Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
...so the most sensitive subject of this topic is the "adhere to your character sheet while RPing" bit?
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KnifeParty
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
*after drinking two bottles of Eagle's splendor, all her pimples disappear and mascara is applied.*
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
Setting aside any charisma debate.
Do not oversexualize your PCs. Regardless of any stat, as it really goes along with the no cybering policy of Arelith.
Do not oversexualize your PCs. Regardless of any stat, as it really goes along with the no cybering policy of Arelith.
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
LOL, XXX!
No way in the world I would put that on one of my characters. Leaves the belly area, hell it leaves the entire character open to damage.
What a mess!
No way in the world I would put that on one of my characters. Leaves the belly area, hell it leaves the entire character open to damage.
What a mess!
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Airport Proximity Jesus
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
What're you so weak that you can't flex attacks away?
Cool kids wear shades during the endless night Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
I generally dislike Stats influencing character appearances. Any strength character is going to have 20+ str. I can casually carry around half a ton. That's just...absurd. That would mean any strength character is the most roided out person in existence. Applying the same to charisma in such a high-magic world simply doesn't work. Sure, I have 8 charisma. Oh. I drank a single potion. Now I have 12. It kinda makes me wonder if people like my character for who he is or because I have Charisma: high. What is even the point of a description if it will ultimately fall upon what the charisma read out is? Additionally, the classes people want to play that match their character do not match up with the stats. Heck, some of them are tied pretty heavily to alignment. If you want to be a swordsman who is also charismatic -- you're probably going to have to settle with being good OR evil. Not neutral. (Paladin, BG, Hexblade).
3rd and 3.5 were made with stat inflation in mind.
It's hard for me to imagine anyone getting super bent out of shape over a description of all things. If it breaks the rules, sure, I can understand that. But otherwise? It's probably just someone making the character they want to make.
3rd and 3.5 were made with stat inflation in mind.
It's hard for me to imagine anyone getting super bent out of shape over a description of all things. If it breaks the rules, sure, I can understand that. But otherwise? It's probably just someone making the character they want to make.
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
I RP 'beauty' as separate to charisma.
I know people who are unbelievably gorgeous and abysmally uncharismatic.
I know people who are offensively ugly but their charm is through the roof.
However, I do RP physical stats as a kind of beauty or attractiveness. If someone has high con, I think it's safe to assume they are very healthy and to me that's the simplest form of physical attractiveness.
I use CHA as their personality, confidence and some aspects of appearance (hygiene, grooming, dressing).
Low CHA characters might wear obnoxious clothing, inappropriate for the setting. They might act arrogant or rude or selfish, all qualities I see as very low CHA, poor social skills, under developed emotional intelligence and stuff.
Other stats can fill in gaps. Maybe you have low CHA, but very high int bonus/skills invested in a thing, and so now you're pretty proficient at persuasion or something. Maybe you're very wise and know what to say.
There are so many imaginative ways we can use our stats, I could go on for hours .. I think the important thing is to not be too judgmental too quickly of other players. Just because you think someone isn't roleplaying their stats, doesn't mean you're right. You could be very wrong. They could actually have put in very large amounts of effort to roleplay every stat and skill, and you're just interpreting things differently than they would.
I think not judging others is good advice in general for a lot of Arelith. The snap judgements are really obnoxious and something that contributes heavily to my 'burn out'.
As far as descriptions that talk about how attractive a character is? I couldn't give less of a fudge. It's fantasy, I expect most adventurers to be fantastical in many ways.
So I guess my answers would go..
1. Nope. I don't really experience it, at least not to the extent you do. I see plenty of female characters with no mention of their attractiveness and I see plenty that are decidedly hideous and I see plenty that are meant to be babes.
2. IMO, not a problem. Not even something I think about. To each their own. If they want that to be their description, then that is how I will roleplay their character.
3. Not sure how to answer this one. I can't speak for all females or males, but I can say I don't think there's an expectation for either gender to include attractiveness in their description. You should only include it, if you want to/you think it's an important enough aspect of your character to include.
In fact I feel a little opposite to the OP. I feel like Arelith has (to me and my culture) a bit of a fear of women. I will explain.
