Street prostitutes and Erotic Arts

[Anders]

Medieval street prostitutes wouldn't normally know Erotic Arts would they? Most customers are just interested in a quickie anyway, right?

[Goober4473]

They certainly wouldn't need it, nor roll is as part of their daily job, but I think they'd have a slightly higher chance of picking it up, at least in Dabbler form, over time, as they fulfill the various weird requests they must at least occasionally get. They could also always have it independent of their job.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Medieval street prostitutes wouldn't normally know Erotic Arts would they? Most customers are just interested in a quickie anyway, right?

Modern street prostitutes don't normally know Erotic Arts, so I wouldn't expect a lower-tech counterpart in a setting where cruising for hookers is more limited by travel capability to know it, either. Their stock in trade is providing easy access to a raw commodity, not a highly-refined quality product. If they get that good and look okay enough, they generally level up to call girls / courtesans / etc and cease to be street prostitutes.

[vicky_molokh]

Investment of a single point results in something like a +4 improvement to doing mundane stuff that relies on skill too, so I don't think it's completely out of the question. Probably depends on the character. If a PC wants to take it, I'd certainly let him.

P.S. Why plural? You only need extra specialisations for something nonhuman.

[Anders]

I'm making a "Camp Follower" template. I'll probably make a Professional Skill including, among other things, sizing up customers.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Medieval street prostitutes wouldn't normally know Erotic Arts would they?

Or, indeed, street prostitutes of just about any era. They may have Sex Appeal by way of salesmanship, but mostly what they provide is availability, not special skills. If they had Erotic Art, they wouldn't be working the street.

[Anders]

This is, of course, study literature. :)

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Medieval street prostitutes wouldn't normally know Erotic Arts would they? Most customers are just interested in a quickie anyway, right?

In general, no, they don't.

The lowest level need to have nothing at all except availability. If you have a line of soldiers outside a brothel waiting for their ten minutes each, they're not going to be expecting anything but passive compliance.

An entrepreneurial prostitute needs Sex Appeal to sell her commodity. She may get more repeat business if she also has Acting to convince the guy that she's interested in more than just the content of his wallet. She may not need to make any roll at all for sexual capability; if she does, it will probably be for basic sexual technique, which I would make just a DX roll (or Erotic Art+5, but you're not going to find Erotic Art skill).

Bill Stoddard

[PK]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Medieval street prostitutes wouldn't normally know Erotic Arts would they? Most customers are just interested in a quickie anyway, right?

Realistically, many street prostitutes won't even have Sex Appeal skill, much less Erotic Art. Guys turning to prostitutes are doing so for their own reasons; the hookers don't have to "sell themselves" so much as merely "offer themselves."

A more interesting prostitute (particularly one who will be a PC) would have some degree of Sex Appeal, Streetwise, and perhaps Merchant. But still, Erotic Art would be extremely rare. As Molokh notes, it's not completely unreasonable to suggest that a very talented one might have 1 point in it, if only for the significant improvement in rolls for "overall sexual technique" (which are typically against the better of Erotic Art+5 or DX).

[Anders]

Yeah they're 75 points so they're obviously not very realistic camp followers, but I like to keep some contact with the ground... :)