Women In Gaming

by Lise Mendel

It’s one of those ideas that kept coming back to me, for years, every time I wrote up a new PC, or one of my PCs had a sexual encounter. Wouldn’t it be interesting if she’s pregnant? Eventually, I went ahead and ran with it…

My own experience with a pregnant PC

First, some background. Matrix was a Champions character. I had introduced her to the group as a villain "plant" in Nightwatch, the DC based superhero team. She was secretly the lover of a powerful supervillain, but had psych lims that guaranteed she’d become a heroine once confronted with the heroes basic goodness. Unfortunately, she’d joined at a time when the group was distinctly "dark", so she helped foil the villain, but didn’t join up. She did turn herself in to the authorities, however.

Eventually she escaped from prison to avenge her sister’s death, one of the events which led to the formation of the Golden Gate Guard. That one worked much better from a character POV, but I quit the campaign because it wasn’t working for me as a player. She went into retirement.

The GM asked me to bring her back as an NPC for a one shot. We decided that she’d have a rapprochment with the supervillain, which did some odd things to the character development, but made a certain twisted sense. This was the run where she was really won over by the PCs, but, of course, they’d never trust her now, even though she broke them out of the death-trap…

At the same time, Saffyre, another PC in the campaign had retired some time before - she’d just left the team with a terse note about going home. Her player hadn’t liked the chemistry of that particular PC in the group, even though she really liked the character. The player told me she thought it made sense if Saffyre had gotten pregnant.

That conversation crystallized my feelings about what was going on with Matrix. She’d gone through a lot of changes, sort of wobbled back and forth, but now she was in a position where she had to grow up.

So we talked the GM into opening up yet another campaign. Saffyre was about six months pregnant when it started, and Matrix, who changed her hero persona to Rumor, had just confirmed her pregnancy. They had both done a lot of travelling and ended up in Montreal, Quebec and, with three other (non-pregnant) characters formed the Northern Lights.

This campaign worked very, very well. Saffyre and Rumor gave each other a lot of support throughout the pregnancies, and were both willing and able to overcome the objections of the rest of the team to pregnant women adventuring. They also helped each other set up day-care situations. The Northern Lights are one of the few superhero teams I’ve gamed that ended up acting like a warm and loving family, and I think the fact that the campaign was designed around two pregnant team members is one of the reasons why.

Things to Consider Before you Begin

Whether you’re the player or GM, introducing pregnancy into a campaign is going to change things, and should be carefully thought out.

If you’re the player, your GM may resist the idea, especially (but not only) if the GM is male. There are several reasons for this:

• First of all, men are typically less interested in pregnancy and childbirth/childcare/children than women are. He may be afraid that they will make the campaign unplayable.
• Second, most male GMs have heard of men using situations like this to make life difficult for female players, and may be really confused that you want to be "harassed".
• Third, he may be willing and interested, and not feel competant to run it with a campaign appropriate degree of realism.

If you’re the GM and you determine that a particular PC should be pregnant, consider the following:

• Long term playability - will a baby really fit into the continuing campaign? If your game world is one with adventures spaced widely apart in time, and the PCs have a rich and developed "life" when not adventuring then it’s a better bet than if they’re a bunch of inveterate dungeon crawlers. On the other hand, if the player wants to retire the PC it might be a good excuse.
• Is the player going to enjoy it? In real life, an unwanted (not necessarily the same thing as unplanned or surprise) pregnancy is one of the worst things that can happen to a woman. I’d really recommend talking it over with the player before springing it on the character. You may be surprised at how much of this response may spill over from the character to the player, whether that player is male or female.
• Can you give the pregnancy enough attention not to be silly, and not so much as to bore the other players?

Once you’ve decided you’re going through with it, and have a handle on some ongoing campaign questions, it’s time to look at some elements of pregnancy that may be of particular significance. Which ones you want to play up or down will depend on the game system and campaign tone.

Realism Level

I tried to write this with a fair degree of realism and accuracy, simply because it’s easier to gloss over technical details than to manufacture them from scratch. Use whatever seems useful for the game you’re in, and let me know what you find useful/interesting.

