D&D 5E 5e's new gender policy - is it attracting new players?

[Staccat0]

My group contains both a woman and a gay gentleman who had never had any interest before.
I know multiple women (including an entire female group in Austin) who have came to 5e and are playing D&D for the first time.
I also know multiple gay people in other games who came to D&D for the first time with 5e.
The head of one major local table top gaming group is transgender and finally jumped from other systems to 5e as their main game after a long time of not playing D&D.
We're mostly in our early 30s btw.

It's all anecdotal, but I feel like female and LGBT gamers are definitely on the upswing. I doubt it had ANYTHING to do with the way that chapter is written, but I'm sure a few are happy to know they are welcome when they crack the book. I certainly know a few who have said as much.
Things along the lines of "That actually made me more excited about playing the game"

I feel like transgender identity is a modern thing, and not really a good fit for the kind of fantasy games that people tend to associate with D&D.

Naw.

 

[Wik]

I doubt it. People will always be who they are, and writing "be respectful" somewhere won't change that. If so, there would never be flame wars on forums...

Oh, of course. But forums and real life are entirely different things, obviously. In the real world, if you tell people showing up that they should maintain proper respect, most normal people will.

And, personally, by making sure that your product doesn't exclude a whole class of people, you'll probably see more of that group people show interest in your product...

 

[Wik]

My group contains both a woman and a gay gentleman who had never had any interest before.
I know multiple women (including an entire female group in Austin) who have came to 5e and are playing D&D for the first time.
I also know multiple gay people in other games who came to D&D for the first time with 5e.
The head of one major local table top gaming group is transgender and finally jumped from other systems to 5e as their main game after a long time of not playing D&D.
We're mostly in our early 30s btw.

It's all anecdotal, but I feel like female and LGBT gamers are definitely on the upswing. I doubt it had ANYTHING to do with the way that chapter is written, but I'm sure a few are happy to know they are welcome when they crack the book. I certainly know a few who have said as much.
Things along the lines of "That actually made me more excited about playing the game"

This is sort of where I'm seeing things, too. There's been an upswing in people getting into D&D right now. For example, the transgender person I mentioned earlier was a pathfinder player who is switching to 5e. The gay player is completely new to RPGs, but has board game experience. And a third player, who read that chapter, said "Wait, I can play, say, a drag queen? And that'd be okay?" (1)

I believe that simply by saying something enough, you can change how people see something. And while that little blurb is a very small thing to say, I think it's a step in the right direction. I just hope 5e keeps making strides in that direction.






(1) My answer to her was "Sure, but if you play it as a joke, you won't be playing at my table for long." This made her very happy, because she wanted to play it as mostly serious.

 

[discosoc]

And, personally, by making sure that your product doesn't exclude a whole class of people, you'll probably see more of that group people show interest in your product...

There's your problem. You feel like WotC not giving shout-outs to a group of people means they are excluding that group of people.

Let me lay it out for you: If you want gay NPCs, then make gay NPCs. WotC isn't excluding you by not adding a "How to make an LGBT character" chapter to the book. Stop trying to draw lines in the sand.

 

[Staccat0]

(1) My answer to her was "Sure, but if you play it as a joke, you won't be playing at my table for long." This made her very happy, because she wanted to play it as mostly serious.

Yeah, that's another thing entirely. I have one player (a straight white guy) playing a character who was turned into a monster (Tiefling stats) by a mysterious event and is seeking answers. The character had their gender stripped away in the process, and while it's not a big part of the narrative it does occaisionally give the character interesting roleplay moments that I can reward with inspiration points or whatever.

The gay player meanwhile is playing a Warforged (I cooked one up from the UA version) who is unique to our world (an artifact from a lost civilization) and he is very much asexual. Again, it doesn't ever take center stage (sex isn't a big part of our games like it might be in say -- Apocalypse World) but it has led to just as many interesting RP moments as a character being clostraphobic or alchaholic.

That said, my group tends to think that playing someone too much like yourself is a missed opportunity for roleplaying and we do sessions where they are just trying to solve a mystery, negotiate something or explore and find something just as much as dungeons crawls.

 

[Lancelot]

So... I can't really answer the question. But I'll venture the opinion of a representative of the worst possible group to respond to this question: a white, straight, right-wing male.

I've had two gay players at the table, one of whom I consider a very long-time friend (rather than "just" a gaming friend; i.e. dinners, parties, shared experiences). Neither is currently playing at my table, but only because they're now living in different cities. I'd welcome either back in a heartbeat.

I've also had two openly bisexual players at the table. One moved away several years ago but I'd welcome him back. The other still plays with us, and is a valued member of the group.

All four started playing D&D years ago. I've never heard any of them express that they felt either the game or the group was anything less than inclusive, despite us being the most politically-incorrect table you could imagine.

My personal feeling is that the new official stance is a great thing... but in practical terms, it changes nothing at our table. If we bring in a new gamer and they're LGBT, it's irrelevant to everyone at the table. It's just... not a thing. It never has been. As for the new player, I think that their sole reaction to the game is going to be based on whether they fit with our (fairly shocking) sense of humor. I've seen straight white males not stick around because we were a little too much for their sensibilities; I've seen a bisexual polynesian female have a great time because she was as demented as the rest of us.

