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Transgender players in dungeon and dragons?

BobbyBenBobbyBen Member Posts: 3
in Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear
Hello!

First I want to say, amazing game so far! Baldur's gate has always been one of my favorite, and an expansion is a great idea! Haven't completed it yet, so no reviews for now.

On thing stood out though. There is this character, Mizhena. She is apparently transgender. I find it strange, because my three transgender friends always create characters of their true gender when I invite them to my table. Also, I've never read about any transgender npc in the past.

I was under the impression that transgender people did not exist in dungeon and dragon?
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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  • BelleSorciereBelleSorciere Member Posts: 2,108
    I used to game with a trans woman who had played at various times multiple transgender characters.

    She also played cisgender characters, but I would say the split was about even. Anyway, our most frequent game was AD&D first and then second edition, as it was the 80s-90s.
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    edited April 2016
    ...how do you mean transgender people do not exist? I know one very well - Khalid.
    Every time he ends in my group, I brandish him with the belt of opposite sex and then I let him roam free on a quest to find himherself. If that's not transgender, I don't know what is.
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    BobbyBen said:

    Hello!

    First I want to say, amazing game so far! Baldur's gate has always been one of my favorite, and an expansion is a great idea! Haven't completed it yet, so no reviews for now.

    On thing stood out though. There is this character, Mizhena. She is apparently transgender. I find it strange, because my three transgender friends always create characters of their true gender when I invite them to my table. Also, I've never read about any transgender npc in the past.

    I was under the impression that transgender people did not exist in dungeon and dragon?

    Oh really, all three of your transgendered friends who play it? Well, my 57 transgendered friends who play don't make characters based on their "true gender." :o

    Btw, the fact that you claim to have transgendered friends and then use terms like "true gender" causes me to doubt the claim. Also, Ed Greenwood, the person to created the universe in which the game is set said that LGBT people do exist within that world. He is the creator so he would know.
  • mysterymeepmysterymeep Member Posts: 33
    Bad jokes aside, no, there's no reason at all that trans folks shouldn't exist in D&D. And I've had players play trans people specifically; it's not really a big deal. I can see the argument that 'well why bother you can just be 'true' but trans isn't untrue? Sometimes people just want to play a character who has that trait, either because it's in common with theirs or just because.
  • BobbyBenBobbyBen Member Posts: 3
    abentwookie said:

    Well, my 57 transgendered friends who play

    No trolling please...
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    BobbyBen said:

    abentwookie said:

    Well, my 57 transgendered friends who play

    No trolling please...
    I was making a point that you didn't seem to get.
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  • rapsam2003rapsam2003 Member Posts: 1,636
    BobbyBen said:

    I was under the impression that transgender people did not exist in dungeon and dragon?

    Sexuality and gender was never a major topic in D&D, because it doesn't affect the game in any way.

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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  • BillyBroBillyBro Member Posts: 62
    typo_tilly said:


    brain gender
    I haven't heard a consensus on this. People use all different terms.

    Ok, that term's new to me. Brain gender. >.>
    rapsam2003 said:

    Sexuality and gender was never a major topic in D&D, because it doesn't affect the game in any way.

    Oh yes it does, considering that the most popular online servers are "social" servers, where erotic roleplay is rampant. The things these players do with shrink, enlarge and grease spells... Wizards specializing in conjuration magic so they can call themselves succubi as often as they want. The list goes on. Sexuality is definitely an important part of DnD, otherwise, these SJW wouldn't be making a big deal out of the GG outburst.

    The GG outburst also proves my point.
  • RawgrimRawgrim Member Posts: 621
    Plenty transgendered characters in the Forgotten Realms. And it has been the case since the setting came out too. Way before the BG games were even thought up.
  • BillyBroBillyBro Member Posts: 62
    Rawgrim said:

    Plenty transgendered characters in the Forgotten Realms.

    So many you can name them? Go ahead. Name them.
  • RawgrimRawgrim Member Posts: 621
    I can't. I can't even name 99% of the rest of the characters either. It has been more than 10 years since I was really "into" the Forgotten Realms. there is a second level spell, a common one, called Alter Self, too. That one changes your gender\race and whatnot.

    Come to think of it, transgendered people probably use that one all the time to be the gender of their choice. If they are spellcasters, of course.
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    edited April 2016
    typo_tilly said:

    abentwookie said:

    Btw, the fact that you claim to have transgendered friends and then use terms like "true gender" causes me to doubt the claim. Also, Ed Greenwood, the person to created the universe in which the game is set said that LGBT people do exist within that world. He is the creator so he would know.

    true gender
    real gender
    actual gender
    brain gender
    I'm a woman
    I'm a man

    I haven't heard a consensus on this. People use all different terms.
    Well, I don't want to actually pull the old "I have friends who are transgendered" like the OP but I actually do and I spend a lot of time talking to LGBT YouTubers and people on twitter. I can link you to some good ones if you would like to learn about their perspective. There are certain things that a lot of people don't know, myself included until the past couple of years.... Referring to a transgendered person as their birth name is something you don't do. Ever. Its called deadnaming. Its also not a good idea to talk about things like true or real gender because it shows a lack of understanding regarding gender identity. For a transgendered person, this IS their true gender. If you must refer to it, try to use a term like biological gender or something similar that isn't going to potentially insult them. I would be careful even with that term. If the transgendered person uses a specific term then it will probably be okay to use that with them but keep in mind that it may offend a different person.
  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    @abentwookie: Dude. That's clearly what was meant by "true gender." The gender the person identifies as, i.e., their true gender. Also, @typo_tilly is trans and probably didn't need that particular lecture.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    abentwookie said:

    typo_tilly said:

    abentwookie said:

