I need help with a heavy subject.
How do you properly roleplay a rape victim?
Short version, been playing as a female character for the past year & 1/2, and last session she got nightmare raped by Big Bad Evil Bitch and spawned a nightmare creature in the dream right afterward. This is kind of a weird situation (and not for the normal reason), because the past few months this character has just been tying up loose ends, not really having much of a reason to square off with the BBEB. Then that happened, and now she has a new motivation to kill her.
But the thing I keep asking myself is, "how would she act/what would she do after having that happen to her?" I've done a bit of research on the matter, come to some decisions on what she would do, but I'm still not sure. This is the first time in a while I've thought about the campaign outside of a session.
pic related
>>48117352
Nightmare raped by a female BBEG... this means your character has to become a lesbian rapist who rapes other women (to regain the feeling of self-control she lost) and her main goal in life should be to rape the BBEG who nightmare raped her.
Once you start introducing rape into games you've got to go all the way or else it'll just feel cheap. So, from this point forward, rape everything you get the chance to.
>>48117352
i'm gonna assume that this isn't bait because you seem genuine and interested in pulling this off correctly and maturely
THAT SAID, this is the last place to ask this. there's just going to be ridiculous arguments that will deviate almost completely from the OP topic, you're probably gonna hear some shit tossed around like basement dwelling nerds who have no experience with this shit irl trying to project their limited experience on the topic ... etc
you're better off asking elsewhere.
has no place in games, even games that are story only. is sure to tick off at least one player.
>>48117352
This is pretty heavy and you mighta bit off more than you can chew.
In some ways, it depends on what kind of person she is. If she's the kind of person who tries to fight her way through her problems, she might be more aggressive to reassert her own sense of power and autonomy.
If she's the more passive type, then she might be a bit... broken. She might have trouble asserting herself and fall into self-loathing.
It also affects how long before she can work through it (if ever). I might skew more towards a quick recovery, though, sacrificing realism for not bogging down the game or risking bungling the delivery.
>>48117352
The reaction would be entirely based on the character. Different women handle this situation differently.
Do you play to your character's personality traits such as if she was meek, might develop even more meekness/fear/paranoia/danger/become less trusting etc. While a strong woman might take this as a kick in the pants to not let her get taken advantage of again.
Alternatively you can have them take the opposite reaction or a mixture.
Also to consider, what does the character think about sex in general? Is being raped all that big of a deal to her if sex is lasse fair? Was it not so much the act but the non consent that upsets her? If more puritan about sex rape is obviously much more serious to the victim and a real sense of loss of worth/purity may occur.
Consider what effect such as PTSD, anxiety, fear of being alone, hatred of perpetrator, ec etc. she will develop. Proper consideration of all angles is key to not making this uncomfortable for the other players.
Consider what role the other players had in the act but more importantly how your character will interact with them. Seek consilation with her comrades, become increasingly distrustful, or maybe loose previous vibrance and become somber. Consider your interaction with the other players carful and the RP quality of your group. If they are shit like my group they won't notice any subtlties and may not notice things announced to their faces about character growth so that is the NUMBER ONE thing in pulling this off right: consider how to involve the group in the character development without making it uncomfortable. Don't go WOE IS ME 100% of the time. Don't go full CRAWLING IN MY SKINNNN as well. Your character was an adventurer of some sort, they had some strength and inner fire beforehand. WORK TO OVERCOME any developed negatives. Don't sit and have your character go full depressed do nothing.
Let the experience drive character development NOT DEFINE YOUR CHARACTER.
Done rambling.
You could maybe look up some common traits of rape victims, or PTSD and apply some it to your character.
I played a character that got raped once, and that's how I did it. In my opinion at least, it's ok to try to be realistic to the concept, but you shouldn't make it so other players are uncomfortable with it.
So like a good reaction would be how they subtly, negatively respond to being touched even accidentally, but a bad reaction would be to scream that you were raped and break down screaming crying about it. That's not to say that there aren't people who respond that way after being raped, but it just makes gameplay too uncomfortable for everyone involved.
>>48118010
this helps a lot, it goes in hand with what I was thinking. The problem with the other players is:
1.) they don't know about this yet because we can't communicate with each other at the moment.
2.) they focus on combat mainly when making characters and don't role play a character well. I'm probably the least qualified to be the face of the party character wise, but I'm constantly acting as the face because everyone else makes horrible decisions if a dice roll doesn't come into effect.