Technicalities - Getting Pregnant

The "average" woman has a 28 day cycle - that’s from the first day of her period to the first day of the next. When pregnancies are dated by the medical profession they date from "LMP" - that’s last menstrual period. Ovulation in the "typical" woman happens on day 14. The fertile period is on (I believe) days 11-14. This can vary a lot — I tend to conceive on about day 18 of a 31 day cycle.

Not every sexual act, even during the fertile period, results in a pregnancy. Women average one anovulatory cycle (period, but no ovulation) per year. Something like 1/3 of all conceptions simply fail to implant.

If in doubt, remember that medical professionals don’t consider fertility problems unless a couple has been trying to conceive for a year. On the other hand, it may only take one time. Let plot line, rather than calandar, define if the character gets pregnant.

"The Rabbit Died"

One of the potentially dramatic moments offered by the pregnant PC is the initial recognition of the fact that she’s pregnant. The discovery is likely to be very different for an interplanetary explorer, an elven mage and an intrepid reporter intent on exposing the minions of Cthulhu.

So what are the earliest signs of a pregnancy? Some of them are obvious, some might surprise the "uninitiated":

Your period is late:

Missing one is easy to spot, and an immediate attention getter if you’re one of those women who is "like clockwork". Many of us aren’t that regular. Other things can cause a skipped period, besides pregnancy - nervousness and stress come immediately to mind here. It’s not that unusual for a woman to miss her period after her first sexual encounter because she’s so worried about getting pregnant.

It’s also not unheard of for pregnant to have some bleeding when their period is due throughout the pregnancy. It’s generally a lighter flow than her normal period, but that’s not necessarily a big giveaway.

In other words, absence of the period is a clue, often a big one, but it’s not guaranteed to mean something either way. That’s one of the reasons women had such a hard time being sure before modern pregnancy testing - which can confirm pregnancy often as early as the day of the period.

You feel like you’re about to have a period:

I’m not kidding. It’s a classic description of early pregnancy symptoms. Body aches, uterine aches, tender nipples, mood swings… So early pregnancy is a lot like PMS.

It’s not all that surprising, really, when you consider that your body prepares for pregnancy every month. PMS typically takes place during the week before your period is due, when the ovum is implanted in the uterine lining. If it’s an embryo rather than an ovum, the body doesn’t shed the uterine lining, and and the prepatory hormones continue to be pumped into the body.

Vivid Dreams:

These might start vary early in the pregnancy, or perhaps not until later. Pregnant dreams tend to have a strange, very realistic quality to them, often they’re "lucid", and they sometimes seem to have a prophetic quality to them. They can be enchanting or disturbing, or a surreal combination thereof.

Faintness or weakness:

There was a time when the "classic" first pregnancy symptom was an unexplained fainting spell. It’s a really nice touch for a pulp campaign. Tiredness and fatigue are actually very common early on.

You have to make frequent rest stops:

Ignore this one unless your campaign occasionally makes mention of such things. I included it for completeness. It may be included for comic relief, as well.

Nausea and vomiting

These don’t usually start until around the time the second period are missed. They can be mild or severe, and some women never get them at all. Morning sickness has a somewhat distinctive quality in that it hits hardest if you’re hungry, and that once you empty your stomach you immediately feel better.

One interesting fact for the realist. There’s a strong statistical link between morning sickness and pregnancy loss — the more severe your morning sickness, the less likely you are to have a miscarriage. Presumably, if you have enough raging hormones to make you feel sick, you have enough to support a successful pregnancy.

Food aversions often come along with nausea. You may find yourself steering away from sweet foods, alcohol, or other (usually unhealthy) foods. They just taste wrong, even if they used to be favorites.

Strange Cravings:

These usually start a day or two after the nausea. They begin as an image of a food you think you can get down or keep down. You try it and your nausea vanishes like magic; pretty soon you want it all the time. Often it’s a food you haven’t had in a long time.

I’ve never run into anyone who needed the proverbial "pickles and icecream". Women I’ve talked to usually want a specific vegetable - baked potato, broccoli, leek, and fried zuccini all come to mind. The strangest one I’ve actually encountered was my needing spicy food during my second pregnancy. It’s pretty strange when you’re feeling sick and a bowl of hot and sour soup settles your stomach.