Most of my characters in recent history have been attractive females. The way I make characters is, I come up with as real of a person as I can in the Forgotten Realms setting. I want to flesh out every aspect of them. Everything. I want to feel like a crazy method actor while playing them. If you ask them any question about themselves or their past immediately after they step foot on Arelith, they will have a life-time of answers to give you. I want to be immersed and I want to be them, whoever they are. I very often lose myself in them .. It's easy for me to actually feel what they're feeling, to cry when they're crying and laugh when they're laughing, to be happy or sad or angry with them. This is what roleplaying is to me. If I'm not achieving that level of immersion (IMO) then I'm not fully in-character and I should step away from the game until I'm inspired again.
My longest played and most beloved character was a halfling druid named Magpie. She was UGLY. I played her low stats (totem druid) as her being entirely feeble and yuck. Thin stringy black hair, pale clammy skin and little beady eyes. She needed the aid of magical equipment (Thank you Jenna <3) just so that she could get around like a normal (non-adventurer) person. But then ... !
After I rolled her, I began playing an attractive character.. An elf. When I would wear what elves wear in the source material and canon artwork that I was inspired by, other players would insist my character is a .. Hoar (words/implications along that line are pretty common on Arelith, and it disgusts me). A strange fixation on female elves, and all females for that matter to dress like men or wear pants always, or a long dress as if this is some sort of Amish colony sim. The meme of always making derogatory comments towards any female character that isn't entirely covered neck to toe or has some mention of attractiveness in their bio, to me, comes across as OOC hang-ups like a profound insecurity, fear of women or a need to belittle others. It makes me want to do that stuff even more, in part to counter what I see as immature toxicity.
Yes, please do keep it PG-13 of course. No, don't go overboard with the beauty descriptions, even if it's within the rules.
.. But let's also be respectful and trust that our fellow players are actually roleplaying appropriately.
Everyone will have a lot more fun if your default mindset of reciprocity is "Yes, and .. " rather than "No, but .. " and the quality of roleplay on the server will improve.
I know people who are unbelievably gorgeous and abysmally uncharismatic.
I know people who are offensively ugly but their charm is through the roof.
However, I do RP physical stats as a kind of beauty or attractiveness. If someone has high con, I think it's safe to assume they are very healthy and to me that's the simplest form of physical attractiveness.
I use CHA as their personality, confidence and some aspects of appearance (hygiene, grooming, dressing).
Low CHA characters might wear obnoxious clothing, inappropriate for the setting. They might act arrogant or rude or selfish, all qualities I see as very low CHA, poor social skills, under developed emotional intelligence and stuff.
Other stats can fill in gaps. Maybe you have low CHA, but very high int bonus/skills invested in a thing, and so now you're pretty proficient at persuasion or something. Maybe you're very wise and know what to say.
There are so many imaginative ways we can use our stats, I could go on for hours .. I think the important thing is to not be too judgmental too quickly of other players. Just because you think someone isn't roleplaying their stats, doesn't mean you're right. You could be very wrong. They could actually have put in very large amounts of effort to roleplay every stat and skill, and you're just interpreting things differently than they would.
I think not judging others is good advice in general for a lot of Arelith. The snap judgements are really obnoxious and something that contributes heavily to my 'burn out'.
As far as descriptions that talk about how attractive a character is? I couldn't give less of a fudge. It's fantasy, I expect most adventurers to be fantastical in many ways.
So I guess my answers would go..
1. Nope. I don't really experience it, at least not to the extent you do. I see plenty of female characters with no mention of their attractiveness and I see plenty that are decidedly hideous and I see plenty that are meant to be babes.
2. IMO, not a problem. Not even something I think about. To each their own. If they want that to be their description, then that is how I will roleplay their character.
3. Not sure how to answer this one. I can't speak for all females or males, but I can say I don't think there's an expectation for either gender to include attractiveness in their description. You should only include it, if you want to/you think it's an important enough aspect of your character to include.
In fact I feel a little opposite to the OP. I feel like Arelith has (to me and my culture) a bit of a fear of women. I will explain.
