My players never miss an opportunity for a piss-take.

If some PC got gender flipped, it would be like Tom Hanks in "Bosom Buddies" in armor.

Quote from: Omega;1042559Ive been in several campaigns where it has never come up once. In fact I'd say that is the norm. But I've been in a rare few where things like this were the focus even of the campaign and how the PCs deal with it as a boon or a bane.

And at the end of the day that is the real point.

Yes, obviously, how the players take it is important.

Your comment naturally makes me curious about what the campaign where things like this were the focus of the campaign.  What was that like?  What was the setting, and how did the players take it in practice?

Quote from: Omega;1042568That or with polymorph. Polymorh, depending on the iteration, can be a potent spell. And even failing that spells like hypnotism, suggestion and other mind altering spells can cover even that. There is a module where one of the villains does exactly that to an NPC to literally hide him in plain sight. And its a darn hard one to reveal as the NPC doesnt just believe they are this fabricated character. They effectively ARE the fabricated character. So things like lie detection wont work.

These sorts of tricks can make for some really interesting adventures when used well.

Ooh, that reminds me of the sourcebook _When Gravity Fails_ for the Cyberpunk system, based on the novels by George Alec Effinger. It has a featured adventure which is about sex-changed characters and mind games. Spoilers in case anyone wants to play it -

Spoiler

Three brothers who were betrayed by their greedy older brother. Not wanting to kill them because of their being family, he instead erased their memories with cyberware and had them go through body modification into women. These are the PCs, who start off the adventure not knowing anything about their true background.

I haven't read the novels, but this was a really bizarre sample adventure for a setting book, I thought.

Quote from: Whitewings;1042543The Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity is a cursed item for a good reason. It doesn't just change a guy to a gal or a  gal to a guy: it also causes the wearer to believe that this has always been the case. From the wearer's point of view, some of their closest companions are suddenly insisting that she's really a he, which she knows is ridiculous. Whet the party gets back to town, it's likely everyone's gone nuts, constantly insisting that she's really a guy and trying to change her into a guy, which she isn't, thank you very much!

I recall thread on rpgnet discussing this item. Some folks have their feathers ruffled that was considered 'cursed', particularly since a transsexual character might see it as a blessing. I got in a little hot water (dog piled, no official sanction) for suggesting that would, barring that exception it would be forcing someone to live in the wrong body long term, a circumstances not unlike how Trans individuals describe their own lives before transition so a negative. This comparison was considered to be trivializing the condition.

Quote from: AsenRG;1042564Well, Lunars in Exalted are kinda famous/notorious for the fact that (at least for those of them that decide to learn that) gender-switching is some Essence expenditure away;). Canonically, according to 2e canon at least, a corrupt Solar Eclipse tried really hard to learn it from his Lunar mate, and was quite disappointed that he can't do that (because it's not a Charm).

And of course, D&D elves never needed such a power, because nobody could be sure what their gender is, anyway:D!

I've always allowed Lunars shift into opposite gender versions of the same for free. It seemed like a such logical part of their malleable nature. Luna has no set gender, after. It wasn't a great disguise, at most you looked your nearly identical twin brother/sister. If a PC got the Gift (Two Faced Transformation?) the change could look more different, the ability extended across all the forms the Lunar could assume and they were fertile as either form and could shift while early in pregnancy and assume a hermaphroditic or genderless form if desired.

Tim Kask spoke at Gary Con about these girdles. Apparently Gary disapproved but it wasn't in their nature to censor; at least not in the early years. And you have to remember that this was the era of hippies and flower power. Nothing like the minefield of identity politics we have today. Personally I don't see these kinds of effects as a problem particularly because it's rare that a characters' gender has any real effect on the game anyway.

I through these kinds of things out years ago and they remain out.

Why would anyone be bothered by a magical change in gender in a game that is about playing roles, and in which every other major aspect of you is subject to magical change?

Two words: Identity Politics.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1042611My players never miss an opportunity for a piss-take.

This, right here.  

On the rare occasions it showed up, it was never Serious Business.

Quote from: Thornhammer;1042680This, right here.  

On the rare occasions it showed up, it was never Serious Business.

With something like a Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity, if the player is really intent on getting it fixed, then I will give them the opportunity to do so. This usually means divine intervention. Typically, they would encounter an agent of their deity, since most PCs had some sort of faith. This agent was often an outer planar being appearing as a mortal who would give out a quest. The quest would often involve killing things and taking their stuff, or sometimes it might be something else. Honestly, if a character is religious, then I like to give them the opportunity to explore that aspect in a way which is in line with their faith. Of course there is the added benefit of the other PCs helping out and getting some sort of reward themselves. Basically, such an item is an excuse for adventure. I think over the decades, I've used the girdle including the variant I mentioned earlier maybe three times. Possibly more, as part of the 90s are fuzzy.

I can't imagine anyone having a problem being 'cursed' with a gender switch unless they were either obsessed with their gender identity in the first place or using role-playing to explore their own biases. In the first case, maybe role-playing against their bias would be good for them. But if someone chose to play against their gender bias and then got 'cursed' back I guess it would be annoying.

Quote from: mightybrain;1042709I can't imagine anyone having a problem being 'cursed' with a gender switch

Really?
I can't imagine someone NOT taking it as A Big Deal, at least;). And most PCs would probably take it as a curse, yes, even if some might get used to it!

Honestly? Most of the cursed magic items were thrown out after High School because we had already done those schticks to death.

Something that radically alters a PC can be a fun surprise for the player,  but it can also frustrate the player if he feels his character has been changed into something he did not desire to play.

As a DM and as a player, I like curses to come up now and then in play. They should have some sort of escape clause or magical fix.