Having a male lead with a mostly female supporting cast, while avoiding harem tropes

I am writing an RPG where the four characters correspond to the classic Fighter/Mage/Thief/Cleric archetypes. The lead is male and the other three are female. The problem I have is that I am trying to avoid having this interpreted as a harem setup. Any characterization advice to avoid this?

Some notes:

Only one of the three women has any interest in him, and he doesn't show any interest in anyone.

Two of the women are childhood friends and have known one another far longer than the others have known one another. There's a degree of emotional intimacy and trust that isn't present with the others.

Basically I have a cast where 3 of the 4 mains are female and I am trying to keep everything platonic.

I'm not sure how one would keep it platonic in universe without them just acting how they normally would and not displaying any attraction to the male lead.

If you're trying to keep it platonic out of universe you're probably out of luck because some people will interpret just about anything as romantic interaction.

You can try giving the girls someone else, maybe a boyfriend waiting back home

Or who might be seen on-screen, to provide a reference-point for how the girls' behave around people in whom they have a non-platonic interest, and thus a contrast with their behaviour around the lead character.

If people see UST or Ship Tease where there is none, that's not the end of the world. I just want to avoid having this appear as a guy with a harem of ladies who fight his battles. That is my main concern.

& I am genuinely considering giving two of the three women (the ones who are childhood friends) implied mutual attraction to one another as a way of resolving this. Or just adding another male to the team, though that's something I am trying to avoid for gameplay reasons. Thoughts on this?

How would it impact the gameplay, if I may ask?

In and of itself, it seems like a potential solution, especially alongside the idea of having two of the girls be interested in each other, rather than the guy(s).

[edit]
If the impact is that you want to have four characters, specifically, then you could potentially gender-flip one of the girls.

[edit]
Or, perhaps better, gender-flip the guy.

Edited by ArsThaumaturgis on Mar 14th 2020 at 4:13:38 PM

I'd point you to the comic: Grease Monkey.

Also, completely different situations, but it might help with your various character interactions among each other. You have a thief/warrior/mage setup (sorry if I didn't get it completely right), and folks tend to find themselves in their roles and not all roles are compatible.

The simplest way is to acknowledge it, give the reasons why it won't work, and move on.

If people really want a relationship between the characters that are not involved, they'll probably write their own slash-fic.

Just don't give the girls be overly intimate with the guy if they're not interested in him. No Hugging, No Kissing and the like. Even in an actual Harem Series or Dating Sim, not every single member of the opposite sex that the MC encounters will become a "love interest option", and it really comes down to how the characters interact. Avoid "suggestive moments" such as Suggestive Collision, Accidental Pervert, Clingy Jealous Girl, etc.

P.S. I think it's an unfortunate assumption to imply that the only reason the two other girls are not interested in the MC because they already have other love interests. If your guy is "uninterested to anyone", why can't his Not Love Interest girls be the same?

Also, depending on how far you've progressed with the characterization, why not change one of the character's gender? Does the story and team dynamic still work if it's two guys and two girls, or if all four are females?

Speaking from experience uh...

Well, New Dawn has a lot of female supporting cast members, and while a few of them harbor some degree of affection for Matthew, the protagonist, Matt is reluctant to get into relationships. It tends to end badly for all involved.

It's all about writing your women with agency and having them have plotlines that do not revolve around the dudes. If you could write a story entirely about a female heroine having her own kickass adventures for a book without the presence of the male protagonist or overdue mention of him, then you're probably in the right direction.

Edited by NickTheSwing on Apr 22nd 2020 at 11:19:32 AM