I tend to enjoy creating and playing male characters over female characters unless I have a fun concept where the character being a woman fits better. I don’t know why, I just do.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
If table top role playing is fostering ways to explore and tell the stories of other perspectives, then embracing and playing the roles of characters that are different than yourself offer more and more diversity of experiences.
I sometimes play a character of a different gender for precisely the same reason I play a character with a job I don't have, or a morality that I don't align to, or a race that I am not part of (or exist), etc.
It feels like the opposite is to imply that you ought to only play yourself, which seems to defeat the purpose of "role-play"?
There's as many different reasons to play a character of a gender different than your own as there are to play a character of a gender that aligns with your own. As Stormknight said, for some folks it's a safe way to try on a different gender and see how it suits them. For others, it's simply the way the character exists in their brain and they don't want to force the character to adhere to a different gender. And still others do it just because they feel like it and see no reason they can't.
The only bad reason to play a gender not aligned with your own is to try and ridicule or parody that gender, and frankly that applies to a lot more than just gender. If you're playing any sort of character primarily as a 'Take that!' to an identity group you don't care for, I'd advise stopping, reassessing your priorities, and then not doing that thing, instead. Fortunately that sort of thing seems to be quite rare, which is all to the good.
For others, it's simply the way the character exists in their brain and they don't want to force the character to adhere to a different gender.
I align with this one. While meandering about my day, I'll brainstorm various backstories/character concepts for an upcoming game. As I try to envision the character and paint an image of who they are in my head, they take shape in different genders. I believe the more you can solidify a character concept, the better the resulting roleplay experience.
My thinking is that I have a concept of a character in my head that I want to play; it's a character, not me or even an extension of myself, so it doesn't have to align with me. In fact, what I enjoy most is that I can play a character who is totally different personality-wise.
The question of the thread is why we would play a character of the opposite gender.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I haven't played an opposite gender specifically in DnD yet (and I'd argue NPCing them for the campaign I'm going to be running soon in between our regular sessions doesn't count either). I have specifically played them in video games that have create your character feature, and if the right concept came up I don't see why I wouldn't perhaps play a character of opposite gender.
That being said I know some who have played the opposite gender to either explore or feel more like who they were, I know others who have done so in the past simply to "balance" the group out, I even know two people who are married who purposely played the other other gender and every now and than would showcase real traits of their partner in their character (although to be fair when doing that you got to be careful unless you want problems).
Because I'm usually the DM and outside of a Star Wars game and the characters are on Dathomir, having civilian settings where everyone is either a dude or a lady or some other specific fixed on the gender spectrum just seems off.
As a player gender is usually "revealed" as I go through the generation process and find the character's place in the game world. While a lot of fiction these days is caught up in a debate over "own voices", I'm also steeped in a lot of "art of fiction" type writing where writers describe the work of composing a character and perspective from an indentity outside their own. It's literally a care-ful act, or at least I think it should be, so I think I've had good coaches. Over all that is of course a sort of group mindfulness, if I'm going to do something "different" from my presumptive identity, I want to make sure said identity would be respected at the table.
Personally; while I find "Mary Sue-esque" characters (Rey of Star Wars for isntance) tedious and grating; I actually love well executed female characters; some easily my favourites in their respective universes (Mara Jade (Star Wars), Sypha Belnades (Castlevania), Kara Thrace (BSG), Aeryn Sun (Farscape), Ellen Ripley (Aliens), Mako Mori (Pacific Rim) to name but a few), so that's certainly a contributor.
Funnily enough; my most played character of late is an example of this. As part of character creation I deliberately tried to subvert all of my "default" character types I like to play (magic and or stealth/ranged focused), so I made a strength-heavy fighter (I'm a skinny, bespectacled, male, dweeb), based largely upon Bobbi Draper from The Expanse. Rather a fun writing/role-playing exercise playing the total opposite of what you normally default into.
It's just a fun change of pace. You run a your gender of character, you have a chance to slip back into old ways or just have done many personalities already. Doing the opposite cleans the slate. Throws the table for a loop and has you be on your toes when in rp rather than just "potential ashore", which is most peoples go to.
Well, I'm the GM so if the world was filled with only Male characters that would... complicate things...
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
I tend to enjoy creating and playing male characters over female characters unless I have a fun concept where the character being a woman fits better. I don’t know why, I just do.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
Why not? I am none of the other things I pretend to be when gaming so why limit myself here?
If table top role playing is fostering ways to explore and tell the stories of other perspectives, then embracing and playing the roles of characters that are different than yourself offer more and more diversity of experiences.
