Poll: Roleplaying Opposite-Sex Characters

[The_root_of_all_evil]

If you WANT to play a mini-gun toting gal, play a female troll! Awesome! Or have her geared out to crazy with the wired muscles!

Female trolls prefer railguns anyway. They don't leave spent cartridges on their nice tidy floor

 

[Saelune]

My favorite character to RP is a very masculine tough guy. I am not any of that. He started in an RP server in Never Winter Nights. People were surprised to learn who I really am.

 

[Joel Soh]

In RPGs, you don't have to put YOURSELF into the position of the character if you catch my drift. You can use a different gender, race etc if you so desire. There's choice there, why not take advantage of it? Face it, if we all picked our actual genders, the population would be 20:1 males to females hehehe. (Ok, that's not solid fact, don't get picky!)

The only real problem is the confusion it can cause on the first time you meet or whatnot. I find in RPGs, you may get to know the person behind the avatar quite well. Once you do, the avatar is just a skin

 

[Altanese]

Everything I have to say has been say by tons of people, which all boils down to "No, there isn't a problem, and the people who think there is are the ones with the issues."

I will add this, though.

Ever hear of Maid RPG? It's basically a tabletop role playing game from Japan where you are a maid following the instructions of your master or mistress, including battling monsters and each other. Damage from those battles is clothing damage. Oh, and by the rules, everyone is bisexual. It was described to me by a friend in Japan as a bunch of guys sitting around with, shall we say, pitched tents, while pretending to be a scantily clad bisexual maid.

The exception that proves the rule about nothing abnormal going on? One extreme that people feed on and attribute to everyone else who does cross gender role playing? Or is it just further proof (as if we needed any more) that Japan is a damn weird place?

 

[lettucethesallad]

Isn't that part of the roleplaying charm? Getting to be something you're not? It could be argued that "HEY, you can't play a drow, you don't look anything like one!" or "How do _you_ know what it feels like to be a dwarf? You're of average height!". Without playing around with your imagination, how fun is roleplaying really?

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I have spent six/seven years roleplaying on forums, (Writing stories amongst a group or community of players, for the ignorant) and in that time span the majority of my characters have been female. I attempted this initially to impose a challenge on my writing ability, having to adjust to numerous aspects of the opposite gender I previously would disregard. I have become quite convincing at it, to the point many people have mistaken me for a girl, which I actually take as a compliment.

There is nothing wrong playing your opposite gender provided you feel comfortable doing so. People have the incorrect perception the character is a projection of themselves. While this can be true; be weary of Mary Sue though, they could just as easily be simply another character. When I play Mass Effect or even write, Shepard or my creations are not myself nor are they ever intended to be. They are their own unique individual whom I have created in a fictional world to explore.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I used

 

[TheFinalFantasyWolf]

I'm a girl, but I do prefer roleplaying as a guy. Is that weird?....Before any one asks, no.. it isn't based on any attraction for having a character of the oppisite sex. Its mainly cause I haven't seen MANY games that have a female character that wasn't there just for eye-candy. So, it kind of puts me off playing as one. :S

 

[Togs]

a little weird yeah, and whilst it maybe a stretch to say it holds a mirror to your subconscious if it were me Id certainly want to take a look at it.

 

[Speakercone]

The most fun I had in a D&D campaign was with a mixed gender group all roleplaying their opposite gender. Got pretty hilarious after awhile. Not sure about your friend being weirded out, maybe it is just that he has trouble picturing who your character is.

Maybe you just have an easier time creating female characters? Perhaps you find it easier to empathize with a female protagonist? These are my answers for why I often roleplay females in games.

I'd have to go with the empathy. I was raised mostly by my mom (my dad works as the chief engineer on a container ship and has been gone six months a year my whole life). That and in terms of Shadowrun I'm drawn to the girls-with-guns mentality.

I'm sure he sure he has some issues picturing my characters. That's half the problem. My GM and the other player in our group are familiar with Black Lagoon, so they know exactly how I look and behave. He's got no clue.

Doesn't sound like a huge problem unless you're uncomfortable with it. Maybe tell your buddy who your character is, maybe even find a picture for him so he has an easier time. Might make the game run smoother. There's a reason the D&D books have all the pictures in them of what things look like.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

Or why people regularly commission pictures of their D&D/RP characters of off artists on Deviantart and other places.

 

[funguy2121]

I had a bit of a debate with one of my RPG friends a while back.

Eight of the nine D&D characters that I've built are female, and the current Shadowrun character I run is a female. During one D&D session, he told me he thought it was weird that I kept building and running female characters mostly because he had to picture me in his head as a woman, be it a half-drow or dragonborn. Something about it creeped him out, but I see it only as building a character that is "different."

Nobody else in the group, including the GM, ever thought this was weird. He was the only one to say anything. He's had his characters make suggestive comments to mine and I never thought it was odd, but he said he'd prefer that I build male characters so he doesn't feel awkward.

I'd like to point out that these characters are never roleplayed as looking for romance. They aren't some innocent helplessly trapped in a moral dilemma or a damsel in distress. Usually they're a headstrong, self-sustaining fighter-type. My Shadowrun character, for example, is a psychopathic gunslinger based on the character of Revy from Black Lagoon. The only way to date her is to buy her a missile launcher.

I thought I'd make a topic about this, as I'm sure it's quite common. My mom made a point of that when she noticed that my Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion characters were female and when she asked me why, I couldn't give her a straight answer. I think now I can say I play female characters just to be different. You don't usually expect an adventure to have a female protagonist, so given the choice I side with the ladies. It can really change a game.

