Roleplaying female NPCs (DM's)

[Tinker Gnome]

I have always heard how some guys are embarrased to portray female NPCs in their games. What is so difficult for you? I find it really easy. For instance, when I was RPing a female godless Cleric with an emphasis on healing I softened my voice and tried to put on a softer look on my face. A bit weird I know, but it seemed to work. So, anyone have any problems RPing femals NPCs as a DM?

 

[Crothian]

None what so ever. But I have learned that if you role play a female NPC that is hitting on a PC, some people don't like it if you place your hand on their thigh

 

[Tinker Gnome]

None what so ever. But I have learned that if you role play a female NPC that is hitting on a PC, some people don't like it if you place your hand on their thigh

LOL, my group is pretty lghhearted. In egenral someones hand placed on someone else thigh is generally followed by "Are you feeling akward yet?" and then having the hand slowly inch toward the crotch, usually stopped of course, but funny as hell.

 

[The_Magician]

Michael Jackson should have used that in his defense.

"We were just roleplaying!"

 

[Xath]

Being female, I find that the female NPC's are the easier ones to portray.

It's the male ones that are wierd for me. I can't really lower my voice to an inverse falsetto. But I find it's more the attitude than the voice that makes a cross-gender NPC convincing.

And Crothian, you rock my world.

 

[Vorput]

usually stopped of course

::arches eyebrow::

No, I've role-played female NPCs before, one even an important member of the party for a large chunk of the campaign.

You'll have to accept that there are certain things you're always gonna look weird doing as them, but then- when has a DM ever spent a whole session acting normal?

 

[Xath]

One of the most amusing things for me in an RP environment is watching two "manly" men try to roleplay a romance scene between a male PC and female NPC.

Hi-larious

 

[Shemeska]

You get over initial embarrassment and you handle it without any problems, much like any actor will manage to portray themselves as a character very different from themselves if handed the roll.

It's easier if you know the group and you and they have been playing for a long period of time. But even when running a con game with complete strangers, if you have the experience as a DM and self confidence in your own ability to portray the NPC, their gender or species or anything else doesn't really matter. It also helps if you know enough about the opposite sex to not make the character, or your portrayal of them, to be cliche or too over the top.

I personally don't find any problem with portraying female NPCs, though I'll shift into a higher pitched voice usually, just because most women will have a higher voice and it's easier to make the point that the character is female if you can convey that. It's usually subconscious too, rather than something I have to intentionally make myself try.

 

[ForceUser]

One of the most amusing things for me in an RP environment is watching two "manly" men try to roleplay a romance scene between a male PC and female NPC.

Hi-larious

Yeah, I don't go there anymore. I'm not that into roleplaying, IYKWIMAITYD.

EDIT: Actually, the last time I roleplayed such an interaction I got seriously creeped out. In 1994 I played a solo West End Games Star Wars campaign as a female Jedi, with a male GM, a buddy of mine. Both of us were really into the campaign, the cast of characters, and the genre--honestly, it was some of the most fun roleplaying I've ever done. The game was only a solo game because there was a dearth of gamers around at the time. Anyway, one day the romantic tension we'd set up between my PC and a male NPC reached a logical point where the characters had a touching moment of romantic small-talk straight out of a chick flick. It was spot-on, tender, charming, and utterly creepy for me when, purely in-character and with no actual come-on by the happily-married GM, he touched my hand like a lover would touch a partner's hand. At that point we decided that a certain level of verisimilitude was perhaps unnecessary, and a few beer and pretzels nights out with the guys later we rustled up a couple of new players and moved on without ever speaking of the incident again. To this day I am mortified.

All that said I feel like I roleplay female PCs pretty well, to the extent that my ex-girlfriend once complained "You roleplay my character better than I do!"

 

[Acquana]

Awkward?

Actually, the last time I roleplayed such an interaction I got seriously creeped out. In 1994 I played a solo West End Games Star Wars campaign as a female Jedi, with a male GM, a buddy of mine. Both of us were really into the campaign, the cast of characters, and the genre--honestly, it was some of the most fun roleplaying I've ever done. The game was only a solo game because there was a dearth of gamers around at the time. Anyway, one day the romantic tension we'd set up between my PC and a male NPC reached a logical point where the characters had a touching moment of romantic small-talk straight out of a chick flick. It was spot-on, tender, charming, and utterly creepy for me when, purely in-character and with no actual come-on by the happily-married GM, he touched my hand like a lover would touch a partner's hand. At that point we decided that a certain level of verisimilitude was perhaps unnecessary, and a few beer and pretzels nights out with the guys later we rustled up a couple of new players and moved on without ever speaking of the incident again. To this day I am mortified.

Mortified? That makes me wonder if I should be mortified. Somehow in not one, but two campaigns my character has ended up with my friend Millicent's. It's only weird if I think about it that way. But roleplaying out the scenes where the characters got together was so adorable. hee! ^_^

But hey, I've never had a problem portraying NPCs of any kind. That's mostly because I was acting for school festivals long before I roleplayed ... and for some reason among the group of friends I had as a little kid I always had to play the guys. So I was kinda used to it. I just think of it as characters acting like they would. Most of my players can tell differentiation without me having to do too much with my voice. In fact in the Mutants and Mastermind's game, my female character has a rougher, deeper voice than the dude, but people have never been confused.

I wouldn't be surprised if some guys are weirded out, though. I know that one of the DMs I had was really weirded out if any one played opposite-sex characters, so I guess it's similar.