So, at the risk of being slapped around for bringing this up, I am wondering if anyone else has seen a bias in the recently published Dragonlance campaign. Although I cannot say for certain, I believe I have enjoyed seeing a pretty even spread of race and gender throughout the 5e WotC campaigns. And while I am really enjoying the playthrough of Shadow of the Dragon Queen, I've noticed that there is a strong bias toward female NPCs in the writing. Granted, I have not read all the way through the campaign, but I do believe there is a pattern. For instance, here are the NPCs through the chapter on Kalaman:
Becklin Uth Viharin = Female
Darrett Highwater = Male
Lord Bakaris Uth Estide = Male
Bakaris the Younger = Male
Yalme (owner of the Brass Crab) = Female
Froswin = Gender Unknown
Raven Uth Vogler = Female
Captain Ridomir “Cudgel” Ironsmile = Female
Jeyev Veldrews (mercenary assassin) = Male
Wharfinger Umpton Lanth = Male
Leedara = Female
Gragonis (Cudgel's disloyal lieutenant) - Female
Than (creator of the gnomeflinger) = Male
Kansaldi Fire Eyes = Female
Governor Calof Miat = Male
Marshal Nestra Vendri = Female
Kadmos and Tiria Hammerstrike = Gender Unknown
Meulara (Meulara's Oddities) = Female
Jesen Thold (of the Steady Beacon) = Gender Unknown
Wyhan (black-robe mage) = Female
Tatina Rookledust = Female
(bolded names are NPCs with relevance to the story)
I would argue that most all of the main NPCs who have a positive impact on the story are female, with the exception of Darrett Highwater. And, the only NPCs who seem to have a negative impact on the story thus far (Lord Bakaris and his son) are male. Yes, there certainly is Kansaldi Fire Eyes, who is female, but my players have yet to interact with her.
Is there a thematic element in the story that I've missed? I have no issue with female characters (putting that out there before I'm accused of it), but there is definitely a strong bias towards them in this campaign. Just wondering: 1. if anyone has recognized this, and 2. what your thoughts might be.
The story arcs in the original dragonlance had examples of women over-coming the patriarchy, and others over coming specie-ism and racism. Contemporary DND says ... we're trying to have fun at this table not delve into social issues that upset people ... and so the fantasy world is post patriarchal and post racism/specie-ist. However, the drow have remained matriarchal. The downside is that individuals that fell into these traps in the past could readily be identified as evil, and fantasy typical relies on good vs. evil themes. Nothing in these comments are intended to be emotionally charged but simply offered as an explanation of both sides of the story.
Im just wrapping this adventure up after playing it once a week for 2 years straight! I can say without a doubt that there is balance in the male/female casting choices. It never seemed over the top to me. My players loved it. I had to embellish parts of the book because not enough attention was given to character development and story moments.
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The story arcs in the original dragonlance had examples of women over-coming the patriarchy, and others over coming specie-ism and racism. Contemporary DND says ... we're trying to have fun at this table not delve into social issues that upset people ... and so the fantasy world is post patriarchal and post racism/specie-ist. However, the drow have remained matriarchal. The downside is that individuals that fell into these traps in the past could readily be identified as evil, and fantasy typical relies on good vs. evil themes. Nothing in these comments are intended to be emotionally charged but simply offered as an explanation of both sides of the story.
Im just wrapping this adventure up after playing it once a week for 2 years straight! I can say without a doubt that there is balance in the male/female casting choices. It never seemed over the top to me. My players loved it. I had to embellish parts of the book because not enough attention was given to character development and story moments.