If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting. Now, this has no baring on whether or not WE, the civilized people of 2016, should be accepting of transgender people (hint: we should be). But does it fit this medieval-fantasy land's views on the same subject? Reminder, this is a land filled with extremely poor, uneducated, and often xenophobic beggers and farmers.
If you care at all about the consistency of lore in roleplaying games in order to forge a thoroughly immersive, excellent experience, then you should dislike how the current Beamdog writers have hamfistedly introduced transgender characters in the world.
Are you one of those who get offended by the Trace pose in Overwatch aswell? Like that dad who didn't want his daughter to watch that pose which she should not be seeing in the first place since she was to young to play the game? Games are not political, should not be.
This is the point you've consistently missed throughout the thread, though: Saying games shouldn't be political is a political stance. Saying gender isn't important is a political stance. Games have always been political - it's just that fifteen years ago, the most commonly expressed politics aligned with yours. Now they don't. Tough cookies.
And no, Beamdog cannot do what they want, they do not own the license.
Yes they do. They were given the license to produce this game by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro, who own the setting, who have veto power over the elements of this story. It is absolutely Beamdog's right to design the story as they want within whatever parameters the company has been given.
In this case, the greatest amount of crying seems to be the people who think a bit character will ruin the game. I don't think that the phrase "crying group" is the best way to go with this.
Jesus, stop changing well established settings to fit your agenda, your as in not you bot these groups.
As I've described before, there have been no changes to the established setting. There is nothing established in the Forgotten Realms that says a trans character can't exist, and there are plenty of examples that imply that they do exist - including a trans character who is now completely in-continuity and an established part of the setting.
Amber Scott takes offense in a game that is over 16 years old. It is silly when she cries havoc about Safana, Jaheira and such.
Come on, she didn't "cry havoc." She made one off-hand comment. (Which, by the way, was correct - what exactly did Safana have as a character other than being a sexpot?)
Are you one of those who get offended by the Trace pose in Overwatch aswell? Like that dad who didn't want his daughter to watch that pose which she should not be seeing in the first place since she was to young to play the game? Games are not political, should not be. Atleast not an RPG in a fantasy world, ffs. Can we just stop being political everywhere? Everything need to be an statement these days and it is getting really annoying. This char was made like a statement in how she is portrayed. So few lines yet her gender is one of the most important parts of it. Silly.
You didn't ask me, but let me answer. I find it in bad taste and detrimental to the game. Were I a fan of the game I might even mention this once on the official forums or sign a petition, but it wouldn't lead me to insult the developers, people who like it or persecute a feud like this in the fan forums.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting.
The reason peasants hate drow on sight is because of things the drow, as a collective species, did. They have a reputation, you can read all about their history in the lore books you're so fond of. There's no LGBT Nation in Faerun, so there's no reason for people to automatically assume that if a character is LGBT, they're "just like the others". If someone were to be racist towards Dynaheir, it would be because she's Rashemi, not because she's black.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting. Now, this has no baring on whether or not WE, the civilized people of 2016, should be accepting of transgender people (hint: we should be). But does it fit this medieval-fantasy land's views on the same subject? Reminder, this is a land filled with extremely poor, uneducated, and often xenophobic beggers and farmers.
If you care at all about the consistency of lore in roleplaying games in order to forge a thoroughly immersive, excellent experience, then you should dislike how the current Beamdog writers have hamfistedly introduced transgender characters in the world.
THIS, I been trying to point to this but English is not my best language. Even the good Drow of Eilistraee get shit thrown on them.
All in all I think I will leave the conversation, we are going on circles and no, I do not like Amber Scott. She put to much emphasis on sexism this and that, racism this and that. In a world filled with racism and sex (succubi, Erinyes, Dryads, Nymphs, Incubus, charm person). Maybe she should not have signed up for a job with a setting like this but gone for My Little Pony or somethin along those lines who often caters to a more utopia filled world. But that is simply my opinion.
