Do you let PC's play opposite gender characters?

[Wombat]

My feeling is, if it was good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for me.

Cross-gender play is certainly accepted. As GM I have to play out males, females, and non-humans. No one says that all the NPCs in my game should be male (indeed, there are many counts against that!). Should I put in a restriction saying only elves may play elves? Probably wouldn't fly, and yet that is probably even a greater leap in the ability to play a role convincingly (how does a non-human individual actually think and act?).

Are there differences between the ways in which men and women, in the aggregate, think and act? Yes. Are these differences overdrawn? Definitely. Do I think everyone can sucessfully bridge the gap and play the other gender convincingly? Nope. OTOH, I don't think most of us tabletopping geeks play brawny-non-scholarly types very convincingly either.

So in the end it is a wash.

Play what you feel, as long as you are having fun and not utterly disrupting the game.

 

[Quasqueton]

I've always allowed it, and I've seen no real problem with it.

"Allowed" in the same sense that I've always allowed Players to play elves, halflings, dwarves, and gnomes as well as humans. It's not like a written house rule or anything.

"No real problem" in the sense that the gender switch has never been the cause of bad play. A bad Player is a bad Player, regardless of his/her character's gender, race, or class.

The only stumble in it is the occasional "he/she" or "him/her" gaff in referencing the character. Usually I and the other Players get it straight after a couple game sessions with the Player/character difference.

Interestingly, in my current group we have a boyfriend/girlfriend pair who have different gender characters. I still goof up the pronoun with their characters even after four or five sessions. *shrug* Sometimes I forget the tall guy's character is only 3' tall, too.

Its times like this that I especially like having the PCs represented as minis on the battle grid -- helps me visualize the character.

Quasqueton

 

[Korgan26]

Thanks for the input


Z

 

[GreenMonster]

Well I think a lot has to do with maturity of the group and the subject matter/content of any particular campaign. I'ts my experience that males have usually done a pretty good job runnning a female PC as long as all "mature" interactions happen on a NPC level, I've seen this pulled off very well.


I think the really difficult part is when a situation arrises like a relationship developing between PC's during roleplay where one of the PCs is a female being played by a male that things can get "Uncomfortable at the Table" and any hope of a storyline feeling of romance or love is hopelessly lost.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Then again, since women run the gamut from compassionate to bloodthirsty (perhaps in slightly different percentage distributions, but that's not for here), there's really little difference in personality when a person plays a man versus a woman.

When my wife first played, she didn't want to kill things, so her first character was an Enchantress. She just tried stopping things from wanting to kill us...until most of us had been taken out of a fight and she hit a creature with her dagger and killed it.

Her reaction: "Coool!"

And suddenly a very bloodthirsty Enchantress was born.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Yeah we allow it, but people don't do it very often. However several players have had characters with female cohorts that they had married.

When we were younger, we used to taunt anyone who would play a female character. "Josh has got a girlfriend!" and stuff like that.

We've grown up a lot in the past 10-12 years.

 

[EricNoah]

Yes, always, no problems. As DM i'm in charge of the world, but the players are in charge of their characters. I ain't gonna tell 'em what ta do!

 

[Psion]

Absolutely.

I was involved in a group in HS/College that primarily played WHFRP that seemed to get their panties in a bunch (pardon the phrasing) whenever anyone wanted to play a character of an opposite gender, upon the supposed notion that there are "limits" to what you should be able to roleplay. I attribute that to the somewhat macho and perhaps chauvanistic attitudes of some of the key individuals in the group. More generally, I have allows and have played it and never seen a problem with it.

Occasionally the portrayals of women are a little mannish, but I have never had the "I'm a lesbian" or some cliche extremes type of portrayal that I hear horror. Sure, in many cases the portrayals may seem off, but I consider most instances well within the beleivable spectrum for an individual of that gender, and don't recall seeing much more sterling portrayals of same gender characters in games.

I think if you are going to put opposite gender characters under a microscope, if you put same gender characters under a microscope looking for portrayal flaws, you may find the portrayal just as wanting, and perhaps your demand that opposite gender portrayals on your part reveals a bias in you.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have played at tables with cross gender characters and only a few times seen a problem.

In the game my roommate runs she stated no crossgender soley to stop one player a woman who likes to play male characters who annoy the hell out of everyone else first of all they are always fall for a female NPC or a PC and practically become stalkers.

I have to say that very rarely have I seen cross gender done well most guys either play the woman has way to butch even when they are not supposed to be or they play them as simpering fools. It is does really necessary to talk in the high falesto.

I myself have never desired to play a man because I enjoy exploring different roles as a woman.

 

[Mystery Man]

I don't allow it.