(nsfw) realizing that picking between "penis" and "vulva" isn't really trans-inclusive
to preface: as much as the title sounds like a critique, it's not. it's just a realization i had while thinking about baldur's gate 3, and it's good they provided the options they did, for me to have this realization in the first place
i'm a transgender man, and i've been on hrt for several years, i haven't had bottom surgery, and i'm intimately familiar with the effects testosterone has on a vulva. i've also been in trans femme circles long enough to know how estrogen affects a penis (if you are unfamiliar, you can read about each at https://genderdysphoria.fyi/en/second-puberty-masc#genital-changes and https://genderdysphoria.fyi/en/second-puberty-fem#genital-changes)
and it's really weird to realize that most people cannot visualize what i have going on in my pants. a cis woman's vulva is fundamentally not accurate (which is basically what's presented as your option). for me, obviously; for some trans masc people, it is accurate
i don't know how trans femme people feel, but i could see the argument for them going either way. i'd like to hear what you think, if you feel represented by feminine body shapes with a penis selected as your genitals
and also, it would be interesting to see bottom surgery options represented. even if that's just the same models but with the "is this from surgery" option ticked or something
finally. my concluding thoughts are that i'd really like to see how big a half-orc's tdick gets (presuming that half-orcs are subject to the same sex hormones humans are and/or that they can substitute their hormones similarly. i mean that's it's own can of worms there)
i know i'm not ending off on any kind of a question but i wanted to share my feelings about this with people and hear how this made others feel, as well
lmao, ironically your comment reminded me that there are nulloplasties as well, which would be a cool option to see represented, as well as various intersex options...
ahem more to your point, though. while they currently have a very limited effect on gameplay, it doesn't mean that they will never have an effect on gameplay. for example, one small thing that the devs of bg3 could do is have your bedmates remark on your genitals to you (i am being VERY presumptuous here that they don't, but i would be VERY surprised if i was wrong). anywhere from remarks about it not being what they expected, to them saying they had a good time anyways, etc
it doesn't necessarily need to be gratuitous because interactions with genitals aren't necessarily gratuitous. maybe you learn another party member had the same surgery as you or something, y'know. or you run into the surgeon who did your bottom surgery on your quest
there's a lot more we could be doing, than we currently are
So, I haven't played BG3, but considering that it's a fantasy setting, I am surprised that it seems to be same as irl for trans stuff. Compared to the pathfinder universe which had since the 1st edition magical hrt potions and salves which work way better than irl as well as straight up insta-transition magic items in 2e, DnD seems kinda boring.
it doesn't touch on transition or related things, afaik, aside from allowing you to freely select both your appearance and your genitals (afaik). so it's hard to say what it has or doesn't have available
that said, i feel like... you lose something with "perfect" transition. for example, in a world where you could remove breast tissue without scarring, i might still have a double mastectomy, because my transness is part of who i am. obviously, there are people who would love to have that, and that's great for them and they're not less trans for it. but i think there's a beauty in "imperfect" transition
i feel odd about feeling this way, though. almost certainly, medicine and technology will progress to the point where trans people will be indistinguishable from cis people. and i'm sure, at that point, these ideas will be considered backwards or coping or whatever...
anyways. i guess this is a long winded way to say, pathfinder/2e may have the nicer and more expedient options, but they're also maybe not as interesting
That's an interesting perspective, regarding the question of not just "where you are", but also "how you got there" being something that can factor into what you see as part of your identity.
Closest thing I have is with weight gain and loss. When I get back down to my target weight, I'll still have stretch marks that'll show that I at one point was much larger. If I could just "be" my target weight without the physical evidence of the past, I'd opt for that path, so it's interesting to me to consider that someone might take a different view. :)
Oh, random based Pathfinder take! I love seeing it get love over DnD because yes, it's so much more inclusive and interesting. From a lore perspective and a mechanic perspective.
That's not even getting into the issues with WotC as a company.
I was interested in pf2 for about a year now, but only got into it after the ogl thing. Now I honestly am baffled how 5e maneged to be so popular when 4e, pf1, and pf2 are all so much better than it as tttrpgs, and that only sticking to fantasy.
From just a TTRPG perspective, 5e is so much easier to get into than 4e or Pathfinder 1. Character creation is relatively simple and level ups are all outlined in tables. Have not tried 2e, but at least at first blush is still more complex. I have no love for Wizards, but as far as fantasy RPGs, I would call it medium crunch vs the heavy crunch of those you mentioned.
As a long time GM and player of 5e, PF2 is much more intuitive. It just gives you more character options and people get intimidated, that doesn't mean it's more complicated though. It's still as easy as multiple choice, you just have more choices.
Combat is even easier and was a way smoother experience to teach to my players with PF2's three action economy, instead of explaining the esoteric action, move action, reaction, etc. of 5e. I'll die on the hill that PF2 is not more complicated than 5e simply because it presents more options at level 1 (and every level thereafter making ACTUALLY unique PCs). One of my pet peeves with criticisms against PF2, and it's normally by people who haven't actually played it.
If you try PF2, my advice is to drop your preconceptions. The biggest complaints from players was when they kept comparing to how they did things in 5e. It's not 5e, it does things differently and has a different game design philosophy. It's much more balanced so you're not going to be doing as much damage as a single player and you have to use team work. Don't even get me started on encounter design with 5e's garbage CR rating, I was flabbergasted when I saw how amazingly easy and balanced it was to pick monsters for an encounter in PF2. It's just a simple math equation for an exp pool, and then you "buy" monsters from the pool of exp. Once you use the entire exp pool, it will be balanced to the average party, the math is that tight.
I loved 5e for the years I played and ran it, but you're really missing out if you don't dive deeper into PF2. I'm frustrated I didn't switch sooner quite frankly, it would've made my job as a GM much, much easier and my players would've been making cooler characters way earlier. My partner just made a 4ft tall stuffed clown PC that has the juggler feat and can go limp to pretend to be an inanimate object Toy Story style, no home brewing, that's just options you have.
TL;DR: It's really not that complicated, you and/or anybody reading this should really give it a try. If you don't want to try PF2 that's fine but I implore you to at least move to another system because WotC is not a great company anymore (as much as it pains this nerd heart). Tales of the Valiant by Kobold Press is basically 5e with the serial numbers filed off if you're really in love with the actual mechanics of 5e. Shadowdark is another good, newer system that's really rules light and hearkens back to OSR DnD days.
/rant
Great point! That is why it is important to keep an open mind. It may seem pointless to me but it may be very important to others.
So far no one wants to have sex with me in BG3. I thought Gale did for a bit but I must have pissed him off at some point. Maybe they did put some indication in the game that we will see later.
my condolences, gale is my boy and i'm going to be heartbroken if he realizes / remembers he's extremely heterosexual partway through LOL