Hello,

I am seeking advice from any GM's that have forced gender ratios for the PLAYERS, not the PC's in a game.

The reason i am asking this question is i am considering starting an online game where i will be requiring trying to make a group consisting of 2 male and 2 female players (The real people behind their characters not characters in the game). I don't care what gender the characters they make are.

I'm my past few experiences as a player i find the thought process of mixed female and male group leans more towards true role-playing than the all male groups that lean more to game mechanics focus.

Have any other GM's seen this or experienced this? Looking for discussion on Player group composition based on player genders.


Thanks.

Edited: for clarity:

This honestly just sounds like it could be a hard thing to find. At least in my area, we take what we can get, male or female. I wouldn't necessarily fault you for trying to invite players to get a good gender mix if you have a player pool that allows you to do so, but making it a rule of your game just feels rigid to me and at least on my end would create a problem in finding the right amount of female players willing to join you.

Hello,

I am seeking advice from any GM's that have forced gender ratios for the PLAYERS, not the PC's in a game.

The reason i am asking this question is i am considering starting an online game where i will be requiring 2 male and 2 female players. I don't care what gender the characters they make are.

I'm my past few experiences as a player i find the thought process of mixed female and male group leans more towards true role-playing than the all male groups that lean more to game mechanics focus.

Have any other GM's seen this or experienced this? Looking for discussion on Player group composition based on player genders.

Thanks.

I'm on the fence here. I definitely do believe that more diverse groups, even if they're playing homogenous PCs, tend to create better roleplaying experiences for everyone involved.

That said, the notion that having a woman at the table is a magical panacea for any systemic play problems you may be experiencing is well-intentioned but maybe a little flawed - for one thing, one of the most 'roll-playing' focused gamers I've ever hosted at my table was a girl, and, alternately, treating a female player(s) like a precious unicorn(s) may not be conducive to creating a comfortable, relaxed environment for all players.

I think gender balance is a good goal for a table, but I think mandating it, however well-intentioned it may be, will inadvertently cause tension.

Totally understand the concerns, perhaps saying "Forced" in the title was incorrect , perhaps "prefer" would be more apt.

As for how women are treated at the table, i don't think i have a unicorn issue as i have killed our female player without qualms, i think i even chuckled when it happened. I am fortunate enough as a GM to have had/have female players in my current and past face to face games, so its not alien to me. I have seen that syndrome from other GM's tho whom are only exposed to Male only tables and a woman shows up for one session or so.

The reason I asked the question originally is based on my experience face to face and your thoughts on actually making that a preferred requirement. I have never had such a limit in any other games i GMed and found some games ok.. some games great. In my own personal analysis of games that seemed to really move and flow with RP rather than an exercise in mechanics is when there was a mix of men and women and how each thinks.

My wife is a PC and my friend and his wife are also PCs. We also have a single guy as a PC. It does make it interesting having a real female as a PC, and not a guy playing a female. If you can convince a lady to be your PC then the rewards are well worth it.

I don't know. It just seems like you're asking for trouble. If you do make such a requirement, don't tell anyone. Also, I'd bet that some of your experience with the combination of male and female groups likely has more to do with experienced vs inexperienced players. I've played with and run games for easily over a thousand different groups of players (albiet a majority of them were at conventions rather than being dedicated groups that play together regularly) and have found no real distinction between male and female players on any matter of role-playing, rules-lawyering, cheating, or anything else relevant to the game, positive or negative. I have, however, seen marked differences between the role-playing of the experienced vs the inexperienced. I'd personally re-evaluate your experiences to account for that and various other factors before assuming gender is the key here. Then again, who knows. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm no psychologist.

It's definitely been my experience that having a mix of genders in a game group makes it more fun and more interesting.

I haven't ever considered trying to 'force' a ratio just because I'm already picky in terms of the players' personalities and keeping a group together can be tough.

@Alatar

That's a very good observation considering experience of the player that made me think..

Of all the women players i had they were all experienced players whom learned elsewhere by the time they were introduced into my campaigns.

