A group of friends showcasing their campaign online to many viewers proves that besides combat and the obligatory role-playing in Dungeons & Dragons, a little romance should not be missing… however, they ignore the “little”.
What kind of crew is this? They are the so-called “Bards of New York”, who – similar to well-known groups like Critical Role – publish their D&D campaign on Twitch, YouTube, and as clips on TikTok and Instagram.
On their social media channels, they love to share particularly funny, dramatic, or generally intense moments.
Their “role-playing warmups” go especially viral, where they can slowly find their way into their own role through a question to the characters before it really starts. However, their romantic scenes are also particularly popular, as they can truly show what an in-game romance can look like when all inhibitions are dropped and “flirting with the homies” is taken to a new level.
So intense that neither players nor fans can look away, even though they want to
How does the group play romance? In their campaigns, it is not uncommon for moments to occur between player characters and NPCs from the DM where things can get romantic, but also heated, before a “fade to black” – an outfade like in a movie – occurs, before it would… well… get explicit.
The individual players are so deeply immersed in their roles and can convey the scene with so much feeling and drama that their fellow players briefly look like they have to suppress their screams:
How do viewers react to such scenes? According to reactions, such as those on TikTok, viewers and their fanbase are absolutely in love with such dedication to the scene. For many, the displayed romances are so well played that they feel similar to the players in the clips, as AmpersandD20 writes: “As a non-smoker, I need a cigarette.”
Some DMs wish they could experience such scenes with their own players, like Xyps4237: “If only my players were that good – they always rush past the main story and complain that there isn’t enough action.”
Others, however, feel that with such strong flirting at this level, it could be hard for some to maintain distance from the characters:
“I would fall in love with anyone I had such a romance with in D&D,” writes Kris. Alon3_NotLon3ly also has to admit: “Sorry, I would totally fall for someone, and then the campaign would end, and I would have to return to my old life before those words touched my soul.”
What do you think about romances in Dungeons & Dragons? Are you a fan of them, and do such themes belong in your campaign? Or is that not your thing at all? Feel free to share it with us in the comments!
Editor Caro from MeinMMO also plays Dungeons & Dragons with her group of friends and her girlfriend. However, her better half often leads her to nervous crashouts: Your dice in D&D are paid actors, and our bard provided the proof with a chance of 0.01%
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