Shall we press on into part four the of Handbook of Heroes / Rusty and Co. crossover? Let’s shall. And as an added bonus, let’s start by explaining the joke. Because, ya know… That always makes comedy better.

For those of you who don’t follow Rusty, here are the basics. Our boy Mimic is a mimic. He’s distinguishable by his big ol’ butt-chin, giant lips, and Brooklyn accent. But perhaps more germane to today’s comic, there’s this running gag where Mimic creeps on a certain bard by tricking her into sitting on him. It would seem that business remains consistent between webcomic universes.

Now here’s the thing about unwanted physical contact between sex demons and shapeshifting bar furniture. On paper, playing grab-ass with a succubus sounds like a perfectly reasonable comic premise. If you’re writing a raunchy bit of fiction, or if you’ve established up front what the comfort level of your tabletop group looks like, then you’re golden. But Mimic didn’t establish jack. He saw he’d been paired with Succubus for the crossover, decided to go all-in on the feel coppin’, and is now left with no way to introduce himself to his blind-date-party-mate without looking like a jerk. The unluck keeps on rolling.

The moral of the story? Don’t be a jerk. We’re talking about consent in gaming folks, and it can be key to your Session Zero setup. There are plenty of resources out there to keep unfortunate moments from ruining your game night, so I won’t belabor the point. All I’ll say is that you should take the time to get to know your table before making assumptions. When you’ve started out with a new group, spend a few months to get a feel for the room before you drop the raunchy joke or go for the sex-comedy gag. Chances are it’ll play just fine, and you won’t get labeled a creep for going a little off-color. But never forget that r/rpghorrorstories is a thing, and you do not want to wind up on there because of poor judgement.

So how about it guys? Have you ever taken a joke too far at the table? By the same token, have you ever found yourself in Succubus’s unenviable position, wanting to have a normal kill-the-monsters adventure but finding yourself embroiled in the sticky grasp of poor taste instead? Share your tales of creepy creeps and unwelcome “humor” down in the comments!

 

GET YOUR SCHWAG ON! Want a piece of Handbook-World to hang on you wall? Then you’ll want to check out the “Hero” reward tier on the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. Each monthly treasure hall will bring you prints, decals, buttons, bookmarks and more! There’s even talk of a few Handbook-themed mini-dungeons on the horizon. So hit the link, open up that treasure chest, and see what loot awaits!