    Btw, the fact that you claim to have transgendered friends and then use terms like "true gender" causes me to doubt the claim. Also, Ed Greenwood, the person to created the universe in which the game is set said that LGBT people do exist within that world. He is the creator so he would know.

    true gender
    real gender
    actual gender
    brain gender
    I'm a woman
    I'm a man

    I haven't heard a consensus on this. People use all different terms.
    Well, I don't want to actually pull the old "I have friends who are transgendered" like the OP but I actually do and I spend a lot of time talking to LGBT YouTubers and people on twitter. I can link you to some good ones if you would like to learn about their perspective. There are certain things that a lot of people don't know, myself included until the past couple of years.... Referring to a transgendered person as their birth name is something you don't do. Ever. Its called deadnaming. Its also not a good idea to talk about things like true or real gender because it shows a lack of understanding regarding gender identity. For a transgendered person, this IS their true gender. If you must refer to it, try to use a term like biological gender or something similar that isn't going to potentially insult them. I would be careful even with that term. If the transgendered person uses a specific term then it will probably be okay to use that with them but keep in mind that it may offend a different person.
    I'm pretty sure Tilly knows how to communicate with transgendered people...
  • RawgrimRawgrim Member Posts: 621
    Here is how you talk to transgendered people: You talk to them, and treat them, like any other person. Which is what they are. No magic to it.
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    joluv said:

    @abentwookie: Dude. That's clearly what was meant by "true gender." The gender the person identifies as, i.e., their true gender. Also, @typo_tilly is trans and probably didn't need that particular lecture.

    You may want to read the OP again.

    "On thing stood out though. There is this character, Mizhena. She is apparently transgender. I find it strange, because my three transgender friends always create characters of their true gender when I invite them to my table. Also, I've never read about any transgender npc in the past."

    In the context of that post I am pretty sure he means that his friends play as their biological gender. Otherwise the post doesn't really make sense.
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    booinyoureyes said:

    abentwookie said:

    typo_tilly said:

    abentwookie said:

    Btw, the fact that you claim to have transgendered friends and then use terms like "true gender" causes me to doubt the claim. Also, Ed Greenwood, the person to created the universe in which the game is set said that LGBT people do exist within that world. He is the creator so he would know.

    true gender
    real gender
    actual gender
    brain gender
    I'm a woman
    I'm a man

    I haven't heard a consensus on this. People use all different terms.
    Well, I don't want to actually pull the old "I have friends who are transgendered" like the OP but I actually do and I spend a lot of time talking to LGBT YouTubers and people on twitter. I can link you to some good ones if you would like to learn about their perspective. There are certain things that a lot of people don't know, myself included until the past couple of years.... Referring to a transgendered person as their birth name is something you don't do. Ever. Its called deadnaming. Its also not a good idea to talk about things like true or real gender because it shows a lack of understanding regarding gender identity. For a transgendered person, this IS their true gender. If you must refer to it, try to use a term like biological gender or something similar that isn't going to potentially insult them. I would be careful even with that term. If the transgendered person uses a specific term then it will probably be okay to use that with them but keep in mind that it may offend a different person.
    I'm pretty sure Tilly knows how to communicate with transgendered people...
    Well, I'm not familiar with Tilly so I'm not sure why you seem to expect me to know that. His or her post made it sound like they were not sure so I was giving my opinion based on my own experience. As i said, I didn't really understand a lot of these issues myself until I started making transgendered friends online and in real life during the past couple of years.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Lecture first, ask questions later.
  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    @abentwookie: It made sense to me. I mean, it's not the best question, but I understood it. The question is why trans characters exist in the game, given that players create their own characters and are therefore never assigned a gender by a third party -- they can identify with their "true gender" from the start. Believe it or not, others have asked the same question. (To be clear, I am not asking it.)

    There are a lot of really good, thoughtful people on here, and most (not all) of the recent trolls have already been banned or moved on. You can safely give a little bit more benefit of the doubt.
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    booinyoureyes said:

    Lecture first, ask questions later.

    Yes, offering my opinion is exactly the same lecturing someone. Well, then you are lecturing me about lecturing someone else. :open_mouth:
  • abentwookieabentwookie Member Posts: 91
    BobbyBen said:

    Hello!

    First I want to say, amazing game so far! Baldur's gate has always been one of my favorite, and an expansion is a great idea! Haven't completed it yet, so no reviews for now.

    On thing stood out though. There is this character, Mizhena. She is apparently transgender. I find it strange, because my three transgender friends always create characters of their true gender when I invite them to my table. Also, I've never read about any transgender npc in the past.

    I was under the impression that transgender people did not exist in dungeon and dragon?

    What do you mean when you say that your friends play their true gender? Do you mean their gender now or their biological gender?
  • Sids1188Sids1188 Member Posts: 166
    BobbyBen said:


    I was under the impression that transgender people did not exist in dungeon and dragon?

    Yep. The reason you had that impression is because transgender characters are so rare or just otherwise never mentioned in D&D. The reason that they aren't mentioned is exactly why the character was created.
  • BillyBroBillyBro Member Posts: 62
    abentwookie said:



    What do you mean when you say that your friends play their true gender? Do you mean their gender now or their biological gender?

    I'm talking about their brain gender.

  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    Wait, does @BillyBro == @BobbyBen?
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