Well, Imoen describes Charname as a friend. A healthy (CON 10+) male Charname with CHA 18 would result in friends with benefits at the very least and more likely an OAPG (i.e. Overly Attached Psychotic Girlfriend) syndrome and Imoen killing Gorion to have Charname for herself. Since this would mess up with the storyline a lot more than I'm willing to mod, I normally avoid male Charnames or try to justify their not being involved with Imoen some in amusing way, e.g. 'dafuq, why pink hair? I hate pink, I really do', 'you know... I gotta ask Nessie if it's okay for you to join our relationship' or 'oh, come on, child, I'm evil, I don't care'.
You will have to choose. That's why I said "mostly". I doubt anyone is taking turns in the character gender.
I never give much thougths or preference to a gender or other, normally this has much to do with which character i wish to make a romance or which portrait i want to use. So even if i wanted i wouldn't be able to vote with any level of accuracy in this pool.
it depends on the character i play. mostly i play males but if i want to have a funny playtrhough ill play a female usually good, i rarely play any kind of evil except neutral evil
I chose the beholder option because none of the others made any sense to me. I change gender in games like a change clothes. It all depends on what feels right for the character I am trying to portray.
whoa...the "Beholders are genderless" was added just for @KidCarnival, I never thought there are so many Beholder sympathizers. Anyway, I understand that in non-MMO games, gender is usually purely cosmetic. But I was just curious.
I for one can understand playing a hot girl in game like Skyrim (with great graphics) like @sunset00. In BG...maybe. Probably not. Female NPCs - yes please! But, never had a girl CHARNAME. However, I don't think I would be able to roleplay romance with Anomen. (Seriously, I hated his guts even as a guy. Have I had him hit on me, I'd slit his throat during the following night.)
I play a group of 6 characters, so I guess I am schizophrenic?
Seriously, I normally play the same character, a male human Wizard. however, I do occasionally play around with other character ideas, some of which are women. it's a game. It's escapist. It's fun.
Wow I am quite surprised how many people mostly stay faithful to their own gender. I've gotten used to almost all my (male) friends running around with female wizards and demon hunters in Diablo 3 that I had come to the conclusion that most people preferred female characters.
I guess the difference is that this is a single-player game, there isn't much (ingame) eye-candy, and some guys (like me) would find it pretty weird to roleplay a romance as a girl.
The poll doesn't take into account multiple play thrus so I picked "male im a guy". But it depends on the game really.
Dragon Age 2 I never went near Fem!Hawke because her VA was terrible, especially compared to Man!Hawke's VA. Contrast that with another BW game, Mass Effect, I love Male and Female Shepard with equal vigor and play both.
Though I confess in BG i've only ever played as Male Charname.
I'm a guy and I definitely play both genders. It totally depends upon the character concept I come up with when I start a new game, though my first ever playthrough of BG1 was a male.
However I chose the Beholders are genderless option because, well it's the awesome option
Probably 50/50 for me - I choose the characters sex based on the character and/or the characters planned role with other characters or sometimes by the appropriateness of a particular portrait for the character I am trying to create. In games where I create 6 characters I typically have a mix of 3/3 altho it doesn't bother me if it doesn't turn out that way.
I care almost nothing for the in game romances tho (tried a few and found them mostly annoying) so that almost never enters in to my calculations.
Just started a Black Pits run, and noticed doing exactly what @Wanderon mentions. End up with a 50/50 ratio due to available portraits for the class/race combos.
Might be my folder, but I often notice there are a lot better female portraits for druids. So my druids will most likely be female for no other reason than using awesome portraits (vs. searching for hours for a male one I like). Nearly all bard portraits I like are male, so bards will be male. I guess I don't have a real preference and just follow the bias of the fantasy artist community.
In games where I create 6 characters I typically have a mix of 3/3 altho it doesn't bother me if it doesn't turn out that way.
Same here. When creating the whole party, it is usually 50/50... but this is about the MAIN PC. The one you identify the most.
