Believably Playing the Opposite Gender

[lynora]

I've never been able to pull off playing a guy in real life. Appparently same problem as some have mentioned with guys playing girls. I do voicework very well, alternating accents like they're nothing. But I can't make my voice sound male. I have a relatively high-pitched voice. The guys tell me it's too distracting. I have no problem at all playing guys in pbp, but that's a whole different thing.

[Arazni]

This is a bit of a threadjack, but kind of related. Has anyone ever created a character born out of a sexual or romantic fantasy?

I have had two born this way.

Dareth Salicorn, a male sorcerer of lust, who was into red leather, and far too much into the whip thing. (Also gay.)

Isperus Thorin, male centaur Cleric of Sune / bard. Definitely a bit of an omnisexual.

[Terquem]

It has been my experience, for the most part, that most players and DMs alike do not stretch the boundaries of gender roles nearly enough.

We tend to want to approach our fantasy games as if they are extensions of our reality, or often extensions of our pre conceived notions of a fantasy setting that has already been established, that itself is an extension of our reality, but our gender roles, the ones we typically fall back on, can be challenged in any game setting that includes elements of the fantastical.

When you begin to ask question about why a particular kind of behavior is feminine or masculine, ask yourself, “What aspect of our culture, or a culture we are familiar with, has led to the presumptive state that dictates this behavior to be associated with the gender we associate it with?”

“This is SPARTA!” right, masculine, rippling abs, oiled “thunda from down unda, now playing at the Excalibur” kind of manliness, is so easily extrapolated into a fantasy setting. Of course it is, because men are strong, spear throwing, aggressive, hunters. But what if they aren’t? What if a culture, one that has learned to use magic to offset the disadvantages placed upon pre-civilized tribal settings where a woman is rendered helpless for five days every month, arises where female spell casters have become aggressive, demanding, power hungry, and possessive? How do we represent a culture where the men of a tribe come together to train the young boys of the village in the art of dance, because the dance is an integral part of the casting of certain spells that summon or control the necessary weather to keep the tribes fields watered, or fertile?

Gender roles, are roles, like fighter, cleric, magic-user, and thief.

Take some time to read about gender identity in certain South East Asian cultures, you might be surprised, and enlightened.

Play a character that is a different from yourself in any way, but push yourself, if you are so inclined, to define that character in your own way. Don’t be limited by the rules of feats and class anymore than you are limited by the rules of what it means to be a man or a woman.

[Charlie Bell]

Cross-playing gender often (NOT ALWAYS before somebody starts arguing) gets into the realm of creepy. It depends a lot on the maturity of the group. For instance, the guys who play female characters as either sluts or man-haters.

Or, for extra fun, both:

I was tangentially involved in a game in which there was a guy playing a vampish misanthrope, to the tune of: "I take him upstairs, but then I castrate him and throw him out a window." I can't make this stuff up.

Mrs. Bell was extra creeped out by my portrayals of Tyralandi and Malcanthet, Queen of Succubi, in STAP. As intended. Mrs. Bell also says she could never play a male character.

Even a cursory search about male and female brain chemistry will reveal that there are, in fact, differences between males and females that go beyond the externalities. A bit of reading along this line could help you nail down playing a male character, if you account for male brain chemistry as tendency rather than stereotype.

[Scintillae]

I'd say avoid the issue entirely and play an elf. No one can tell the difference.

In seriousness, though, I don't really see a big issue in crossplaying, but then, I've always thought men and women could be played (or written, as I've more experience with that end) the same way. Personalities are not so dependent on gender, and I've known enough boys who act "girly" and girls who act "boyish" that I generally find it a safe bet to play either way.

Course, I tend to avoid romance situations, so that might be why I don't run into much in the way of trouble. *shrug*

[Grey Lensman]

One of the women in my gaming group plays male characters almost exclusively. She played exactly one female character, and that only because she would have had to play something without anything even remotely magical otherwise (A Wheel of Time campaign).

[firefly the great]

Nepherti wrote:

And as predicted, most of this thread is dealing with the "dudes playing chicks" end. Most gamers are guys, so it is to be expected. Girl gamers out there: any experience playing guys? Any issues with it at the table for you?

