Gay PCs or NPCs
Dirigible
Explorer
Fighter (to group): My comrades, I... I can't live the lie any more.
Cleric: Huh?
Wizard: Wha?
Fighter: This... this flail I carry.... it isn't a flail at all...
Wizard: You mean?
Fighter: Yes, my friends.... 'tis a spiked chain!
Cleric: Oh my god (and I know what of whence I speak)! You're a... powergamer!
Wizard: Augh! Deviant! I can't bear to look at you...
I played a bisexual male space captain once, though the game never got beyond one session. Plus, he looked like a younger Tony Soprano, so he wouldn't have gotten a lot of action anyway
In my homebrew scifi setting, the majority of people are, in modern terms, bisexual. Assisted reproduction technology was advanced enough to let male/male or female/female couples have genetically related children with ease. 'Strict heterosexuals' comprised only about 20% of the population; 'strict homosexuals' somewhat less.
Fenris
Adventurer
One of the few female characters I played was in Cyberpunk. And due to the random backgrounds that game has I ended up with several lovers, some male, some female. So I played the character to the background that had been generated.
It was quite fun. Every lover had been killed. Many while I was in prison framed for their murders. She was a very interesting character. A very dark background, but for a random one it came together and painted such a complete character I had to run with it.
It was quite fun. Every lover had been killed. Many while I was in prison framed for their murders. She was a very interesting character. A very dark background, but for a random one it came together and painted such a complete character I had to run with it.
Terwox
First Post
My groups and I (emphasis on the I) put together are not mature enough to put homosexual PCs or NPCs into a game responsibly. There, I said it! I'm not a mature gamer! Woo!
I'm not being sarcastic or rude, either. It's just true. I don't want to put lesbian characters into games because I don't want to subconsciously use gaming as essentially pornography, and gay men don't really interest me (or I guess the DM's I've played under) as story devices.
That said, sex is also a small part of games I run, although I try to keep it to character defining/event defining, off-screen type of stuff. Some characters are defined by dalliances, or the last time a couple sleeps together before one of them might presumably die -- that sort of thing.
I'm just not completely comfortable with it, I guess. Note that I've never had to play with a gay player, though. If that happened, I'd get over the minor amount of discomfort I have for their sake, if they wanted to have a gay PC (or NPC as the case may be if they were DMing.) Just hasn't come up.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a straight guy deriving gratification by vicariously playing a promiscuous lesbian, it's just not something I want to be a part of... because I'd be prone to let myself do it, given the chance, so I avoid it. (Sorry Eric's grandma!)
I'm not being sarcastic or rude, either. It's just true. I don't want to put lesbian characters into games because I don't want to subconsciously use gaming as essentially pornography, and gay men don't really interest me (or I guess the DM's I've played under) as story devices.
That said, sex is also a small part of games I run, although I try to keep it to character defining/event defining, off-screen type of stuff. Some characters are defined by dalliances, or the last time a couple sleeps together before one of them might presumably die -- that sort of thing.
I'm just not completely comfortable with it, I guess. Note that I've never had to play with a gay player, though. If that happened, I'd get over the minor amount of discomfort I have for their sake, if they wanted to have a gay PC (or NPC as the case may be if they were DMing.) Just hasn't come up.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a straight guy deriving gratification by vicariously playing a promiscuous lesbian, it's just not something I want to be a part of... because I'd be prone to let myself do it, given the chance, so I avoid it. (Sorry Eric's grandma!)
All my players are adults. Sexuality is rarely overt in the game, but characters (PCs and NPCs) sometimes flirt with each other, arrange assignations, or have dates. (Sometimes these activities tie into "exchange of infomration" roleplaying, with lots of Gather Information, Sense Motive, and Bluff, which is the kind of thing that can be important in my game with or without the romantic aspect.)
