Just One of the Boys
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After deciding that indeed my character, Sir Throserl Baird the Gnome Historian, was going to be a male I began thinking about what this actually means for the way I am going to play.
I am concerned that I won’t have a clue how to play a male character. After all I am a woman so what would I know about playing a man? But then I thought men play female characters all the time… it’s worth a try. Right?
I don’t want to be a faux pas. Just as much as it’s hard for the other players to have fun and participate when a man plays the alluring, seductive or overly done woman; I don’t want to play an overly chauvinistic or super tough character.
I want to play a character with depth, fantastic personality, charisma and so on.
I am looking for some advice. How can I play this character to the fullest potential? How should I deal with any comments from other players if they don’t like how I’m doing it? Are there any things I should be sure to incorporate into my character or even more important things I should NEVER do?
I would appreciate suggestions… Thanks in advance!
I play both male and female characters, and in my not entirely humble opinion the key is to play a *person*. Just as with any other character, figure out what motivates him, what forces shaped him, and what his attitude toward the world is.
My default is to play the kind of guy I’d like to have in my life (unless I have other specific goals). I GM a lot, so I have a lot of practice playing different characters. When I play my dashing gypsy, my body language and the timbre of my voice change. He’s tall and broad shouldered, so my shoulders go back and a gesture widely; I use my deepest voice. He’s a flirt, so there are a lot of courtly flourishes and significant looks to female characters.
On the other hand, my nervous, somewhat shy (and a bit cowardly) scholar fusses with his tie, clears his throat a lot, cleans his glasses, gets completely tongue-tied around attractive women…
Watch – really watch – male actors on TV and look for the small details that differentiate them from the female actors. A gesture, a phrase, the way you tilt your head – these can all build a distinct character.
And prepare to remind your fellow players that the gender they see (yours) isn’t the gender you’re playing. I know one fellow who plays a Gibson Girl type in a historical horror game who actually wears a large picture around his neck (like a really big badge or bib) to give us a visual reminder.
Most of all – have fun!
Hey there little Capuchin. My advice? Keep him two dimensional. Depth, personality, and charisma? Keep it simple. We guys, as you have probably found out, do the same things over an dover again. Use the same schtick, tell the same jokes. Have catch phrases. Now, how does this translate to unique personal depth? It should look like they have unique personalities to each village you visit, but in the end, the other players can laugh at how you use the same lines over and over again, and you continue to manipulate the same type of people, unsuspecting each time. The most in depth character I have ever read is Silk in the Belgariad (ask the monkey). But even he continues to say the same things over and over and over again. That;s my advice, have fun.
Just play the character. I’m a girl, and I play guy characters about half the time. The only real problem we run into is pronouns – “I tell them to let her go. Uh, I mean him” and that sort of thing comes up a couple times a session, mostly on the part of the less involved players.
I’ve played guys that try to bed every wench they come across, and guys that are faithful to their one true love. If you’re worried about roleplaying a flirtatious guy, I’d say, stick with the latter.
I don’t think too many guys would get upset and say “No man would ever do that!” if you played an atypical male. Some guys are chauvinists, some guys are girly. The only trouble is figuring out where your character falls on the spectrum, and then sticking to it. (Though a girly chauvinist would be hilarious.)
Believe who you are playing. Make sure you throw yourself into the situation you face without analyzing it a lot. As I heard my son describe, women in battle situations may watch out for the other guy to detriment of the mission. A man keeps the objective before him and counts on others around him to do the same. Don’t learn too quickly. A lot of guys make the same decisions over and over, hoping for a different outcome. That’s my advice. Coming from more of a theater directing/teaching POV than gamer.