Gender and Reproduction in Fantasy races

[Tonguez]

IMC Gnomes are eusocial (hive-like) and (inspired by the Smurfs) I decided they were Hermaphrodites (most have little more than a genital 'bump' although few get to see it) only a rare 1 in 100 develops female chracteristics to become a Brood Mother (Hive Queen/Smurfette) and this will trigger four or so of the others to mature and take on male traits (including thick beards like Papa Smurf)

Anyway when I presented this concept to another forum there were some who raised eyebrows and were uneasy with the concept of a race of hermaphrodites (especially gnomes!)

So anyway my question to you all - would you accept the notion of Gnome Hermaphrodites?
Indeed any race who's gender and reproduction was different to the standard 'male-female' of rl? (perhaps a species that lays eggs and then the male 'sprays them' - eek)
What weird and wacky gender set ups can you come up with? (Was it Alien Nation that has the Aliens with 3 genders?)

Is it going to affect play - Does it matter?

 

[Raloc]

I don't think it was particularly the mention of gnomes. I think it's the talk of Smurfs that creeps people out.

 

[Goblyn]

Erm ...

Well, AFAIK, many people don't like to include sexuality and such into their games. Making such a difference may seem to shove it in their faces.

There is a race like this already, though. At least one. The Dromites from the XPH are just like you describe(except the queen only has a single consort). Doing it to gnomes, or any race that many gamers already have assumptions about how their babies are made kind of stands out.

On a side note, did the people on the other forums tell you about their rasied eyebrows, or use detailed avatars or something?(j/k)

 

[shilsen]

So anyway my question to you all - would you accept the notion of Gnome Hermaphrodites?

Sure. Interesting idea.

Indeed any race who's gender and reproduction was different to the standard 'male-female' of rl? (perhaps a species that lays eggs and then the male 'sprays them' - eek)

Sure.

What weird and wacky gender set ups can you come up with? (Was it Alien Nation that has the Aliens with 3 genders?)

I'm currently running an Eberron game. One of the core races in the setting is the changeling, which can change physical characteristics including gender. All changeling can give birth to children in female form. And then you have warforged, which have no gender of their own, but tend to pick up a male or female personality, mannerisms, mode of dress, etc. to fit in. I haven't pushed it much, but I've definitely put the gender issue on the table and reminded the players running PCs of those races to remember that as a factor in their character conceptions.

Is it going to affect play - Does it matter?

Seriously, it depends on your group. For example, the people who raised eyebrows for the idea of a hermaphroditic race are probably a little immature and not ready to deal with the subject.

 

[loki44]

only a rare 1 in 100 develops female chracteristics to become a Brood Mother (Hive Queen/Smurfette) and this will trigger four or so of the others to mature and take on male traits (including thick beards like Papa Smurf)

How many kids can a "Brood Mother" have at once and how frequently? Assuming only 1 out of 100 have the capacity to bear offspring, and each of those are only capable of say, 1-3 births per year, then I'd say the gnomes have a population crisis on their hands. Fertility drugs and Viagra would be quite valuable in that society. [Having said that, Smurfs on Viagra is definitely not an image I'd like to conjure often.]

 

[Rystil Arden]

I created a whole bunch of races a while back that had various means of reproduction, to wit:

Byblans: Reproduce through converting members of other races voluntarily into Byblans
Melodians and Harmonians: Reproduce by concertedly sending sympathetic sonic vibrations into a heart crystal from their world, which causes it to become a new Melodian or Harmonian
Dolathi: reproduce like the Changelings from Eberron (made these guys and the Plebjans below before Eberron though)
Lacerta: reproduce by reincarnation after they die
Maljin: reproduce by drawing energy from the spirits of nature to form a new physical being
Feldori: reproduce by absorbing DNA from other races through their incisors
Plebjan: reproduce like the Warforged from Eberron
Vildri: reproduce through budding

Most of these races are genderless, though the Feldori are all-female, as they are actually viviporous (although they can have females of other races as the father, anything with DNA). However, many of them take on male or female traits based on build (Plebjan), current shape (Dolathi), or seasonal cycle (Vildri)

 

[Vchan]

Fertility drugs and Viagra would be quite valuable in that society. [Having said that, Smurfs on Viagra is definitely not an image I'd like to conjure often.]

Little blue pill... little blue smurf....

I think we just found the secret ingredient in Viagra.

 

[Stormrunner]

Have you read Terry Pratchett's book The Wee Free Men? Take the Smurfs. Now assume they are Fey - not cartooney fey, but real-world myth-and-legend-type Fey. Give them a Celtic culture (blue skin = woad). Now you've got the Nac Mac Feegle, "the most dangerous of the Faerie races".
I especially love the way they do cattle-raiding.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I've often wanted to take the elves of my campaign and follow their androgynous tendencies to their logical conclusion.

I imagined the elves being hermaphroditic, usually in a "neuter" state, assuming either male or female biological states in a mating cycle. I stole this from Ursula Leguin's Left Hand of Darkness.

FYI- I'd still allow half elves, as an elf's "mating modes" are fully compatible with the appropriate humans. Half-Elvs are looked at really strange by elves, as they have only one Gender.

 

[Aeolius]

...any race who's gender and reproduction was different to the standard 'male-female' of rl? (perhaps a species that lays eggs and then the male 'sprays them' - eek) What weird and wacky gender set ups can you come up with?

There are many fish which are hermaphroditic. The anthias comes to mind; in a school of females, one will become male. As my campaign is set underwater, I have taken note.

Some fish, notably some sharks, are parthenogenetic, i.e. a female reproducing without the introduction of a male. I made my fish hags parthenogenetic.