The Rainbow Warrior - gay characters in RPGs

I guess what made me consider this, and I've been thinking on this subject for many months, was a post on a message board regarding Dragon Age 2 computer RPG and the decision to make one of the NPCs a gay male character who would flirt with the male player character.  This caused some players (the hilariously named "straight male gamer") consternation and feelings that they had become marginalised.  This of course I completely refute but it started me thinking:  Are gay characters allowed in tabletop RPGs?

The simple answer is yes, they are.  However as with life, nothing is that simple.  There may be GMs who are uncomfortable with the notion of someone playing a gay character and may indeed place an embargo on such a character type.  Would they be right to do so?  Well as odd a reaction as I think the GM would have in such a ban, I'd have to say yes they are right in respect of their own game.  A GM can place on his world or scenario any character restrictions he/she so chooses (for example, I have never and will never allow players to play dragons in Castle Falkenstein).  Whilst the reasons may be nonsensical to players the GMs view is final and if they decide they do not want gay characters in their games then its his/her way or the highway.

But what about the games themselves, leaving aside potential GM biase and restrictions?  Well here I say the question isn't so much "can players choose to play a gay character?" but rather "how out will the character reasonably be?"

I will explain.  Take a game like the Star Trek RPG or Prime Directive RPG.  In these games we shall assume the character is a member of the Federation.  Could they play an out gay character?  I'd say yes as it would be entirely in keeping with Roddenberry's vision. This is not to say that the character would never experience prejudice but in general the character could be out without any legal problems and could I suppose be married to their partner if they so desired.  This is because the Federation has an ideology that would allow for such an openly gay character.  The Klingon Empire might not be so open, and any Klingons who were gay would undoubtedly be more in the closet or face possibility of death or being shunned by their family and friends.

Castle Falkenstein, a game I use a lot, is set in a Victorian society.  Yes it is one with magic and dwarfs and dragons etc, but it is at its heart Victorian scoeity and in that time it was illegal to be gay.  Now anyone wishing to play a gay character in that game must keep that in mind when deciding how in the closet their character is.  Similarly any game taking place in medieval times (like Chivalry & Sorcery or Pendragon) would be pretty much burned at the stake for being gay and players must bear that in mind.

On the other side there are fantasy games like Blue Rose which actively allows for gay characters and indeed goes to great lengths to promote their equal status.  Here in such egalitarian states being gay and openly so is perfectly fine.

Most other games are pretty much neutral on the issue allowing the GM to place whatever world view he/she wishes onto it.  This is where a GM with a major problem with the notion may put their foot down and deny such an option but most will not.

Why would anyone wish to play a gay character in the first place?  I'm sure some would argue that being gay or not is irrelevant to a game which all about adventure and action.  Well, yes and no.  Certainly if all the game is is just dungeoneering, hack & slash adventure (or equivalent from other genres) then the choice of playing a gay character is pretty irrelevant other to provide I suppose an interesting quirk to make them look unique in the crowd.  If that is the only reason for it and the GM is okay with that then I have no objection, as it allows at least an interesting slant on what could otherwise be a pretty generic character.

But if there is more to your game than action/adventure, where social interaction and indeed romance can come into play, then sexual preference can indeed become an issue.  So why would people play a gay character if that is the case, given that heterosexuality is the more prevalent in society?  There are of course two very obvious reasons, both being equally valid.

The first reason is that the player themselves may be gay.  If we accept the notion that oft times as players we don't so much play someone completely different but merely play ourselves as we would be if we had those abilities, skills, powers etc, then we must accept that this is true across the board.  Most of the characters I have played have been white, male and heterosexual, because they are me in another guise.  if I am allowed to play characters that are extensions of myself then players who are gay or bisexual must be allowed the opportunity to do the same because that is fair and in keeping with the game.

The second reason is that sometimes we like to play someone who isn't quite ourselves.  be it on gender lines, perhaps a different ethnicity, then we must accept that one aspect we can change is to play someone of a differing sexual preference to our own.  Whether we do it to merely explore a different side of life (under the old "walk a mile in their shoes" mentality) or simply to add a quirk to our character to make them stand out from the crowd, it must be acceptable to do so.  We aren't talking about things that are abusive or illegal here (although of course we commit acts of shocking violence as our characters during combat) so there are no real moral considerations.

So to players I say this:  if you are gay, or if a player in your group is gay, dont be afraid to make your character gay or be surprised or annoyed or offended if there is a gay character in the group.  if you aren't gay and are looking at creating a unique character in your party, then sexuality is certainly one aspect you could try.  Only be mindful that the world your character inhabits may not be as toelrant of homosexuals as your gaming group is and as such you need to decide how out your character is and accept the consequences of that decision (if you are playing a character that is out in a world where being gay is a crime, that could definitely create some interesting role-playing scenarios and character development as they would essentially be a fugitive).

GMs, dont be put off by gay characters.  Unlike my embargo on dragon characters in Falkenstein (which is down to the fact that they would imbalance a game) gay characters no more imbalance a game than a straight character does. Certainly the world you place that character into may be tolerant or intolerant of homosexuals to a greater or lesser degree either way, but that does not stop people from playing gay characters.  As mentioned above, a character being gay in a world intolerant of them could give a very dramatic extra edge to any scenario or campaign if the PC is out, or indeed outed.

So wave the rainbow flag and dont be afraid to let the characters express themselves.  its role-playing after all,