Of course, cravings for really strange and rare things make much better plot hooks. Keep your eyes open and be creative.

Movement:

By about halfway through the pregnancy you start to feel some little fluttery movements and tummy squiggles. Even in the most medically limited society, by this point the pregnancy will be recognized

Living with Pregnancy

The above symptoms continue past the original discovery of pregnancy, eventually many fade and are replaced by others, but some continue throughout the pregnancy. In addition, by about 4 months in a first pregnancy, earlier in subsequent ones, the physical changes will start to become obvious, clothes will have to be altered, etc.

Now that the character knows she’s pregnant, how will she, the adventuring party, and the game world deal with it? Will she try to hide it or flaunt it? Will her party try to force her to retire, make every effort to protect and coddle her, or ignore her condition and act like nothing’s changed? Will she be shunned in society or sought out by other pregnant women and mothers? Obviously, this is one of those things that’s going to be different from world to world and game to game, and depend a lot on the status of the character herself. The only constant being that she won’t be able to ignore or forget it.

Adventuring while pregnant

There are lots of pregnancy inspired plotlines to play around with. For example, take a look at the early pregnancy symptoms above and ask yourself "what if the Call of Cthulhu girl-reporter…" — would she realize she was pregnant, or be afraid of some sort of supernatural attack? What about the rest of the party? And how about the telepath? At what point will she be able to ‘talk’ to the baby, and what will it say?

Effects of Adventuring on Pregnancy

Sorry, no real personal experience to chip in, here. But I know that it takes serious damage to the mother in order to endanger the fetus — I was assured after a winter of ice sheets and frequent falls that I’d have to be injured enough to be hospitalized in order to damage the baby.

A lot of pregnant women continue to excercise throughout pregnancy. I worked with a woman who continued her twice weekly aerobics, and another who swum for an hour each day. I’ve heard of women who continue to ride horses, hike, and do just about everything except jogging. I’ve even heard mention of a woman in the SCA who continued to fight while pregnant, but that’s a third or fourth hand story and I can’t confirm it (anyone out there know?)

So, if your character has a compelling reason to adventure, pregnancy in and of itself isn’t necessarily going to make her stop….

Effects of Pregnancy on Adventuring

There are lots of ways that being pregnant can affect adventuring. Here are a few off the top of my head, remember that they will vary in extent — each pregnancy is different:

Balance:

Obviously, when your center of gravity shifts, your balance is going to change. The baby growing is going to shift your c.o.g., and the baby moving around is going to make it doubly hard to compensate for. Yes, the baby can move that much. This can be a real problem for the more acrobatic characters.

Stamina:

It decreases, in part because sleep tends to decrease. It’s better in the second trimester than the first, but decreases again in the third. This can affect everybody.

Memory & Concentration:

Not an old wives tale, rather, it’s a midwives tale. Also known a "placenta brain". It’s probably due to a combination of a lack of sleep and hormones. It’s not necessarily worst for the spell users or technically minded, you’re more likely to forget where you hung your hat than the components of your spell, but it’s a potential embarrasment to everyone.

Contractions:

Braxton Hicks, or "practice" contractions begin very early in the pregnancy, but are often too weak to feel until the fourth or fifth month. They start off as painless "tightenings" of the uterine wall, but by the third trimester they can pack a real surprise "ouchie". They’re a nuisance more than anything else, but can be a dangerous distraction at times (that’s why some doctors tell women not to drive a car in the third trimester.)

Mood Swings:

As mentioned above, being pregnant can be like having nine months of PMS. Yhis one is a problem for everyone. You go from feeling sentimental to vulnerable to euphoric to tears in a matter of minutes. And, of course, you might get very upset if people attribute all your emotional swings to the pregnancy; it starts to feel like no-one acknowledges you as a person aside from the condition….

Her Time Draws Near

The process, from last menstrual period to "due date" lasts 40 weeks. But the due date, in our current era, is a pretty vague time period. Anything from 2-3 weeks before to 2-3 weeks after the due date is considered "full term" and normal. The last weeks are full typically full of anxiousness and impatience, both from the mother and from all of her acquaintences… "Haven’t you had that baby yet?" is a frequent question to hear.