There are gay NPCs scattered throughout the campaign world, both in the current day and as a part of history and myth, including stories of god and mortals. Most of the religions in the world - and there's a LOT of them, religiona and myth being key interests of mine - are comfortable with gay couples, and some are quite willing to marry them; but there are also religions that are far less comfortable with the idea.
We've had very few gay PCs. Once PC was a priest of Sepia, the goddess of love (of the more whimsical sort), and the player played him as a bisexual hustler, which added a certain range of different interactions to the game. The player checked to make sure none of the rest of us were uncomfortable with this portrayal; none of us were.
I'm gay, but I've never played gay PCs. (One of my players pointed out that knowing how to play straight was a "Survival skill" for gay men in the real world, and sometimes it is.) Until now - my current character (one of my other players is DM'ing for a while) is a gay human male named Orestes, who is 1/8 satyr. He's also married to a woman, and has two small children. Orestes is a member of a highly respected family in his home town, and he married a friend, whose father had utterly disgraced HER family, in order to improve her status and position in the town. The kids further tie her to the family. In the real world, marriages of convenience between women (gay or straight) and gay men are more common than most people think, and children are often part of the arrangement.
Many years ago, before I came out (even to myself), a woman player in one of my first campaigns played a male fighter named Jerboa, who she played as fussy, huffy, and quite stereotypically gay, to comic effect - although his backstory, known only to me and her, was that he was simply an effeminate heterosexual, with a wife and child. She moved; we lost touch. Years later we happened to run into each other, and I mentioned (among the many other things that had been going on in my life) that I was gay.
She freaked! "I hope that... I mean, with Jerboa... were you insulted, or... I'm really sorry!"
I told her that, on my list of things to be worried about, this was really, really low. (She was, by the way, a wonderful person and a great player.)
Panask
Servitar to Baldur
There are gay NPCs scattered throughout the campaign world, both in the current day and as a part of history and myth, including stories of god and mortals. Most of the religions in the world - and there's a LOT of them, religiona and myth being key interests of mine - are comfortable with gay couples, and some are quite willing to marry them; but there are also religions that are far less comfortable with the idea.
We've had very few gay PCs. Once PC was a priest of Sepia, the goddess of love (of the more whimsical sort), and the player played him as a bisexual hustler, which added a certain range of different interactions to the game. The player checked to make sure none of the rest of us were uncomfortable with this portrayal; none of us were.
I'm gay, but I've never played gay PCs. (One of my players pointed out that knowing how to play straight was a "Survival skill" for gay men in the real world, and sometimes it is.) Until now - my current character (one of my other players is DM'ing for a while) is a gay human male named Orestes, who is 1/8 satyr. He's also married to a woman, and has two small children. Orestes is a member of a highly respected family in his home town, and he married a friend, whose father had utterly disgraced HER family, in order to improve her status and position in the town. The kids further tie her to the family. In the real world, marriages of convenience between women (gay or straight) and gay men are more common than most people think, and children are often part of the arrangement.
Many years ago, before I came out (even to myself), a woman player in one of my first campaigns played a male fighter named Jerboa, who she played as fussy, huffy, and quite stereotypically gay, to comic effect - although his backstory, known only to me and her, was that he was simply an effeminate heterosexual, with a wife and child. She moved; we lost touch. Years later we happened to run into each other, and I mentioned (among the many other things that had been going on in my life) that I was gay.
She freaked! "I hope that... I mean, with Jerboa... were you insulted, or... I'm really sorry!"
I told her that, on my list of things to be worried about, this was really, really low. (She was, by the way, a wonderful person and a great player.)
Panask
Servitar to Baldur
STARP_JVP
First Post
I find all this talk about 'maturity' interesting, as regards to sexuality in the game. I'm also intrigued by the number of people who say that sex isn't really mentioned, or even those people who said their game doesn't involve romance.
