Sexism in D&D

[technoextreme]

See, this is where I think the problem is. The concept is immediately attacked as being "stupid". Why is it "stupid" to want to interject an aspect of realism into the game? I could just as easily say that it is "stupid" to not consider it. Is it "stupid" to say that men can bear children in the game if they choose to? Is it "stupid" to play in a game world where only males and females can procreate? Why not get rid of gender altogether in the game? It would be "stupid" to do otherwise.

Its stupid because you are attempting to interject human dimorphism in a game in which clearly everything isn't human. Seriously have you ever actually used your mind for a second and thought about the ramifications of this. Nature is full of contradictions and sure as hell there are numerous species in which the female is not only larger but also stronger.

 

[boredgremlin]

Maybe D&D isn't your sort of thing. I have a game that will be more suited to your tastes.

LOL theres no girls here to impress with how PC you are.

PS. It doesnt impress them anyway.

 

[Dellamon]

Incidentally, I wonder how many of those who want female character penalties (at least have the decency of calling them properly) in the core rules would actually have the guts of proposing them as house rules to a table that has more than one female gamer, not counting gfriends and little sisters.

I would have no problem doing this if the setting or game was enhanced by it. Not everyone is playing to try and hook up with or impress the female gamers at the table. If she does not like the setting or the rules, she can leave. And I would expect the same in return if I were playing at her table.

 

[JonWake]

Sexism is clown shoes: to be laughed at as such.

 

[Dellamon]

Its stupid because you are attempting to interject human dimorphism in a game in which clearly everything isn't human. Seriously have you ever actually used your mind for a second and thought about the ramifications of this. Nature is full of contradictions and sure as hell there are numerous species in which the female is not only larger but also stronger.

Using your argument, then why not allow dragonborn or praying mantis females to have +2 strength compared to males. I see no issue with that. Then all the females at the table could play them and feel happy and strong.

Seriously though, this is a discussion based from the human / humanoid perspective. If you have something worthwhile to contribute, please join in.

 

[boredgremlin]

The STR argument has been done many times and when all is said and done isn't really worth bothering with in an abstract game such as D&D.

If I can accept that a character can have 100 or more HP just from getting better at fighting then an 18 STR female doesn't even make it to the unbelievable radar.

Its quite easy to assume that average individuals will skew towards males having a higher STR. So a typical human male has a 10-11 and a human female an 8-9. This campaign "reality" doesn't overly effect play.

This has nothing to do with PCs. Adventurers break sterotypes and turn assumptions on thier collective heads.

I basically agree that it doesnt add to the game. However the HP thing i dont see as a good argument.

If you assume HP is glancing blows and misses you can model by putting someone, say floyd mayweather, he should have 100hp. He's good at getting out of the way. And put him against some teenager whose just starting golden gloves and I think you could see a good example of those near misses and such that HP represent.

 

[Grazzt]

Again, it should be setting-specific: What's appropriate in an "RE Howard's Hyborea" type setting is not appropriate in a Blue Rose type setting; that goes for race, sex, age, social class etc.

Agree. Setting specific.

 

[boredgremlin]

Sexism is clown shoes: to be laughed at as such.

LOL sexism is "bitches are stupid, they're only good for eye candy" or virtually any rap songs lyrics...

"women arent as physically strong because they are smaller" is just reality.

Sticking your head in the PC sand and denying the real world just makes you look stupid.

 

[JonWake]

Our current western society is basically genderless with regards to roles

Nonsense. Absolute, unbearable nonsense. Check the pay discrepancies between men and women, the rates of sexual assault and then please, make your case then. The fact is, we have no idea what a 'genderless' Western Society looks like, because we've never seen one. Hypothesizing that this particular moment in time is what 'genderless' looks like makes as much sense as looking at the 18th century for what 'equality' looks like.

Fools love to point out the differences between the sexes or races or any other group and say, 'ah ha, we've obviously reached a Perfect Equal Society, and there are still differences!'

Then, five years later, all the gaps change.

 

[Mallus]

"women arent as physically strong because they are smaller" is just reality.

In reality, a man can't win a fistfight with a grown bear.

In D&D, it depends on the class and level of the man.

The moral of this (brief) story, before even thinking about encoding what you perceive to be the correct level of real-word gender differences in your D&D campaign, think of man vs. bear.