I have played guys. Sometimes the DM will get gender-confused with pronouns, but that's expected. Mostly I've played male characters in a historical setting where I think it makes more sense to be male, like my redneck-y WWI vet in a 1920s Call of Cthulhu game.

I also had a male main character on an RP server in World of Warcraft who was a Tauren druid. I picked a male character because as a Tauren druid he's a bit of a goody-two-shoes and I just like that type of character better as male than female.

[Kryzbyn]

As a DM I've played plenty of female characters. I wouldn't ever choose to play one as a player, though.

[Kthulhu]

Scintillae wrote:

I'd say avoid the issue entirely and play an elf. No one can tell the difference.

Much like dwarves.

[Dark_Mistress]

Arazni wrote:

This is a bit of a threadjack, but kind of related. Has anyone ever created a character born out of a sexual or romantic fantasy?

I have had two born this way.

Dareth Salicorn, a male sorcerer of lust, who was into red leather, and far too much into the whip thing. (Also gay.)

Isperus Thorin, male centaur Cleric of Sune / bard. Definitely a bit of an omnisexual.

DnD characters no but some more modern games that are more based on story aka the story teller system for Vampire, Mage etc by White Wolf I have. Assuming I understand your question correctly and you mean playing a character from one of your fantasies.

[Arazni]

Dark_Mistress wrote:

Arazni wrote:

This is a bit of a threadjack, but kind of related. Has anyone ever created a character born out of a sexual or romantic fantasy?

I have had two born this way.

Dareth Salicorn, a male sorcerer of lust, who was into red leather, and far too much into the whip thing. (Also gay.)

Isperus Thorin, male centaur Cleric of Sune / bard. Definitely a bit of an omnisexual.

DnD characters no but some more modern games that are more based on story aka the story teller system for Vampire, Mage etc by White Wolf I have. Assuming I understand your question correctly and you mean playing a character from one of your fantasies.

Yep, thats what I meant.

[Josh M.]

Arazni wrote:

Dark_Mistress wrote:

Arazni wrote:

This is a bit of a threadjack, but kind of related. Has anyone ever created a character born out of a sexual or romantic fantasy?

I have had two born this way.

Dareth Salicorn, a male sorcerer of lust, who was into red leather, and far too much into the whip thing. (Also gay.)

Isperus Thorin, male centaur Cleric of Sune / bard. Definitely a bit of an omnisexual.

DnD characters no but some more modern games that are more based on story aka the story teller system for Vampire, Mage etc by White Wolf I have. Assuming I understand your question correctly and you mean playing a character from one of your fantasies.

Yep, thats what I meant.

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

[Jerry Wright 307]

I made a realization while reading the more recent posts. I play female characters differently in games with a male GM than in games with a female GM.

In the current Pathfinder game I'm in, the GM is female. My character is female, and I have no difficulty dealing with all aspects of her character, including sexual interests and romantic assignations.

With a male GM, that isn't so easy.

There's probably a complex psychology behind it, but I'm willing to bet it boils down to the fact I feel more at ease talking about sexual matters with a woman than with another man. That, and the fact that my GM is mature enough to deal with such things without getting embarrassed.

So could the issue be equally a GM's problem, and not just the players?

Is it perhaps harder to play a cross-gender role in a game where the GM is not comfortable with it, regardless of the reactions of the other players?

[EntrerisShadow]

Matthew Morris wrote:

Amusingly, I've not been able to play a gay character. Lesbian, yeah** but not a gay male.

I have, and it did not end well. People expect gay to mean effeminate and when my foul-mouthed, brutish fighter based on Wilhem Defoe's character in Boondock Saints didn't conform to that stereotype I was accused of not playing the character 'right'. My current character is actually bisexual (nominally, anyway) but so far I've played it down a bit.

[Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal]

I had an extremely physical, rough & tough, Gangrel bodyguard character in an OWoD live action game who was extremely gay & you would never know it if you weren't somebody he interacted with on a regular basis.

[cranewings]

Orthos wrote:

And again, I feel a bit of pity for you and your group's lack of imagination in that case, as it's never been an issue for any groups I've ever played in.

This is probably not true. It might not of been an issue for you. I bet it was still a problem.

[Scintillae]

cranewings wrote:

Orthos wrote:

And again, I feel a bit of pity for you and your group's lack of imagination in that case, as it's never been an issue for any groups I've ever played in.