In most, though admittedly not all, sexuality has actually been quite important, and romance has been highly prominent. Many of the characters I have played have had in-game dalliances, and as a DM I encourage such things. Other DMs I know are similar. One of the DMs I've played with has NPCs flirt openly with PCs, and the DM himself flirts 'in character' with players of both genders with no embarrasment or shame. It was a little disorienting at first, being male and pretending to flirt, or something more, with another male, but I got over that when I realised that it was only pretending.
Romance is such an important part of storytelling that I find it off how many people have eschewed it. Leaving sex out I can understand, especially with younger players, but romance is important. It is such a powerful motivator for any character, for a start. I specialise in playing the 'suave debonaire' 007-type character, for who romantic dalliances are a major goal. I've had one PC fall in love and get married, another one with a crush on another PC, and one PC got pregnant once, although she never got to give birth before the campaign folded.
Maybe I'm just a bit...well, weird, but all these things come together to make memorable gameplay for me and my group. I'm not saying that those who don't share my view are weird, and I certainly don't encourage anybody to do anything that might make them uncomfortable, but I am fascinated by the number of people for whom love and sex are foreign concepts in their game.
In most, though admittedly not all, sexuality has actually been quite important, and romance has been highly prominent. Many of the characters I have played have had in-game dalliances, and as a DM I encourage such things. Other DMs I know are similar. One of the DMs I've played with has NPCs flirt openly with PCs, and the DM himself flirts 'in character' with players of both genders with no embarrasment or shame. It was a little disorienting at first, being male and pretending to flirt, or something more, with another male, but I got over that when I realised that it was only pretending.
Romance is such an important part of storytelling that I find it off how many people have eschewed it. Leaving sex out I can understand, especially with younger players, but romance is important. It is such a powerful motivator for any character, for a start. I specialise in playing the 'suave debonaire' 007-type character, for who romantic dalliances are a major goal. I've had one PC fall in love and get married, another one with a crush on another PC, and one PC got pregnant once, although she never got to give birth before the campaign folded.
Maybe I'm just a bit...well, weird, but all these things come together to make memorable gameplay for me and my group. I'm not saying that those who don't share my view are weird, and I certainly don't encourage anybody to do anything that might make them uncomfortable, but I am fascinated by the number of people for whom love and sex are foreign concepts in their game.
lukelightning
First Post
Ah yes, Cyberpunk. Way back before I came out I played cyberpunk, and all the randomly generated previous lovers of my male character were all male. I thought "wow, this game is trying to tell me something!"
Fenris said:
Kemrain
First Post
In the game I'm currently playing in sex, sexuality, gender, and romance have played great key rolls in the storylines and character development. On top of that we've had a great variety of genders/sexualities/romances too.
Presently I'm playing a character who started off male, got involved with a woman, was polymorphed into a female, married the woman, had a child with the woman, and later found that she was half demon.
While the Demon thing I wanted, I never asked for the sex change. Being transsexual myself, the GM (who is my boyfriend) and I joked about it one time, because there was a plot point that required the characters to be female, but the intention was to get changed back afterwards. It came down to a will save, and Santel, now Melissa, failed it miserably. However, even having failed the save, she asked her love her preference, saying that if she needed a man, she'd be a man for her without hesitation. Her lover had been a whore and abused by men through her childhood, and found being with a woman strangely comforting, so Melissa remained female, and is now carrying their second child.
While Melissa is open in her love for her wife and is repulsed by the idea of being with a man, she is half succubus, and there was this one time... But she doesn't like to talk about that. That guy's lucky she hasn't killed him.
My latest character, Alar Matahari, is a heterosexual male who is involved in a grand scheme of romance and betrayal. This thread should be a fun one to unravel.
I have another character who is asexual, and 'she' is interesting to play. Lana, as 'she's called, is an amorphous shapeshifting creature (think Odo from Deep Space 9) who has spent the last 125 years growing up in a sort of mental childhood. She usually takes a pretty female human shape because, in her words, "Everyone likes a pretty girl." She gets treated better that way, and she knows it.
