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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 6956577" data-attributes="member: 6816692">Yep, I agree that there are far too few female/other race/X roles out there in Hollywood movies, especially in more action-oriented flicks (that doesn't necessarily mean action movies, but also thrillers, some dramas, superhero movies etc.). TV series are improving in this regard and I for one can see the impact that this increased diversity has on the stories that are being told. Problem is that every writer starts with him- or herself as a starting point and if you happen to be a white man, you will include more "people like you" in your script. I've witnessed it myself when I was writing my first adventures or novel ideas... almost all NPC were white (or alien) women. Ouch. So because I am aware of this rule, I sometimes switch genders of NPC quite liberally. Unless there is an ingame reason why this or that group should be all-male or all-female, i try out shuffling them around until I have a roughly 40-60 to 60-40 representation. For example, if all "key NPC" a PC group could interact with in a major hub are male without reason, I include some women. I also try to include other races if everyone you can speak to for major plot points is human, but your town is, say, 30% elves/70% humans, unless there is an intended power imbalance between races. (For those familiar with WotBS which I am currently DMing, I did switch Headmaster Simeon to a fierce, dark-skinned Simeonne because the who's who in Seaquen felt so strangely male after the previous adventures. I also made some nobles change race and gender in Dassen to match its past and present people. My players tend to stick to my female NPC anyway for reasons I don't fully understand yet and they especially love Simeonne, so I guess I did do it right for them^^) In many cases, gender is irrelevant except for getting a general feel of who a PC/NPC is. But in my experience, it totally depends on your group. I've played female PCs who were more or less wary around people of the opposite gender (or a certain race/gender combo). I've had PCs who were romanciers (but hetero) and who tried to flirt with every other female NPC. I've had pregnant NPC and single mothers/fathers with small children and young girls who had a total crush on the "sooooo handsome" elven PC. In some cases, your setting even says that gender is not irrelevant. Most famous example are the Drow, but any society with an imbalance of power or different societal roles for different genders will impact your choice. Not every group does include this kind of social interaction or does design societies like that and, as I said previously, whether or not you could or should include romance and mature themes like having a personal responsibility or having a traumatic past or whether your affairs can have consequences is totally up to your group.</blockquote>

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