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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 2088005" data-attributes="member: 3192">1. How many female roleplayers do you have presently in your campaign(s)?Two in one of the current campaigns. None in the other. 2. Percentage-wise, with how many females did you share your hobby in your own gaming history so far in comparison to the males?Maybe 1 in 8 or 9? 3. How do female roleplayers change the style of play in your groups?IME, almost not at all. They were gamers like the rest of us. 4. Do you think that female roleplayers are more drawn in to the storytelling aspect of the game? If so, why?Some were, some weren't. Fewer women were powergamers than many of the young men when I was growing up. But I have played with a couple who were very much into the fighting side and not the story aspect. 5. Do you think that female roleplayers are more or less immune to powergaming/maximizing? If so, why?I guess I just answered that. They weren't immune at all, but most did not play that style. 6. Do you think that female roleplayers are generally ignorant about the rules, concentrating more on the stories and the roleplaying itself?The only females I knew who didn't know the rules were those in college with boyfriends playing in the same game. But they didn't really participate in any aspect of the game. 7. Where do you see advantages/disadvantages of a group that features some/majority/none female roleplayers?Adv - more female PC's were played as they tended to correspond to the players gender.  More diversity of thinking, problem solving, or just points of view.  DisAdv - less of a male-bonding atmosphere. 8. Why do you think that male roleplayers are the vast majority in the hobby?The game started out with a little bit of misogyny. Pictures of nude women. Most of the heroes being men. This mirrored a lot of medieval life. And it was still the 1970's. Plus the wargaming community was already mostly men, which was the game's original base. And I don't believe games and gaming in general attract many women in comparison to men. (i.e. computer games, card games, etc.) I think the "players are nerds" stereotype is still SO strong it keeps away all kinds of people including young women. 9. Do you think that so-called "Storytelling Games" like e.g. "Vampire" draw more female roleplayers to their genre than traditional roleplaying games like D&D? If so, why?There is less of a stigma. WoD tied itself to a counterculture movement which was largely men and women. Dressing up and acting as vampires or werewolfs is much of the game. WW went to enormous trouble to divorce themselves from the stigma of RPGs. The players they have are a result this effort. The amount of cross-pollination of other RPG's into their game reflects the degree of open-mindedness in the community at large. Not much in the beginning, more later on. As originally few WoD'ers were typical gamers, they attracted outside player (including women). 10. Are there systems/settings out there in your estimation that are completely devoid of female roleplayers? If so, why?Maybe. Maybe some very small followings. Something like TOR might turn women off, but I wouldn't hazard to guess across the board. 11. Do you know female gamers, that, even after some years of play, have only miniscule/no knowledge of even the simplest rules? If so, why?No. Women who playeed yet refused to learn the rules often left after breaking up with their boyfriend. These were the exception to the rule. 12. Did you ever play in groups that only featured female gamers? Did you (if so, how often percentagewise) play in a group that only featured male gamers?How do those groups differ in style?Never ALL female groups where I was the only male, but I was in one group where some sessions turned into that scenario as I was the only male to attend. The style was Changeling and pretty well run. Admittedly many of the women were 1st time gamers, but all took to learning the rules. 13. Do you think a lot of female gamers are drawn into the hobby because their boyfriends are already playing it, or they want to get to know a boy better in the group, rather than out of personal interest?After college all the couples I met who played RPG's had met and found the game a common interest. Only in my college experience did women play because of their boyfriends. And then they did not really participate much in the game. Yes, one woman did join the group who was trying to snag the DM into a relationship, but as they ended up marrying (and she quit playing after starting the relationship) I can't say it did not work in her favor. We all knew that was the reason she played, so we got on with the game. 14. Have you ever seen relationships break in a group, maybe even while playing? If so, why?Thankfully no. I'm embarrased enough to fight in front of friends. 15. Do you think that female gamers are more prone to draw private problems/conflicts into the actual roleplaying than males? If so, why?Never, IME. In addendum, almost everyone I have met during in-depth games are making themselves vulnerable when playing that way. Emotional problems almost always surface. But their creating conflict in the game tends to be a measure of personal maturity rather than gender. 16. Is there generally more quarreling in a group that features some female gamers? If so, why? Could this be also to the benefit of the gaming, e.g. problemes are being dicussed rather that ignored?No. Probably less in my early days, as the boys were less likely to act out in front of the girls. As for addressing problems rather than being conciliatory, it has been based more on personality than gender. The stereotype is men ignore and women inflate issues. I think experience allows us to overcome this though. 17. Do you think that the general approach of a female gamer is different from a male gamer? If so, how?I think fewer women are enamored by the combat aspect of gaming, but some embrace it fully. I think some men will never want to play "in character", but others become full on actors. I think the sheer volume of rules will turn women off as pointless in many respects, but it is the same for some men (like me). I think the male-bonding attracts men and keeps women away. Finding players in an anonymous fashion has a danger to it, one I think more women recognize than men. </blockquote>

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