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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shisumo" data-source="post: 5631043" data-attributes="member: 85314">First of all, this needs to be repeated like a billion times. HOWEVER. Other than that, I generally disagree with you, Morrus. Addressing real-world issues in "escapist" fantasy is a tradition almost as old as the fantasy itself, and I believe with good reason. As a for instance, my wife's character in our current Kingmaker game is a grippli ranger. I asked her why a humanoid treefrog from a tribal society would have left to go off and "explore" the territory around her peoples' lands for a human kingdom, and without missing a beat she answered, "Because she's a lesbian, so they threw her out." And I was immediately struck by the possible implications for later in the AP, when she - along with the other PCs - will get to found her own kingdom. I full expect a very alt-sexuality/gender-ID-friendly set of laws from the nation they will found, entirely through my wife's character's efforts, which is a darn sight more satisfying than the current state of the real world - and what is more escapist than that? We take on these roles and play through the games partly because we want to face and overcome challenges in our imaginations that we could never accomplish in the real world. Hand me a sword and ask me to slay a dragon, and all you've accomplished is giving the dragon a tasty afternoon snack. But do the same with Valeros, defender of Westcrown, and that dragon is going down - and if I choose to associate the dragon with, say, the corporate overlords I have to put up with everyday in my real world job, then so much the better. Why would sex or gender issues be any different? I can easily see a satisying moment when, say, a sexist priest of Erastil - having gently told a female adventurer that she should settle down with a nice husband and start making babies - comes face-to-face with the remains of a giant owlbear slain by that same adventurer, who then smiles sweetly at the priest and says, "Good thing I didn't go off to the kitchen and make you a sandwich, eh?" As long as they are handled with care and sensitivity, I think exploring those sorts of issues - and others, including race, class and more - in an RPG can be both fun and worthwhile. I'm all for bringing them into the game, where they can be cut down like all the other evils of the world RPG heroes deal with every day.</blockquote>

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