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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5564248" data-attributes="member: 15538">But it's not ALL where it's at, or they wouldn't be rolling dice to simulate combats in the first place...  If I were running a completely status quo game, I think +1 Strength for males, plus an additional +2 Strength for purposes of carrying capacity, is where it's at. I think individuals like Jackie Mitchell, the first female pro baseball pitcher, who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gerig, should make anyone cautious about assigning more than a +1 basic Strength, given the multidimensionality of Strength and the numerous factors that make it difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison between men and women.I think the practical social and psychological issues previously referenced, with regard to what it means to play a fantasy, as well as basic, run-of-the-mill balance concerns about some PCs getting "free points" simply based on their concepts, I think I would have to say the argument against a Strength mod is overwhleming. Even things like Olympic benchmarks include numerous confounds like self-selection, stereotype threat, and the fact that women athletes get paid less. So if you were running a moderate status quo game, say a gritty Conan-type setting or a historical WWI game centered around infantry actions, I think giving males a "half-size" worth of lifting/carrying and bull rush bonuses is probably a fair reflection. Keep in mind that games built at this level are intentionally designed to inflict a higher less of stress on the participants, with "gritty" resolution systems, often frequent PC death, and very fatal systems for dealing with large, powerful monsters. This level of status quo emulation posits, before you even roll up characters, that the players are prepared to have their PCs kicked around; on that premise, gender-based modifiers can be considered one of many hard knocks built into the scenario. PCs are not truly exceptional, but represent, unquestionably, the status quo to some extent.In any kind of game that is more primarily a wish fulfillment, or even in an intentionally realistic game that nonetheless posits that PCs are exceptional, I think any modifier at all is a mistake. Most games have, or can easily be modded to include, all the modifiers you need to purposefully sculpt the PC you want. And you don't need rules to give Roman legionaries Str 12 and underfed Syrian slave girls Str 8 when you're statting up NPCs. This is position GURPS has held pretty consistently for years; females are shorter and weigh less, on average.</blockquote>

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