Add to this the fact that the Braxton Hicks are getting stronger and stronger, late term pregnancy is a constant expectancy that you’re going to "pop" any second now. Typically, the fatigue grows unbearable, and you just want the baby to get here.

And that’s about it for now. Watch for the a future article: Generic Birthing Tables!

---

updated November 22, 1996

Popularity: 74% [?]

Stat Adjustments during Pregnancy

By Irina Rempt

Stats are on a scale from 3 to 12 (3D4). 12 is the *absolute* maximum; if raising a stat takes it higher than that, it stays at 12. When Constitution or Mental Fitness reaches 0 you’re dead, meaning that if you start with either stat irrecoverably at 2 (only possible if you’ve sustained *permanent* damage already) pregnancy is likely to kill you.

Adjustments are not cumulative (so your will-power doesn’t go up one more point each trimester; it goes up and stays up).

A value of 0 means no change. (obviously)

Stat	Trimester 1	Trimester 2	Trimester 3	Comments
Physical:
Strength	0	0	-1
Dexterity	-1	-2	3
Constitution	-1	0	-1 / -2	doubles as hit points; damage is carried over to Str, Dex and Spd, which can actually go below zero.
Speed	0	-1	-2
Size	0	+1	+2	if you’re a size 12 nobody is going to notice you’re pregnant anyway - Roseanne Barr is about size 11. Size is a combination of height and mass.
Comeliness	0	+1	+1	my husband says this ought to be +1/+2/+3 but he’s biased!
Mental:
Willpower	+1	+1	+1
Intelligence	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mental Fitness	-1	-2	-3	nerves getting more and more frazzled; doubles as mental hitpoints/power points/spell points
Speed	N/A	N/A	N/A
Education	N/A	N/A	N/A

Senses:	(throughout pregnancy)
Sight	N/A
Hearing	N/A
Taste	+1
Smell	+1
Touch	+1
Intuition	+2

As spell casting partly depends on Dex and causes damage to MF, it’s clear that it becomes more and more difficult over the months for pregnant mages to cast spells. That’s why Liessa is taking time off

You’re welcome to use this any way you like (in a game for instance, I’m curious to see how it works out).

---

Comments? Let Irina know.

---

Written May 31, 1996

Popularity: 68% [?]

*Cyjqim’s Manual (yes *man*-ual, it’s for you males) to Playing Female Characters*

by Lesslie Gibson

© 1997 by Lesslie Gibson. Originally posted on the champs-L mailing list, uploaded by permission.

Ok guys, I feel sorry for you, I’ll break the unofficial code of silence and explain:

Rule One: This is the "two out of three aint bad" rule. If you are totally clueless how a real woman functions, (and trust me unless you grew up with at least four sisters and/or are married you’re clueless) then play your character for, well, character. Concentrate on her nature as a human -pain, love, hate and taxes, are all pretty much universal. Focus on her career, a ‘Senior Sanitation Engineer’ faces much the same proffessional challenges whatever his/her/its gender. After you’ve mastered these elements of your character’s life if you foul up her nature as a woman at least you have a 2/3 valid person -which isn’t anything to sniff at.

Rule two: Don’t obsess on the female anatomy. A super powered woman would not say "keep leering at my breast that way and I’ll clean your clock". She’d clean his clock, and exlain why afterwords -if she felt like it (Admit it girls if we could we would.) We don’t stand around discussing breast, bras, or PMS unless we’re in groups of four or more and we’ve been consuming perception-altering substances like Beer or Pizza.

Rule Three: Don’t obsess on the *Male* characters either. I realize you may be playing with a bunch of self -designed and designated love gods, but trust me you’re character won’t think so. (Unless she’s been mind wiped and taken over by an invading alien).

