Thanks Greywolflord! :) I'll probably be running some more WoTR with him again today, GMing for him works best in small chunks. :)
That does sound cute. I am curious why you thought their story needed to be changed. I genuinely really like the characters as-written (but I also like my tough-as-nails fighters to have a softer side, so that might be the difference)Irabeth in particular felt 'off' to me, as if there was an original character plus an overlay of something else. On reflection I decided it reminded me of fanfic, where an author takes canon character (here, brave & virtuous paladin character) and puts them in a decidedly odd sexual situation/orientation - as written Irabeth is (presumably?) sexually attracted to Anevia, without regard for Anevia's gender or biological sex - that felt odd to me. I also didn't think it seemed right that Irabeth would have thrown her life away but-for-Anevia upon discovering her parents' death - it made her look weak, and I wanted Irabeth to be a strong character. Maybe if her parents had been butchered in their beds by orc-hating humans, I could see her being really upset, but they died on crusade, swords in hand against the demons - such a fate is surely hardly an uncommon fate for crusaders against the Worldwound, and presumably Irabeth's likely fate too, as far as she knows! I'd think grim stoicism was more in order.
More prosaically, my nearly-7-yr-old is ok with the general concept of lesbian couples, he knows several via his mother's Rugby team, but I definitely don't fancy dealing with transsexualism. And I'm not sure if I want the crusader knights to be getting married at all, at least not while actively in the field. Whether they can get married to someone of the same sex is another issue. I decided to keep Irabeth chaste, albeit she probably does love her odd squire Anevia. (I'll see how it develops in play - for all I know the pair of them might get married 'on screen'! But it depends what we're both comfy with. Right now it's more of a Xena/Gabrielle thing.)
Thanks! That makes sense. I agree the transsexual thing is unnecessary (it didn't even come up for my campaign until adventure 5). I had actually had Irabeth's parents still alive in my campaign, so I'd completely forgotten about that part.
To me their story was a standard 'hero rescues damsel in distress', except with some gender bending on the traditional style. I think the 'consoling over the death of the parents' part was just to make Anevia feel a bit less like a worthless hanger-on in the relationship. It worked for me, but I can see how that would be frustrating.
Just a heads up, in book 2 of Wrath of the Righteous...
I'd suggest Kingmaker, personally. The kingdom building rules can always be downplayed, but it seems very much like a traditional wilderness exploration campaign. Fighting bandits, trolls, barbarian tribes, and exploring ancient ruins. I really enjoy the Fey NPCs, and they could certainly make for many amusing encounters when they begin playing pranks and such, and later could make excellent allies. Check this thread out for prank ideas!
IT LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As many have said, toning the sexuality down in a Paizo product is akin to Saturday Morning Watchmen, or Disney's Game of Thrones, or the 4Kids dub of Kill la Kill. Still, while anything involving Sorshen or Mammy Graul would be a problem, transwomen and gay couples shouldn't be.
However, some advice more important than sex politics. If you're running WotR for kiddos, for the love of Arshea make sure that Iomedae doesn't bully them!