Women and Children first?

[Dias Ex Machina]

Eh, that would be crowding in my opinion...but I am not one to judge. I know some people that would jump at the chance of--

...okay, never mind that.

BACK to topic, since many fantasy stories portray their non-human races as a reflection of an attribute of a portion of humanity (large or small, all equally important...sigh, the portion, not the attribute), they often endorse the opinions of the writer designing them.

So the answers some posters have given can be used to evaluate their opinion of what they like in humanity. I speak in jest of course, and am not actually accusing anyone of anything (like your women big, danny?).

Of course, I present many non-human races in my book as pansexual. It’s a result of a free society I imagine elves and dwarves might have--open and tolerant. And yes, this could reflect my opinion of what I would like humanity to believe in, though not an orientation I personally subscribe to. Call me liberal. This extends from sexuality to simple cultural beliefs. Women are not subservient in a single elvish culture in Amethyst. It’s an exclusive attribute of Mankind, I think (at least with intelligent creatures).

As for children, the pagus reach adulthood in 9 years, so there is not much for childhood. I have a race that never looks beyond 17 for their entire life.

 

[Whimsical]

I use the egalitarian gender parity implied in the 3e rules, supplements, and adventures.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Mixture. I have matriarchal/amazonian societies (drow, trolls and gnolls), patriarchal/male-dominated ones (kobolds, ogres and giants except cloud and storm giants), and egalitarian ones (elves, dwarfs, gnomes, halflings, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins).

The way it works varies from race to race. Among orcs, for example, a female is supposed to breed a litter before she becomes a warrior; but social standing depends on success in war, so most females get their breeding done in their early teens. They don't care for their own litters--all the whelps are raised together in central breeding pens by those orcs who make it to old age.

 

[Sol.Dragonheart]

Virtually all of my humanoid species are dominantly male as far as combat goes. As mentioned earlier, females are vital for breeding and it would be natural behavior to keep the women away from the front lines if at all possible.

 

[Kesh]

In my homebrew (which is going to be altered for 4e), it generally breaks down like this:

Elves rule by inheritance, regardless of gender (with exceptions for insane/inept rulers being deposed)

Eladrin (formerly 'high elves') rule by a complex hierarchy of family lineage and personal power, regardless of gender; think Mafia blended with Japanese feudal lords

Dwarves are a theocratic empire, with strict fascist patriarchal rules.

Gnolls are a matriarchal collection of families/clans, where rule is established by the number of slaves one commands. The High Queen treats all gnolls as her personal slaves.

Halflings are an eclectic society of nomads. They respect the wisdom of their elders, and have a loose network of respect/deference to those in positions of authority, but no central government. Gender typically doesn't come into it, though opinions vary.

Humans are a fractured race. Various kingdoms vie for power. The majority of kingdoms have signed a treaty uniting them under an "Emperor" who is elected by the rulers of each kingdom every 7 years. A few bandit kingdoms and barbarian lands are not part of this treaty, as well as the independent city-state that my campaign will be set in. Individual kingdoms may or may not have gender-based societal roles.

 

[sckeener]

At least for my gnolls, which I base off Hyenas, there is no sexual dimorphism. Females are right there in the thick of the fighting. They can afford this risk because they are clever hunters and the pack rarely takes risks. They are only dangerous to the weak.

My orcs though have sexual dimorphism. The female will fight if pushed into a corner, but they do not go out with war parties.

Most of my games have women and kids in them and the adventurers have to figure out what to do with them....they've come up with various ideas over the years, but I've been leaning towards Monte Cook's Ptolus solution and having an organization dedicated to changing the alignment of monsters to LG. Let my players brood on the morality of that....

 

[Gez]

Hrm. Now I'm wondering about setting up dwarven societies as matriarcal & polyandrous, with a human-sized female having multiple husbands

Seven husbands is the norm. But beware, these female dwarves suffer from a very peculiar allergy to apples.

Myself, my next homebrew, whenever I'll made one, will have dwarves and elves as respectively the males and females of the same species.

 

[TerraDave]

Why should Orc females be non-combatants,

Since orcs are evil, the answer is obviously....sexism....so are those females mortal evil enemies? Or oppressed victims to be helped?

 

[GreatLemur]

Much as westerners are loathe to talk about it openly or in mixed company, humans have a large degree of sexual dimorphism.

Sure, in the real world. In a D&D setting, I generally tend to take the equality suggested by the gender-neutral ability score system and run with it.

Besides, plucky-female-character-making-her-way-against-the-rules-of-a-patriarchal-society stories are tired as all hell, and stories where female characters are just plain absent or relegated to hostage/prize status are too wretched to contemplate. I prefer campaigns that look sort of like the Lies of Locke Lamora setting, where gender just isn't a big deal, and both underworld thugs and captains of industry are about as likely to be female as male.

 

[Drowbane]

IMCs it depends on the race and/or culture of a particular race. Humans, vary by culture. My dwarves are very patriarchal. My Halflings tend to have female shamans and male war-chiefs, with the shamans being the true rulers. My Kreen are ruled by a single Empress... etc, etc.

While I run with the general dimorphic-stat as per the PHB, I think my Homebrew will use the Traits system from Iron Heroes... and though I kinda expect the +str trait(s) to be used more for male berserkers... one never knows. You tell Xena she has to be "weaker" than Conan. I dare ya.

Myself, my next homebrew, whenever I'll made one, will have dwarves and elves as respectively the males and females of the same species.

Very interesting.