5th Edition and the Female Demographic

[Dannyalcatraz]

Create a TV show set in a D&D campaign setting that:

1. Doesn't suck
2. Has themes beyond those appealing to guys only
3. Does not objectify all of the women

And you'll have won half the battle of drawing women to gaming. The other half comes in making sure the world at large is aware it's a show based on D&D in particular.

My training tells me that the quasi-steampunky Eberron setting would be the best shot at getting major crossover appeal. At least one main character should be Warforged. However many women are in the main party, at least one should be a serious martial artist, not a primary spellcaster- the damsel/rescuer role reversal that served Buffy- the movie AND the TV show- would work for this show as well. Live action would be expensive, but has certain strengths...ditto for animation.

 

[GSHamster]

I've never heard of any group (outside the internet) being introduced to gaming via just picking it up. Everybody I know was introduced to the hobby by a friend, an acquaintance or a relative. And quite often by someone older than them.

I would expect this issue to self-correct over time, as the number of girl gamers goes up.

Well, we'd need to see WotC market research on how gaming groups start. I don't think it can be entirely viral. Some groups have to start from nothing.

My personal experience is that I picked up the books (2nd Ed) first and introduced it to my friends. At that point we didn't know anyone else who played. My circle of friends was mostly male.

 

[S'mon]

My training tells me that the quasi-steampunky Eberron setting would be the best shot at getting major crossover appeal. At least one main character should be Warforged. However many women are in the main party, at least one should be a serious martial artist, not a primary spellcaster- the damsel/rescuer role reversal that served Buffy- the movie AND the TV show- would work for this show as well.

I haven't seen any indication that Buffy was particularly popular with female viewers, as compared to male viewers.

 

[Kaodi]

Allowing for a small tangent: as far as an Eberron series might go, a feminine warforged might be an excellent character for exploring feminist themes of objectification and subservience. And " she " could be a kick ass fighter as well.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I haven't seen any indication that Buffy was particularly popular with female viewers, as compared to male viewers.

Buffy, along with shows like Xena, Charmed and the Lara Croft movies (to name but a few), are consistently cited by actors, producers, pop-culture theorists and academics as "gateway" fantasy shows for female viewership. IOW, not only did they have stronger than average female viewership back then, those whose appetites they whetted are still hungering for more positive female roles in F/SF.

Adventures of Buffy and Lara see female sci-fi viewers outnumber males - Telegraph

Geek girls help power viewership for sci-fi TV - Entertainment - Television - TODAY.com

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Slayer-Gender-Studies-Primer/dp/0819567582"]Amazon.com: Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan (9780819567581): Lorna Jowett: Books[/ame]

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Allowing for a small tangent: as far as an Eberron series might go, a feminine warforged might be an excellent character for exploring feminist themes of objectification and subservience. And " she " could be a kick ass fighter as well.

I wouldn't do it- not as a main character.

If the female Warforged was clearly feminine, you too easily open yourself to feminist critiques of literally objectifying women. If she was typical of current Warforged art, she would come across as a "masculinized" woman. You lose either way.

 

[LostSoul]

In my gaming experience I haven't seen any difference in the way men and women approach RPG play. I haven't played with hundreds of people, though.

Anyway. I think that you want to broaden the RPG base as a whole. I think in order to do that you have to make sure that someone's social capital goes up by playing D&D. It's the case now that it goes down more often than not. So in addition to the cash and time, there's another cost associated to playing D&D. Women may be more reluctant to pay this cost, I don't know.

Remove that cost, or reverse it into a benefit, and I think a lot more people would be playing.

No idea how to do it, though. Maybe by making your action resolution mechanic rely on doing shots of tequila.

 

[Kaodi]

I wouldn't do it- not as a main character.

If the female Warforged was clearly feminine, you too easily open yourself to feminist critiques of literally objectifying women. If she was typical of current Warforged art, she would come across as a "masculinized" woman. You lose either way.

There would be risks, yes. I think you could wiggle out of the "masculinization" argument by claiming that it is imprudent to say that indistinct equals masculine, and by saying that the entire point of such a character is to force people to focus on the personality.

 

[The Shaman]

I differentiate between women and girls because I think they are distinct capture points . . .

Damn, I've been scoring my captures all wrong.

 

[S'mon]

Buffy, along with shows like Xena, Charmed and the Lara Croft movies (to name but a few), are consistently cited by actors, producers, pop-culture theorists and academics as "gateway" fantasy shows for female viewership. IOW, not only did they have stronger than average female viewership back then, those whose appetites they whetted are still hungering for more positive female roles in F/SF.

Adventures of Buffy and Lara see female sci-fi viewers outnumber males - Telegraph

Geek girls help power viewership for sci-fi TV - Entertainment - Television - TODAY.com

Amazon.com: Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan (9780819567581): Lorna Jowett: Books

I think there's a big difference between stuff initially crafted mostly for men - Lara Croft, Xena, Buffy to a large extent - which has cross-over appeal, compared to un-geek-fashionable, non-male-friendly stuff like Charmed or the Twilight movies.