The thing that would affect her the most would be the feeling of being powerless, because she got beat down before being raped in a fight that was extremely stacked against her. She's a pirate that gained more power than she ever wanted (both combat wise and political wise). She's crude but knows how to be polite when its best to be, heavy drinker, bit of a sexual deviant. She never thought herself as much more than what she was, but this has taken her down to the lowest she's ever felt.
I'm still unsure of how to correctly handle this, but that last bit of 'letting it drive the character, not define it,' that's what I need to focus on.
>>48117352
First remember that you, the character, have been traumatized. That fact that this happened inside your own mind, the one place you're supposed to be safe from harm and ill-will, makes it even worse.
You're likely to become distrustful of everyone that makes any kind of sexual remark or gesture. You'll flinch when a hand touches your shoulder, retract when people get too close. Anyone who physically grabs you in a social situation is likely to trigger aggression or panic.
You'll be afraid of sleeping, staying up long into the night and jolting awake due to both internal and external factors, slight noises, emotional shifting while asleep, and more.
You won't want to talk to others about this, because you're afraid of what they'll think about you. When you do, you'll interpret their discomfort with the topic as being uncomfortable around you. Why? Because you've been tainted. You're broken now, right? What else could it be?
This whole time you start looking at others and wonder, more than before, about all the harm and horrible things they want and could do to you.
How you respond and recover from this will be up to you and your GM.
It will be a agonizingly long path, one that will leave feeling colder and number as you slowly become immune to panic and anger and disgust. And once you've reached that point it's time to begin healing. Slowly opening yourself back up to the people that you now realize were there for you that entire time.
Or, if you can't see that, then you see one thing: the bitch that did this to you suffering for it all.
>>48118650
So your character was raped IN a nightmare, or was the rape nightmarish?
>>48118650
Judging by the character, I'd suspect it might lead her to becoming colder and perhaps a little crueller. She's cunning and powerful, driven and determined by the sound of it, and I suspect the sense of powerlessness was what hit her most. Now she refuses to feel that way again, and will maintain what power she has even if it requires her to be crueller than she would otherwise act. Perhaps her habitual drinking increases to help settle her nerves which has all the negative impacts that come with alcoholism, and maybe she's a little less playful with the flirting and less actively sexual. Whether that's because the memories still haunt her or an extension of her colder attitude could be up to you. I think most of all though she wouldn't be content to sit around and mope about it; she'd get up, draw a sword (or other appropriate weapon), and ready herself to get revenge on the BBEG by sticking him with it.
>>48118961
I was thinking the opposite with the sexuality, it was mostly, "welp, gotta kill some time. Time to go boozin' & whorin'" and its something she knows she can take control in. The being crueller bit makes sense, but would it make sense for her to act more kind to those she actually does like (like the crew), or would that be too much ground to cover?
>>48117352
Everyone handles everything differently. Easy way out? Drink heavily, destroy your relationships, and use sarcasm WAY too much.
>>48117352
Just act like a clueless mute and wander around making trouble.
>>48117352
If you feel like you really can not roleplay a rape victim, tell them you are retiring the character because you do not think that you can do it justice.
Seeing as your gm thought that rape was a good character motivator, you might want to see about finding a new group anyway.
>>48119284
Outwardly respond more violently and abruptly in situations where you have control, as a means of reaffirming control. This could also manifest as a desire to change wardrobe, hair style, get some piercings/tattoos as a way to reestablish control over her body
Since it was a woman that was the rapist she might try to avoid close contact with other women, or at the very least avoid a situation where shes alone with anyone (man or woman) who could kick her ass
Similarly, avoid if possible and react awkwardly or shy when presented with situations or events which remind her of the rape, even down to little stuff like phrases and smells
>>48117352
Aggression or despondence are two obvious solutions. Perhaps if the GM is smart enough, he will come up with some sort of 'redemption' quest that might grant your character some sense of self-worth again.
Generally your character will likely begin to blame themselves. If rape isn't common in society they may begin to doubt the event ever took place or may have invited the event to happen. They may develop a phobia related to the big bad or social anxiety issues. Depression is common as is anxiety and ptsd.
She's unlikely to confront her rapist, rapists remain a symbol of dominance in their victims minds.
The best way to play rape victims in my opinion is as suicides, especially if your GM forced it on you. First off it's realistic and suitably drives home the message to your GM. Secondly you likely can't effectively depict a rape victim and you shouldn't try to, nor should anyone else in the group. Shuffle the character off this mortal coil and roll a new one.
>>48117352
Dismiss it as a bad dream? Because, you know, that's what nightmares are?
Maybe mild insomnia.
