Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wombat" data-source="post: 2089924" data-attributes="member: 8447">I'll give it a shot here1. How many female roleplayers do you have presently in your campaign(s)?There are seven of us, five male, two female.2. Percentagewise, with how many females did you share your hobby in your own gaming history so far in comparison to the males?I'd say that I've had about a 10% female/90% male ratio throughout my gaming history.  I've talked about my gaming with as many women as men, but I have found fewer who were interested in playing, for a variety of reasons.3. How do female roleplayers change the style of play in your groups?Not at all.  I run exactly the same games when women are present as when it is "men only".  I can say individuals have had an extreme effect, but those individuals have been of both genders.  4. Do you think that female roleplayers are more drawn in to the storytelling aspect of the game? If so, why?There is a very slight tendency towards "What's My Motivation?" amongst the females I have gamed with, something I am always happy to encourage as I hate games that are merely "These are my stats; let's kill something."  But one of the most rulemongering, bloodthirsty, and least interested in the story players I ever had was female, so it kinda washes.5. Do you think that female roleplayers are more or less immune to powergaming/maximizing? If so, why?Nope.  I've seen minmaxers of both genders.  6. Do you think that female roleplayers are generally ignorant about the rules, concentrating more on the stories and the roleplaying itself?Not necessarily.  Then again, I tend to run pretty "Rules be hanged!" games to begin with -- my campaigns focus much more on setting and story than rules.  7. Where do you see advantages/disadvantages of a group that features some/majority/none female roleplayers?I'm of the old "Women Hold Up Half The Sky" school, so I prefer having at least some women in my gaming groups.  While I have not noted a strong differentiation between male and female players (or characters) in the campaigns, I think there is something to be said about having a mix of genders at the table.  If nothing else my players seem to prefer the mix to single gender sessions.8. Why do you think that male roleplayers are the vast majority in the hobby?Partially because rpgs came out of the old wargames, boardgames, and ubergeek traditions  -- I know I did!  Heck, back in my high school days I knew several seniors who I think were still worried about "catching cooties".  Just as a lot of fantasy literature, until very recently, was aimed only at males (Conan, Elric, etc.), so, too, the game were marketed to males.  This helped reinforce the negative stereotypes of the unwashed, socially maladjusted gamer.  I think there has been very little effort on the part of the general community to break down or adjust this image.  9. Do you think that socalled "Storytelling Games" like e.g. "Vampire" draw more female roleplayers to their genre than traditional roleplaying games like D&D? If so, why?I have noticed slightly more women attracted to Vampire, but not necessarily to Werewolf or Mage.  I think this could be connected to Anne Rice, amongst others -- the literature was already there by women, marketed to women, thus the crossover to gaming was easier, especially with the emphasis on LARPing.  There was a conscious effort on the part of the White Wolf people to appeal to female players, which was a real aid over TSR and WotC, which have done nothing in particular that way.10. Are there systems/settings out there in your estimation that are completely devoid of female roleplayers? If so, why?I find fewer women like GURPS and Champions, as well as much of anything post-apocalyptic.  OTOH there are some.  GURPS and Champions might be put down to rules; the post-apocalyptic might just be the "sample" I have seen.  No firm data here.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?Yes.  And I also know male gamers like this.  In either case it is an interest more in the social interaction than in the mechanics.  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?I only ran two all female sessions, and that was by special request from some friends of mine.  It was definitely fun, but it wasn't one of my standard games (this was set up as kind of a strange bachelorette party).  I have played in several games (particularly in my early years) where there were no women.  For the last 15 years, though, I'd say there has always been at least 1 woman at the table.  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?**shrug** I suppose that could happen.  One of the women in my current group has always loved gaming, but her husband can't stand the notion.  Go figger.  I have never had a woman at the table because of a boyfriend, but I have had a couple of husband-and-wife-gaming-couples at the table.  I put that in a very different category.  14. Have you ever seen relationships break in a group, maybe even while playing? If so, why?No.  15. Do you think that female gamers are more prone to draw private problems/conflicts into the actual roleplaying than males? If so, why?No.  Not that I've ever seen.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.  Generally I like giving my players moral dilemnas to deal with, so there is often a lot of discussion going on, which is something both I and my gamers enjoy.  Rather than simply "Go here, kill this, take treasure" there is a lot of "Well, he seems to be guilty, but there's something about that NPC's story that doesn't sit right..." going on at the table.17. Do you think that the general approach of a female gamer is different from a male gamer? If so, how?I've have been told by a couple of people over the years that I am a female gamer in a male body.  **shrug** Whatever.  No, I don't see a strong difference in approach, but that might be put down to the women who are drawn either to the hobby in general or my games in particular.</blockquote>

Verification