Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Callista 01-19-05, 08:32 AM	'Kay, so I've thought of a concept for my next character. It's really one-dimensional right now; but that's okay, because my characters start out basic and develop personalities later on. (Fully 75% of my characters start out at one alignment, and later I have to erase it because they've been another all along... You should've seen my DM's face when I told him I thought my 3-session-old rogue character was actually LG, not CG. She is... my DM just didn't believe rogues can be LG. Exceptions to the rule, and all that.) But anyway. The problem now is that the character I'm thinking of might have the same sort of uncertainty--only with something that isn't so easily changed as an alignment stat: Gender. The concept, basically, is a wizard who doesn't focus on taking enemies out at all. I'm planning to keep the spells that directly hurt opponents to a minimum--perhaps even completely out of the spellbook. The fact that the other players are playing min/maxed melee or ranged characters means that I don't have to worry about damaging enemies; so I won't. This character, basically, is a survivalist: An item for every situation, a spell for every problem. He doesn't actually do this out of paranoia or fear, but because he believes it's the ultimate test of his intellect to anticipate everything in advance and prepare for it. (Prime choice for equipment: Heward's Handy Haversack!). Absolutely loves situations that call for odd bits of equipment or obscure spells that no one else has. Good at improvising. Really likes those times when he can pull a rabbit out of his hat (especially if the rabbit is sorely needed by starving adventurers for dinner), and impress everyone else. Race: I'm thinking Gnome. Kinda kooky--maybe CN. The guy playing the stuffy LN fighter will like that... *begins thinking of interesting pranks to play* Of course, for all I know, he'll end up as a LE diabolical tyrant or something... :rolleyes: My problem is that I am a female; and this character concept seems like it would best fit a male. I can't change the gender like I can change the alignment, though; so if I'm wrong, what the heck do I do? Maybe my best bet is to make sure I can play a male, rather than drifting over to the female-character comfort zone and ending up with an effeminate gnome that weirds everyone out... I suppose the biggest advice I am looking for is: How easy is it for a female player to play a male character? If you've tried this, how did it go? I suppose I'll take stories from the other side of the issue--male player, female character--too; though I'm sure the two situations have their own unique problems. Should I scrap this PC for sometime later on, when I can handle it? Or is it easier than I think to play a PC of the opposite gender? What do you think?
TheBard 01-19-05, 08:44 AM	I don't really see a problem. Just try it. And if it doesn't work out, you could talk to your GM and see if he could somehow integrate a belt of opposite gender into the loot *g* But I agree, this concept screams for a male char to be original. If you'd play a female PC, she would be running around with Heward's Handy Purse where she would keep every thinkable and unthinkable item in any equipment book. But that wouldn't be fantasy roleplaying but mere reality *g* No, really. I like it. Try it and let us know how it turns out.
CzarGarrett 01-19-05, 09:12 AM	As a male, I tried playing a female character once. I wasn't too keen on it, but it was only the role-playing bit about it I didn't care for. If you want to try it, go for it. If you don't like it, don't do it anymore.
Nani? 01-19-05, 09:17 AM	As a male who likes to play female characters (and is told by women I do a good job), I keep one thing in mind and use it as my consious understanding of the genders. I suggest you think about that thing that to you characterizes the those underlying differences. Note that these are broad generalizations. For me, I find women to be more concerned with the day to day, the "practical" and are usually better at noticing small details better then men. For me, men, I find to be better at the big picture, better at thinking outside the box and somewhat more willing to experiment. I do not know if these are cultural differences or genetic, little of both, or simply my warped perceptions. I don't wish to debate it. I say figure out what those differences are to you. I wish you luck. All the best, Nani?
CzarGarrett 01-19-05, 09:23 AM	Note that these are broad generalizations. I prefer generalizations about broads.
Lionhearted 01-19-05, 09:31 AM	can't be harder for a girl to play man than a man to play girl can it? A friend of mine likes to play (not in RPG terms) females pretty often so often he has been known as a transvitsite so it can be to hard can it?
