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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 280041" data-attributes="member: 467">When I DM, I allow PCs to pretty much play whatever sort of character they like (within the confines of the setting and genre, of course).  I have had some players engage in cross-gender RPing that has significantly contributed to the fun and entertainment of everyone in the group, myself included.  I have had some players RP cross-gender characters that seriously detracted from everyone's fun.  Guess which characters I killed off and which players I did not ask to return?In general, there really isn't a "reason" to play a character of an opposite gender.  However, if your group consists primarily or entirely of male players, something opccurs that I don't think people think about: you lose a number of ingrained genre-conventions, particularly for fantasy (and especially modern, epic fantasy).  From Laurana and Tika in the original Dragonlance trilogy to the various Aes Sedai (sp?) in the Wheel of Time, to Arwyn in LotR, females of all stripes have a place in fantasy like no other genre.  If you don't have any female PCs in your group, you likely don't have any females heroes in your world.  Even our rather mundane world's history is rife with heroines.  It is an important part of myth building and folklore.Sometimes this can be alleviated by an NPC or two (my usual method when I don't have anyone in the group comfortable or interested in playinga  female PC) that fills that void.  But it is nicer if someone besides you is creating a great story element based upon the heroine archetype.Besides, a bigger concern for me isn't so much male-female ratios, but RPing relationships in the game.  I enjoy it and, in my opinion based upon what players have told me, I am good at it (meaning, I help a player create an interesting and fun mini-drama surrounding such universal themes as unrequited love or family-versus-duty).  Most players, though, aren't comfortable with this sort of gaming.  This is only bad because fantasy is an inherently romantic genre, and very often (in the literature) saving the world is dependant upon love.  Without it, its just Conan lopping the heads off cultists and monsters (and even he had a girlfriend or two).</blockquote>

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