Rule Four: If your worried about authentic female character play then. . . *Recruit *Recruit *Recruit!!* Having an actual female around will do more to improve the quality of your female character’s play than any book could. Move the frequency of your showers from seasonal to once a week, :), and start looking for female members to join your gaming group. Hang out in book stores and watch for women buying -oh say, Bradley, McCaffery, or (heaven help you) Cherryh. When you find one, strike up a conversation as a fellow reader (and you better be or she’ll see through you in a nanosecond). When she figures out you’re trying to invite her to gaming if she does’t start to walk away -you’re golden. If she does walk, falling on your knees and begging will probably work at least once. It might even help if you tell her I sent you . . . there *is* a conspiracy you know.

-Cyjqim

---

Comments? Let Lesslie know.
Written January 1, 1997

Popularity: 65% [?]

Some ideas about the Body Type stat in Cyberpunk and Cybergeneration.

by Marc Brenowitz ”Copyright (©)1996 by Marc Brenowitz.

Although permission is granted to copy or print this work for personal use, if you want to post this article on the internet or employ it in any other communication medium, electronic, print, or other, you must first secure written permission from the author.”

Let’s look at Body Type in Cyberpunk and Cybergeneration, because its one of the most misunderstood. Body Type is a description of physical strength, endurance, and toughness (particularly toughness as it relates to combat). Most games break out strength or “raw, physical power” from endurance or constitution or toughness. Because Cyberpunk does not break these out into seperate stats, its Body Type (or just Body) stat encompasses all aspects of physique. Someone who is extremely physically powerful and very able to soak up physical damage is, by definition, also physically large. The greater muscle mass enables physical strength, and the greater body mass — larger organs, more flesh and bone to soak up wounds or disease — enables physical toughness.

This is not to say that a smaller person would not ever be strong or be able to soak up quite a lot of physical damage from either wounds or disease, or wouldn’t have great physical endurance (say for marathon running), but it is not as common as for people with greater physical mass. This is to say, however, that the top end of the Body Type scale (before cyberware or bioware modification) pretty much require a larger physique. For example, the well known actor Arnold Schwartzeneger would be described in terms of the Cyberpunk system as having a Body Type of 10, obviously. He is a large, extremely muscular and physically robust man. Now compare him to a Japanese martial arts master. The martial arts master stands five feet six inches tall, masses about 130 pounds, and is in superb physical shape due to his constant martial arts training. Would this second smaller man have a Body Type of 10? I would argue a 5 or 6. That this Body Type number is smaller than 10 does not make him any less deadly than Mr. Schwartzeneger.

Although Mr. Schwartzeneger can obviously hit quite hard, the professional martial artist at a much smaller size is likely to be able to hit at least as hard due to his training. Although the martial arts master’s training enables him to avoid or roll with hand to hand inflicted physical damage to a very high degree, shoot him or gas him and he will go down much more quickly than Mr. Schwartzeneger. Arnold’s great big, muscle laden body will be able to soak up a bullet or his larger circulatory system to better handle gas or poison than the smaller martial artist.

So how big is someone of a given Body Type? A Body Type of 1 or 2 (Very weak) would be reserved for children, but 2 could make sense for a very small and frail adult. For example, a tiny woman of four foot nine inches in height and 80 pounds (95 pounds is a more reasonable weight at this height). A Body Type of 3 or 4 (Weak) would apply for small adults and larger children and youths. Very small people, under five feet in height, and ranging up to 110 pounds on the top end, would fit here. Many smaller women would fall into this category. Body Types in the 5 to 7 (Average) range include most adults between five and six feet in height and weighing between 100 and 200 pounds. The top end of the weight range assumes a typical overweight, out of shape, U.S. male. That 200 pounds at a Body Type of 7 is not mostly muscle. The median weight range would include most stronger and taller and/or larger women. Entering the range of 8 & 9 Body Types (Strong) would bring us to muscular males and very muscular females, probably five foot six inches and taller and massing at least 150 pounds, but more typically 170 pounds and up. Most body builders would fall into this range. Only the largest and most muscular of people would rate a Body Type of 10 (Very Strong). This means BIG. A typical person with a Body Type of 10 would be more than six feet tall, and mass at least 220 pounds with most of that weight muscle. Very few men fall into that category, and almost no women (at least not in 1996, although there are a lot more six foot + women now than ten years ago). This category would include pro football players and other people who can easily do push ups with someone sitting on their back. Natural Body Types of 11, those appearing without cybernetic or bioware modification, would occur only in the most massive of human beings, human giants. Shaquille O’Neal at seven foot two and 300 pounds might fit here, but he might only rate a Body Type of 10. People this large are as rare as people at the other end of the size scale, which is why Body Types in Cyberpunk stop at 10 for the unmodified. When was the last time you saw an adult who was either three feet or seven feet tall? Unless you happen to be that size or related to someone who is, you can probably count the number of times on the fingers of one hand. As a side note for anyone who thinks a human dwarf or midget would be a fascinating character to play (life’s tough when you’re three feet tall, but there are advantages: think catburglar or fixer), see George C. Chesbro’s Mongo series. These novels can be found in the mystery section. The main character, Robert Frederickson, grew up in a small Midwest town that was not kind to a dwarf. He joined the circus to escape, became a star, and with the money he earned paid his way through a Ph.D. in Criminology. Now a college professor and part time private eye, “Mongo” (his stage name) has a knack for becoming embroiled in the strangest of cases. These are great reading, great ideas for adventures, and the main character is one of the most interesting and involving I’ve ever read.