Most of my characters in recent history have been attractive females. The way I make characters is, I come up with as real of a person as I can in the Forgotten Realms setting. I want to flesh out every aspect of them. Everything. I want to feel like a crazy method actor while playing them. If you ask them any question about themselves or their past immediately after they step foot on Arelith, they will have a life-time of answers to give you. I want to be immersed and I want to be them, whoever they are. I very often lose myself in them .. It's easy for me to actually feel what they're feeling, to cry when they're crying and laugh when they're laughing, to be happy or sad or angry with them. This is what roleplaying is to me. If I'm not achieving that level of immersion (IMO) then I'm not fully in-character and I should step away from the game until I'm inspired again.
My longest played and most beloved character was a halfling druid named Magpie. She was UGLY. I played her low stats (totem druid) as her being entirely feeble and yuck. Thin stringy black hair, pale clammy skin and little beady eyes. She needed the aid of magical equipment (Thank you Jenna <3) just so that she could get around like a normal (non-adventurer) person. But then ... !
After I rolled her, I began playing an attractive character.. An elf. When I would wear what elves wear in the source material and canon artwork that I was inspired by, other players would insist my character is a .. Hoar (words/implications along that line are pretty common on Arelith, and it disgusts me). A strange fixation on female elves, and all females for that matter to dress like men or wear pants always, or a long dress as if this is some sort of Amish colony sim. The meme of always making derogatory comments towards any female character that isn't entirely covered neck to toe or has some mention of attractiveness in their bio, to me, comes across as OOC hang-ups like a profound insecurity, fear of women or a need to belittle others. It makes me want to do that stuff even more, in part to counter what I see as immature toxicity.
Yes, please do keep it PG-13 of course. No, don't go overboard with the beauty descriptions, even if it's within the rules.
.. But let's also be respectful and trust that our fellow players are actually roleplaying appropriately.
Everyone will have a lot more fun if your default mindset of reciprocity is "Yes, and .. " rather than "No, but .. " and the quality of roleplay on the server will improve.
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
I think the attractiveness thing is only an issue insofar as I know so many of the borderline sexy elven fun times descriptions probably come from male players which adds a layer of meta-creepy.
But if the descriptions aren't too over the top it doesn't bother me. Female characters in TV, books and movies are usually portrayed as attractive. By the same token male characters are usually described as tall, muscular and independent. As a short scrawny bum this doesn't trigger me.
But if the descriptions aren't too over the top it doesn't bother me. Female characters in TV, books and movies are usually portrayed as attractive. By the same token male characters are usually described as tall, muscular and independent. As a short scrawny bum this doesn't trigger me.
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Aleilsum Ellrum
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
I loathe the "im gorrrgeous, look at my tits" pics. We're here for storytelling and action, there's other servers for sexual stuff.
When I look for non-erotic portraits, it's a hard job. Especially if I want to play human or elf.
The intellectual discussion is one thing, but it's also taking away the practical issue: showing tits = sexual, go on, I wanna be getting attention.
[editted to tone down the extreme grumpiness last night, sorry!]
When I look for non-erotic portraits, it's a hard job. Especially if I want to play human or elf.
The intellectual discussion is one thing, but it's also taking away the practical issue: showing tits = sexual, go on, I wanna be getting attention.
[editted to tone down the extreme grumpiness last night, sorry!]
Last edited by Aleilsum Ellrum on Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Aleilsum Ellrum
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
Could the DMs maybe remove some of the more extreme pics? They're just distasteful.
Last edited by Aleilsum Ellrum on Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Glowing Mushroom
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Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
This is a delicate topic, especially on Arelith, where there's going to be lots of unpopular opinions.
The sheer number of ultra-gorgeous female PCs that are also lesbians on Arelith is quite frankly astounding. Especially considering that they are most likely played by males. It is not uncommon to find lewd, baiting character descriptions, or find yourself reading cringe-worthy flirtatious RP between female characters.
I'm not sure if there is a solution to this, other than straight up asking the community to tone it down. At the same time, we're supposed to be here to have fun and Roleplay the characters we want to Roleplay. But therein lies the grey area and issues of balance between what is actually appropriate, and what is appropriating.
