Gender in BR

[Kenneth Gauck]

- -----Original Message-----
From: the Falcon
Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 8:09 AM
>
>I don't feel like discussing alignment anymore (it's really getting
>kinda boring), but I do have one little question concerning what you just
>said: isn't Siele a woman?
>

Sorry about that, since I consider all the women a demographic impossibiliy
(it implies a low birth rate, possibly even a slightly negative one), I
assume everyone is male except titled regents. My campaign has 50-60% child
mortality by the age of 5, and 10% female mortality in birth, so a woman who
spends 15 years between age 15 and 30 having seven pregencies probably has 3
live children and only half of women survive that long. That is why there
are so many step-parents in medival stories and fairy tales.

As far as I am concerned it is a consession to modern sensibilities to treat
gender the way BR (and D&D in general) do. If I wanted modern sensibilities
I'd play a game set in the current era or the future. I hear a new Star
Trek TNG RPG is comming out.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@earthlink.net

[David Sean Brown]

> As far as I am concerned it is a consession to modern sensibilities to treat
> gender the way BR (and D&D in general) do. If I wanted modern sensibilities
> I'd play a game set in the current era or the future. I hear a new Star
> Trek TNG RPG is comming out.

It is out..and actually doesn't seem that bad...

Sean

[Pieter Sleijpen]

Kenneth Gauck wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: the Falcon
> Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 8:09 AM
> >
> >I don't feel like discussing alignment anymore (it's really getting
> >kinda boring), but I do have one little question concerning what you just
> >said: isn't Siele a woman?
> >
>
> Sorry about that, since I consider all the women a demographic impossibiliy
> (it implies a low birth rate, possibly even a slightly negative one), I
> assume everyone is male except titled regents. My campaign has 50-60% child
> mortality by the age of 5, and 10% female mortality in birth, so a woman who
> spends 15 years between age 15 and 30 having seven pregencies probably has 3
> live children and only half of women survive that long. That is why there
> are so many step-parents in medival stories and fairy tales.
>
> As far as I am concerned it is a consession to modern sensibilities to treat
> gender the way BR (and D&D in general) do. If I wanted modern sensibilities
> I'd play a game set in the current era or the future. I hear a new Star
> Trek TNG RPG is comming out.

Except that women in the upper classes can afford priests and the
priests would be willing to lend their power (it never hurts for the
temple and god to have powerful material allies). That simple 'cure
disease' spell will severly lower death due to birthrate.

Pieter Sleijpen

[Kenneth Gauck]

- -----Original Message-----
From: Pieter Sleijpen
Date: Friday, February 26, 1999 9:35 AM
>
>Except that women in the upper classes can afford priests and the
>priests would be willing to lend their power (it never hurts for the
>temple and god to have powerful material allies). That simple 'cure
>disease' spell will severly lower death due to birthrate.

In theory yes, but let me complicate the situation somewhat .
IMC, any recipient of a cure or remove spell must make a system shock,
failure means the ailment or curse might remit a bit, but is not cured.
Only one cure/remove attempt per month is permitted. So some of these women
with their low CON's are not so lucky.

Further, IMO the priests with exceptional wisdom scores have their own fish
to fry and are not at the beck and call of well-born women giving birth. So
the ones with lower wisdom scores take the role of spell casters in a noble
household. That means a chance of spell failure.

I also give the newborn a system shock roll.

All of these tend to keep the invulnerability factor down.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@earthlink.net