User:SunderedShor/sandbox

Erotica was a wide variety of art, literature, and live performances whose subject matter was substantively erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing, though otherwise meant to amuse and entertain adult audience.

Culture
Erotica took a wide variety of forms in the Realms, including sculptures, chapbooks,  paintings, plays, ballads, tableux, and even Talis cards. Such physical media was circulated across the Realms by the various caravan trade routes, such as erotic books making their way from Sembia to Ravens Bluff, while performances were often seen in festhalls, such as Warm Wondra's.

There existed a variety of terms across the Realms for referring to such content, such as "heaving-bosom" and “hot-bottom”. The latter referred to a sub-genre of romance chapbooks with mild sexual content, generally written for women and by women authors.

Throughout the nations of Faerun there were very few laws banning erotica, with most laws distinguishing it from actual live sexual activity. Most people didn't dwell upon or comment on such things and it was generally understood that part of the allure of such media came from being secretive about it.

Notable Works

 * The Dark Dragon, a notorious erotic chapbook that was set in Dark Dragon Castle.
 * Filfaeril Bound and Willing, a chapbook that depicted Queen Filfaeril Obarskyr of Cormyr in salacious scenarios.
 * Nargeth's Roving Eye, and the Wonders It Witnessed, a lewd yet humorous chapbook revolving around a wizard named Nargeth witnessing various amorous goings-on through means of the arcane eye spell.
 * The Hunting Horn, a popular Athkatlan printed periodical chapbook that dealt with topics of a sexual nature, usually included art and fiction within its pages.

Notable Makers & Purveyors

 * In Amn, the Church of Sune and that of Sharess both published and distributed chapbooks that contained erotica centered around their respective faith's goddess. The latter was also a sponsor of The Hunting Horn.
 * The twin brothers Amandar and Melver Minstrelwish sometimes wrote steamy romance chapbooks from their hideout in Deepingdale.
 * Bannermere, a young Herald that penned a number of salacious chapbooks that were often sold as far as Scornubel and Waterdeep.
 * The sisters Daereedrim Therogeon and Mororna Therogeon were both writers of sultry novels rumored to be directly based upon their own romantic exploits. Excerpts from several of them were sold in broadsheet form at record rates.
 * The Flame of Love Lutery in the Cormyrian village of Jester's Green sold both salacious broadsheets and erotic images.
 * In the city of Waterdeep, some festhalls employed silent broadcryers to sell erotic chapbooks.

Notable Partakers

 * A great deal of Sharessan and Sunite temples in Amn had copies of The Hunting Horn, due to either the clergy purchasing them or people bringing them as offerings.
 * Tordon Sureblade, the Lord Magistrate of Ravens Bluff, was rumored to be an avid reader of lurid and trashy chapbook-serials.
 * Redleigh Ambrynrald, the steward of House Raventree, wrote a number of popular lurid romance chapbooks in his off-time. These were all set in a fictionalized version of Waterdeep, wherein all noblewomen yearned for older male servants. He would hide these behind paneling within Raventree Villa, then wait until the Raventrees were away on business to arrange for their printing.
 * Lionar Saraera Delhand of the City Watch of Marsember held that reading of "hot-bottom" romance chapbooks as one of her guilty pleasures in life.
 * Vangerdahast Aeiulvana took to reading lurid chapbooks later in life.