This is probably not true. It might not of been an issue for you. I bet it was still a problem.

I'm in one of his groups. It was not.

[Orthos]

cranewings wrote:

Orthos wrote:

And again, I feel a bit of pity for you and your group's lack of imagination in that case, as it's never been an issue for any groups I've ever played in.

This is probably not true. It might not of been an issue for you. I bet it was still a problem.

My players - in both my groups - are just as blunt as I am, save maybe one guy who was a bit on the introverted side. If there'd been a problem, someone would have spoken up.

The closest I've ever gotten to that was actually when I was on the GM side of the screen and an erinyes was doing her temptress thing on my brother's character. One of other players not involved in the scene at the time piped up after the event was over with "I dunno about anyone else but that was kinda weird" and we all had a good laugh about it.

[cranewings]

Orthos wrote:

One of other players not involved in the scene at the time piped up after the event was over with "I dunno about anyone else but that was kinda weird" and we all had a good laugh about it.

Sure. It is hard for people to pipe up and say something is creepy when they are about the only one that feels that way. The fact that you think this kid finding it "weird" is funny makes me think you are probably a bad judge of how "weird" your group is. My opinion stands.

[Orthos]

You say weird like it's a bad thing. Also none of us are kids, we're all between the ages of 20 and 30; the youngest person in that group was 23 at that time, I was 25, and the one who made that comment was 28.

Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion I suppose. I just think it's rather ridiculous to try to enforce your perceptions of people you've never met on someone who's known them closely for years.

[Urizen]

Josh M. wrote:

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

After tonight's exam, I have a break for almost two weeks, but if I were to play a one-off, I'll avoid the one that could potentially descend into Twilight RPG slashfic. ;-) "I ain't got time."

[Josh M.]

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

After tonight's exam, I have a break for almost two weeks, but if I were to play a one-off, I'll avoid the one that could potentially descend into Twilight RPG flashfic. ;-)

Lol you wish. It's not going to be ready until well after my little clone arrives. But even then, it's probably going to be more graphic than our regular D&D games. Think about who the ST is going to be for a moment...

[Laurefindel]

Terquem wrote:

Gender roles, are roles, like fighter, cleric, magic-user, and thief.

I disagree with this. Class is a set package of abilities. RPGs generally leave abilities out gender (a wise move IMO). To put it bluntly, gender is about role, class is about roll.

Now this is overly simplistic and I disagree with role vs roll as two opposite ends of a single spectrum but nevertheless, I don't see the choice of gender in the same category as the choice of class, or weapon, or spell, or feat.

I do see more related to the choice of race however, including the choice of culture and physique (like playing a black human vs an asian human for example).

'findel

[Josh M.]

cranewings wrote:

Orthos wrote:

One of other players not involved in the scene at the time piped up after the event was over with "I dunno about anyone else but that was kinda weird" and we all had a good laugh about it.

Sure. It is hard for people to pipe up and say something is creepy when they are about the only one that feels that way. The fact that you think this kid finding it "weird" is funny makes me think you are probably a bad judge of how "weird" your group is. My opinion stands.

Seriously, passing judgement on someone else's group whom you've never been a part of, citing an example you were not witness to? Wowsers.

[Scintillae]

Laurefindel wrote:

I don't see the choice of gender in the same category as the choice of class, or weapon, or spell, or feat.

Hear, hear. I actually assign gender to characters last.

[Orthos]

Scintillae wrote:

Laurefindel wrote:

I don't see the choice of gender in the same category as the choice of class, or weapon, or spell, or feat.

Hear, hear. I actually assign gender to characters last.

Ditto. Quite often gender of my characters is decided upon merit of "Oh that's a cool picture I found, this will be the token I use."

[Jerry Wright 307]

I determine gender of the character as I work through the concept. It's a matter of "What would be best for this type of person?"

I'm afraid I tend to be rather stereotypical, but that's because a lot of my concepts come from books and movies. And I confess, stats can make a difference. It's easier for me to assign a female role to a character with low Strength, for example. Sexist of me, perhaps, but I tend to be traditional.

My female fighter-types tend to use finesse weapons, while the males tend to use axes and greatswords. But there are exceptions. :)

[Terquem]

Laurefindel wrote:

Terquem wrote:

Gender roles, are roles, like fighter, cleric, magic-user, and thief.

