I recently bought Courtesans ( there was a money-off coupon in Autopsy 4 ) and found it an enjoyable read and a fun game. Thanks for writing it. The subject is one I had already read a bit about while researching another game . I too have Katie Hickmans book, and can recommend Joanne Richardsons’ “The Courtesans” and Lisa Hiltons’ “Athenais – The Real Queen of France”

I ran through a couple of Seasons solo ( roll dice for every choice – please, aid or intrigue? D6. Type of pleasing? weight by good stat and D6 it. ) before playing a game with the group. It quickly became a competitive orgy of backstabbing and outrageous behaviour, and was great fun, if a bit near the edge at times.

The following ideas came up, and I have attempted to codify them. What do you think of them? ( I tend to overwrite things, but perhaps you could work out how to use the ideas ). The group sex idea is because we felt that the rule for pleasing two admirers didn’t quite capture the naughtiness and scandal of the thing ( and is partly inspired by Cora Pearl serving herself up as dessert for six gentlemen to outdo a rival who had bathed in milk and been dried lasciviously by her maids to tease and entertain a group of her admirers ). Hope you don’t think me rude – I’m not trying to say that there was anything wrong in the game, it’s just that we tinker with stuff as a matter of course and want to share our ideas, yes?

Again, thanks for the game

Cheers; Chris

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Kinky

This counts as a deception feature in an admirer.

The Admirers desires are irregular in a Scandal producing way. They will need this Scandalous Pleasing Action performed once per season at least to remain a Visiting Admirer. The nature of this kink is such that it is worth a point of Scandal if revealed. Any Courtesan successfully indulging this kink gets +1 to their margin of success for resource earning. Sex acts other than those pertinent to the Kink are made at -1.

The nature of the kink will vary, but ranges from the Capital Crime of anal sex to the embarrasing vice of transvestism.

{ Perhaps the Kink should be indulged at least twice per Season if they are Keeping the Courtesan? }.

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Limited Funds

This counts as a deception feature in an Admirer.

The Admirer has a cap on the amount of Wealth that can be extracted from them in any one season. This may be because they are on an allowance, are dependent on earning a living, or have fixed income of another sort. For whatever reason, once the cap is reached then only non-Wealth Resources can be earned from them until next Season.

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Actions:

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Blackmail

Description: A Courtesan may, through desperation or meanness of spirit, blackmail one of her Visiting Admirers. She threatens to reveal the salacious details of their encounters if she is not bought off. The attempt at blackmail will cause the Admirer to immediately Scorn the Courtesan whether or not it succeeds.

Attackers Statistic: Spite of course.

Defenders Statistic: Pliability plus Landladies dice.

Resource Options: Usually Wealth, although other favours can be extorted. A successful Blackmail attempt gives resources equal to the margin of success plus 1 for every potentially Scandalous Action that has been shared between the Courtesan and her (now ex-) Admirer. A failed or revealed attempt costs a point each of Reputation and Legend, plus a loss to those resources equal to the margin of failure ( divided between the two ). A failed attempt imposes a -1 on the number of Admirers generated by any futrue procurement rolls. People don’t like that sort of thing.

Scandal Infliction: If the attempt at blackmail fails the margin of failure is suffered as Scandal. If another Courtesan discovers the blackmail it may be used to inflict a point of Scandal. Repeated instances of blackmail earn an extra point over and above the points for the action itself. Each instance of blackmail that the Demi-Monde is aware of reduces the number of Admirers generated by a Procurement by 1.

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Orgy / Group Sex

Description: The Courtesan entertains several Admirers at once.

This needs to be set up in advance by inviting the participants with individual Pleasing Actions ( and stating at the time that the invitation to the prospective event is being extended ). These Actions are at -1 to the Courtesans dice, due to the shocking nature of the proposal ( this modifier is reversed to +1 by a Group Sex Kink in the admirer ). The date for the meeting must be set in advance and must be in the same Season. If an Admirer Spurns the Courtesan before that Turn they will not attend, and if fewer than three attend the Action fails and must be resolved as a Sex Act with a -1 modifier ( due to disappointment ).

To carry off this Action the Courtesan must make a successful Sex Act Pleasing Action on each Admirer present, taking resources for success as usual from each. She will, of course, be Spurned by any Admirer she fails to please. ( If Kinks are in use then any Admirer whose dice shows 1, and does not already have it, gains the Group Sex Kink )

This Action may be performed by more than one Courtesan at once. Any additional Courtesans must be invited as per Admirers, and do not count as participants for Scandal. Each Courtesan may invite her Admirers to the Orgy. There must be at least one more Admirers than Courtesans present.

If this Action is successful any Courtesan taking part in it gains a point for each non-Courtesan participant over one, to be taken in Legend and/or Reputation.

[i.e. Annabelle invites Bernice to help host an orgy, and they both invite 2 admirers. They each Please the Admirers. In addition to the resources from the Pleasing Actions the girls gain 3 points in Legend/Reputation each. If Clarabel spys on them and tells the Town the girls will take 4 points Scandal each for the event plus the points for any scandalous acts that occurred during their orgy]

{ Perhaps you will want to run this like a Gambling intrigue and compare one roll from the Courtesan against one roll by the Landlady modified by each Admirers Pliability.}

Statistic: Prowess.

Legend Justification: Rumours of a debauched party can only enhance your legend. ( although sordid details are another matter…)

Reputation Justification: The Town will be agog at the audacity of such of a thing! There is likely no other topic of conversation.

Wealth Justification: If any sex act has a price, this one likely has..

Influence Justification: Participants will be willing to little favours for you after a night like this, if only to keep you from telling…