I think you're all taking the wrong approach to this - instead of mudslinging each other, why don't we ask the most important question to @Amber_Scott - what was her goal by writing the dialogue for the character in question? Does she (Amber, not the NPC) feel the particular adaptation of the idea was good? If not, how would she improve it? If yes, why does she believe so?
You really don't have to grab your pitchforks and fight each other to get an answer. Just act like the civilised people you're all meant to be and ask the source about the reasoning.
I've read some reviews on GoG and Steam and came to the conclusion that if people's only complaints are about the UI and some minor insignificant character sexuality then Siege of Dragonspear must be a great game gameplay and storytelling wise.
I don't care about this character one way or another and people are free to lust and fantasize about whomever they damn please, but judging from the reviews (the players ones, the only ones that count) Beamdog is not off to a good start by saying that the original game is sexist slandering original saga authors work and implying that hardcore fans of original BG are also sexist by extension approving of characters like Safana. The way Amber Scott expressed herself felt condescending and hurts SoD sales more than it should. David Gaider is now part of Beamdog and he can write marvelously interesting characters, I have every confidence that with his help and guidance the writing will improve without looking like pushing a hidden agenda or implying that 'my way is the only way and whomever doesn't like it can burn'. You don't have the sales amount of great companies to do whatever you please yet, at least not while riding on the coattails of an iconic game where passions runs high and the stakes for the future projects were Beamdog develop their own titles are on play.
Sorry if my post appears harsh but I'm quite mad at the fact that the only thing from Siege of Dragonspear people are talking about is Mizhena. All your other work is overshadowed by this stupid non issue and it's quite a sad thing.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting. Now, this has no baring on whether or not WE, the civilized people of 2016, should be accepting of transgender people (hint: we should be). But does it fit this medieval-fantasy land's views on the same subject? Reminder, this is a land filled with extremely poor, uneducated, and often xenophobic beggers and farmers.
If you care at all about the consistency of lore in roleplaying games in order to forge a thoroughly immersive, excellent experience, then you should dislike how the current Beamdog writers have hamfistedly introduced transgender characters in the world.
The character is a cleric of Tempus and a member of the Flaming Fist expedition to route the Shining Lady. The peasants (at least of Baldur's Gate) probably view her with the same mix of fear and hopefulness that they do the rest of the group, including the possibly evil PC, Viconia, Edwin, etc. In times of crisis, they only care about who's trying to save them (or at least pretending to), so Mizhena's presence here shouldn't be under question.
Are you one of those who get offended by the Trace pose in Overwatch aswell? Like that dad who didn't want his daughter to watch that pose which she should not be seeing in the first place since she was to young to play the game? Games are not political, should not be.
This is the point you've consistently missed throughout the thread, though: Saying games shouldn't be political is a political stance. Saying gender isn't important is a political stance. Games have always been political - it's just that fifteen years ago, the most commonly expressed politics aligned with yours. Now they don't. Tough cookies.
No. There were no contemporary political references in the old IE games whatsoever.
I just hope the BG community as a whole are still down with banging orcs. I have been roleplaying a fighter thief half orc for a long time you know? I've even recommended It to others and nobody has ever acted offended or threatened to throw the game away.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting.
The reason peasants hate drow on sight is because of things the drow, as a collective species, did. They have a reputation, you can read all about their history in the lore books you're so fond of. There's no LGBT Nation in Faerun, so there's no reason for people to automatically assume that if a character is LGBT, they're "just like the others". If someone were to be racist towards Dynaheir, it would be because she's Rashemi, not because she's black.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting. Now, this has no baring on whether or not WE, the civilized people of 2016, should be accepting of transgender people (hint: we should be). But does it fit this medieval-fantasy land's views on the same subject? Reminder, this is a land filled with extremely poor, uneducated, and often xenophobic beggers and farmers.
If you care at all about the consistency of lore in roleplaying games in order to forge a thoroughly immersive, excellent experience, then you should dislike how the current Beamdog writers have hamfistedly introduced transgender characters in the world.
I am of a similar sentiment, though it's not nearly as flamboyant as some of the things said here.
