Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

The only DF Barbarian I ever GMd had this (though I haven't read the Barbarians book and called it Arrowproof Nudity, but it was the same idea). He was a colossal THREE-FOOT TALL Leprechaun in my all-Leprechauns campaign, Little Green Men. His standard move at the commencement of any hostilities was to whip off his kilt, which he also became skilled in using as a Light Cloak and Sling.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Hahaha, that's amazing!

I just found the very particular naming of the trait to be interesting. I wonder what the story is behind that? TTRPGs are mostly written by heterosexual, cis-gendered men... which is pretty true of GURPS, although perhaps I shouldn't be making assumptions about the author's identities. My impression though is that by large they're straight men. Oh, sure, there's women involved in GURPS. But if this stuff was written by men, by a primarily male consumer base... well, it's safe to assume intentional homoeroticism. Jokingly is totally fine too, plenty of LGBTQ+ people are totally OK with jokes being cracked at the expense of queerfolk so long as they're made in good taste. This seems to be the intention here with "Beefcake Protection".

I usually deem it largely unnecessary to list the sexuality of a character on their sheet (nothing to do with queer awareness, "fade to black" is just a scarcity in roleplaying, at least anecdotally). Almost all my characters are heterosexual, cis-gendered people, and I usually only dip into alternative sexualities/alternative gendering if I'm for whatever reason wanting to explore LGBTQ+ themes. I've had some queer characters... but their sexuality/gender for the most part just isn't that important to most typical adventuring.

For characters with the Sex Appeal skill, as Bessarion has, sexuality becomes a bit more relevant in adventuring. Should it need be made apparent, yes, Bessarion is a heterosexual, cis-gendered faun male. The Lecherousness trait has some strongly implied bicuriosity though... honestly, I find the queercoding in GURPS traits to be quite amusing.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Yeah, you really shouldn't.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I don't know what I don't know, I can only guess. If you took offense to my statement, I apologize.

I'm all too familiar with homophobia/transphobia. A lot of the horrific child abuse and trauma I experienced as an adult was because of it.

As a child, I was repeatedly raped and molested, neglected and starved, thrown into a room and then subjected to toxic fumes, physically abused to the point of suffering head trauma that caused an immediate seizure, was witness to kittens being smashed to death... the list goes on.

As I transitioned to adulthood, the horror only continued. I've been battling crippling PTSD my entire life... over the past decade, I've been mostly homeless. I've tried to hold onto a job as well as I could despite my mental health, but it was and has been such a struggle. I suffered even more trauma as an adult... threatened with violence and raped, beaten and left to bleed in a puddle of my own blood by someone throwing hateful slurs, narrowly escaping with a female friend from a machete-wielding mad man hellbent on murdering us....

I have suffered enough because of homophobia/transphobia.

So, I'm genuinely sincere with my apology. My insensitivity might be born from my "profound callousness", something I've been labeled with before by others. Some might even accuse me of sociopathy... something my older brother was afflicted with before the blunt head trauma and excessive substance abuse totally scrambled the rest of his marbles. I find the accusation laughable, only even somewhat believable if you believe in the "environmental factors" (PTSD, ala Dexter) triggering the genetics.

Unlike my older brother, a child sexual abuser, serial killer of domestic pets, and committer of grand theft auto... I have standards. Those standards include being at least somewhat empathetic to the LGBTQ+ community.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Something like 'please don't make assumptions like that' would have been a nicer way to put that. I agree with your general message that he certainly can't safely just assume something like that, but I get the feeling you're intentionally trying to be hostile and push Tymanthee away and that isn't really doing anyone any favors.

In the interest of keeping a friendly environment and avoiding unnecessary conflicts it is often better to assume comments like the one from Tymathee are made in good faith, without ill intention, and are perhaps simply the result of someone struggling to communicate. People can be tired, unfocused, simply not native English speakers, etc. and not realize that something sounded a bit problematic.

If someone actually is trying to take a platform to make sexist/racist/[...] remarks it tends to become very obvious very quickly, so I wouldn't worry too much about something like what Tymanthee wrote. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

In my head canon, all Fauns are PAN-sexual [rimshot!]

I'll show myself out...

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

BOOOOOO!!!
I admit that one was pretty good. Now get out of here!

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Bolded by me for emphasis.

In GURPS terms, I might qualify for the Callous Disadvantage. If not that, unquestionably the Insensitive Quirk. If you had the backstory I have (admittedly quite out there... but life is not always so mundane), you'd probably be notably callous too. I think my failure to have more respectful communication is simply a matter of my inherent personality. What I suggest to others, because realistically I can't always be nearly as empathetic as they desire, is to simply try to be not too thin-skinned. I can be self-aware of my own character flaws, but there's only so much I can do to circumvent them.

Also, thanks RedMattis and Gold & Appel Inc. I really appreciate the lighthearted humor. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

ANYWAYS, this thread needs to remain on topic. Something I'd like to discuss further perhaps is Bessarion's Odious Personal Habit (Unclad faerie). Very thematically appropriate, I'd think.

It assumes a game world where Fauns have largely adapted to society that's more modest. Fauns who live out in the remote wilderness can certainly have their own nudist communities, but "wholesome" likely human (and/or elves, dwarves... races you'd associate with possibly having a nudity taboo) dominated culture requires you be properly clothed. Larger society probably is aware of the fact that faerie-folk are known for having a no nudity taboo, so they're not too prejudiced to the less cultured faeries... but most Fauns quickly grow savvy to what's expected of them. Bessarion is a notable outlier here in that he shirks new fangled civilized Faun-culture in favor of retaining the old fashioned nudity of the Faun communities who live out in the remote wilderness... that's part of the reason why he has the Chauvinist [-1] quirk.

The OPH also mostly counterbalances his Appearance (Handsome), which is a prerequisite for his Beefcake Protection (a rather absurd point crock honestly). There's some rather nuanced character design here that I'd hope my future GMs would appreciate. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

There is no need for apology. And really, you can do what you want. But making broad sweeping statements like that is kind of insulting.

Text has no tone. I tend to blunt statements in situations where it seems like broad sweeping statements are made. So if you took it another way, well, sorry.