The short term solution, at least for my part, is to try and distance myself from PCs who go out of their way to sexualize their characters or obnoxiously roleplay their romance and relationships, especially if it is evident enough that they are extrapolating some kind of lesbian fantasy.
Relationships are important for RP, no matter the sexual orientation. The diversity is what can make the RP environment so rich. But there's a huge difference between genuine romance in RP, and fantasy sexy elven fun times. The RPers who tend to sexualize their characters and the RPers who tend to emphasize their relationships and physicality/flirtation are not mutually exclusive, it is most often the contrary that's true. It would be more comforting to see these types of things toned down as a whole, but I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen.
The sheer number of ultra-gorgeous female PCs that are also lesbians on Arelith is quite frankly astounding. Especially considering that they are most likely played by males. It is not uncommon to find lewd, baiting character descriptions, or find yourself reading cringe-worthy flirtatious RP between female characters.
I'm not sure if there is a solution to this, other than straight up asking the community to tone it down. At the same time, we're supposed to be here to have fun and Roleplay the characters we want to Roleplay. But therein lies the grey area and issues of balance between what is actually appropriate, and what is appropriating.
The short term solution, at least for my part, is to try and distance myself from PCs who go out of their way to sexualize their characters or obnoxiously roleplay their romance and relationships, especially if it is evident enough that they are extrapolating some kind of lesbian fantasy.
Relationships are important for RP, no matter the sexual orientation. The diversity is what can make the RP environment so rich. But there's a huge difference between genuine romance in RP, and fantasy sexy elven fun times. The RPers who tend to sexualize their characters and the RPers who tend to emphasize their relationships and physicality/flirtation are not mutually exclusive, it is most often the contrary that's true. It would be more comforting to see these types of things toned down as a whole, but I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen.
Burin the Earthly.
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
Just bake them a fruitcake in game 
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
So I'm not new but have returned after a two year hiatus. I'm playing a slave in Andunor(Zazu). Just throwing in my two cents. Attractiveness doesn't always need to rely on charisma scores, nor does it need to rely on physical scores either. After all a high str, dex, con can still have zits and blotchy patchy skin rash. likewise a high cha person can have all those skin problems but be charismatic. Hitler wasn't exactly a supermodel but was undoubtedly charismatic.
Anyhow these are my slave's stats and a brief explanation as to why:
str = 8 so she is soft and weak of muscle
dex = 12 so she has some grace and poise
con = 12 so she is not unhealthy looking, too scrawny, or too fat
wis = 10 so she is not experienced in the ways of the world but is not completely unlearned
int = 19 so she learns things relatively fast and has been trained to be a well mannered and educated slave
cha = 12 so she has nice skin and is not entirely unattractive, but she has the personality equivalent of a plank of wood
With this build I devoted almost the entirety of her cha to her looks, but when asked questions about her hopes or dreams they always end with the same wooden answer, to serve her master or mistress well, and whatever they desire, or whatever pleases them. So she sorely lacks that leadership quality. Strangely that makes her somewhat well liked by the evil tyrannical denizens of the UD
Anyhow these are my slave's stats and a brief explanation as to why:
str = 8 so she is soft and weak of muscle
dex = 12 so she has some grace and poise
con = 12 so she is not unhealthy looking, too scrawny, or too fat
wis = 10 so she is not experienced in the ways of the world but is not completely unlearned
int = 19 so she learns things relatively fast and has been trained to be a well mannered and educated slave
cha = 12 so she has nice skin and is not entirely unattractive, but she has the personality equivalent of a plank of wood
With this build I devoted almost the entirety of her cha to her looks, but when asked questions about her hopes or dreams they always end with the same wooden answer, to serve her master or mistress well, and whatever they desire, or whatever pleases them. So she sorely lacks that leadership quality. Strangely that makes her somewhat well liked by the evil tyrannical denizens of the UD
Re: Cultural Issue - description of female/male PCs
This is all that needs to be said. Read this, and then read it again, and then look at your description, and then read it one more time. Adjust accordingly. Thanks.