I think one of the challenges of playing an RP couple is keeping things fresh. If I wanted to have a long conversation about who’s supposed to take out the trash today, I’ll just look at the guy ten feet away and ask him about it. My imaginary friends don’t need these types of interactions, too. The challenge, then, is to have meaningful roleplay without spending too much time on the banalities. When you’re looking at a pair that’s had children and really does spend most of their time (when you’re not playing them) keeping a family life adrift, I think there’s a real danger of getting TOO commonplace.

So what to do about it?

I’ve been struggling with this particular issue with my warrior lately. She’s been in a three year relationship, they are HAPPY, assumed RP dictates their domestic life is copacetic, but there doesn’t seem to be enough flavor. My fear is by including too much drama I will do something horrid and scarring to their child, which doesn’t appeal to me, but the current path doesn’t spark me either. Trying to find a balance between blatant misery and “just too happy to be interesting” is hard. Seylon isn’t a philosopher so sitting around musing about the world beyond surface issues is tough. She’s one given to vice, so the obvious answer might be to have her start leaning upon booze and cigarettes again, but is that too cliché?

I’d be interested to hear how other people in roleplayed relationships keep their in game time interesting without tottering towards “so overly dramatic things are ludicrous”. I like dramatic roleplay, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been witness to plots that just beat the snot out of the characters over and over. Seylon’s history – drinking, drugging, and sex – would not play well with that much strain. She’d crumble and her kid would suffer horribly for it. That seems a little TOO cruel.

So readers, thoughts? I’m sure this scenario has affected other folks before.

Any feedback is good feedback. Ta!