I decided to run Strahd as a female (Countess) and wondered if there were any pitfalls or things to be aware of in advance when doing this?
Its going well so far. The countess usually appears as male to most people - she finds it easier this way, to throw people off the trail - but reveals her real form to the adventurers.
I changed some of the sexes of the NPCs - for example, Tatyana is now Tatian.
You don't have to change anything at all to gender flip Strahd. It's indicated in the book that Strahd is interested in characters of any gender, although I think that applying mortal sexuality of any type to an immortal being of darkness is probably misinterpreting things anyway.
If you change a characters gender, the problem is that unless they act like that gender, there's no point in it at all.
So there you have Stradia. She acts like someone else's mom. She acts kind, she seems to care about things. She tends to change her mind abruptly for no apparent reason. Deep inside the facade, she's got a heart of darkness, and it's all just an act. That's beautiful for a horror story, but player characters may like like to be fooled, or tricked. Make sure they are deeply invested in the story before you nail them.
I'd advise leaving all the other characters alone, even if that gets weird. Having Stradia in love with Tatyana just means that Stradia is a lesbian, which is a good thing when it comes to representing gender roles.
If you change a characters gender, the problem is that unless they act like that gender, there's no point in it at all.
So there you have Stradia. She acts like someone else's mom. She acts kind, she seems to care about things. She tends to change her mind abruptly for no apparent reason. Deep inside the facade, she's got a heart of darkness, and it's all just an act. That's beautiful for a horror story, but player characters may like like to be fooled, or tricked. Make sure they are deeply invested in the story before you nail them.
I'd advise leaving all the other characters alone, even if that gets weird. Having Stradia in love with Tatyana just means that Stradia is a lesbian, which is a good thing when it comes to representing gender roles.
The problem here is suggesting someone can “act like that gender.” Genders do not inherently have behavior or personality mandates. Any person (or vampire, as the case may be) can act in any way, regardless of their gender. Being a female is not a prerequisite for being kind, caring about things or abruptly changing one’s mind, for example.
The differences between Gender, Sex, and traditional roles is really much too complicated to get into and might be considered offensive, because there are a great many people, some of them personal friends of mine, (I know about 5 people who are transgender) and have problems in that area.
I suggested how Strahd acts not what gender he is, and I talked about stereotypical behaviors that females are known for. He's Evil, he's arrogant, he's the most powerful vampire ever in D&D. He's Dracula. He's more than intelligent enough to act according to stereotypes in order to lull the player characters into doing his will. He really doesn't need to, he ought to just flat out kill anyone he doesn't care for, but the adventure wouldn't be much fun if he did that.
I've run the entire adventure and I can't think of any plot elements that hinged on Strahd being male.
You might want to adjust his obsessive stalker motivations, his 'tragic' backstory is a stereotypical for a male but not a female. Depends how stereotypical evil you want 'Stradia' to be.
2) Just my opinion, but Strahd is an abuser and a narcissist. Male Strahd has always coded as cishet to drive this home. Gender-Bending Strahd would always be as toxic and abusive towards Tatiana as cishet Strahd because the critique has always been. about toxic masculinity (and you can ask Tracy Hickman).
I think the performance of vampirism and an aristocrat will likely take precedence over whatever nuances one may perform in switching Strahd's gender. Back in the 90s what we now call intersectionality was simply listed as race/class/gender (we would say we were thinking post structurally instead of systemically too) and while I'm being cute here, in Strahd's case I think the first two far outweigh the third. Vampire being the "race".
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A bit late to this party but I have actually just released a full guide on how to do this, based on my own experiences and a hell of a lot of research.
It covers a general primer on swapping genders for Strahd but also any NPC (actionable tips, tricks, what to avoid etc), plus a whole world-building section with alternatives for plot and NPC relationships, as well as new encounters and NPCS. Finally it also has a full 8 page alternative bio for Strahd which can be used to create lore or your very own "Tome of Strahd'.
There is a full preview on the link so you can check out it if will be useful to you!
If you ever want to chat about Fem!Strahd find me on Discord under Jija :)
A bit late to this party but I have actually just released a full guide on how to do this, based on my own experiences and a hell of a lot of research.
It covers a general primer on swapping genders for Strahd but also any NPC (actionable tips, tricks, what to avoid etc), plus a whole world-building section with alternatives for plot and NPC relationships, as well as new encounters and NPCS. Finally it also has a full 8 page alternative bio for Strahd which can be used to create lore or your very own "Tome of Strahd'.