Callista 01-19-05, 09:50 AM	Uhmmm... Okay, for some reason I really don't think the party would take a transvestite gnome very seriously... I don't really see a problem. Just try it. And if it doesn't work out, you could talk to your GM and see if he could somehow integrate a belt of opposite gender into the loot *g* But I agree, this concept screams for a male char to be original. If you'd play a female PC, she would be running around with Heward's Handy Purse where she would keep every thinkable and unthinkable item in any equipment book. But that wouldn't be fantasy roleplaying but mere reality *g* That's something to point out, indeed. And glad you did--Come to think of it, I have a friend who happens to be female and in my gaming group who does exactly that!! We call it her Bottomless Purse (and it *is*--she has everything from a rain coat to duct tape to Tylenol to little plastic army men in there!). What would be some good items for my character to keep around?
EarthForce 01-19-05, 10:35 AM	I say go for it. I am a male who has occasionally played a female character in several games. And I know of a few females who have played male characters. If roleplaying is involved it can seem a little awkward at first. But the key is to remember it is your character who is saying these things, not you. What do you think any well-known author does with a book. More often than not they write the story from the perspective of both males and females (Or at least give it a valiant effort). Also... while a character's personality and actions may be influenced by gender, it is also affected by life experiences (Who their friends are, what kind of culture they live in, thier education, and so on). If you have trouble playing a male character try making it a bit easier. For example: you could have a male character with a great deal of female influence. Such as having almost all female friends of family members. Such a character would likely be able to see things from another point of view, an outlook on life he might not otherwise have. So that even though he is male, he could probably empathize or at least understand things from a female point of view. If roleplaying isn't that involved, well... then you shouldn't have any difficulties there.
Kaboth 01-19-05, 10:56 AM	I say go for it as well. It has been my experience that women generally RP men better than men RP women. As men usually RP women as flirtacious sluts (for the most part).... As a gnome male wizard, you dont really have to worry about being a "man's man". You could do things to take some skills that nobles would take. Prefer to be dressed well all the time and act a little noble and maybe imperious. Just act like a no it all as well LOL, god knows men hate to be wrong and a wizard that would fit.
Razoreface 01-19-05, 12:40 PM	I'd say do it, too. It's been a while since I played with a group that had a female RPing a male character, but I have seen quite a bit of it. Males RP female characters all the time, and at least half of the time, that goes pretty well. Probably better than 3 in 4 of my characters have been female. And Rogues.. can be lawful. :)
Sidious 01-19-05, 01:30 PM	Women play male roles quite a lot in theater. No reason it shouldn't transfer to the gaming table.
StormKnight 01-19-05, 01:51 PM	No reason you can't play a character of opposite gender. Whether by doing so you will annoy other players or find yourself with a character you don't feel you relate to, that's a different story. Though the 'annoy other players' seems to happen much more with men playing female characters than women playing men. Though if it bothers you, I really can't see anything about the character as you described it that makes it seem inherently one gender of the other. The character description reminds me a lot of say, MacGuyver. Its something you usually see a guy doing; why not put a twist and have it be a female character instead of just following the normal stereotype?
shakedown47 01-19-05, 01:57 PM	It shouldn't be hard at all. I (male) play a female fighter in our Dragonlance campaign because when I was looking for a mini to represent my character the coolest one I found was a female, and as we all know the most important thing about a character is how well represented it is by it's mini :) Hardly anything is different from playing a male character, except instead of intimidation I tend to use diplomacy more, that sort of thing (and this is not necessarily somethin gbased off of gender, just a RP issue for that particular character.) In fact, if you wanted to play a male, the differences between a female or a male character may never even come up. With our group it hardly ever does.