Maybe I'm a bit traditional, but I prefer to keep girls relatively safe in my parties, normally in ranged or healing roles. This also means I typically do not like to have too many around, and find the 'harem' concept a bit... inappropriate for a life-and-death world-saving adventure. So 50/50 is the closest I can accept, whereas I am totally fine with a Bratwurst party.
In games where I create 6 characters I typically have a mix of 3/3 altho it doesn't bother me if it doesn't turn out that way.
Same here. When creating the whole party, it is usually 50/50... but this is about the MAIN PC. The one you identify the most.
Gender choice still doesn't have any special priority for me whether it's a single PC or an entire team I am just as comfortable RPing either gender and thus my decisions about gender are much more based on the role I have in mind for them to play vs whether or not I play a gal or a guy.
Some of this may in fact go back to what I said about in game romances - I am not interested in them (ignore them) so there is no conflict there either (like needing to be X so I can romance Y). I find most classes suitable for either gender but the nuances of a particular type of character I may have in mind may suggest one over the other or like I mentioned earlier the lack of a cool portrait in one gender or the perfect one in the other can also make the decision.
@Wanderon - I understand...some people aren't decided, change it often or just don't feel aligned to neither...I have no problem with that. Just don't answer the poll, it is not here to anger you.
I play both with some frequency, but I play female characters slightly more. I think I know the reason for this. See, in my subjective opinion, women look cooler and men sound cooler (both on average, of course). Now, given that the visual design of the character exists in both the portrait and the sprite, and the vocal design only exists in the occasional ~1-second voice clip, I tend to favor the visual design, and go with female characters. In fully-voiced games, my tendency is much more neutral (unless one voice actor is clearly superior to the other), but since BG isn't fully voiced, women usually end up being cooler overall within the context of the game, and so I play female characters.
What do you mean it isn't here to anger me - how could it do anything else? It's a public poll and yet I - (very much a part of the BG public since its inception) cannot truthfully choose an answer that fits with my playstyle - how dare you omit my personal choice?
I see this as a personal attack and have half a mind to report it to the local guard unit - and then you'll see won't you - just wait until the Flaming Fist pansies get done with you - you may have started the day with clean undies just like mom says but they will strike terror in your heart and spasms in the nether regions and it won't matter if your male or female then I tell you...
why I oughta...
hmmmph well perhaps I shall just wander on - have a nice day - ooooh look sparklies...
Wow I am quite surprised how many people mostly stay faithful to their own gender. I've gotten used to almost all my (male) friends running around with female wizards and demon hunters in Diablo 3 that I had come to the conclusion that most people preferred female characters.
I guess the difference is that this is a single-player game, there isn't much (ingame) eye-candy, and some guys (like me) would find it pretty weird to roleplay a romance as a girl.
Pretty much. I pretty much only play as males in any game that requires a bit of role playing (BG, Mass Effect, etc). For a game like WoW though, it doesn't matter.
If I'm given the option, my character will almost always be female. Mainly because when I was growing up, most games didn't give me an option to play as anything other than a male character. If it's a game where I create multiple characters I try to keep a fairly even ratio, but the one I feel is "me" within the game is always female.
I play both female and male characters but female is always my first choice in a cRPG - literally my first game is always with a female protagonist (if possible). I like to see all of the game content so I play with a male protagonists to see how the experience is different and to explore romances etc. Also for roleplaying reasons; in a game like BG I may find a great portrait and then create a character around it, and this happens with both male and female pics. Still, I prefer female characters. I don't know if it has to do more with my own gender or the fact that so often there's no other choice than to play a male protagonist, and so I much appreciate it when I get a lady option.
In BG2 I played through all of the romances so I've finished the game with at least three male protagonists. I can't remember if I've finished ToB with more than three female characters, but I'm sure I've started more BG2 games with a female character than a male one.