Applying physical size and strength

Applying this to kid characters: Many players of Cybergeneration are likely to have characters who have body types that would seem high based on my ideas above. The Cybergeneration rulebook does state “and we’ll let you be a little stronger” than would probably be realistic for young adults or children, but this is done for the sake of playability. Its up to the individual players and GM’s to decide how they want to handle this.

Applying this to female characters: So you loved Molly from Neuromancer and you want to create your own kick butt female solo. But whenever you’ve made a male solo, you always pumped 10 points into Body Type, even if it did leave you with a Tech and Luck each of 3. But you wonder, does a totally hulked-out appearance fit this character? You want her to be tough, you want her to be able to easily smash anyone in hand to hand, but somehow you don’t visualize a body builder type body for your solo. You’re thinking sleek and powerful and intimidating like a panther. You think about female athletes and media characters, and none of them were Arnold Schwartzeneger sized or shaped. Hmm, athletes. There are those women boxers that come on in front of the really huge pay-per-view matches. You think probably a body type of 7 or 8, plus, those women know how to fight! Hmm, media characters. Xena, Warrior Princess leaps to mind. The character definitely has a Body Type of 10, but the world is kind of cartoony. How about the actress who plays Xena? Lucy Lawless is six feet tall and in excellent physical form, as are her stunt doubles. She has three stunt doubles, all women, one of whom is an acrobat (for all those leaps and flips). But is she as strong and could she weather as much damage as say, Arnold Schwartzeneger? Well, probably not. That puts Ms. Lawless, and her stunt doubles, probably at a Body Type of 8. So how large would your female solo have to be to have a Body Type of 10? Say, six foot five and about 190 to 200 pounds. Think Xena, only a head taller. Able to look way down at you.

Hey, you say. 190 to 200 pounds for a woman? Wouldn’t that mean she was very, umm, round? No. There is a lot of social misconception about what a woman should and would weigh at a given height, particularly for taller women. Witness many character descriptions from any tv show, novel, or roleplaying game: no woman is ever over 130 pounds, regardless of her height or physique! For a woman and a man of the same height, and presuming an average build (that is, not particulary thin or fat) the woman should weigh more. This is due to the differences in body composition. In general, women have a much higher body fat percentage than men, even when they are particularly toned. A woman who is 5′ 10″ and who has an average or large build and who is in good physical shape (exercises often or does a very physical job, such as an athlete or solo) could easily weigh 160 pounds and would look and be in proportion, not fat; this would be a Body Type of 7.

For another example, many tall models (not the superskinny “supermodels”) are 5′8″ and taller and weigh 150 pounds and more but do not look fat, nor are they; they are a healthy weight for their height and frame. On the other end of the height scale, a woman who is 5′1″ and who works out could weigh 110 pounds and look and be in proportion. Typically, a woman who is in good to excellent physical shape and health from exercise — and most athletes and solos would fall here — will weigh 10 to 20 pounds more than a sedentary woman of the same height.

Uploaded October 1, 1997

Popularity: 29% [?]