No Homosexuality in my Campaign?

[Vraille Darkfang]

After reading about a similar post, it got me to thinking & I realized there is no homosexuality in my Campaign world (with the possible exception of Elves & Dragons)


It’s not that I don’t WANT (or even mind) homosexual orientations in my game world, just that I don’t see how I can include it in a way I feel comfortable about.

These are the facts of my campaign world that has driven me to this conclusion.

1. The gods were (they’re dead/disappeared now) all powerful, all knowing creatures of infinite power & perfections.

2. They created the land, sky, air etc. Then they created the dragons as their favoured children (or toys) and created the elves to serve the dragons.

3. All is fine until the dragons start fighting with each other, the gods get involved and all heaven breaks lose.

4. All other sentient races are created by the perfect gods to do 2 things

a. Be soldiers
b. Make more soldiers

Given that I’ve decided most races were created by perfect beings to be basically self-replicating engines of war, I don’t see homosexuality as an innate character of various races (except weird races that could reproduce asexually in the first place).

I could state that one god “corrupted” a segment of another god’s forces so that they would be less likely to reproduce, thus leading to homosexuality. But, that makes it sound too much like homosexuality exists as a corruption and mistake and that homosexual members of a race are “broken” versions of that race. Not something I’m comfortable with implying.

Also toyed with the idea of various curses & hexes (girdle of masculinity /femininity being one example) that through the eons has led to homosexual portions of the races. Again, I’m not comfortable with stating homosexuality is a “curse.”

At present, I have no gay players in my games (and no player has expressed an interest in playing a “gay” character. However, I do not wish to isolate a portion of the gaming community by stating “None of your type here;” whether that be females players, black, latino, asian players, or even homosexual players. I feel that all players like to have segments of their own personality they can explore through roleplaying & I like to be able to provide.

So, my question is: Given my statements above, how could I introduce homosexuality into my game world should the need arrive, without making it seem like I just “threw it in?”

Thanks,
Vraille Darkfang

 

[HellHound]

Do these machine/people have any free will? Have they ever not done exactly as the founding god demanded / wanted?

If not, then sure. But more than likely, these races have individuals who are not exactly as needed / wanted by the god. After all, if they were exactly what the deit in question wanted, why don't all humans have 25 strength, con & dexterity? There will always be random factors that enter into play, IMO.

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Do these machine/people have any free will? Have they ever not done exactly as the founding god demanded / wanted?

If not, then sure. But more than likely, these races have individuals who are not exactly as needed / wanted by the god. After all, if they were exactly what the deit in question wanted, why don't all humans have 25 strength, con & dexterity? There will always be random factors that enter into play, IMO.

Bingo.

People change, and evolve. And since the gods are dead/gone, I don't see a reason to assume their children wouldn't change over time, becoming less soliders and more races with myriad facets. As you said, if all beings were meant to be exact machines of godly will, then there wouldn't be such randomness in alignment, and abilities. Heck, there wouldn't be much variance in appearance - people wouldn't be permitted to be fat, or skinny, or get sick.

Patrick Y.

 

[der_kluge]

You know, there's nothing that says you have to include homosexuality in your campaign. It's your campaign, you can do what you want.

You can also make all the women strong and tough, and all the men dainty and weak if you want to. It's your game. Do with it as thou wilt.

 

[fusangite]

Of course you're free to have this prohibition in your campaign.

But I think your idea that homosexuality is less perfect that heterosexuality is not the best way to approach this idea. Homosexuality is functionally better for all sorts of things than heterosexuality -- gay male couples, for instance, are the most economically efficient possible relationship in modern capitalism. There are also strong indications that lesbian couples may be one of the most efficient units for raising children. If a society wishes to reduce its birthrate, homosexuality more efficient than almost any other form of contraception, etc.

The other challenge I think you will face is that it is tough for us to create societies that have no real historical precedent. As far as we can tell, homosexuality has always been an aspect of human society. As such, you may find it surprisingly tough to construct a society that does not include it.

 

[Empyreus]

As a big homo, I have to ask: do the peoples of the world KNOW that they were all created by long-dead gods as instruments of war? I'm assuming that most people would probably not know this as fact and, although it may be passed down to them as myth or legend, the homosexuals would most likely question those myths. And if they did know that, for a fact, that they were created as machines of war, I doubt that anybody, not just the gays, would be very happy with their lots in life. I mean, how much would that suck?