This issue is a widespread one, I'm afraid, and the reason I refuse to become a writer is because people absolutely demand this sort of inclusion. I've seen people rage and start petitions because a music video was heterosexual with no open interpretation, or what have you.
But I am a writer, nonetheless, and I want to point out that quirks are GOOD. You WANT quirky characters, and sometimes that can open a door to things like this.
I have no problem with this as it is, I would have a much larger problem if there was a gender selection option for transgendered, and if there was a quest based around the woman's sexuality. After all, isn't the point of being trans to eventually... NOT be trans? I digress.
My assumption IS that the world of Faerun would look down on Mizhena's condition, but there really hasn't been much to suggest it. After all, gender changing via magic isn't rare, and people accept magic in most places pre-4th edition.
So let's talk about the last two points I brought up. Really and truly, why is there a transgendered character when all they have to do is abra cadabra their dick off and ask for an ample bosom? This being a more logical take than a political one, of course, but it seems that barring cost, which I don't think would be too outlandish for a Flaming Fist, it would be possible to become a woman officially.
If the inerudite peasants of the land are bigoted enough to greatly dislike Drow (automatic -2 reputation when they are in your party) based merely on the color of their skin and their ancestry, then one can assume that they would also greatly dislike someone who whips out a dick bigger than theirs during a drunken fling. It doesn't fit the lore that they would be accepting. Now, this has no baring on whether or not WE, the civilized people of 2016, should be accepting of transgender people (hint: we should be). But does it fit this medieval-fantasy land's views on the same subject? Reminder, this is a land filled with extremely poor, uneducated, and often xenophobic beggers and farmers..
I kind of agree with this. Game of Thrones, for example, handled a lot of modern issues facing oppressed minorities and other marginalised groups very well. It didn't shy away from the horrible, cruel and unjust things that they had to suffer within that world. But you saw how pointless and evil the prejudices that they faced were. So in the end the audience were rooting for Tyrion for being brilliant and likable in spite of the illogical nonsense he suffered purely for being a dwarf; and also for Arya and Brienne for fighting the sexist, misogynistic expectations that were heaped upon them.
Haven't played SoD yet, so can't comment on the quality of the writing an the handling of the transgendered issue. But I feel like the issue of LGBT characters in modern gaming is less about the quality of the writing (which is a smokescreen - I've literally never seen this issue raised with regards to any other character dimension), and more of an issue about LGBT characters in games *at all*.
The harsh truth is that all of us here at the forums are open minded cultivated classy people (or at least I like to think that most of us are), but we are but a tiny fraction of the sea of gamers that are out there and love their classics, so please Beamdog proceed carefully lest the whole thing backfires and we are left with bad press, name calling in gaming sites, and a bitter taste in our mouth cause you fell shy of greatness because offences taken over some pixelated characters or a few words spoken in an interview with more enthusiasm than they should. Sorry if my post appears harsh but I'm quite mad at the fact that the only thing from Siege of Dragonspear people are talking about is Mizhena. All your other work is overshadowed by this stupid non issue and it's quite a sad thing.
Eh, you're giving certain voices on this forum way more weight than they're due. Like I said, this is a verbatim repeat of the Hexxat "controversy" back when BG2:EE launched (to the tune of gasp, she's a LESBIAN? Won't someone think of the children?! AGENDA!!!!) - the only difference is that Amber Scott's taking the heat this time rather than Andrew Foley. And like that whole mess, this will be over and done with in a week or two, and people will go back to discussing the game on its actual merits instead of debating bigotry again some more.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Because Faerun is diverse and the game should be reflective of that. I wouldn't expect diversity in Kara-Tur, although even there you would probably find a few visitors from Faerun. An all-white Faerun is inconsistent with lore.
This shouldn't be so hard.
It is so diverse that several races are supressed and pushed out to live in fringe regions. You want some constructed utopia world where everybody lives in perfect villages. Where people don't go back home after trades or live in their own walled off societies but are all sharing and drinking and celebrating. No good and evil, just utopia. "John you have to go, you break the perfect 50/50 pattern of cultures, races and genders!" mindset.
