From: M Anderson (avimort@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au)
Date: Mon 09 Sep 1996 - 02:24:02 EEST
Hi folks,
I've been lurking for a while, watching the menstruation debate
(largely between male gamers) and finally felt the urge to delurk for one
comment...
Ian Gorlick scribed:
>Players with female characters in Glorantha should have to put up with
>menstrual cramps, pregnancy, and sexual discrimination. The world will
>be less believable if these aren't there. It would be a nicer world if
>those weren't there, but I don't think that 'nice' is something we are
>seeking in Glorantha.
Okay, that got me riled! As a member of that 52% of the population that
does have to put up with these things in RL (though not the pregnancy bit
yet, thank Latex!) I'll be damned if I'm going to allow someone running
a RPG to tell me as a player that my character is going to miss out on an
evening's adventuring because my character has cramps!
Women who are unfortunate enough to suffer from menstrual cramps are well
aware of their debilitating nature, and will do almost anything to avoid
them. In the Real World, this means taking appropriate pain killing
drugs, grabbing a hot water bottle, and growling at their menfolks
who chide them for letting a "little bit of pain get you down". For those
of you out there lacking the extra X chromosome that allows you to share
in these joys, imagine having a boot to the testicles combined with a red
hot poker impaled in your guts for anything up to three days at a time.
Now, I'm not sure about the rest of you out there, but I roleplay for FUN!
The regular Friday night game of RQ is an escape from the real world, a
time that I can be someone else, and do things that I could never do in
this concrete and work-a-day world.
Ian, If you start adding the unpleasant but "real" parts of life in to
Surely in a world as full of magic as Glorantha, the first use of magic
your RPG, while not make the male characters make saving rolls each year
they age against Prostate enlargement, and describe to them in exquisite
detail the agony of trying to piss when it feels like they are passing
razor blades?
that any female would be taught on becoming a woman would be a small
charm to remove the pain of menstruation. Why isn't it written up in any
of the books? Because it's women's business, and not spoken of to the
menfolk. And as for the blood and other mess that goes with it? Hah! Ever
ask yourself what the PCs use for toilet paper? Ever felt like going into
that sort of detail? Want to explain why they never seem to have
excrement caked under their fingernails when they shake the hand of the
Lunar Governor of Pavis? (Now there's a plot waiting to happen!)
No? I didn't think so.. This is a Fantasy roleplaying game. There are
limits to the levels of reality is is necessary to go into. Sandy, I
loved your mythic reasons why women menstruate, and will incorporate them
into games when appropriate, but Ian, there is NO WAY I am going to
torture my players and myself by bringing the level of gritty reality into
my games that you would appear to be arguing for!
They simply don't deserve that level of punishment!
Errhrrm.. Right..
(steps down off soapbox!)
Yours,
Marion
avimort@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au
avimort@zikzak.net
------------------------------
End of Glorantha Digest V3 #179
*******************************
RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark
of Chaosium. With the exception of previously copyrighted material,
unless specified otherwise all text in this digest is copyright by the
author or authors, with rights granted to copy for personal use, to
excerpt in reviews and replies, and to archive unchanged for
electronic retrieval.
Send electronic mail to Majordomo@hops.wharton.upenn.edu with "help"
in the body of the message for subscription information on this and
other mailing lists.
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 13 Jun 2003 - 16:52:46 EEST