"All halflings are heterosexual."

[Sejs]

HEY! There are ACTUAL PALADINS in the world, too, pal! Watch it!

*sniff* Noone ever thinks of the paladin's feelings.

 

[fusangite]

Consider the possibility that the player was not hell-bent on the character concept at all, but that the player was herself gay, and didn't feel like playing with a DM who so openly broadcasted his discomfort with gays.

Unless they have added a new field to the character sheet, I can't imagine a scenario where anyone other than the player brought the issue up. If homosexuality were such a non-issue for her, why would this be raised? Every group I have GMed since 1985 has had at least on gay player in it and usually more than one. Never once in character creation in all these years has a player brought up his character's sexual orientation. I just assume that the character has the same orientation as the player unless I hear otherwise.

So, if someone felt it necessary to discuss their character's sexual orientation spontaneously during the character creation stage, red flags would immediately go up.

In my game, we focus on events that affect the world. In the medieval style settings that I and most DMs run, your game activities and sexual orientation don't have much to do with eachother. Marriages are about alliances not sex.

This is not like saying, "No halflings are paladins." There are actual gay people in the world, many have long experience with being excluded in both subtle and unsubtle ways, and they have feelings.

Well, let's head back to the question of setting: I'm part black but if I were playing in a campaign where everyone was white and I suggested that I wanted to play a black character, I would not take offense or suspect the GM of racism. If being out-gay is inappropraite for or irrelevant to a gaming setting, please don't take offense. Otherwise you will find the world more full of homophobes than it really is.

 

[shilsen]

Man, this thread reminds me of another reason why I love Eberron. When you have a campaign setting where you have one core race which is completely asexual (warforged) and another where every individual can switch genders and is actually capable of reproduction (changelings), it becomes very hard to ignore issues of gender and sexuality.

 

[Sir Elton]

It seems just too convenient.

Man, this thread reminds me of another reason why I love Eberron. When you have a campaign setting where you have one core race which is completely asexual (warforged) and another where every individual can switch genders and is actually capable of reproduction (changelings), it becomes very hard to ignore issues of gender and sexuality.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Consider that for some playing styles, that's quite a disadvantage, shilsen.

In a campaign I run, I expect any and all things related to sex to be kept out of the game. This is in part because I game in most cases with at least one of my 13- siblings, and in part because I just am not comfortable role-playing such things with my friends, and ESPECIALLY not with my siblings of whatever age.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

As the issue is presented, it comes across as really weird that someone would throw "no gay halflings!!!*" without something else going on behind it. I just don't get it.

*This puts it into two different fields: A) "You constantly play gay halflings and I'm sick of it" or B) "I just spent six hours reading Sam/Frodo slash-fic and I'm lashing out because I'm confused...so, so confused." The DM then curls into the fetal position and sobs.

 

[Ottergame]

I don't think anyone is taking into consideration that the GM knew the player was gay, and without knowing weither or not the player wanted to play a gay character, just came out and said "your race cannot be gay!" just to spite the player.

 

[Desdichado]

Man, this thread reminds me of another reason why I love Eberron. When you have a campaign setting where you have one core race which is completely asexual (warforged) and another where every individual can switch genders and is actually capable of reproduction (changelings), it becomes very hard to ignore issues of gender and sexuality.

Not really. We do it quite well, as I suspect do most Eberron gamers.

I don't think anyone is taking into consideration that the GM knew the player was gay, and without knowing weither or not the player wanted to play a gay character, just came out and said "your race cannot be gay!" just to spite the player.

No, we're not. While it's not an impossible scenario, there's not much reason to go ascribing spiteful motivations really to anyone involved.

 

[Lord Rasputin]

Over a decade ago, I ran into Dave Arneson at a con, and he showed me something he was planning on auctioning -- a book on the sexual habits of demihumans.

Somehow, that seemed relevant to this discussion.

 

[BlackSilver]

I find it very narrow minded that someone would speak in such a way about a race and what they always are or arn't, it removes the freedom of the individual from the world or the game as it were.

Aside from that I will reframe from a reply as I have little to say that I would say is positive to the subject. Thank you for the tread it is an interesting read.