For a one-shot dungeon crawl? Let the players pick the genders.
Pre-generated characters for one-shot game; sex and gender breakdown. Opinions wanted.
- Thread starter Emirikol
- Start date
For a one-shot dungeon crawl? Let the players pick the genders.
aramis erak
Legend
No.I'm running a one-shot dungeon crawl for an upcoming virtual game convention. I am providing pre-generated characters with back-story. The audience is: Virtual Greyhawk Con.
Virtual Greyhawk Con 2022
tabletop.events
The characters and their backgrounds are deliberately written as non-gender referenced, but I included masculine and feminine selectable art.
It got me thinking: is there a socially-required ratio? I don't have time to create art for the 72 different genders for 6 different characters and there is no story reason for doing so.
Traditionally, World of Greyhawk adventures would have 5/6 characters as masculine and one feminine. Should I just stick with tradition? It is 95% likely all of my players will be older male players.
I'd suggest leaving their physical conformity to the player, unless there's a setting reason (WFRP, you can't have a female Adeptus Astartes nor a male Adepta Sororitas, for example.) If at all practical, give players the choice. I've found about 1 in 10 guys will play female characters at cons... if there are any left after the ladies pick.
Unless there's a romance involved, orientation shouldn't matter and should be left to player choice, even in a one shot. Née, especially in a convention one shot.
Have two pieces of art available for each character. Print out both, with otherwise identical character sheets. When someone says they're playing a gnome (or whatever, hold out the two sheets and let them pick.
aramis erak
Legend
Depending upon the location and potential clientelle, an androgenous 3rd isn't a bad idea, either.
I had a player ask for a less masculine character in a demo more than once, not counting the ones asking for female characters. One of my regulars plays androgenous looking characters; they identify as genderfluid. their current PC is definitely feminine; an interesting change for them.
GMMichael
Guide of Modos
And here I thought it might be a typo. I gave you an XP for clearing it up, then took it away for confusing me.
John R Davis
Hero
72* genders is impossible to work with, but that's wandering off topic. For a one off Having art depicting both sexes for each PC is a lot. Have fun, and hope game goes well.
*As is having to remember 72 of just about anything!
*As is having to remember 72 of just about anything!
delericho
Legend
Nitpick: I think it's actually 74 - the articles talks about the 72 other genders (beyond male and female).Here you go.
How Many Genders Are There? All 72 Genders List
How many genders are there? Besides male and female, here is a list of all 72 other gender identities that a person may belong to. How can I help my child understand gender identity?www.medicinenet.com
delericho
Legend
Do you have scope for disassociating the art from the rest of the characters?
That is, can you supply the characters with no sex/gender on them at all (and possibly an empty box for players to insert names), and then provide a number of portraits that aren't inherently attached to any specific characters?
That way you could provide, say, 20 portraits for people to use, covering a wide range of face and/or body types, and hopefully provide enough variety that everyone can make a choice that they can at least live with.
Li Shenron
Legend
I think that's the best.
I always have pregens available nowadays and I purposefully leave anything narrative unspecified, including name, gender and alignment.
Providing artwork is actually a very neat idea, I am sure many players would love that, while maybe others would choose to find their own by themselves. I can imagine however how time consuming it can be if you have to find it for 2+ genders, and impossible if you also wanted variable race.