While Lana is in many ways immature, she is 'in love'* with the son of a local baron, and will soon marry him. This is causing all sorts of complications, such as the fact that she can't give him an heir, having no reproductive organs.
While Lana engages in sex, she doesn't do it for the traditional human reasons. She has no experience of sexual pleasure, but given the protein rich secretions people make during the process she enjoys it afterwards. While she doesn't 'want' sex in the same way a human does, she understands the human need for it and finds it a convienient way of bonding with someone- though now she's agreed to only have sex with her betroved, at least until he's dead.
It's so strange to play such a naive alien creature. Looking at the world through a whole new perspective is fun.
* When I say 'in love' I don't really mean it the same as with a human. Lana, fortunately for the rest of the world, was 'raised' by caring folks who taught her to care for everyone. She has a very hard time understanding why people would hurt other people, and why everyone doesn't get just along. She's been fortunate enough to have avoided most violent situations, and has only killed one sentient being, by accident. (She thought by looking at her that the dark elf's head wouldn't be so soft.. Squish!)
Great thread. Very mature and insightful. We need to see more of this in the world.
- Kemrain the Pleased.
Presently I'm playing a character who started off male, got involved with a woman, was polymorphed into a female, married the woman, had a child with the woman, and later found that she was half demon.
While the Demon thing I wanted, I never asked for the sex change. Being transsexual myself, the GM (who is my boyfriend) and I joked about it one time, because there was a plot point that required the characters to be female, but the intention was to get changed back afterwards. It came down to a will save, and Santel, now Melissa, failed it miserably. However, even having failed the save, she asked her love her preference, saying that if she needed a man, she'd be a man for her without hesitation. Her lover had been a whore and abused by men through her childhood, and found being with a woman strangely comforting, so Melissa remained female, and is now carrying their second child.
While Melissa is open in her love for her wife and is repulsed by the idea of being with a man, she is half succubus, and there was this one time... But she doesn't like to talk about that. That guy's lucky she hasn't killed him.
My latest character, Alar Matahari, is a heterosexual male who is involved in a grand scheme of romance and betrayal. This thread should be a fun one to unravel.
I have another character who is asexual, and 'she' is interesting to play. Lana, as 'she's called, is an amorphous shapeshifting creature (think Odo from Deep Space 9) who has spent the last 125 years growing up in a sort of mental childhood. She usually takes a pretty female human shape because, in her words, "Everyone likes a pretty girl." She gets treated better that way, and she knows it.
While Lana is in many ways immature, she is 'in love'* with the son of a local baron, and will soon marry him. This is causing all sorts of complications, such as the fact that she can't give him an heir, having no reproductive organs.
While Lana engages in sex, she doesn't do it for the traditional human reasons. She has no experience of sexual pleasure, but given the protein rich secretions people make during the process she enjoys it afterwards. While she doesn't 'want' sex in the same way a human does, she understands the human need for it and finds it a convienient way of bonding with someone- though now she's agreed to only have sex with her betroved, at least until he's dead.
It's so strange to play such a naive alien creature. Looking at the world through a whole new perspective is fun.
* When I say 'in love' I don't really mean it the same as with a human. Lana, fortunately for the rest of the world, was 'raised' by caring folks who taught her to care for everyone. She has a very hard time understanding why people would hurt other people, and why everyone doesn't get just along. She's been fortunate enough to have avoided most violent situations, and has only killed one sentient being, by accident. (She thought by looking at her that the dark elf's head wouldn't be so soft.. Squish!)
Great thread. Very mature and insightful. We need to see more of this in the world.
- Kemrain the Pleased.
lukelightning
First Post
That's the "frightening" truth behind homosexuality: outside of sitcoms and stereotypical humor, it really isn't something that comes up. Now that I think about it, I don't think most of my supposedly straight characters have ever done anything to out themselves as straight (i.e. no romantic encounters, no RP'ed out flirting), so in essence they are asexual.
Gnome said:
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