Lilith's Dark Shadow 01-19-05, 02:10 PM	I'm a guy and i almost always play a female character (who are never the stereotypes associated with guys playing female characters). I find that speaking in third person helps a lot since it makes me feel less akward. Just as long as you don't overdo it you should be fine ^_^
Board_Rider 01-19-05, 02:40 PM	I think that a Female Player playing a Male PC is cool. To be honest with you I really don't see it being much of a factor anyways. In my experience the only time PC gender has even came into context is when the PC's are at an inn and want to know what the barmaid looks like. Pervs.... If the roleplaying is good and your character concept is fleshed out to your enjoyment I really just don't see it even being a topic of discussion. Of course, I do not know about your fellow players....... As for items..... Work for a bag of tricks and a folding sailboat. Elemental gems Rope Mirror Chalk,Pen and Paper Whetstone (if your game is so technical that the DM has describing your firestarting or weapon sharpening) Utility Spell Scrolls such as Rope Trick, Light and Bulls Strength to buff up the party Good luck and just have fun with it!!!
DM Zoc 01-19-05, 03:44 PM	You could start with a cursed item that changes your gender on a regular or irregular basis. I have a ring (also an item familiar) which changes the wearer's gender every day. If I feel like being male or female on a given day, I can just say that. (We don't keep exact track of days.) Of course, it helps that the character is an elf, and elven males looks almost exactly like the females.
EarthForce 01-19-05, 04:38 PM	Wow, I'm surprised how fast people are responding to this. I know I've had a few friends who have looked at me funny if I ever played a female character. Although in truth, there really aren't that many differences between roleplaying the two. Unless people tend to get lewd which can get annoying real fast. Speaking of which: I say go for it as well. It has been my experience that women generally RP men better than men RP women. As men usually RP women as flirtacious sluts (for the most part).... I'm not sure how commonplace this is as a number of my friends (male and female) don't try to bash the other gender or set up situations for their own sick amusement. Although, I have seen this happen a number of times, and it can get annoying really fast. However it did remind me of something... while there is nothing wrong with your ideas not all people are as open-minded and accepting as the people on this thread (sadly) so your group may or may not be uncomfortable with it at first or try to deviate it into something you don't want. I'm not trying to dishearten you, I'm just saying if it does happen not to give up unless you find you are the one unhappy with it. If they don't accept initially, they should after a while.
Falkus 01-19-05, 06:55 PM	I suppose the biggest advice I am looking for is: How easy is it for a female player to play a male character? If you've tried this, how did it go? I've done it frequently and haven't had any problems, but to be honest, I only do for online RPGs (play by posts). Of course, this is mainly due to the lack of games going on in my area most of the time.
Ongorth 01-19-05, 08:10 PM	Consider it this way: Which is more unlike you: A random person of the opposite sex or a person with radically different culture (and thus belief system, system of knowing, etc.) of the same sex? Follow this up with, "How easy is it to play an elf?" Gender is but one of a million things that makes people different. Don't get hung up on it.
Razoreface 01-19-05, 09:06 PM	Gender is but one of a million things that makes people different. Don't get hung up on it. This is why I tend to not have much problem RPing a female, once you get used to ignoring the idiocy of a particular group (which real women get to do all their lives), because I know a half dozen girls who, aside from taste in clothes and dating material, are basically just like me.
arimus09 01-19-05, 09:27 PM	Playing both female and male characters on a regular basis I would have to say that you can do it. I usually have to put a little more thought into female characters as I am male. I don't think that it would be difficult to play a male for you it's just a basic understanding of what drives us guys...if we aren't hungry we're let's just say willing...our search for power, prestiege and the next cool toy is endless. I would have to agree that a female McGuiver type would be alot more original, but hey...you got to do what you got to do...When in doubt find a movie character you can identify with...and start with that then let your character develope from there. Further more I don't know to many people that would be uncomfortable with that unless you start coming on to the other characters. It would be alot more likely that people would be uncomfortable with a male playing a female. It sound like you have it mostly figured out. Pride yourself with being cerebral and any carnal situation that may occur doesn't concern you because it is beneath your intellect...why waist time with sex when you could be reading or looking for that next cool gadget.