I've got a personal challenge going on, where I'd like to play through BGEE with all classes. Of the characters I've played or planned so far, about half are female and half male. Just for the variety, I guess (and for the BG2 romances). I don't have any class/gender related bias except for loving lady paladins, possibly because male paladins feel like they might have more of the "haughty boy scout" type of baggage on them and I enjoy trying to imagine up characters that aren't stereotypes. Sometimes going for another gender helps in avoiding cliches... or finding a more suitable/interesting portrait.
Comments
I would say it's a 60/40.
Really the gender doesn't matter. I'm more interested in having both genders in my party believing in a RP way it will make a better balance.
I never give much thougths or preference to a gender or other, normally this has much to do with which character i wish to make a romance or which portrait i want to use. So even if i wanted i wouldn't be able to vote with any level of accuracy in this pool.
I for one can understand playing a hot girl in game like Skyrim (with great graphics) like @sunset00. In BG...maybe. Probably not. Female NPCs - yes please! But, never had a girl CHARNAME.
However, I don't think I would be able to roleplay romance with Anomen. (Seriously, I hated his guts even as a guy. Have I had him hit on me, I'd slit his throat during the following night.)
Seriously, I normally play the same character, a male human Wizard. however, I do occasionally play around with other character ideas, some of which are women. it's a game. It's escapist. It's fun.
I guess the difference is that this is a single-player game, there isn't much (ingame) eye-candy, and some guys (like me) would find it pretty weird to roleplay a romance as a girl.
Dragon Age 2 I never went near Fem!Hawke because her VA was terrible, especially compared to Man!Hawke's VA. Contrast that with another BW game, Mass Effect, I love Male and Female Shepard with equal vigor and play both.
Though I confess in BG i've only ever played as Male Charname.
EDIT:
@Southpaw
I bet if there was ff romance in BG more dudes would roleplay as a female charname.
However I chose the Beholders are genderless option because, well it's the awesome option
I care almost nothing for the in game romances tho (tried a few and found them mostly annoying) so that almost never enters in to my calculations.
Might be my folder, but I often notice there are a lot better female portraits for druids. So my druids will most likely be female for no other reason than using awesome portraits (vs. searching for hours for a male one I like). Nearly all bard portraits I like are male, so bards will be male. I guess I don't have a real preference and just follow the bias of the fantasy artist community.
Some of this may in fact go back to what I said about in game romances - I am not interested in them (ignore them) so there is no conflict there either (like needing to be X so I can romance Y). I find most classes suitable for either gender but the nuances of a particular type of character I may have in mind may suggest one over the other or like I mentioned earlier the lack of a cool portrait in one gender or the perfect one in the other can also make the decision.
(BTW I'm a guy)
@Mrpenfold666 - long explanation - http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/11756/welcome-to-fan-creations-here-are-some-tips
short explanation - put them into "Portraits" folder next to your saves.
What do you mean it isn't here to anger me - how could it do anything else? It's a public poll and yet I - (very much a part of the BG public since its inception) cannot truthfully choose an answer that fits with my playstyle - how dare you omit my personal choice?
I see this as a personal attack and have half a mind to report it to the local guard unit - and then you'll see won't you - just wait until the Flaming Fist pansies get done with you - you may have started the day with clean undies just like mom says but they will strike terror in your heart and spasms in the nether regions and it won't matter if your male or female then I tell you...
why I oughta...
hmmmph well perhaps I shall just wander on - have a nice day - ooooh look sparklies...
For all these years I've always chosen a male character because when I play I pretend that it's ME who is adventuring, not someone else.
In BG2 I played through all of the romances so I've finished the game with at least three male protagonists. I can't remember if I've finished ToB with more than three female characters, but I'm sure I've started more BG2 games with a female character than a male one.
I've got a personal challenge going on, where I'd like to play through BGEE with all classes. Of the characters I've played or planned so far, about half are female and half male. Just for the variety, I guess (and for the BG2 romances). I don't have any class/gender related bias except for loving lady paladins, possibly because male paladins feel like they might have more of the "haughty boy scout" type of baggage on them and I enjoy trying to imagine up characters that aren't stereotypes. Sometimes going for another gender helps in avoiding cliches... or finding a more suitable/interesting portrait.