When Bob wants to play a female PC

[Lasher Dragon]

To further confuse the situation, I don't think I have played more than a few female characters in my approx. 16 years of gaming, and it has been quite some time since I have. I am not debating this because I myself play cross-gender characters, I am debating this because IMO female gamers are extremely rare, and always having an adventuring party composed of males is quite boring.

 

[jrients]

Jeff,

I know you do not get over here a lot but you need to fix your blog link - it does forward folks, but I thought I would let you know...

Crap! Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[Oryan77]

I personally in my opinion feel that barring opposite-gender PCs because it makes you feel funny is weird, and kind of immature.

That's nice. Cause I think you guys are weird because you would actually get offended because we wouldn't let you play a cross gender PC. It's that important for you to play a woman?

I'm baffled that so many of you "elite" roleplayers are giving the original poster a guilt trip over this. There's nothing wrong at all not wanting your friends to play cross genders. You guys are so open minded and non restricting at your tables? So I can play a female half-orc that's into beastiality? I'm a mature person, a good roleplayer, and I can play it maturely...I swear!

Some people-- even some people in this thread, I suspect-- like to play female characters just to prove to everyone (including themselves) what mature, self-assured roleplayers they are.

That probably has the most truth out of anything said on this thread. RPGers crack me up. We're being lectured about allowing men to pretend to be women. It's debates like these that remind me why it's hard to find "normal" strangers to join my D&D games when I need extra players.

 

[hrafnagud]

As I said, if you are easily offended, ignore me - I can rub (certain uptight) people the wrong way. It's a character flaw of mine. Sorry.

I can see that applying the moniker 'easily offended' to anybody who disagrees with you assuages your sense of responsibility, but have you considered the possibility that you are simply being overly offensive in general?

I personally in my opinion feel that barring opposite-gender PCs because it makes you feel funny is weird, and kind of immature.

And now you've graduated to calling people immature. Oh, and still hiding behind technicalities, I see. In my opinion, of course.

 

[Harmon]

You guys are aware that this is a game?

That you arn't suppose to play yourself.

You are suppose to play someone that you are not- whether it be a male, or female, a construction worker or a wizard, do something that stretches who you are, but do not stretch beyond your reach- meaning that you need to be able to make your character believable.

So you can't see Bob as a hot looking red head, I can't either, but I know Bob can play one, so I let him.

Its about acceptance of what people want to do, about doing something different and having fun at it.

I don't think I have ever looked at one of my Players and seen the character they are playing.

The next time your Players want to play something different (black, gay, male/female, oriental, intelligent wizard, charismatic bard, whatever) let them. After a session tell them how they did, if you can't work with it consider that it might be a prejudice streak within you and its something that you need to work on.

Personally I think people that can't allow cross gender play are just plain silly.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

I think any single theory to explain why people are uncomfortable with it or why people want to do it is doomed to failure (at best) because I don't think there is any one reason for either one. Both can be justified in a variety of ways, some good and some bad.

Hum. I've failed to make my meaning clear and in retrospect, I suspect that my post is perhaps vaguely threatening to the "uncomfortable with it" crowd in ways that I did not intend.

Let me try approaching what I think is the same issue, but using a question that's probably more comfortable.

My wardrobe is next to my wife's. Every single garment in my wardrobe - suits, shirts, trousers, jeans, T-shirts, and even my kilt that I've worn exactly once in my life - every garment is one that my wife could wear in public without attracting a lot of attention.

If I wore her clothes in the street - well, most of them, I just couldn't. I'm British and it's just not socially possible for a British man to wear women's clothes (unless he's a High Court Judge). I can't even imagine doing it.

Why is that?

 

[John Morrow]

6 of my posts in here contained one of the following: LOL, LMAO, and or a smiley. If you cannot infer that I have a smile in my face when I write it right into the post, that is your failure, not mine.

First, in the text browser that I'm using, I don't see the graphical smileys. I'd believe that might be the problem, if it weren't for the fact that a lot of other people also seem to find your replies rude, and I'm sure they all aren't using Lynx.

Second, all of those things are poor subsitutes for the real thing. Graphics and letters are no substitute for real body language.

Third, a smiley or laugh at the end can only soften or erase so much.

As I said, if you are easily offended, ignore me - I can rub (certain uptight) people the wrong way. It's a character flaw of mine. Sorry.

So you only rub "certain uptight" people the wrong way...

Yes, black or white, good or evil, blah blah blah. As I said in one of my first posts in here, I can see not allowing a certain gender based on the campaign itself. I personally in my opinion feel that barring opposite-gender PCs because it makes you feel funny is weird, and kind of immature.

Ah, but that's not exactly what you said...

We can always summon the moderators and see what they think...

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Summon away. If I am guilty let the Mods judge me. If I am found guilty, I will apologize right here in this thread.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Wulf, that's less than entirely productive....

The wind is somewhat taken out of your sails there by the fact that Lasher Dragon confirmed what I'd said barely 5 minutes after I posted it.

Since we ARE talking about Dungeons and Dragons, it bears noting that the core concept of 3.0 is... well... killing bad guys and taking their stuff.

I'm definitely not saying that's the only way to play. But, it is assuredly the goal of 3.0 design.

So I think it's entirely reasonable for someone who plays the game to kill bad guys and take their stuff to be ill-at-ease with someone who plays the game to improve his scope as a roleplayer-- and vice versa-- especially when one of the two involved is the GM, with a vision of his campaign in mind.

Nibbling at the edge of his mind is the realization that this player is expecting something from his game that he is not going to deliver, which bodes ill for the long-term viability of the campaign.

Wulf

 

[Vchan]

Interesting topic


Background: I'm a female player, currently playing a female character.

Current group: Players: 5 male, 1 female + dm is male
Characters: 3 male, 3 female

I tend to play same gender characters out of preference, but its more closely linked to the character concept than anything else. If the concept requires a male character, its male. Its just when it could be either or that I automatically revert to female.

I joined the group I'm in pretty recently, and from tabletalk, they've been gaming cross gender for a while with no problems. Personally, unless someone is using the gender as a bludgeon, it doesnt matter. You dont have to go around in rl and announce your gender at every opportunity, (I hope) so it should sort of fade into the background in game.

Unless of course you need a scantily clad Pool Boy to distract the amazons guarding the door....