There is a full preview on the link so you can check out it if will be useful to you!
If you ever want to chat about Fem!Strahd find me on Discord under Jija :)
There is also another product on DMs Guild that changes genders of not only Strahd, but also some of the NPC and has twists on their relationships.
Hi all,
I decided to run Strahd as a female (Countess) and wondered if there were any pitfalls or things to be aware of in advance when doing this?
Its going well so far. The countess usually appears as male to most people - she finds it easier this way, to throw people off the trail - but reveals her real form to the adventurers.
I changed some of the sexes of the NPCs - for example, Tatyana is now Tatian.
thanks in advance!
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
You don't have to change anything at all to gender flip Strahd. It's indicated in the book that Strahd is interested in characters of any gender, although I think that applying mortal sexuality of any type to an immortal being of darkness is probably misinterpreting things anyway.
It’s not really necessary to change other characters if you’re just changing the gender of one character, but otherwise I think it’s not a bad idea.
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well yeah, that was the main query. I don’t think it does but wanted some forewarning if anyone else has done it and found something.
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
If you change a characters gender, the problem is that unless they act like that gender, there's no point in it at all.
So there you have Stradia. She acts like someone else's mom. She acts kind, she seems to care about things. She tends to change her mind abruptly for no apparent reason. Deep inside the facade, she's got a heart of darkness, and it's all just an act. That's beautiful for a horror story, but player characters may like like to be fooled, or tricked. Make sure they are deeply invested in the story before you nail them.
I'd advise leaving all the other characters alone, even if that gets weird. Having Stradia in love with Tatyana just means that Stradia is a lesbian, which is a good thing when it comes to representing gender roles.
<Insert clever signature here>
I've run the entire adventure and I can't think of any plot elements that hinged on Strahd being male.
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Super - great news! Thanks!
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
The problem here is suggesting someone can “act like that gender.” Genders do not inherently have behavior or personality mandates. Any person (or vampire, as the case may be) can act in any way, regardless of their gender. Being a female is not a prerequisite for being kind, caring about things or abruptly changing one’s mind, for example.
Just to be clear, I’m not necessarily changing gender but rather the sex.
Gender is performative, I get that, and exists along a spectrum. The countess will still have many (if not all) of the same traits as the count.
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
The differences between Gender, Sex, and traditional roles is really much too complicated to get into and might be considered offensive, because there are a great many people, some of them personal friends of mine, (I know about 5 people who are transgender) and have problems in that area.
I suggested how Strahd acts not what gender he is, and I talked about stereotypical behaviors that females are known for. He's Evil, he's arrogant, he's the most powerful vampire ever in D&D. He's Dracula. He's more than intelligent enough to act according to stereotypes in order to lull the player characters into doing his will. He really doesn't need to, he ought to just flat out kill anyone he doesn't care for, but the adventure wouldn't be much fun if he did that.
<Insert clever signature here>
You might want to adjust his obsessive stalker motivations, his 'tragic' backstory is a stereotypical for a male but not a female. Depends how stereotypical evil you want 'Stradia' to be.
1) Sounds like fun.
2) Just my opinion, but Strahd is an abuser and a narcissist. Male Strahd has always coded as cishet to drive this home. Gender-Bending Strahd would always be as toxic and abusive towards Tatiana as cishet Strahd because the critique has always been. about toxic masculinity (and you can ask Tracy Hickman).
I think the performance of vampirism and an aristocrat will likely take precedence over whatever nuances one may perform in switching Strahd's gender. Back in the 90s what we now call intersectionality was simply listed as race/class/gender (we would say we were thinking post structurally instead of systemically too) and while I'm being cute here, in Strahd's case I think the first two far outweigh the third. Vampire being the "race".
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
A bit late to this party but I have actually just released a full guide on how to do this, based on my own experiences and a hell of a lot of research.
You can find it here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/377183/
It covers a general primer on swapping genders for Strahd but also any NPC (actionable tips, tricks, what to avoid etc), plus a whole world-building section with alternatives for plot and NPC relationships, as well as new encounters and NPCS. Finally it also has a full 8 page alternative bio for Strahd which can be used to create lore or your very own "Tome of Strahd'.
There is a full preview on the link so you can check out it if will be useful to you!
If you ever want to chat about Fem!Strahd find me on Discord under Jija :)
There is also another product on DMs Guild that changes genders of not only Strahd, but also some of the NPC and has twists on their relationships.
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/369197/She-is-the-Ancient-A-Genderbent-Curse-of-Strahd
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