Ask Wizards: 01/15/2008 (Female Gamers)

[PnP News Bot]

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Check out this new article Wizards of the Coast posted recently:

Ask Wizards: 01/15/2008 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ask/20080115a)

Q: What steps is Wizards of the Coast taking to help promote D&D to female gamers?

[Mulsiphix]

Why did they even include the first video? The second video was a nice politically correct answer that gave you all the info you needed. The first video just makes me shake my head and start to wonder if that is how a lot of D&D female gamers are, EXTREMELY SOCIALLY AWKWARD! :o

[rabkala]

Actually, most of the female gamers I have met seem far from socially awkward. I think it is obvious that men are in the majority of gamers. I saw nothing wrong with the first video. Perhaps, you are projecting your own 'difficulties' on the speaker?

[tesral]

My group is half male half female. I have always attracted a goodly number of women to my game. It has nothing to do with my rugged good looks. I have had a "The Girlfriend" or two, but for the most part it has been single girls on their own.

It might be the fact I have always had women in my game. I introduced the game to my two female type friends so my first gamers were girls.

[Mulsiphix]

rabkala I'm far more supportive of women than appear to be giving me credit for. I felt the speaker was tripping over herself and didn't really say anything conclusive. Compared to the second video, the first video is youtube quality compared to that of a seasoned politician. I just think they could have picked somebody better or the girl could have had a little more to say. Her whole answer was just wonky.

[Digital Arcanist]

Well for me, I've had one run-of-the-mill girl in my games and she had social problems. That being said.....there is the other group of gamers I meet with regularly. The group is composed of 6 lesbians and myself. I am the minority in more ways than one. The group is awesome in that they are all professionals in medicine, education, law, and the sciences. Everyone is well read and up-to-date on current events which makes for a great atmosphere for puns and innuendos.

The only time I've ever been around such high densities of female gamers, such that everyone is claiming exists, is when I tried LARP'ing. It seems girls flock to it because of the acting and costuming appeal. Almost every one of those girls were socially awkward or had a diagnosed condition.

[Mulsiphix]

LARPers are a special breed indeed. I've got to know though, how did you know they were all lesbian? Did you answer an add for an all lesbian gaming group looking for a male DM or?

[rabkala]

Dear forum,
I never thought this would happen to me. I am a lesbian trapped in a man's body...

Look what you have turned this into Mulsiphix! :p

[Digital Arcanist]

Actually I found them through www.craigslist.com and the ad specified that you must be fine with openly gay players. I figured it was a group of guys with a gay or bisexual player. Being that I have close homosexual friends and a constant need to rebel against my Catholic upbringing, I thought it would be fine and answered said ad.

I arrived to find a room of women and asked if everyone was here yet and where the guys were. The "alpha lesbian," as she named herself, said that everyone was here and that I was the only guy. Throughout the evening I discovered everyone was a lesbian and that most were "bull dikes" with a "lipstick lesbian" thrown in for flavor as they all informed me. I spent the whole night watching every word I said and ultimately blushing at their profanity and graphic discussions concerning sex and homosexual life in general. It has become a game to see who can 1) Make the straight-laced Catholic boy blush and 2) Figure out how red he can get.

So I believe all the female gamers, not counting LARP'ers are all "older." I think the sophomoric behavior most male gamers have put off women and they never play until they're much older and the boys have become men.

[Farcaster]

Somehow based on your profile pic, I never would have picked you for the 'straight-laced catholic' type.

[Digital Arcanist]

The Pope and I differ on a few points but mostly we are of the same mind.

No...I don't know the Pope personally....

[Mulsiphix]

That sounds like quite the experience Digital Arcanist. Was this just an adventure or did you campaign with them for a good long while? I'm not the type to ooh and ahh over lesbians but I am a big on gay rights and am extremely accepting of gay lifestyles. What I can't stand is the sterotypical gays who further negative stigmas giving normal homosexual folks a bad image.

[Digital Arcanist]

The ladies, and I use the term very loosely, are part of my circle of friends now and I see most of them a couple times a week. We haven't sat down to game because of some family issues with dying relatives but we talk all the time about gaming and I took over the group as DM in the Ptolus campaign. Poor Van Halen will have to hang up his holy symbol for a while but I'm confident he will return.

I don't know much about typical lesbians so I don't know if these lesbians are sterotypical, but I love them and always look forward to hanging out with them. I even have a huge crush on the "alpha lesbian.":D

[Mulsiphix]

Woah so you actually started playing Ptolus? Last I heard you were really interested in giving that setting a try. What have you thought so far?

[Digital Arcanist]

I've been playing it for about 18 months now and I absolutely love the city. We finished the campaigns included in the book and now we're moving on to another published campaign.

Normally I hate and won't use published adventures but with the new job and the other games I'm in there is no time to come up with something uniquely mine.

[Mulsiphix]

For more Ptolus goodness be sure to check out Delver's Guild (http://www.delverssquare.com/index.php) as they have a lot of GM's that publish their campaigns, adventure hooks, and other goodies there. I've been trying to get them to publish my list for the last month but the admin has been really busy. Good guy though and a great community, albeit fledgling.