I sometimes play a character of a different gender for precisely the same reason I play a character with a job I don't have, or a morality that I don't align to, or a race that I am not part of (or exist), etc.
It feels like the opposite is to imply that you ought to only play yourself, which seems to defeat the purpose of "role-play"?
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There's as many different reasons to play a character of a gender different than your own as there are to play a character of a gender that aligns with your own. As Stormknight said, for some folks it's a safe way to try on a different gender and see how it suits them. For others, it's simply the way the character exists in their brain and they don't want to force the character to adhere to a different gender. And still others do it just because they feel like it and see no reason they can't.
The only bad reason to play a gender not aligned with your own is to try and ridicule or parody that gender, and frankly that applies to a lot more than just gender. If you're playing any sort of character primarily as a 'Take that!' to an identity group you don't care for, I'd advise stopping, reassessing your priorities, and then not doing that thing, instead. Fortunately that sort of thing seems to be quite rare, which is all to the good.
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I align with this one. While meandering about my day, I'll brainstorm various backstories/character concepts for an upcoming game. As I try to envision the character and paint an image of who they are in my head, they take shape in different genders. I believe the more you can solidify a character concept, the better the resulting roleplay experience.
Sometimes I like to do it to test my RP skills, other times I do it for comedic relief for a darker campaign.... balance.
For me; it’s simply fun.
Who wouldn't fall for a flirty red-haired half-elf bard rogue assassin?
My thinking is that I have a concept of a character in my head that I want to play; it's a character, not me or even an extension of myself, so it doesn't have to align with me. In fact, what I enjoy most is that I can play a character who is totally different personality-wise.
It's just easier to play your own gender.
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... and that's why you play the opposite gender?
The question of the thread is why we would play a character of the opposite gender.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I haven't played an opposite gender specifically in DnD yet (and I'd argue NPCing them for the campaign I'm going to be running soon in between our regular sessions doesn't count either). I have specifically played them in video games that have create your character feature, and if the right concept came up I don't see why I wouldn't perhaps play a character of opposite gender.
That being said I know some who have played the opposite gender to either explore or feel more like who they were, I know others who have done so in the past simply to "balance" the group out, I even know two people who are married who purposely played the other other gender and every now and than would showcase real traits of their partner in their character (although to be fair when doing that you got to be careful unless you want problems).
Because I'm usually the DM and outside of a Star Wars game and the characters are on Dathomir, having civilian settings where everyone is either a dude or a lady or some other specific fixed on the gender spectrum just seems off.
As a player gender is usually "revealed" as I go through the generation process and find the character's place in the game world. While a lot of fiction these days is caught up in a debate over "own voices", I'm also steeped in a lot of "art of fiction" type writing where writers describe the work of composing a character and perspective from an indentity outside their own. It's literally a care-ful act, or at least I think it should be, so I think I've had good coaches. Over all that is of course a sort of group mindfulness, if I'm going to do something "different" from my presumptive identity, I want to make sure said identity would be respected at the table.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
It's even hard to explain. I'm just more attracted to the female Persian.
Personally; while I find "Mary Sue-esque" characters (Rey of Star Wars for isntance) tedious and grating; I actually love well executed female characters; some easily my favourites in their respective universes (Mara Jade (Star Wars), Sypha Belnades (Castlevania), Kara Thrace (BSG), Aeryn Sun (Farscape), Ellen Ripley (Aliens), Mako Mori (Pacific Rim) to name but a few), so that's certainly a contributor.
Funnily enough; my most played character of late is an example of this. As part of character creation I deliberately tried to subvert all of my "default" character types I like to play (magic and or stealth/ranged focused), so I made a strength-heavy fighter (I'm a skinny, bespectacled, male, dweeb), based largely upon Bobbi Draper from The Expanse. Rather a fun writing/role-playing exercise playing the total opposite of what you normally default into.
It's just a fun change of pace. You run a your gender of character, you have a chance to slip back into old ways or just have done many personalities already. Doing the opposite cleans the slate. Throws the table for a loop and has you be on your toes when in rp rather than just "potential ashore", which is most peoples go to.
because I can
Nugz - Kobold Level 4 Bloodhunter/Order of the Mutant - Out there looking for snacks and evil monsters.
Ultrix Schwarzdorn - Human Level 6 Artificer/Armorer - Retired and works in his new shop.
Quercus Espenkiel - Gnome Level 9 Wizard/Order of Scribes - Turned into a book and sits on a shelf.
Artin - Fairy Level 4 Sorcerer/Wild Magic - Busy with annoying the townsfolk. Again.
Jabor - Fire Genasi - Level 4 Wizard/School of Evocation - The First Flame, The Last Chaos. Probably in jail, again.