This is kind of like how we don't know (for fact) why we're on this earth right now, although all cultures have their theories. And kind of like how the Christian creation myth here in God's America doesn't explain homosexuality, either...most cultures don't. (It wasn't Adam and Steve, as the people from my little hicktown were fond of saying.) But no matter what I was taught to believe about why we're here, here I am not liking the women anyway. I bet the potential gays in your game would feel the same way.

I say have homos! You don't need to explain it more than something like: you make a cheese sandwich and then you leave it sitting out for weeks...it stops being food and becomes its own ecosystem. If you come back to it weeks later, it's a totally different object. Or something.

By the way, if you're looking for real-world myths that deal with homosexuality, check out the epic of Gilgamesh...one of the oldest stories that we still know about today. It's not a creation myth, but it's still one that deals with homosexuality (such a modern concept, by the way...that becomes very apparent by reading this story), and it totally fits the Hero's Journey model that Campbell and a lot of other intellectual types talk about. A lot of more modern (ie turn of the century) interpretations downplay or "re-interpret" the relationship between Gilgamesh and his lover/partner/warrior companion Enkidu, but it's all there (or at least it used to be).

 

[barsoomcore]

My advice is don't worry about it. If it ever comes up in play (and there's no real reason to think it will) you can make something up then, on either side of the fence.

You can easily say, "Well, yes, the gods created people to be soldiers, but yeah, there ARE homosexuals. Nobody knows why."

Or you can just as easily say, "There aren't any homosexuals."

Neither choice in inherently better than the other. But I don't think you need to worry about "introducing" some quality of your world unless your players express their interest in the issue one way or the other. I think your time would be much better spent coming up with fun adventures for your players.

If one of those adventures happens to revolve around some characters' sexual orientation, well, then I guess it will matter. But I say don't worry about it.

 

[Darkness]

Hey Empyreus. Right, that's a good post. But please be careful with bringing up Christianity, as it can easily spark off a debate about modern-day religion that EN World is not the place for. Thank you.

(In case it needs to be said, the following goes for everyone: Please don't start, or contribute to, a debate of modern-day religion or politics.)

If someone has comments or questions about what I just said, PM or e-mail me (i.e., don't hijack the thread).

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Do these machine/people have any free will? Have they ever not done exactly as the founding god demanded / wanted?

I need to add greater detail as to furthur explain my posistion.

The wrodl existed. The various gods of all different alignments & ethos created the dragons as the epitome of their skill at creation. The gods even created the elves to serve their most wondrous, perfect creations ever to tend to their babie's every need (Think Great Wyrm Red Dragon spoiled rotten for a few thousand years). All was good.

Then some dragon (probably a red) became jealous of a neighboring dragon and asked his diety (daddy) to please remove the offending creature from existence. He did, the now non-existing dragon's creator diety got upset and responded by removing the orginal dragon from existence. Then all hell (and heaven) broke lose.

At first all was nearly destroyed as infinite power fought infinite power. After destroying & rebuilding the world a couple of times the gods realized the folly of fighting this battle themselves and agreed to battle through their creations (Does this sound like an episode of Pokemon?).

To make this short. The gods found out they didn't have infinite power, just near-infinite. Thus as the war dragged on, their creations got more & more crude. From Giants and titans to humans & orcs, to undead & even pacts with Outsiders & Elementals.

Each of their creations (humans for example) were created to fill all the needs of a war effort, from fighting to building, to cooking. Thus the gods created their creations with a wide variety of diversity. That diversity continues to be seen to the current day (I.e. a character's ability scores).

I don't have modern science and genetics in my game. While I could just say "Yea, it's been a long time and some things have varyed beyond their creator's intent" (Which is what I'd do at present if a player asked to play a gay character; what I'm really looking for is a way to say "Yep, when the gods created their races, they made some of them gay on purpose." Its that purpose I'm trying to come up with.

P.S. Ummm. I guess those gods weren't perfect. Going to war over your spoiled rotten children pretty much says that.

Later,

 

[Afrodyte]

Vraille,

I think homosexuality can fit in quite easily with the setup you described, as easily as women can, at any rate. Historically speaking, the perpetuation of an engine of war did not require all members to be both participants and reproducers in the same capacity. Also, attraction is not equivalent to action. There are countless gay people who have done the marriage, kids, and white picket fence thing while suppressing their homosexual urges or acting upon them in secret. Homosexuals are physically and psychologically capable of sexual reproduction; it is simply not fulfulling.

And, as a previous poster said, there is a difference between theory, ideals, and practice.