I disagree with this. Class is a set package of abilities. RPGs generally leave abilities out gender (a wise move IMO). To put it bluntly, gender is about role, class is about roll.

Now this is overly simplistic and I disagree with role vs roll as two opposite ends of a single spectrum but nevertheless, I don't see the choice of gender in the same category as the choice of class, or weapon, or spell, or feat.

I do see more related to the choice of race however, including the choice of culture and physique (like playing a black human vs an asian human for example).

'findel

I did not say that Gender Roles are Classes, I said they were roles. Fighters, Clerics, Magic-users and Thieves, are classes, but they are also roles. When we play at any role, we adopt behaviors that are symptomatic of the cultural norms associated with those roles, thus we adopt certain “class-like” delimiters and apply them to our roles. Gender Roles are one of the least understood roles in western society. We play at gender roles, whether we are willing to admit it or not, but they are still influenced by other factors about who we are and what functions we are trying to fulfill in society.

You can disagree, but the only thing you are disagreeing with is my opinion, which doesn’t count for anything much these days.

[Jerry Wright 307]

Now, now, Terquem, your opinion is just as disagreeable as anyone else's. :D

[Urizen]

Josh M. wrote:

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

After tonight's exam, I have a break for almost two weeks, but if I were to play a one-off, I'll avoid the one that could potentially descend into Twilight RPG flashfic. ;-)

Lol you wish. It's not going to be ready until well after my little clone arrives. But even then, it's probably going to be more graphic than our regular D&D games. Think about who the ST is going to be for a moment...

More Graphic? Just wait until you see my cajun fauxlita build modeled after Kirsten Dunst's character in Interview With The Vampire... She'll TPK the first that even utters, "ain't got time..." ;-)

[Umbral Reaver]

Is this thread designed to pack as much bigotry into one space as possible?

[Matthew Morris]

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

After tonight's exam, I have a break for almost two weeks, but if I were to play a one-off, I'll avoid the one that could potentially descend into Twilight RPG flashfic. ;-)

Lol you wish. It's not going to be ready until well after my little clone arrives. But even then, it's probably going to be more graphic than our regular D&D games. Think about who the ST is going to be for a moment...

More Graphic? Just wait until you see my cajun fauxlita build modeled after Kirsten Dunst's character in Interview With The Vampire... She'll TPK the first that even utters, "ain't got time..." ;-)

My friend Dorothy (RIP) after reading Hollowfast, wanted to play a 13 year old Hollowfaust necromancer looking like this with the long black cloak and broad brimmed hat.

[Quandary]

There's a bunch of movies/plays where the actors/actresses 'cross' gender lines with their character.
Peter Pan. Orlando.
If we are actually role-playing in this game, I don't see why this is a big deal.
Sure, it probably takes more skill to pull off than 'roleplaying' essentially one aspect of your own personality (same sex/gender identity), but that seems like it's just something that will lead to better role-playing across the board.
Of course, GMs have to 'cross' gender lines all the time.
And somehow I feel that 'crossing' gender is less big of a deal than role-playing 1000 old elves, or immortal races, etc.

[Quandary]

EntrerisShadow wrote:

I have, and it did not end well. People expect gay to mean effeminate and when my foul-mouthed, brutish fighter based on Wilhem Defoe's character in Boondock Saints didn't conform to that stereotype I was accused of not playing the character 'right'. My current character is actually bisexual (nominally, anyway) but so far I've played it down a bit.

idiots

[Laurefindel]

Quandary wrote:

And somehow I feel that 'crossing' gender is less big of a deal than role-playing 1000 old elves, or immortal races, etc.

True, but to be fair, we don't have 1000 years old elven neighbors to base our roleplay on, or to insult if we fall in disrespectful stereotypes.

As for stage theatre and cross-gender roles, it usually implies women playing as men and rarely the other way around interestingly enough (in contrast to RPGs), unless the role is meant to be comical/caricatural a la Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine.

