I don't have a problem with it...

Celtic Woad Warriors charging sky-clad with hair spiked and schlongs swinging.
Sword and Sorcery taverns with the working girls wearing little to nothing.
Demons/Devils of both sexes showing it off.
Fertility Gods and Goddesses statues showing them naked and over-endowed.

If it makes sense and conveys the reality of the setting, sure.

Lesbian Stripper Ninjas in fuck-me pumps and BDSM gear with nipple/clit piercings...not so much...unless it's a Slaanesh book, in which case they might also have a Prince Albert.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;809191How would you feel about nudity that is a stylistic choice, that isn't meant to be taken literally. For example something like Watson and the Shark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_and_the_Shark).

Good question. In an RPG book having someone randomly nude in a setting where its not common would feel really out of place. Like seeing someone in a full victorian ball gown on Barsoom. (That isnt Space 1889).

Example the nudity in AD&D fit for the people depicted and was not sexualized either. They were just standing examples. Or the one in Albedo. The character is getting dressed for duty.

Hilariously someone sent me a copy of d20 Conan. The book literally has tits on every other page because for some wacky reason that is the border art for every other page. Yet there is no nudity in the actual illustrations. One allmost nide, but shes wearing straps across... The guys in the book wear less than the gals!

Have a look at the current kickstarter for the Conan board game.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806316071/conan

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;809226I never knew that. That scene is already pretty close to full nudity too as I recall.

Yes, the alien is shamelessly nekkid!

Ripley though is in a t-shirt and panties sort of deal.

Sure. Things it expect with nudity in game books:

-It makes sense in the context of the illustrated matter and accompanying text.

-It isn't all over the place (otherwise I'd suspect the previous point not fulfilled as well)

-There's an even gender distribution.

-It doesn't shy away from including the ugly and unattractive (but sadly, outside of monsters, fantasy art seems to shy away from that anyway)

In my opinion, scrap the "tasteful" part, just stay clear of the pornographic and pseudo-pornographic.

There's a lot of human-like and humanoid monsters that wouldn't care much for clothes.

Naked Minotaurs, Fiends, Harpies actually make more sense to me than clothed ones, but done right, I wouldn't actually call it tasteful.

Apart from monsters, I think there's more place for nudity in fantasy games, particularly D&D style. Looking at 5th edition, it wouldn't make a nick of difference to barbarian, monk, wizard or sorcerer characters how much clothing  they wear. In a society that developed in such a world, I think it would be sign of confidence in your own capability and/or contempt of you opponent to walk into battle unclothed, though certainly not an everyday occurrence.

Other places I'd imagine nudity in fantasy games making sense:

- Illustrating cultures. Showing artistically how certain (particularly more alien non-human) cultures have a different stance on nudity.

- Illustrating rest. Proper hygiene is important when traveling and tends to require nudity. That can be problematic when you expect attacks 24/7. If such matters where to be discussed in the rules, I'd expect an illustration.

- Religion. Rites of cleansing, depictions of myth, gods and important figures. Priests as healers. If any of this is illustrated, nudity might ensue.

Ultimately, quality is the deciding factor, not subject matter. Art transcends morality, contemporary politics, or temporal concerns. Its has a universal value in and of itself.

If it fits, fine.

If it doesn't fit, not fine. I don't have any problem with nudes, they just don't belong everywhere.

One way or another, America has to cure itself of Nipple-Fear.  If that requires nipples everywhere until no one cares, so be it.

I like pizza, too, but that doesn't mean I want it everywhere.

Perhaps you should rebrand tits for the American market. Insist that they fire NUTRITION BULLETS to save DEFENSELESS CHILDREN in EXPLOSIONS OF LOVE.

This is funny two ways.

First, people go 'argh! A goddess with many tits, that's obscene!'

But ha ha, those aren't tits, they are bull testicles!


For more fun, look up Greek penis birds.

Quote from: Simlasa;809233Jean Rollin's vampire movies get grief because his female vampires are often beautiful nude women... yet I don't find them titillating at all and the nudity just serves to express how alien and strange they are... IMO. Putting clothes on them would remove a lot of the surreal atmosphere his films have.

I felt the same way about CMU Mystique and Dr. Manhattan. Their nudity emphasis their distance physically and mentally from humanity.

Quote from: Omega;809265Hilariously someone sent me a copy of d20 Conan. The book literally has tits on every other page because for some wacky reason that is the border art for every other page. Yet there is no nudity in the actual illustrations. One almost nude, but shes wearing straps across... The guys in the book wear less than the gals!

It seems like Chainmail bikinis draw much more ire from bare chested loin cloth clad beefcake.

Quote from: Will;809315

This is funny two ways.

First, people go 'argh! A goddess with many tits, that's obscene!'

But ha ha, those aren't tits, they are bull testicles!

Those are where she keeps her spare change.

If anyone cares about anything other than whether the picture looks good, fuck them.

If there's "too many" naked people, that's the art director's job to fix by hiring other artists, too. The artist just has to make the best picture they can.

The art in a game should be true to the feel of the game. Period. In an RPG of, for example, "70's-Early 80's Van Art Swords & Sorcery", the art should be titillating.

Americans spend way, way, way too much time worrying about whether or not some prudish asshole somewhere is going to think the stuff they like is "Porn". Forget it. You will never make those sad fucks happy. They think it's ALL porn, you will never win with them, so stop trying. Fuck, I saw an article on obscenity laws once where a Mormon activist in Utah called Michelangelo's David porn.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;809224A bit of background might be helpful. The artist I was speaking with about this is female, and she likes to draw images of naked (mostly female) forms. Her stuff certainly isn't something you might expect would appeal to Ted Nugent but it is still about the beauty of the figure. It was a situation where the piece itself may be better served by the figure being naked. Her work is more like the stuff you might see in an art gallery than a standard game book.

Richard Nugent is a black guy that paints homoerotica and isn't Ted Nugent

The point is that the guys that are happy with chainmail bikinis probably fast forwarded through the uncomfortable parts of Oz and don't want a book full of cock.

Quote from: jibbajibba;809399Richard Nugent is a black guy that paints homoerotica and isn't Ted Nugent

The point is that the guys that are happy with chainmail bikinis probably fast forwarded through the uncomfortable parts of Oz and don't want a book full of cock.

Apologies. Saw Nugent and my brain read it as Ted.

Quote from: jibbajibba;809399Richard Nugent is a black guy that paints homoerotica and isn't Ted Nugent

The point is that the guys that are happy with chainmail bikinis probably fast forwarded through the uncomfortable parts of Oz and don't want a book full of cock.

I wouldn't want an RPG book full of cock, but one full of vaginas probably wouldn't be that great either.  A Succubus/Incubus full frontal though isn't gonna make me rub one out or scream in homophobic panic either way.  

It's art.  You wanna make Faeries/Dryads/Nymphs/Nereids wearing diaphanous clothes or nothing at all, whatever.  You want to show a group of Satyrs with erections dancing with naked women, whatever.  If the art is good, it works, if it sucks, it doesn't.  If it's obviously pornographic and designed to masturbate too, that generally doesn't work in a RPG book.  If it gets across the look and feel of the world despite being sexually charged or erotic, then it generally does. (See Artesia)

A lot of the cheesecake art in RPG books doesn't belong because it's not well done, not because it is a taboo subject.