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Well, first of all, searchbar.

Also, I don't think selecting a female avatar, on its own, means a damned thing, regardless of frequency. For (whatever you're supposed to call that component of the LGBTQXSFT... that may later in life transition to the opposite sex), this may be an outlet at a younger age. But I'd say it means nothing on its own. If you think someone is gay because he's an Adam Lambert fan, I'd point you to Freddy Mercury (that's Queen's singer, young'uns) and Prince. Both used to be avid penis fans, but I doubt you'd find them blasting Adam Lambert from their speakers; Adam Lambert fandom simply speaks to lack of taste-just as selecting female avatars has nothing to do with one's gender identity. My character in Monster Hunter is a dark-skinned woman with blue hair called Isobel. I selected her because the female builds in the game are more natural than, say, a Tecmo title. Big ass, small, natural breasts. And the skin looks super cool. So, I said "fuck it." And I'd never refuse to play a Metroid game because Samus is a female.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

In games where you're given the choice, I tend to do it as an alternative once I've completed it as a male.

Never done D&D or anything though...I think it's a little bit peculiar, but that's it.

 

[boag]

I had a bit of a debate with one of my RPG friends a while back.

Eight of the nine D&D characters that I've built are female, and the current Shadowrun character I run is a female. During one D&D session, he told me he thought it was weird that I kept building and running female characters mostly because he had to picture me in his head as a woman, be it a half-drow or dragonborn. Something about it creeped him out, but I see it only as building a character that is "different."

Nobody else in the group, including the GM, ever thought this was weird. He was the only one to say anything. He's had his characters make suggestive comments to mine and I never thought it was odd, but he said he'd prefer that I build male characters so he doesn't feel awkward.

I'd like to point out that these characters are never roleplayed as looking for romance. They aren't some innocent helplessly trapped in a moral dilemma or a damsel in distress. Usually they're a headstrong, self-sustaining fighter-type. My Shadowrun character, for example, is a psychopathic gunslinger based on the character of Revy from Black Lagoon. The only way to date her is to buy her a missile launcher.

I thought I'd make a topic about this, as I'm sure it's quite common. My mom made a point of that when she noticed that my Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion characters were female and when she asked me why, I couldn't give her a straight answer. I think now I can say I play female characters just to be different. You don't usually expect an adventure to have a female protagonist, so given the choice I side with the ladies. It can really change a game.

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Maybe your friend has a thing for you, if he keeps imagining you as a woman.

Ask him if he would like to play a game of pretend.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Of course there's no issue with playing a character of the opposite sex!

I generally tend to pick males (I'm a guy), but I'm not averse to using female characters once in a while. Next time I play Mass effect 2, I am going with a female shepard, and one of my PSO character was that cute female android sniper.

I think the reason I tend to pick male heroes is because they're easier for me to either project onto or to slip into their personalities.

But there is really no issue with playing a character of the opposite gender. Anyone who says so is either insecure or an idiot.

 

[The Apothecarry]

I had a bit of a debate with one of my RPG friends a while back.

Eight of the nine D&D characters that I've built are female, and the current Shadowrun character I run is a female. During one D&D session, he told me he thought it was weird that I kept building and running female characters mostly because he had to picture me in his head as a woman, be it a half-drow or dragonborn. Something about it creeped him out, but I see it only as building a character that is "different."

Nobody else in the group, including the GM, ever thought this was weird. He was the only one to say anything. He's had his characters make suggestive comments to mine and I never thought it was odd, but he said he'd prefer that I build male characters so he doesn't feel awkward.

I'd like to point out that these characters are never roleplayed as looking for romance. They aren't some innocent helplessly trapped in a moral dilemma or a damsel in distress. Usually they're a headstrong, self-sustaining fighter-type. My Shadowrun character, for example, is a psychopathic gunslinger based on the character of Revy from Black Lagoon. The only way to date her is to buy her a missile launcher.

I thought I'd make a topic about this, as I'm sure it's quite common. My mom made a point of that when she noticed that my Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion characters were female and when she asked me why, I couldn't give her a straight answer. I think now I can say I play female characters just to be different. You don't usually expect an adventure to have a female protagonist, so given the choice I side with the ladies. It can really change a game.

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Maybe your friend has a thing for you, if he keeps imagining you as a woman.

Ask him if he would like to play a game of pretend.

If he does have a thing for me...IT'S TOO HIDEOUS TO CONTEMPLATE!!!

 

[The Apothecarry]

If you WANT to play a mini-gun toting gal, play a female troll! Awesome! Or have her geared out to crazy with the wired muscles!

Female trolls prefer railguns anyway. They don't leave spent cartridges on their nice tidy floor

Wired Reflexes is definitely in my future, but I want to avoid the massive Essence cost if I can. A female troll with a minimum sounds like one hell of a time, but I was thinking gunslinger instead of heavy weapons. So I built a short, agile female elf with two light pistols, a half-tattoo sleeve, fluency in Mandarin insults, and a mean nicotine addiction. The last thing she wants is to go out dancing. She' d much rather stay at home on her boat, cleaning and maintaining the small arsenal of illegal weapons she keeps.

I'd be more afraid of her short-fused temper than the fact that her player is male.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Wired Reflexes is definitely in my future, but I want to avoid the massive Essence cost if I can.

Bioware is the way to go, but watch for Muscle Cancer.

 

[aba1]

I tend to use girls in most games myself why look at a guy when you can look at a chick that n i usually find them to be fast and move fluently.

 

[Admiral Stukov]

I pretty much always roll female characters in any game, for me it's just a habit, I don't even really think about it anymore.