Please call female deities 'goddesses.'

[Blackwind]

So, I was just reading through the elf racial entry in the new Ampersand column, and I noticed that female deities are repeatedly referred to as 'gods.' "The god Sehanine," for example. Now, I realize that in one sense the word 'god' can refer to a deity of any gender, but, for clarity's sake, perhaps it would be better to call the female ones 'goddesses'? Calling all deities 'gods' regardless of gender might be confusing to new players who aren't already familiar with the various deities and their respective genders. In fact it could potentially lead to a great deal of confusion and... silliness.

So, my recommendation to the editors of the 4E books would be to go through and make sure that female deities are referred to as 'goddesses.' Replace "Sehanine, god of the moon" with "Sehanine, goddess of the moon." It sounds more natural and makes more sense.

 

[pawsplay]

What's to confuse?

Paladiness? Elfess?

 

[Aeolius]

Agreed. And a female sorcerer is still a sorceress, IMO.

 

[Dykstrav]

I second the motion. There are supposedly certain women that act that want to be called "actors," but I've never met one. Even the wiccans I've met prefer for the subject of their worship to be called "godess." But enough with the real world references...

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Can't we just call them godfolk?

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Starting in 3e, the game has shown a preference for female and unbiased pronouns. No surprise if 4e does something like this. I think it's ok, personally. Not sure why it's confusing. If a player thinks a particular god is really male when she's female, or vice versa, just correct 'em. Simple, really.

 

[Masquerade]

I don't have a problem with calling them all "gods." Isn't the gender of a deity more or less subjective anyway?

 

[Piratecat]

I'm still waiting for people to call a female educator an 'educatrix.'

 

[Lackhand]

I second the motion. There are supposedly certain women that act that want to be called "actors," but I've never met one. Even the wiccans I've met prefer for the subject of their worship to be called "godess." But enough with the real world references...

Probably "goddess".

Unlike spelling, gender in writing doesn't really bother me, personally. But I think the word Goddess, above and beyond anything it brings in terms of gender differentiation, brings some poetry to the table.
It's not a word (many of us) encounter every day, and helps cement the feeling that "I'm playing D&D" for me.
So, basically, I just like reading the word Goddess.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Paladinette? Halflingess? Near as I can tell, God should be gender neutral; thereby applicable to all deities.

I also hate Sorceress, as it's apparently the only class that requires one to differentiate between practitioners of different genders.

Fighteress? Wizardess? Druidette? Barbariatrix?

It's silly and archaic.

-TRRW