, and advancing one multiplier on every even numbered level.
Amorous Gymnastics
Flexibility and grace are an occupational necessity, and like all aspects of her craft, the Bangtail has raised this to an artform. The possibilities are broad, and intentionally left open to interpretation. A few examples of what a successful check might allow are:
- Fit themselves into spaces that might normally be considered too small, and move freely in those spaces: easily slip through the bars of a prison cell, or hide in a briefcase.
- Escape any manner of bondage, no matter how thorough.
- Balance under even the most difficult circumstances.
- Hang out of a window for several minutes before tiring.
- Generally use their body in unusual ways, such as firing a bow with their feet.
Because Amorous Gymnastics overlaps with tasks often resolved by skill systems, and because skill systems are so varied, integrating it into a game will require some judgement on the part of the referee.
If the game allows all characters to gain and spend skill points, Amorous Gymnastics might be considered a sort of combination of different skills, available only to the Bangtail, and something she can put points into or not.
If the game’s thief equivalent is the only class that advances their skills, matching a thief’s progression in some similar skill might be appropriate.
Failing all else: check Amorous Gymnastics by attempting to roll a 5 or higher on progressively larger dice. A d6 is rolled at first level, advancing to a d8 at level 3, a d10 at level 5, and a d12 at level 7.
Fans
Fans are a type of hireling which are drawn to the Bangtail automatically as she levels. She may have a number of them equal to half her level, rounded up. They are particularly devoted, with each having a loyalty score of d4 + 8.
Devoted though they may be, Fans are not cannon fodder. They have placed the Bangtail on a pedestal, and may write her many flowery poems about being willing to die in her service, but they have their own wants and needs, and are not inhumanly immune to fear. If one dies, the Bangtail cannot replace them until the next time she levels up.
Charm
In games which use the 2d6 reaction roll as the “attack roll” of a social encounter, Bangtails receive a flat +1 bonus to all such rolls.
In games which use other social resolution mechanics, some equivalently significant bonus should be substituted.
Seduction
No two seductions are quite alike, and they depend very much on who the Bangtail’s quarry is. Seducing the drunk lecher may be as simple as the player saying they wish to do so. Seducing the devotedly attached and monogamous cleric would likely require a series of successful social encounters over many weeks. Seducing a skeleton may be completely impossible–or it may not.
If a system for seduction is needed, try this: for any given NPC roll 3d6. Drop the lowest if they ought to be difficult to seduce, and drop the highest if they ought to be easy to seduce. The resulting number is their resistance to the Bangtail’s charms. It is reduced by 1 each time the Bangtail makes a successful social roll against them, and at 0 they will be eager to find some place to be alone together.
Regardless of how it is accomplished, 4 hours are required for the Bangtail to thoroughly demonstrate the many delights to which she can inspire mortal flesh.
Once someone has been seduced, the Bangtail gains a number of boons with regard to them:
- Social rolls made with a seduced person have a total bonus of +2.
- Attack rolls made against a seduced person have a bonus equal to the Bangtail’s level.
- If the Bangtail and the seduced person do not share a language, they are able to communicate as effectively as if they did.
- The Bangtail comes away knowing d6 secrets the seduced person would not normally have revealed. The Bangtail decides what type of secrets they are, but the referee determines the specific information. (ex. “I want to know something that embarrasses them,” or “I want to know the combination for their vault.”)
- The Bangtail comes away owning any one object they wish to take from the seduced person, so long as it is small enough to be carried. In the case of particularly valuable objects, the seduced person may regret their decision, and attempt to get the item back later.
How to run sex in games without making it weird
I once wrote a whole essay on this topic which I’d encourage you to reference if you feel conflicted. In brief, sex in games works just fine for most people so long as you keep three points in mind:
- Sex in the game shouldn’t be about anyone’s actual sexual gratification. If you’re getting aroused, then you’re doing it wrong.
- Describe characters having sex in the game the way you’d describe those same characters eating an unusual meal. There’s no need to ‘fade to black,’ but neither is there any need for a play-by-play.
- People’s comfort level with sex in D&D varies wildly, and it should be easy to respect that.