[EntrerisShadow]

Quandary wrote:

EntrerisShadow wrote:

I have, and it did not end well. People expect gay to mean effeminate and when my foul-mouthed, brutish fighter based on Wilhem Defoe's character in Boondock Saints didn't conform to that stereotype I was accused of not playing the character 'right'. My current character is actually bisexual (nominally, anyway) but so far I've played it down a bit.

idiots

Pretty much. I left that group but it still left me a bit gunshy about playing a non-hetero character. I think my current group is more mature, but then I thought my last group was before as well.

[HarbinNick]

-I'd just like to throw in, I have no interest in my character's sex life at all. It's an adventuring game. I find sex rather mundane, it's like making the bed, or washing the dishes, an everyday event. I can't kill dragons or prevent ancient evil rising from the tomb of a dark god, but I sure can get laid.
-In my limited experience with players who played female characters, but were male, it was usually due to some bizarre fetish, a desire to play lesbains with whips, or whores. But as mentioned, I haven't gamed with the best roleplayers.

[Nepherti]

I have been having a lot of fun reading these posts. Seriously, I have been checking it with my phone on breaks at work.

Couple of things that came to mind as I was reading. First, I have fallen victim to the romantic/sexual fantasy. The most current Male PC was born out of a fight with my boyfriend, so I created a Prince Charming to come take me away. Another was an NPC: the Toreador Dante de la Benez. He was basically Romeo and Zorro all rolled into one.

The weirdness factor is another issue I have seen. My current party doesn't seem to have much of an issue with it, they have dealt with it in the past. However, even the male player of the female PC said that he was totally misogynistic with it. She was the type of girl who when asked to dress warm, they were going to the cold and wintery north, she would come out in a fur bikini saying "What? It's fur!" In that case, it was a bunch of dudes having the geek equivalent of poker night, so I was not offended at the story. It fit with the world that the DM created.

My old group was extremely open about it. First off, they were all theater students in the same school. Three of them were the stars of the local production of Little Shop of Horrors, and the others were the tech crew. They had joined the local OWoD LARP I belonged to in order to hone their acting skills. There was a lot of gender-bending erotica, and I think even an entire game based around the BoEF.

I don't really find a character's sex life to be mundane or boring at all. It might be born out of the idea I didn't get a proper relationship until after college, and that I felt entirely untouchable in high school, but all my characters have a sex life unless it is against the character's religion to have one. I mean Half Dragons and Celestials and Werewolves? Then again, my first gaming experience also had a large abundance of Furries, so I may be tainted.

[Urizen]

Matthew Morris wrote:

My friend Dorothy (RIP) after reading Hollowfast, wanted to play a 13 year old Hollowfaust necromancer looking like this with the long black cloak and broad brimmed hat.

I was completely unprepared for the photo. I literally laughed out loud and thought it would be more amusing to play the character as represented in the photo. :)

Because they'll never see it coming!

[Josh M.]

Matthew Morris wrote:

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

Urizen wrote:

Josh M. wrote:

I'm putting together a nWoD True Blood chronicle for my wife and best friends... I'm not intentionally writing romance into the game, but I can't help but think it's going to pop up somewhere...

After tonight's exam, I have a break for almost two weeks, but if I were to play a one-off, I'll avoid the one that could potentially descend into Twilight RPG flashfic. ;-)

Lol you wish. It's not going to be ready until well after my little clone arrives. But even then, it's probably going to be more graphic than our regular D&D games. Think about who the ST is going to be for a moment...

More Graphic? Just wait until you see my cajun fauxlita build modeled after Kirsten Dunst's character in Interview With The Vampire... She'll TPK the first that even utters, "ain't got time..." ;-)

My friend Dorothy (RIP) after reading Hollowfast, wanted to play a 13 year old Hollowfaust necromancer looking like this with the long black cloak and broad brimmed hat.

Hollowfaust! My first real D&D group played in the Scarred Lands setting, and we had a Hollowfaustian Necromancer in the party. I miss those days.

[Orthos]

Quandary wrote:

There's a bunch of movies/plays where the actors/actresses 'cross' gender lines with their character.

*snip*
And somehow I feel that 'crossing' gender is less big of a deal than role-playing 1000 old elves, or immortal races, etc.

I was waiting for someone to bring up both of these. Well done.

[Orthos]

Nepherti wrote:

I don't really find a character's sex life to be mundane or boring at all. It might be born out of the idea I didn't get a proper relationship until after college, and that I felt entirely untouchable in high school, but all my characters have a sex life unless it is against the character's religion to have one.

