I really love City of Strangers. I think it’s insanely creative, and there’s a lot in it that’s like nothing I’ve seen before. But although I plan to use Kaer Maga extensively in my games, I’ll have to make a few changes first.
Out of the fourteen main district powers whose genders are known, only three are female (21%). Furthermore, of the forty-two total NPCs highlighted in the book, only seven are women (17%). Of the seven female characters, three have ranks in a player class (43%; all are clerics). In contrast, twenty-three of the thirty-five male characters have player class ranks (66%).
Two of the seven women run brothels, and a third runs a bathhouse that also offers the services of prostitutes (29% or 43% of all female NPCs, depending on how you count). This is all that these women do—they have no other role. For comparison, one out of the thirty-five male NPCs manages a brothel, and he partially uses it as a ring of information brokers (3% of all male NPCs).
I’m not really sure what to make of this, but I’m going to have to come up with a slew of female NPCs who aren't priestesses or prostitutes to balance things out. Otherwise I'm going to get a lot of raised eyebrows from my players.
I really love City of Strangers. I think it’s insanely creative, and there’s a lot in it that’s like nothing I’ve seen before. But although I plan to use Kaer Maga extensively in my games, I’ll have to make a few changes first.
Out of the fourteen main district powers whose genders are known, only three are female (21%). Furthermore, of the forty-two total NPCs highlighted in the book, only seven are women (17%). Of the seven female characters, three have ranks in a player class (43%; all are clerics). In contrast, twenty-three of the thirty-five male characters have player class ranks (66%).
Two of the seven women run brothels, and a third runs a bathhouse that also offers the services of prostitutes (29% or 43% of all female NPCs, depending on how you count). This is all that these women do—they have no other role. For comparison, one out of the thirty-five male NPCs manages a brothel, and he partially uses it as a ring of information brokers (3% of all male NPCs).
I’m not really sure what to make of this, but I’m going to have to come up with a slew of female NPCs who aren't priestesses or prostitutes to balance things out. Otherwise I'm going to get a lot of raised eyebrows from my players.
That's an oversight, and entirely my fault--at the time when I wrote City of Strangers, I hadn't yet gotten into the practice of checking gender ratios, and so the PCs ended up whatever gender came to mind when I wrote them.
That said, most of those named characters can easily change genders, without even changing their names. If we were publishing this now, that's what I'd do.
Sorry about that!
That's an oversight, and entirely my fault--at the time when I wrote City of Strangers, I hadn't yet gotten into the practice of checking gender ratios, and so the PCs ended up whatever gender came to mind when I wrote them.
That said, most of those named characters can easily change genders, without even changing their names. If we were publishing this now, that's what I'd do.
Sorry about that!
Hey, thanks for responding. I mainly made this post because I was wondering if there was a reason behind the disparity, and your response definitely clears things up. As a writer and editor, I certainly understand that stuff can slip by that leaves you scratching your head later on. Thanks again for taking the time to clarify.