Are you still talking about the single transgender NPC, or do you maybe need to take this to another thread?
Purudaya escalated this into diversity.
This thread has been about diversity to begin with. I brought up how BGII addressed BGI's lack of diversity by including minority characters as an example of how the franchise has grown. My argument is that LGBTQI content is a logical progression of that.
"Of course, Valygar's race is not an issue because the Forgotten Realms doesn't have a history in its 30 years of publication of people discriminating based on skin color."
Have you never tried recruiting a drow into your party? They are greatly discriminated against and you automatically get a -2 to your reputation just by having them in your party.
"Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity."
According to the plentiful amount of sexually charged, extremely uneducated peasants who roam the land, one can easily assume the opposite.
The nonsense surrounding this NPC brings up a bad taste in my mouth.
All the options on speaking to them, and getting fed their life story, all come down to 3 options, 2 of which are basically saying they are "brave" or responding positively. You aren't allowed to dismiss it as something you really weren't interested in and move on (You MUST thank them and approve), or you aren't allowed to be evil and take the bad path like you were roleplaying an evil person (Unless that's been hidden for Evil Aligned characters, I don't really play them). Why not? (Because it's problematic!).
Now why is it such a bad taste? Another game I enjoy did it.
Guild Wars 2 did this exact nonsense with their Sya NPC, you were forced to say they were "brave" in the dialogue tree if you talked to them and wanted to end the conversation via it, when they brought up using magic to change their male appearance to female saying "Oh I felt like this all along, after this city around us got leveled I thought I should just do it". People raised concerns about real life politics being filtered in the game via NPCs and the SJW crowd took a massive fit over it, kicking the usual fuss of "Oh, you are being critical, you must be a bigot". Bear in mind this NPC spewed this in the aftermath of an attack which LEVELED the biggest playerhub in the game, people were crying over their loved ones being blasted/grinded up/hacked to bits and this stuff comes up out of the blue. Said NPC was supposed to have been involved with helping survivors, why can't we focus on that and not their choice of using magic to alter their outwardly appearance, something rather insignificant compared to what just happened.
I was really excited to see this expansion and how it could help tie the two games together, now this kind of hamfisting politics into it has just dumped it in a heap.
"Of course, Valygar's race is not an issue because the Forgotten Realms doesn't have a history in its 30 years of publication of people discriminating based on skin color."
Have you never tried recruiting a drow into your party? They are greatly discriminated against and you automatically get a -2 to your reputation just by having them in your party.
"Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity."
According to the plentiful amount of sexually charged, extremely uneducated peasants who roam the land, one can easily assume the opposite.
Drow are evil. It has nary to do with the color of their skin, rather the color of their skin is just a dead giveaway of what they are because most underdark humanoids come with ashen gray skin (note that it is NOT brown, though that used to be the artistic take on the matter back when)
EDIT: I would also implore you to know that DROW get the worst of it, Duergar and Svirfneblin are FAR more common on the surface, and often make trade deals with surfacers. Despite their skin and hair being the same as drow's.
"To white" is one of the dumbest things I ever read
Actually, that seems like a good place to end, too.
Well then, ingulfe us in your master knowledge why it is such a stigma when something is to white but people seemingly dont bitch on Mulan or similar being to Chinese.
Because Mulan takes place in a culture and time period where there was only one ethnic group (although there are of course many diverse groups among the Chinese, but that's a different point). Forgotten Realms does not.
Why is this so difficult for you to grasp?
Why does it NEED to be diverse? Why? If I write campaign, it is my "artistic" integrity to what I want with it, without having bunch of social justice movement people cry havoc. It is like calling Tolkien racist. Maybe he was, but his story was written in an other age.
And this whole "Norse gods was turning female" "Elminster was female". They are not fucking transgender. They litterally changed their whole body into the female one, probably with all that comes with it, hormones and everything. And he was a horse ffs.