The bulk of new players were always younger males. I think you may be dead on why my perception is so..

Edit: In may DnD 2nd Edition campaign back in the day Our female player was the "Leader" of the group game play wise even tho another player was in charge in game... hrmm

I can't see this idea leading to anything but hurt feelings.

I wouldn't make it a rule, but just float the idea to your players as something you'd like to see. I don't know of any gamers personally that dislike the idea of playing a character of the opposite gender. I myself sometimes gravitate towards a female character. I also like to play more edgy/dark characters. Gets me out of my element, makes me have to roleplay intentionally instead of falling back on my own personality.

The way I "enforced" gender diversity in my current group was to give my players multiple pregens to choose from, tell them the genders, Motivations, and Duties, but leave the names and backstories up to them. Made "Session 0" a whole lot faster

I wouldn't make it a rule, but just float the idea to your players as something you'd like to see. I don't know of any gamers personally that dislike the idea of playing a character of the opposite gender. I myself sometimes gravitate towards a female character. I also like to play more edgy/dark characters. Gets me out of my element, makes me have to roleplay intentionally instead of falling back on my own personality.

The way I "enforced" gender diversity in my current group was to give my players multiple pregens to choose from, tell them the genders, Motivations, and Duties, but leave the names and backstories up to them. Made "Session 0" a whole lot faster

Just a note, but I believe the original poster was asking about the genders of the actual human players in the game, regardless of the genders of their characters.

@progressions ,thanks

@awayputurwpn

AS progressions said. I am asking about the REAL Human(i think most of us are ) behind the character. I have no issues with male players playing a female pc or the other way around. Its the diversity of the play group that is the focus of my question.

@progressions ,thanks

@awayputurwpn

AS progressions said. I am asking about the REAL Human(i think most of us are ) behind the character. I have no issues with male players playing a female pc or the other way around. Its the diversity of the play group that is the focus of my question.

Ahhh gotcha.

Then no, I have never done such a thing I guess I've always just let the chips fall where they may...although I think I may have had slightly more fun in a mixed-gender environment. I don't see anything wrong with communicating a preference for gender diversity.

2 things:

For an online game, who's to say someone isn't lying?

I play tabletop with two other guys and four girls. Role-playing ability isn't based on gender. All of these girls were in the theater group in high school, but not all of them get into character well.

I play by table and my group is comprised of one guy and five women, myself included.

I think if you are receiving many requests, it is a good idea to be diverse. However, if you're only getting requests from guys, I don't think that's bad. It depends on your available pool of players.

Okay, so spot-on from Alatar1313 in that it most likely chalks up to experience level, which can be just as varied as the players' personalities, as well.

And yes, forcing an issue is not a good idea. Telling anyone what you're trying to do probably isn't a good idea, either.

Sounds like you just want some new blood in the group.

So I say start small. Find a friend of your supposedly helpful alternate gender, then present to the group that you'd like to invite so-and-so out for a game.

Also, not committing to epic-length campaigns might help. My game group tries a lot of stuff, so sometimes we only commit to a three-game miniseries. We can also fall back on board game night if whoever's GM'ing the game on-deck could use a break. The point is to get together.

Star Wars has become our comeback game. ;-D

We are also starting to rotate GM's for different games, which, if anyone in this thread has never tried in their group, you all need to do it, even if just for a few games. I cannot describe to you just how amazing & illuminating this new experiment has been for all of us, and helpful to all of our games. (fwiw, I've been running EotE, and we are discussing a "spinoff," depending on which PC's go to AoR, and one of the PC's from EotE will take over to GM one game, and I will GM the other.)

But yes, introducing new players can be like introducing a new house rule or a new technique in your GM'ing. You add it in once or twice as an experiment, then see how it goes. Maybe try the same with adding a new person for a game or two. Shake it up a little, but you can always go back to your comfort zone if it doesn't go as well as you'd like. Then shake it some more, or in a different way. Add another new person, or a different one.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

- James