I'll admit I'm very much the opposite, but that's mostly because I don't give half a whit about sex IRL. Most of my PnP characters are much the same.

[Charlie Bell]

My characters' sex lives are mainly for backstory or flavor. If I'm playing a free-wheeling rogue, maybe it's characteristic for him to be something of a lothario as well, for instance. OTOH, if it's a paladin or cavalier who lives by a code, he probably treats sexual relationship with the same sense of formality he treats everything. But I won't really roleplay that out except to touch on it for characterization. This is because while I do want to establish that aspect of his character, I do not want to flirt with my buddy the GM even in character.

[Jerry Wright 307]

In my campaign, sex can be an issue, or not, depending on characters and circumstances.

A female PC (played by a female player) in my campaign was cursed through some machinations of her sister (also played by a female) to be attractive to small blonde women. Why the stipulation of small and blonde, I'm not certain, but it became something of a joke to have all these little blondes trailing after the tall brunette fighter with something akin to hero-worship. (Xena, anyone?)

The fighter was prone to get drunk on a regular basis, and she woke up on occasion to find a little blonde in her bed, and no memory of the night before.

One particularly persistent suitor who was particularly wealthy even bought the fighter a new sword, only to be devastated when the gift came back. The female player's reaction was to mutter, "I don't understand women!"

It's a quote she'll never live down.

[Crysknife]

I like talking the way my PCs would. Maybe that's why I've have had little success when I tried to play a female PC (bard) and a male gay PC (bard). It's easier to make a convincing voice if you try to sound more deep, or if it's just a matter of adopting some kind of peculiar speech: it's a lot more difficult to come out believable while rising your pitch and adopting a more feminine posture.

[Jerry Wright 307]

I don't try to do a feminine voice; I just act out the character's dialogue with a softer tone of voice, gestures and posture. Camp is right out; it completely destroys the illusion in the players' minds.

[Haladir]

I'll preface by saying I'm a straight male. I'm tall, bald, and wear a goatee, so I really don't have a feminine appearance at all.

When I'm a player, I create my character to be male or female, gay or straight, depending on the character concept. I play female characters about half the time.

My group role-plays first person most of the time. (We switch to third-person only when we're in recap mode or running a collaborative montage.) I play my female characters with different body language and a different inflection in my voice. I raise the pitch of my voice ever-so-slightly. I always use a particular "voice" for my PCs which is distinct from my own, mainly so that the other players and GM can tell when I'm speaking in-character.

Actually, my longest-running character (in terms of real-world time) was a female elf fighter/mage (2nd edition) that I ran for five years. She ended up marrying another PC in-game (played by another straight male-- no, it didn't get awkward), and when the party's arch-enemy crashed the wedding, it was an absolutely awesome adventure!

Scenes of sex, or the sexuality of the PCs doesn't often come up in our game, though.

At the moment, two of my players are a married couple. He's playing a female human paladin, and she's playing a male dwarf ranger. They both pull it off very well!

I haven't actually played a gay male character, although I have created two for games that never actually got off the ground. I'll probably pull one of those concepts out for the next game I'm not GMing.

[Josh M.]

Jerry Wright 307 wrote:

I don't try to do a feminine voice; I just act out the character's dialogue with a softer tone of voice, gestures and posture. Camp is right out; it completely destroys the illusion in the players' minds.

Same here. I'm a pretty stocky guy, so any kind of actual impersonation of a woman I do is going to come off lame. Like you said, I soften my tone, maybe adjust my posture, but not much else. I tend to play very stoic, strong female characters anyway, so that part is easy for me to RP. Playing an effeminate lark is much much tougher.

[Terquem]

As a Dungeon Master I have role played all kinds of intelligent creatures, and I try to make each one its own personality, but for some reason all of my metallic dragons talk like Nathan Lane in "The Bird Cage".

[Kantrip]

Not the same, but this reminds me of something that happened when I was playing WOW. I had a female night elf character and fell in with another player doing some quests one night. After awhile he made some comment about my character being "hot" and I said that's why I like to play female night elves. Then it went like this:

Him: You're not really a girl?
Me: Nope.
Him: Oh, I thought you were.
Me: Brace yourself... I'm not really an elf, either.