EDIT: Why even bother to explore if evertyhing is so diverse right away in Candlekeep or Friendly Arm Inn? Like every single culture is already there to make it diverse, no bother going to their countries and seeing it for what they truely are.
Because Faerun is diverse and the game should be reflective of that. I wouldn't expect diversity in Kara-Tur, although even there you would probably find a few visitors from Faerun. An all-white Faerun is inconsistent with lore.
This shouldn't be so hard.
It is so diverse that several races are supressed and pushed out to live in fringe regions. You want some constructed utopia world where everybody lives in perfect villages. Where people don't go back home after trades or live in their own walled off societies but are all sharing and drinking and celebrating. No good and evil, just utopia. "John you have to go, you break the perfect 50/50 pattern of cultures, races and genders!" mindset.
Are you interested in arguing with me or with a straw man? I never said I wanted a diversity utopia, I said I wanted a game that takes place a few clicks north of Amn to reflect the diversity in the LORE. Faerun is a continent with people from all over Aber Toril living in it. That means - while most characters in BGI are going to be white, it's odd that virtually every single one of them is. I don't think I can make it any simpler for you.
Here's my problem: if you accept that logic (and, by extension, agree that Viconia's whole storyline is about proving that she shouldn't be discriminated against because she's not like "other drow"), and still argue that that's not political? It really looks like you're trolling. Maybe you're not, maybe you're not seeing the disconnect here, but Original Recipe Baldur's Gate 2 had a whole storyline about racism. "Fantastic" racism, but racism nonetheless. You can't gloss over that, you can't avoid it, you can't ameliorate it. It's there. So let go of the mantra that games can't or shouldn't be political - because they always have been.
This issue is a widespread one, I'm afraid, and the reason I refuse to become a writer is because people absolutely demand this sort of inclusion.
As a writer in several fields (fiction, gaming, technical), I can very much assure you that this is rarely, if ever, true.
I apologize, but you're not subjectively incorrect, you are objectively incorrect.
Whether a publisher demands it or not is not my concern, the fans of writing do quite frequently. RA Salvatore has even dealt with some of that in his work.
Here's my problem: if you accept that logic (and, by extension, agree that Viconia's whole storyline is about proving that she shouldn't be discriminated against because she's not like "other drow"), and still argue that that's not political? It really looks like you're trolling. Maybe you're not, maybe you're not seeing the disconnect here, but Original Recipe Baldur's Gate 2 had a whole storyline about racism. "Fantastic" racism, but racism nonetheless. You can't gloss over that, you can't avoid it, you can't ameliorate it. It's there. So let go of the mantra that games can't or shouldn't be political - because they always have been.
...that's not political. People in a city don't like people from group x because most of them are dicks. But this one person from group x isn't a dick, so you help her out. There is nothing political in that whatsoever.
All the options on speaking to them, and getting fed their life story, all come down to 3 options, 2 of which are basically saying they are "brave" or responding positively. You aren't allowed to dismiss it as something you really weren't interested in and move on (You MUST thank them and approve), or you aren't allowed to be evil and take the bad path like you were roleplaying an evil person (Unless that's been hidden for Evil Aligned characters, I don't really play them). Why not? (Because it's problematic!).
Yeah, sure. Or because, you know, she's offering you healing services. Even evil characters are capable of saying thanks when someone patches you up. Unless you're playing an utter d-bag, in which case you might as well kill every NPC in the game just for lulz, no need to single one out.
Here's my problem: if you accept that logic (and, by extension, agree that Viconia's whole storyline is about proving that she shouldn't be discriminated against because she's not like "other drow"), and still argue that that's not political? It really looks like you're trolling. Maybe you're not, maybe you're not seeing the disconnect here, but Original Recipe Baldur's Gate 2 had a whole storyline about racism. "Fantastic" racism, but racism nonetheless. You can't gloss over that, you can't avoid it, you can't ameliorate it. It's there. So let go of the mantra that games can't or shouldn't be political - because they always have been.