I don't think a new LGBT recruit to our group is going to be swayed by four paragraphs of text in the PH. I don't think they'd be swayed by 40 pages of text in the PH. It's about the people, not the game, for us.

Part of my "I'm not sure that it makes a practical difference" attitude could be because I've found that gaming in New Zealand is a little different from gaming during the 4 years I lived in the States. As a society, Kiwis are pretty darn liberal (and even right-wing Kiwis like myself see "liberal" as a positive descriptor, not a slur). We have gay marriage, and legalized prostitution, and openly gay or transgender or weed-supporting politicians, and we're thinking of changing our flag, and our environmental party holds 12% of the vote (and parliamentary seats; we have proportional government, not two-party), and our ruling right-wing party is a little bit left of the democrats. Gaming, in general, seems to be fairly popular in the members of the NZ LGBT community that I know, and always has been. But, again, it's a slightly different environment here.

Nonetheless, kudos to WotC for the official stance. I like seeing it. I support anything that increases the diversity and inclusiveness of the player base.

Is it sufficient? I have no idea. Everything I've said above is colored by my own boringly predictable gender identity.

What I absolutely do think, however, is that I get nervous when I see people responding with: there's no place for sexuality in D&D. The actor Matt Damon recently made some comments about how gay actors shouldn't come out of the closet, because there's no place for sexuality (straight or LGBT) in acting. Actors should apparently be sexuality-blind, and happy to play roles on any side of the fence. But, regardless of whether he had well-meaning intentions, I feel his comment missed the broad point. It's fine... and expected... for Matt Damon to stand on the red carpet at a movie premiere with his wife, and give her a supportive kiss. It's a different story if Matt Damon shows up on the red carpet and kisses Hugh Jackman.

The same is true in D&D. If there's no place for sexuality in the game, that's still not addressing the fact that everything is so very heteronormative by default. Tika Waylan at the Inn of the Last Home will flirt with the buffest party fighter, the princess in the Bloodstone module series will marry the highest-charisma male PC when she's rescued, AD&D nereids will drown males with their kisses but women are immune... It goes on and on. There's no place for sexuality in D&D, unless it's the same sexuality we've been seeing for centuries. Yeah... no. I'll take some variety, any day.

 

[Staccat0]

The same is true in D&D. If there's no place for sexuality in the game, that's still not addressing the fact that everything is so very heteronormative by default. Tika Waylan at the Inn of the Last Home will flirt with the buffest party fighter, the princess in the Bloodstone module series will marry the highest-charisma male PC when she's rescued, AD&D nereids will drown males with their kisses but women are immune... It goes on and on. There's no place for sexuality in D&D, unless it's the same sexuality we've been seeing for centuries. Yeah... no. I'll take some variety, any day.

Well said.

Honestly, switching this stuff up is really just a handy shortcut for making an NPC pop a little more. Whenever I am having to make up a stupid random captain of the guard or something I usually default to the same two or three tired templates. If he is a she, another race or just offhandedly says "My husband will kill me if I'm home late, let's get this over with!" The players tend to remember them a little more readily. It changes nothing and suddenly it;s not just another scottish dwarf blacksmith with a creaky door and and eyepatch.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I feel like transgender identity is a modern thing, and not really a good fit for the kind of fantasy games that people tend to associate with D&D. It's not incompatible or anything, just not really something that should be focused on any more than a characters sexuality in general.

Transgender people are more common in non-Abrahamic religion/non-western mysticism, see the roles of the Hijra in India for example. I can only assume this played a strong role in why Paizo decided to make their iconic shaman trans. D&D has been primarily a club for straight, upper middle class white males for most of its history (though come on, Rufus and Burne are total "confirmed bachelors" in Hommlet). I really only see good things in making some overt gestures to include others.

 

[Wik]

There's your problem.

Well, if wanting to see the whole of humanity recognized in the things I love is a "problem", well, I don't want to be right.

You feel like WotC not giving shout-outs to a group of people means they are excluding that group of people.

No, I'm suggesting that if you don't ever mention the presence of a people even existing in your game, you're excluding that group of people. I think wotc has made a step in the right direction - I'd like to see them keep doing it.

Let me lay it out for you: If you want gay NPCs, then make gay NPCs.

Which I do. And have done. I also have a religion based on ancient Inanna worship, with transgender priests. It's taken from a real religion. One of the earlier ones, actually. Which kind of puts a damper in your "transgender is a modern thing" statement, but whatever.

WotC isn't excluding you by not adding a "How to make an LGBT character" chapter to the book. Stop trying to draw lines in the sand.

Sure. Except I'm not LGBTQ. I'm a plain jane white male. I'm not excluded from anything. Doesn't mean I don't think it's unfair when others draw lines in the sand and pretend they're not there.

 

[discosoc]

What I absolutely do think, however, is that I get nervous when I see people responding with: there's no place for sexuality in D&D.

I've always argued this, including here, but my reasoning isn't because I think sexuality shouldn't be part of a story. It's that I don't feel like it belongs in part of the core rules. That's a setting thing, IMO. Or, as you have illustrated, a group dynamic thing.