Draco Strang 01-19-05, 10:40 PM	I would like to note that every single rogue I have ever played has been a human female, and I've encountered few problems. (BTW, I'm a guy.) It's fun sometimes to step outside the box and play something radically different. And, guys are radically different from girls. Hell, let me extend my appreciation to you, another female at the gaming table. You are another hand in the effort to convert DnD from the total and utter sausagefest it once was into something that can be viewed by the public as a fun, cool social activity.
Jagyr Ebonwood 01-19-05, 11:07 PM	I say go for it as well. It has been my experience that women generally RP men better than men RP women. As men usually RP women as flirtacious sluts (for the most part).... Hmmm...For some reason, it's my male characters that tend to be flirtatious sluts, and the female ones who like kickin' ass and takin' names. Actually, all my characters incorporate a certain amount of androgyny or gender blurring...whether it be the evil hardcore woman fighter with a secret soft side she shows no one, or the manly (yet gay) litorian rogue who scares easily, or just a bard :rimshot: But no, really, I love bards, I do :D Anyway...I think the main thing is that you find who the character is, and just play them as themselves. I don't think gender matters to a good roleplayer.
Jagyr Ebonwood 01-19-05, 11:12 PM	Women play male roles quite a lot in theater. No reason it shouldn't transfer to the gaming table. And long ago, men always played female roles (back when women weren't allowed/wanted nothing to do with theater). I agree. It's only a matter of how hard it is to roleplay for you personally.
Kalanth 01-20-05, 12:55 AM	Race: I'm thinking Gnome. Kinda kooky--maybe CN. The guy playing the stuffy LN fighter will like that... *begins thinking of interesting pranks to play* Of course, for all I know, he'll end up as a LE diabolical tyrant or something... :rolleyes: Read this and thought of what my female Wizard / Fighter did on a merchant vessal so that we could travel free. Use a little prestidigitation to move around some minor things like the ropes and mops, a hint of mage hand to move larger things, and a heck of a lot of Ghost Sounds to make the ship sound haunted. When the ships captain is looking for the answer, you volunteer to remove the ghost in exchange for safe passage to X, for free. As for the main question, there is nothing wrong with playing a male. The average male is concerned with very little and not all that deep (so as my experience as a male has shown me). The more adventure like people, well, they are a bit more deep than the standard male. For a prankster like you mention, I would say look to Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a great D&D example, or maybe Wee Man from the old Jackass show. Small but yet full of pranks, (later a bit more on the traditional side of men).
happycows 01-20-05, 05:24 AM	I played a female barbarian that kept all her weapons drenched in blood. She didn't bathe or anything ever. Whenever she saw a half orc male she paid good money for some action in the tavern. Her pregnancy was weird so I had her manual abortion. Pretty simple. Jump 50 feet onto the top portion of a chair to hit her belly. I used a dagger to cut out her tubes. My dm was truely disgusted... he basically didn't even ask and just said okay you go do that before I got to explain how i went to do that. Good times lol. Should see my female prostitute in dnd modern. She was a fast hero alright. =] Guys like a fast hero. My dm didn't want to role play that out with me and just said okay yeah whatever you two go off to his van and shag the end. He's tired and just laying down in the back. Now what do you do? Females can rape and pillage villagers too you know. Especially half orc barbarian females that like to rape human men who are skinny and pathetic. I liked my evil male character. It was all about stealing, raping women, & fleeing the town. Oh and killing paladins and elves. My character was racist against elves and worshiped a diety that allowed me to carry diseases without suffering from them so I could spread them from town to town. In the end we helped open a portal allowing demons to spawn on earth rather then on the devil's plane and the devil's plane portals spawned them on a choatic good plane. Basically Demons took over earth and devils raped choatic good. The end.
Cold Napalm 01-20-05, 05:39 AM	I use to be pretty hung up on the genders of my characters...then I found one marvaleous thing...it didn't really matter. Now I switch between male/female with each new character and it makes almost no difference really. Gender doesn't really limit the actions of a person enough really. I mean you could be a very manly man or a very effeminate male so it's not that big a deal. Course I did play NPCs for a LARP so I had to play thing from druken sailor to barmaid...I hate corsets.