I have a hard time seeing people thinking its okay to be trans but seeing a dark skinned elf must mean it is evil. I don't know, We have diffrent viewpoints. Oh well! I like Drow Elves.
"Of course, Valygar's race is not an issue because the Forgotten Realms doesn't have a history in its 30 years of publication of people discriminating based on skin color."
Have you never tried recruiting a drow into your party? They are greatly discriminated against and you automatically get a -2 to your reputation just by having them in your party.
"Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity."
According to the plentiful amount of sexually charged, extremely uneducated peasants who roam the land, one can easily assume the opposite.
Drow are evil. It has nary to do with the color of their skin, rather the color of their skin is just a dead giveaway of what they are because most underdark humanoids come with ashen gray skin (note that it is NOT brown, though that used to be the artistic take on the matter back when)
EDIT: I would also implore you to know that DROW get the worst of it, Duergar and Svirfneblin are FAR more common on the surface, and often make trade deals with surfacers. Despite their skin and hair being the same as drow's.
Isn't Drizzt Do'Urden (among a minute number of other drow) non-evil? Which means it's racist to assume all drow are evil, since it's factually incorrect.
All the options on speaking to them, and getting fed their life story, all come down to 3 options, 2 of which are basically saying they are "brave" or responding positively. You aren't allowed to dismiss it as something you really weren't interested in and move on (You MUST thank them and approve), or you aren't allowed to be evil and take the bad path like you were roleplaying an evil person (Unless that's been hidden for Evil Aligned characters, I don't really play them). Why not? (Because it's problematic!).
Yeah, sure. Or because, you know, she's offering you healing services. Even evil characters are capable of saying thanks when someone patches you up. Unless you're playing an utter d-bag, in which case you might as well kill every NPC in the game just for lulz, no need to single one out.
Eh, I agree with JoJo on this point. But BG has NEVER been very open for varied evil dialogue or players, really, the scope has always been rather black and white. SoD is slightly less so, but I have always disliked how BG paints evil as either 'profit driven' or 'slaughter driven' if that makes sense. If I said to Mizhena what I would want to as an evil character, I would say something to the effect of 'Heal me, cleric' and then not thank them at all.
Isn't Drizzt Do'Urden (among a minute number of other drow) non-evil? Which means it's racist to assume all drow are evil, since it's factually incorrect.
Drizzt is an extremely rare case. Drow societies plan raids for the sole purpose of slaughtering surfacers, and the morality of the issue rarely comes into play in their minds, or rather, the morality they follow condones the act.
That being said, it still IS racist, but not based on the color of their skin whatsoever.
EDIT: Sorry for DP, figured there would have been a post inbetween in the time I took to respond.
Comments
If you care at all about the consistency of lore in roleplaying games in order to forge a thoroughly immersive, excellent experience, then you should dislike how the current Beamdog writers have hamfistedly introduced transgender characters in the world.
All of which you are doing here.
All in all I think I will leave the conversation, we are going on circles and no, I do not like Amber Scott. She put to much emphasis on sexism this and that, racism this and that. In a world filled with racism and sex (succubi, Erinyes, Dryads, Nymphs, Incubus, charm person). Maybe she should not have signed up for a job with a setting like this but gone for My Little Pony or somethin along those lines who often caters to a more utopia filled world. But that is simply my opinion.
You really don't have to grab your pitchforks and fight each other to get an answer. Just act like the civilised people you're all meant to be and ask the source about the reasoning.
I don't care about this character one way or another and people are free to lust and fantasize about whomever they damn please, but judging from the reviews (the players ones, the only ones that count) Beamdog is not off to a good start by saying that the original game is sexist slandering original saga authors work and implying that hardcore fans of original BG are also sexist by extension approving of characters like Safana. The way Amber Scott expressed herself felt condescending and hurts SoD sales more than it should. David Gaider is now part of Beamdog and he can write marvelously interesting characters, I have every confidence that with his help and guidance the writing will improve without looking like pushing a hidden agenda or implying that 'my way is the only way and whomever doesn't like it can burn'. You don't have the sales amount of great companies to do whatever you please yet, at least not while riding on the coattails of an iconic game where passions runs high and the stakes for the future projects were Beamdog develop their own titles are on play.
