[Banestorm] Female Adventurers

[LoneWolf23k]

So, considering Banestorm's strongly traditional gender roles, aside from Caithness' female knights, how would one go about justifying female PC adventurers, like swordswomen or sorceresses?

[Qoltar]

Possibly same way that people like Amelia Earhart were justified in the 1930s.

They are mavericks or Pioneers of some kind.

The more I read of BANESTORM, the more it reads like in some parts of that world they just pay lip service to those traditional roles.
In their own unique ways Caithness and Cardiel are showing the rest of the continent that things can be done differently.

I imagine Megalan society to be pretty condescending toward female adventurers. At least until the first fight or two happens where they prove themselves.

- Edmund Charlton

[DrTemp]

What Qoltar said, plus:

In Megalos, female slaves who fought in the arenas may be quite common, that would be perfectly in line with what Megalos is protrayed like: It would be seen as some kind of decadent, but many nobles would want such things to happen in their arena: Women fighting women, several women fighting one man, women fighting large beasts.. Of course, they'd be wearing very tight chainmail bikinis which have little protectional value but look so cute.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

So, considering Banestorm's strongly traditional gender roles, aside from Caithness' female knights, how would one go about justifying female PC adventurers, like swordswomen or sorceresses?

I thought that we kept the option for female adventurers as wide open as we could without looking like we were trying too hard.

There are female knights in Caithness. There are active women keeping Sahudese etiquette tied in knots (as usual). There's Dame Catherine "la Noire" (one of my favourite creations in that book) as a role model. (Well, okay, a lousy feminist role model. But hey, Pirate Queen.) There are doubtless any number of Red Sonja clones in the Nomad Lands. There are special rules to handle how sorceresses can do their duty to the state in al-Wazif.

Oh well.

[LoneWolf23k]

Ok, I think my question was answered quite well. I especially liked DrTemp and Phil's suggestions.

Now, what would be the social perception of female adventurers in various lands? I can see some grudging acceptance of female swordswomen in Megalos, but I doubt Al-Haz and Al-Wazif would be so tolerant of women trying to be so independant.

[rosignol]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Ok, I think my question was answered quite well. I especially liked DrTemp and Phil's suggestions.

Now, what would be the social perception of female adventurers in various lands? I can see some grudging acceptance of female swordswomen in Megalos, but I doubt Al-Haz and Al-Wazif would be so tolerant of women trying to be so independant.

I suspect that as a practical matter, there are people may not be happy to see someone diverging from the traditional gender role in that society, but if the person in question was wearing a sword, they would probably be disinclined to actually do anything about it.

People who wear swords tend to know how to use them, and as always, discretion is the better part of valor.

[JAW]

Well mages are pretty eccentric bunch anyway and high lewels of magery are not so common so I think it would not be hard to find a mage who would accept a woman with magery 2 or 3 as an apprentice.. Of course later the journey(wo)man mage might hawe a bit harder time to find legitimate employment as a court magician or whatewer than a male one so she'd be forced to adventuring..

Swordwomen would most propably be oputlaws of some kind. I don't see many legitimate armies or armsmens guilds accepting women in yrth (expect maybe in caithnes). Disguise skill could help a bit though. But explaining where the women hawe learned the weapons skills in the firts place might be troublesome but maybe you can come up with something like "she wanted rewence becouse of X on Y and trained secretly by herself working as a maid on knight Zs household.." (but preferably something less cheesy than that)

[DrTemp]

Originally Posted by JAW

[...]
Swordwomen would most propably be oputlaws of some kind. I don't see many legitimate armies or armsmens guilds accepting women in yrth (expect maybe in caithnes).[...]

Funny. I don't see them not accepting able women.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by DrTemp

Funny. I don't see them not accepting able women.

That's the thing about prejudice. It keeps you from accepting able individuals on the ground of their sex, ethnicity, religion, etc.

(I admit that you may have meant something entirely different there...)

[DrTemp]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

That's the thing about prejudice. It keeps you from accepting able individuals on the ground of their sex, ethnicity, religion, etc. [...]

But the implication that each and every armsguild master will have such prejudices is neither root in real life experience nor in anything written in GURPS Banestorm.

So while some gamer wants it to be that way, there is no necessity to play it that way, even when totally sticking to the book as written.