Callista 01-20-05, 07:07 AM	Good times lol. Should see my female prostitute in dnd modern. She was a fast hero alright. =] Guys like a fast hero. My dm didn't want to role play that out with me and just said okay yeah whatever you two go off to his van and shag the end. He's tired and just laying down in the back. Now what do you do? *laughs* I think your DM was smart not to make an issue of such things. Anything like that just usually ends up with players A.) giggling like sixth-graders, B.) turned on, C.) trying not to show their weirded-out-ness, or D.) thoroughly disgusted and not hiding it. Sex... naaah. PG-13 and that's it. I mean, we're here to play a fantasy game, not play out fantasies. And besides, we're a mixed-gender group. Anything we do is going to be getting one gender or the other annoyed. On top of that, sex is usually just between two people--leaving out everyone but one or two players, depending on if it's with the pretty barmaid or one's fellow adventurer. So, yeah... fade to black. Best policy. I'm really not sure why I'm hesitant to play a male character, after all the times I've role-played males as a DM. Maybe I figure it'll begin to wear on me, like people say playing Paladins or extremely evil characters does. Or maybe I'm just a little worried about what people would say, since I'm *already* kind of a geek version of a tomboy. Only one of the other girls has ever played a male character; and only one of the guys has ever played a female character (and that's just so he and his girlfriend could both be CN elven females!... yeeesh). We all learned to play D&D together, so we're all as "newbie" as I am (about 1 year now); but most of 'em are much less serious about it than I am. That's actually why I decided to do this character--I've been labeled a rules lawyer for trying to get people to follow the rules (not obscure minutiae, mind you; just stuff like being able to move through friendly spaces in combat, that they overlooked because only 1-2 of them have read the PHB, much less DM's Guide/MM). Their style is Chaotic, mine's Lawful... so sue me. So, yeah, this character is an attempt at being less serious. For one thing... Gnome! I mean, unless your Gnome is unspeakably evil or something, it's really not too hard to get the requisite level of casualness while playing a gnome. I hope. The "male" thing... well, the concept kinda needs to be male to work... *writes down "M" on character sheet* *gets to work picking spells, skills, and much random junk*
Prachett 01-20-05, 10:07 AM	Okay, here's a thought: Why define your gender early on? If the gnome is a survivalist and CN, maybe s/he doesn't want anyone knowing his/her business. He's secretive, prone to unsocial behaviour (prankster) because s/he's trying to win friends but doesn't know how. If she's a gril, she hides it, because that is weakness and pretends to be a boy. Not overtly though (don't have to announce it or anything). If you like him as a boy then keep him as a boy. Shouldn't really be a problem. I (being male) played a rogue who had her baby taken away (was part of a drow breeding experiment). She doesn't knw how to really be a mother, but wants to. For survival, she clings to the half-orc (not sexually - she's for obvious reasons, turned off by that) for protection. Shouldn't really be much of an issue.
Callista 01-20-05, 11:06 AM	Oh, that's all I need... an androgynous gnomish survivalist... :mymy:
StormKnight 01-20-05, 06:23 PM	Consider it this way: Which is more unlike you: A random person of the opposite sex or a person with radically different culture (and thus belief system, system of knowing, etc.) of the same sex? Follow this up with, "How easy is it to play an elf?" Gender is but one of a million things that makes people different. Don't get hung up on it. Perhaps you should instead ask this question: "If you had an elf in your playing group, do you think the elf would think you were doing ok playing an elf?" Its easy to play an fantasy creature no matter how different they are supposed to be from us because they don't really exist; we haven't met them, we don't have them in the group to be offended because they feel like you're just playing a caricature of an elf rather than trying to play a real character. If she's a gril, she hides it, because that is weakness and pretends to be a boy. An explanation which works just fine as long as you're playing in a sexist game to begin with.
