"All halflings are heterosexual."

[Driddle]

An odd declaration from a GM heard in the gaming room of a local shop after hours: "All the halflings in my campaign world are heterosexual. Period. No room for discussion."

Immediately after, one of the female players packed up her dice and papers and left the table. She looked seriously miffed, but seemed very calm about it.

I didn't have an opportunity to follow up. So I don't have any additional background to offer.

Have you ever come across something like this yourself?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Well, there's a long-running joke in our gaming group that all elves are either bisexual or gay, but no one was upset about this jokes - except possibly those who played an elf at the moment.

Seriously, if a GM states that for this game world, then why argue? It is is game world, and we are talking about fantasy races, after all...

 

[barsoomcore]

It seems like a funny thing to care about one way or the other.

But as long as you're clear that all elven men are gayer than a mint tart, and all dwarven women are as butch as bull mastiff, I guess it's no big deal.

Speaking of which, anyone remember the Simpsons episode where Lisa partied with the women's softball team? Hee.

 

[Henry]

Across what? People fighting? All the time.

Or do you refer to the sexual orientation of fantasy races? Haven't run into that so much. Most people leave it to their players to decide, mostly because sexuality is downplayed in the games I've played in. It's effects may not be, but actual practice is downplayed.

As for the DM in question or the situation, we can't speculate on something we know nothing about.

CORRECTION: It's POOR TASTE to speculate on something we know nothing about.

 

[Desdichado]

It's unfortunate that the player would be so hell-bent on a character concept that clearly made the GM uncomfortable enough to ban. A little empathy on both sides could have probably helped out a lot.

That said, we used to have a couple that gamed with us. The wife always played these butch male half-orc barbarian like characters. The husband always played these metrosexual (if not actually gay) elf bard type characters. You can bet there was an awful lot of speculation amongst of the rest of us about what happened in their bedroom!

 

[reveal]

Well, there's a long-running joke in our gaming group that all elves are either bisexual or gay, but no one was upset about this jokes - except possibly those who played an elf at the moment.

Seriously, if a GM states that for this game world, then why argue? It is is game world, and we are talking about fantasy races, after all...

DM: So what race did you decide on?

Player: A Game Elf.

Dm: *long pause* What's a Melf?

 

[Rackhir]

Very few of the D&D games I've ever been in have involved anything in the way of romantic entanglements, never mind sex. So sexual orientation hasn't ever really been an issue.

It sound like a case of wanting to impose real world beliefs on the campaign world. Given that characters are typically a reflection of some aspect of a player's personality. Then assuming (and it might be a big one) that the womay was gay, it could be a key aspect of what she feels makes her, herself. So she may have wanted her character to have reflected that part of her self.

However, homosexuality still makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Hell, sex period still makes a lot of people uncomfortable. So even if it is something they may not be bothered by abstractly, having it shoved in their face may make it something they don't want to deal with. Especially, if sexuality wasn't planned as being a signficant part of the campaign. Of course it could also be a simple case of homophobia...

Frankly, IMHO unless for some reason you want to run a "Adult/XXX" focused campaign, the sexuality of characters is almost irrelevant. There are obviously some implications for RPing intensive campaigns. But in worlds where magics can bend reality, change genders and everything seems to be able to mate with anything else, worrying about the sexual orientation of a character seems almost silly. "Okay, your halfling is gay. Now the dragon over there rolls to bite you in half."

 

[Tom Cashel]

Most people leave it to their players to decide, mostly because sexuality is downplayed in the games I've played in.

Likewise.

But people who make a point of announcing their character's sexuality don't usually have any plans of downplaying it, in my experience.

 

[Esme]

Well, as a gaymer myself, I would never demand of a Gm that he includes homosexuality in his campaign if it makes him or her uneasy or he or she would be unwilling to delve into that subject. But as long as it is done in a respectful manner. If a gm or player explains to me his beliefs make him unconfortable with a theme (sexuality, violence, religion, etc) then of course the adult thing to do is either to engage the person in a debate (and know when to stop) or politely aquiesce. But to be told bluntly that there is no room for discussion and to be given no explanation smacks of lack of respect and knee jerk reaction.

As always, explaining your position and being respectful of your fellow players should help prevent misunderstandings and arguments.

Esmé

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Well, there's a long-running joke in our gaming group that all elves are either bisexual or gay, but no one was upset about this jokes - except possibly those who played an elf at the moment.

Seriously, if a GM states that for this game world, then why argue? It is is game world, and we are talking about fantasy races, after all...

Because, as barsoomcore said, it's a strange thing for a DM to care enough about to make such a definitive statement, and so to me, it's indicative of potential issues and attitudes - I mean "All the halflings in my campaign world are heterosexual. Period. End of discussion." ?

Why is their sexuality so important an issue for him?