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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 5635489" data-attributes="member: 64209">I don't think I like the idea of mechanical differences, as they generally perpetuate stereotypes. On average, women are lighter than men and not as tall (let's forget for a moment the whole strength debate). Yes, the women you meet in the campaign will be shorter than the men you meet. But the players are not average. If a player wants to have a tall female player character, totally fine.  Having said that, I'll share two instances where I think, and would enjoy, gender affecting play. 1. Equipment and minor "skills". I'm not suggesting these be requirements, but perhaps norms. I'm thinking of modernish gaming here. A female character might have makeup on her person. She might be able to use it for disguise, and would likely (if she was a woman who wore makeup regularly, rather than a woman who eschewed makeup) be more adept at applying it than a man. Note that this does not rule out male crossdressers or male actors who apply their own makeup. 2. Cultural reactions. Different cultures might react to female or male pcs in different ways. To a degree, this is ok. It's better, as well, if there are both pros and cons to each gender, and for some cultures (e.g. amazons, matriarchies) to flip the common pros and cons by gender.   It's somewhat delicate, because it's usually not fun to play a character that is consistently the victim of bigotry, and oftentimes cultural norms, when brought to the level of sterotype, lead to that. On the other hand, why even play a female character (or male) if there is no difference between the two in terms of interacting with the world?  Whether the players are male or female, and at least in D&D, but really, most roleplaying games, they want to play a character worthy of a story. They play Joan of Arc, not French Peasant #4. Joan of Arc was notable, in part, because she was a female warrior and commander in a time when that was not the norm.</blockquote>

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