sgingell 01-20-05, 06:45 PM	Can you, as a girl, play a male character? No. Your head will explode. Just like authors heads do when they write books with men and women in. Just like your DM's does when he/she introduces NPC's of the opposite sex. Stick to something easy and familiar, like a Fire Gensai with divine gifts and telepathy. Of course you can play a male character. Can you play him well? I'd think that depends on your creativity, imagination, and experience with roleplay. Good roleplayers play interesting believable characters, regardless of gender. Could you end up with a implausible two dimensional stinker of a male character? Maybe, but don't worry. Plenty of male gamers do that too... -Stephen
Ongorth 01-20-05, 08:04 PM	Stormknight: Considering that practically any difference between men and women can also found between two men and two women as well and be equally plausible, it really doesn't seem like a big deal. Unless the player is constantly complaining "My massive manhood keeps getting in the way of my claymore swings" or something like that, gender is probably not going to be an issue. And I was under the assumption Callista was not an idiot. Culture determines gender views, so unless you are intimately familiar with how growing up in a culture effects the characters personality, it really doesn't help being the same sex as your character. Either way, you have no idea what you are doing! Settings like Eberron that are basically gender roleless makes it even easier: in these settings, sex is purely cosmetic. You can't play a male/female wrong!
Darth K'Trava 01-20-05, 08:43 PM	I have seen that the main thing about playing an opposite gender character is how the group reacts. Not just the "she's a ****" or "he's gay" crap. Our group got confused as they would look at the player and see the player's gender, not the character's. And it confused most of them as they referred to a male character as "she" because they're looking at the female player playing the character. I know that from experience as I played a male ranger for over 2 years until his third and final death and all were relieved that I played a female cleric after that. Maybe you should see if they're going to be overly confused about the whole bit to really make your idea work. If it is, then be different.... play that concept with a female and see how they like it.... ;)
Shard of Suzail 01-21-05, 08:42 AM	Shard, my current character is female. Most of my characters are also female. I also tend to name my characters after physical things or concepts. I`ve been playing female characters for a long time and do the same with online role play games like Everquest. I find them nicer to look at and find the experience to be like watching Buffy on TV. I`d be a lot more worried if my head was filled with images of muscle bound men, as thats not where my romantic preference is to be found. I tend to post on message boards using my character names, which usually means that i post from a feminine mindset. Thats the sort of person i am, not a fan of sports and such, but a fan of scented candles, cushions and gentler things. My communication skills are good and i work primarily in the teaching and caring industries. I was in a chat room the other day, interestingly under a masculine name (in general chat rooms i openly post as myself, in male form) and i had a female poster there assume i was female, by the writing style and word choices that i used. I took it as the highest of compliments. *** The topic of masculine and feminine speaking and writing styles is an interesting one. Genderlect it is called. It has been found that men and women alternate between the two styles depending on their current situation and how safe they feel. Thus, the word mauve is a female genderlect word. It has been found that people under cross examination in court switch to female gender speech and that those examining them use male gender speech. It's a lot about power and security. Very interesting subject.
Jayr 01-23-05, 04:59 PM	Who cares? I'm female but I act like a guy online so I play male characters because when I play girls people still call me 'he' when they talk about me, hence my sig. I figure if I'm better at RPing a guy I should go for it, so most of the time I play guys, but all my fighter-type characters are female. In my (humble) opinion, it's easier to play a male gnome, halfling, kobold, or goblin than a male human or half-orc, because those races look less physically mature than the latter races thus the big romance/sex issue is bypassed almost completely. Do what works for you.
Lady_Serpintine 01-23-05, 08:38 PM	My group had a female player playing a male. She played my character's little brother and did a good job of it. So I do not see why a girl could not play a guy, since guys do-do it often enough. I don't cross gender myself because I don't feel like I play a female well half the time. *lol* I am just hard on myself. But she played her male realitively interestingly. Give him a few traits and stick to them. Her male was slightly feminine so it wasn't hard for her. She has also played a muscle bound character who was a womanizer...that went over...interesting to say the least. If all else fail play with stero types its fun, and from my experience entertained the rest of the group. --Lady Serpintine.