D&D General “‘Scantily Clad and Well Proportioned’: Sexism and Gender Stereotyping in the Gaming Worlds of TSR and Dungeons & Dragons.”

[Umbran]

How does this post relate to the portrayal of women in ttrpgs? Seems like someone is venting?

Mod note:
If you aren't interested in the content provided, you are free to not read it, perhaps even go find a thread you'd find more constructive.

But rolling your eyes and shaming people to police content is apt to escalate confrontation. So please be better to people.

 

[Charlaquin]

As a miniature painter, I sometimes buy miniatures just because they're different. I have a Guildball miniature I bought specifically because she's a hefty girl, with pig tails, and a faux Viking helmet with horns. I need to strip the paint off her and give it another try. A pregnant adventurer? That's a bit niche I think. You might be better off buying a mini you like and using some greenstuff to make a belly.

One of the nice things about the internet is it makes it easy for highly niche products to find their audience. Sure, I don’t see WizKids making pregnant adventurer minis for game stores to stock. But, in a world where I can google something like “female gnoll warrior mini, sword and shield” and get exactly what I’m looking for, and there are multiple competing custom mini building services, the lack of pregnant options is kind of surprising.

 

[abirdcall]

100% Spock and other similar characters were a big influence on the popularity of Half-Elves and the like.

It does mean it inherently can't in 5E, because a background controls what three stats you're allowed to put your starting +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1 into, and if someone has assigned "Between two worlds" WIS, CHA, and CON, say, you're pretty much stuffed if you want to play a martial character and not be actually noticeably sub-optimal (+1 is absolutely noticeable, from my experience with 5E, esp. when it applies to both attack AND damage - it comes out to significantly more than 5% in real terms).

If you gave it a unique "Choose any three stats" though (which, frankly, all background should have, but w/e), then sure it's fine.

If it has 'choose any 3 stats' then it has very little mechanical weight and we are back to just saying you are the thing without needing rules about it.

 

[Charlaquin]

TBH, the disappointing lack of dragons has always been one of Playboy’s biggest flaws.

As a monster lover, I approve this message.

 

[abirdcall]

I mean, yes? Absolutely. None of them have alarming or edgy backgrounds, none of them are presented as outsiders. There's little to no suggestion of internal strife. The art depictions are very positive and fun.

There's nothing wrong with any of that, but it is somewhat narrow.

Sure, but that's just doing exactly what I said - the player has to know what they want, and essentially make up the entire concept of "between two worlds" rather than just picking it off a menu. That's absolutely something that requires more confidence, more practiced imagination, and more determination.

To be honest, I think this is a step on a journey D&D is taking, it's not remotely the destination. It's better than entire races being cast as outsiders or the like, absolutely, but neither the backgrounds, nor the species, nor anything else really present the tropes I think a lot of people want, even if they don't know about those tropes until they see them. I think we may see something presented in another edition that does lean into that a bit.

It is a cliche that every D&D character has a tragic back story. Even so much that there are lots of jokes and memes about it.

So I think we are in no danger of people knowing how to do it.

 

[Sacrosanct]

One of the nice things about the internet is it makes it easy for highly niche products to find their audience. Sure, I don’t see WizKids making pregnant adventurer minis for game stores to stock. But, in a world where I can google something like “female gnoll warrior mini, sword and shield” and get exactly what I’m looking for, and there are multiple competing custom mini building services, the lack of pregnant options is kind of surprising.

As someone who was starved for minis in the late 70s/early 80s, the choices we have now are amazing

 

[Kobold Avenger]

As someone who was starved for minis in the late 70s/early 80s, the choices we have now are amazing

I know things are better now with mini choices, but looking back I really find it funny that a character I played was depicted on the board as a Blood Angel Space Marine, when that's certainly the opposite of what my character was.

 

[Belen]

That didn't occur to me as a thought... It was an unpublished work read aloud at a presentation and then posted online on websites with free access. I also directly credited him as the author and was only presenting it as a 'here's a thing'.

Do you think I should go further and contact him to make sure it's okay, or am I probably in the clear, here?

Always ask for permission. I work in publishing and I would never leave it to chance. If it was just a link, then you’d be safer.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I know things are better now with mini choices, but looking back I really find it funny that a character I played was depicted on the board as a Blood Angel Space Marine, when that's certainly the opposite of what my character was.

Pfft! My fighter was depicted as a piece of hardened caramel corn...

 

[MGibster]

With backgrounds providing stat bonuses what stat bonus should I gain from the "Trans Woman" Background?

Just basing this off of you alone? A +2 to Charisma I guess.