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<blockquote data-quote="MechaPilot" data-source="post: 6874273" data-attributes="member: 82779">I'd like to tackle the mechanics you mentioned in reverse order:#3) I think that the exclusion of the random harlot table is not about sexism or making social change so much as it is about making the game more profitable by making it more accessible to a broader age range of potential customers.&nbsp; Plus, a parent might be more likely to refuse to buy D&amp;D books for a child if they see things in the glossary or index such as &quot;random harlot table.&quot;#2) I don't recall seeing any prestige classes that weren't available to both genders.&nbsp; That said, I didn't have a massive collection of books for 3e, so there may have been some that existed in books that I never owned.#1) While I can see your point, I also think that both 4e and 5e have largely cut back on cursed items in general.&nbsp; I can't remember seeing a cursed item in 4e, and I have yet to run across one while DM'ing 5e.&nbsp; I think this is more related to a move away from cursed items than it is omitting a change in genders from any list of potential curse effects.Personally, I'm of two minds about point #1.&nbsp; I don't think that being any specific gender is a curse in and of itself.&nbsp; However, I think the gender-changing curse is somewhat ill-described in that it (to the best of my recollection) just says the character's gender changes.&nbsp; Does that include both the character's sexual characteristics and gender identity?&nbsp; Or, does that just include sexual characteristics?&nbsp; I think that these questions weren't so fully considered when gender-changing was a potential curse effect.&nbsp; That said, I know some transgender people who have suffered depression almost to the point of suicide.&nbsp; If your sexual characteristics changed but your gender identity didn't, the pain and depression of that mismatch could very much be said to be a curse.Regarding the BoEF, I actually own a copy and like it.&nbsp; Although, I will freely confess that its strength is not in its crunch.&nbsp; The beginning part about handling sex in an RPG, discussing allowed game content in terms of comparable film ratings, and discussing different concepts of marriage and divorce, as well as the section discussing magical charm and consent are definitely good.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MechaPilot, post: 6874273, member: 82779"] I'd like to tackle the mechanics you mentioned in reverse order: #3) I think that the exclusion of the random harlot table is not about sexism or making social change so much as it is about making the game more profitable by making it more accessible to a broader age range of potential customers. Plus, a parent might be more likely to refuse to buy D&D books for a child if they see things in the glossary or index such as "random harlot table." #2) I don't recall seeing any prestige classes that weren't available to both genders. That said, I didn't have a massive collection of books for 3e, so there may have been some that existed in books that I never owned. #1) While I can see your point, I also think that both 4e and 5e have largely cut back on cursed items in general. I can't remember seeing a cursed item in 4e, and I have yet to run across one while DM'ing 5e. I think this is more related to a move away from cursed items than it is omitting a change in genders from any list of potential curse effects. Personally, I'm of two minds about point #1. I don't think that being any specific gender is a curse in and of itself. However, I think the gender-changing curse is somewhat ill-described in that it (to the best of my recollection) just says the character's gender changes. Does that include both the character's sexual characteristics and gender identity? Or, does that just include sexual characteristics? I think that these questions weren't so fully considered when gender-changing was a potential curse effect. That said, I know some transgender people who have suffered depression almost to the point of suicide. If your sexual characteristics changed but your gender identity didn't, the pain and depression of that mismatch could very much be said to be a curse. Regarding the BoEF, I actually own a copy and like it. Although, I will freely confess that its strength is not in its crunch. The beginning part about handling sex in an RPG, discussing allowed game content in terms of comparable film ratings, and discussing different concepts of marriage and divorce, as well as the section discussing magical charm and consent are definitely good. [/QUOTE]

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