Sorry if my post appears harsh but I'm quite mad at the fact that the only thing from Siege of Dragonspear people are talking about is Mizhena. All your other work is overshadowed by this stupid non issue and it's quite a sad thing.
This issue is a widespread one, I'm afraid, and the reason I refuse to become a writer is because people absolutely demand this sort of inclusion. I've seen people rage and start petitions because a music video was heterosexual with no open interpretation, or what have you.
But I am a writer, nonetheless, and I want to point out that quirks are GOOD. You WANT quirky characters, and sometimes that can open a door to things like this.
I have no problem with this as it is, I would have a much larger problem if there was a gender selection option for transgendered, and if there was a quest based around the woman's sexuality. After all, isn't the point of being trans to eventually... NOT be trans? I digress.
My assumption IS that the world of Faerun would look down on Mizhena's condition, but there really hasn't been much to suggest it. After all, gender changing via magic isn't rare, and people accept magic in most places pre-4th edition.
So let's talk about the last two points I brought up. Really and truly, why is there a transgendered character when all they have to do is abra cadabra their dick off and ask for an ample bosom? This being a more logical take than a political one, of course, but it seems that barring cost, which I don't think would be too outlandish for a Flaming Fist, it would be possible to become a woman officially.
Haven't played SoD yet, so can't comment on the quality of the writing an the handling of the transgendered issue. But I feel like the issue of LGBT characters in modern gaming is less about the quality of the writing (which is a smokescreen - I've literally never seen this issue raised with regards to any other character dimension), and more of an issue about LGBT characters in games *at all*.
Have you never tried recruiting a drow into your party? They are greatly discriminated against and you automatically get a -2 to your reputation just by having them in your party.
"Similarly, the setting has no history of discrimination against people because of sexual identity."
According to the plentiful amount of sexually charged, extremely uneducated peasants who roam the land, one can easily assume the opposite.
All the options on speaking to them, and getting fed their life story, all come down to 3 options, 2 of which are basically saying they are "brave" or responding positively. You aren't allowed to dismiss it as something you really weren't interested in and move on (You MUST thank them and approve), or you aren't allowed to be evil and take the bad path like you were roleplaying an evil person (Unless that's been hidden for Evil Aligned characters, I don't really play them). Why not? (Because it's problematic!).
Now why is it such a bad taste? Another game I enjoy did it.
Guild Wars 2 did this exact nonsense with their Sya NPC, you were forced to say they were "brave" in the dialogue tree if you talked to them and wanted to end the conversation via it, when they brought up using magic to change their male appearance to female saying "Oh I felt like this all along, after this city around us got leveled I thought I should just do it". People raised concerns about real life politics being filtered in the game via NPCs and the SJW crowd took a massive fit over it, kicking the usual fuss of "Oh, you are being critical, you must be a bigot". Bear in mind this NPC spewed this in the aftermath of an attack which LEVELED the biggest playerhub in the game, people were crying over their loved ones being blasted/grinded up/hacked to bits and this stuff comes up out of the blue. Said NPC was supposed to have been involved with helping survivors, why can't we focus on that and not their choice of using magic to alter their outwardly appearance, something rather insignificant compared to what just happened.
I was really excited to see this expansion and how it could help tie the two games together, now this kind of hamfisting politics into it has just dumped it in a heap.
EDIT: I would also implore you to know that DROW get the worst of it, Duergar and Svirfneblin are FAR more common on the surface, and often make trade deals with surfacers. Despite their skin and hair being the same as drow's.
Whether a publisher demands it or not is not my concern, the fans of writing do quite frequently. RA Salvatore has even dealt with some of that in his work.
That being said, it still IS racist, but not based on the color of their skin whatsoever.
EDIT: Sorry for DP, figured there would have been a post inbetween in the time I took to respond.