Build Relationships Without Railroading

Relationship Profile records one durable connection between two Characters. Keep directional feelings separate: Character A and Character B may interpret the same history differently. Use trust, affection, respect, tension, attraction, boundaries, important moments, and likely next developments only where they help play.

Open text matters alongside scores. Let creators describe how each person connects, how attraction or romance works for them, what draws them in or cools interest, what they hope for, and what remains uncertain. Empty, none, and discover through play are valid. Scores never establish consent, access, ownership, or a promised outcome.

GM guidance should encourage NPCs to ask questions, make suggestions, and keep conversations moving while protecting player authorship. An NPC may pursue a desire, but repeated pressure after a refusal needs a real characterization reason and appropriate consequences; it must not be the engine's default method of producing plot.

Keep table boundaries and character preferences conceptually separate. A character may enjoy something the player does not want described, or dislike something the player enjoys exploring. The player's current instruction governs presentation.