Quote from: rawma;1109453It depends on how "uncommon" sexual orientations are viewed. Mostly considering same sex attraction.

If society uniformly disapproves, then it could be significant as a secret. The NPC could be blackmailed over this; could be suspected of disloyalty or involvement in a cult due to secretive activity; could seek to flee to a more tolerant place; could seek to advance a lover without harming the reputation of either; could seek a private club where they can be open about their preferences. Similar scenarios might arise for heterosexuals due to extramarital affairs, polyamory or unusual sexual fetishes, if these are similarly disapproved of. (Or playing D&D in the midst of a Satanic panic.) The PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.

If society mostly does not judge but contains some elements who do, then it could be significant as a motivation for enmity. The NPC might be targeted by a cult that disapproves strongly but must act secretly or indirectly; a rejected (due to being the wrong gender) suitor might seek vengeance for the humiliation; diplomacy with less tolerant countries might be compromised (so potentially any of the earlier situations). Again, the PCs could be pulled into either side of these conflicts.

If the game world is entirely tolerant and views anyone who is intolerant as mentally ill, there are still potential factors. The PCs could hire the wrong gender of courtesan to distract the guard, or press someone of the wrong orientation into the seduction role (e.g., Supernatural, "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tatoo"; Dean has to coach Charlie on flirting with the guard, because she's attracted to women). The PCs might look in the brothel with female courtesans for a male NPC because they were unaware that he would prefer the brothel with male courtesans. A same sex couple might seek magical or SF means to have a child jointly (fairy tales are rife with childless opposite sex couples obtaining the child they long for through means that accord with neither biology nor conventional adoption practices; also, what Spock's parents must have done to have a child). Love triangles in which each person lusts after another person who does not lust after them (A->B->C->A) are possible. If a player character pursue marriage with a royal heir NPC, their first choice of prince or princess may be off the table due to the NPC's preferences.

One could ask why gender or hair color or left-handedness or names or human subrace (with no mechanical effect) would be relevant to an NPC; mostly these are thrown in just to make the NPC seem more real and less of an undistinguished pawn. Or they could be there for heavy handed commentary on sexism or racism (e.g., Star Trek episode with the bichromatic aliens). Just as one can imagine a scenario in which a woman poses as a man to join some army that would not otherwise have her (Eowyn or Mulan), one could have one where a red-headed ruler dies his hair for fear of being suspected of being illegitimate, or where left-handed fencers are often members of a secret society skilled in dueling which accepts only left-handers (and so all left-handers are viewed with suspicion) or where the medical examiner concludes the murder victim was killed by a left-handed assailant.

Or any of these things could be a red herring that distracts the players from the actual relevant clues in a mystery. A same sex couple in a scenario is not Chekhov's gun, and unless you're railroading or storygaming a detail doesn't have to be significant.

Quote from: Zirunel;1109507On Tekumel, most of the NPCs sketched by the author are fleshed out characters, with families, predilections, hatreds, abilities and shortcomings, and these may simply be used for colour, or may be used to good effect in the game, whatever the GM prefers. Since Tekumel, the first ever published RPG setting, made it explicit back in 1975 that homosexuality, and by implication, bisexuality, were totally accepted in the larger empires of the setting (except for one), some of the described NPCs are gay. That detail may have little consequence in the game, or it may have broader implications, like which deity the character follows, which imperial legions he or she favours, or how they but with people from neighbouring empires. In any case, it always seems natural in the setting, never forced or shoehorned.

 Speaking of character details, on Tekumel, eye colour is normally an insignificant detail, but having blue eyes, the "curse of Avanthe," will have a profound effect on a character's interactions with others.

One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;1109516One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.

For sure. Or at least some ancient cultures. I wouldn't care to generalize.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;1109516One could also lookup the history of sexual minorities in ancient cultures. Ancient cultures had much more fluid sexuality and open relationships than modern cultures. Just goes to show how much of our sexual and relationship mores are culturally inculcated rather than inherent to our biology.

Quote from: Zirunel;1109722For sure. Or at least some ancient cultures. I wouldn't care to generalize.

I agree. At least, it seems like there's a common perception that an LGBT character might fit in modern-day or future post-gay-rights setting -- but they wouldn't exist in historical settings. For some specific cultures, there's an old 1990s essay by RPG author Lee Gold about how she avoided mention of homosexuality in her games Land of the Rising Sun (FGU), GURPS Japan (SJG) and Vikings (ICE).

https://www.conchord.org/xeno/censorship.html

I actually think it can matter quite a lot, and be quite powerful as a storytelling hook, if the character (NPC or PC) in question is of a sexual orientation forbidden by local law or custom.  This can be Especially true if there are any Lawful Good or Neutral characters, as (at least among my local circle) the idea of accepting the supremacy of the value of law over personal freedoms and potentially turning in such a character for punishment under those laws can be an extremely uncomfortable thing they simply aren't personally willing to do.  Nowadays when alignment doesn't actually matter it's less frequent for this to be a thing, but if they're a cleric or paladin of a lawful diety, wherein they are Expected according to the tenents of their faith to abide by local laws regardless of how wrong they may be, it can cause a serious crisis of faith.  The only thing I've found to be remotely as impactful is similar situations with slavery, and turning in an escaped slave.

Now my players are generally not monsters, so in order to make it a meaningful moral dillemma I typically have to sweeten the pot quite a bit- a reward of a sizeable amount of gold, favor with someone they NEED favor with, or other goods or services which they are in need of in return for information regarding such activities, for example.  Even then, the typical response of my players to such scenarios, historically, has been "F that, F them, we're not doing that, this place sucks anyway", and accepting the consequences.  Still, it has driven interesting conversations and genuine conflict in terms of "what would my character do" vs "what would I do".  

As previously alluded to, it can also matter in terms of royalty and their duty to continue on the line vs love.  Though it can be done with either a male or female offspring, their sexual orientation is key to the conflict, as if they are straight, barring their prospective lover being known to be impotent, it's not an issue.  It's also then not an issue which can be 'easily' (using the term loosely) solved by assassinating their lover, as presumably their next lover will also not be suitable for continuing on the line.  Either way, it CAN come up, in ways that make genuine and legitimate impact on the story.  Most of the time, though, I agree with those who have said that you can simply gender swap as needed without undue complication.

Eclipse Phase: Firewall needs an in with one of the major states in the Solar System, this goes through person D, who is male, and heterosexual.  The best agent to accomplish this job is agent R, who is also a heterosexual male.  The best method for R to get to and gain access through D is if R seduced them.  Easy enough if R just re-sleeves into a female morph, right?  But what if R is oooked out by that?

Welp... time to bust out my Kult rulebook...

Quote from: thedungeondelver;1110627Eclipse Phase: Firewall needs an in with one of the major states in the Solar System, this goes through person D, who is male, and heterosexual.  The best agent to accomplish this job is agent R, who is also a heterosexual male.  The best method for R to get to and gain access through D is if R seduced them.  Easy enough if R just re-sleeves into a female morph, right?  But what if R is oooked out by that?

Nah, Eclipse Phase should be a step forward in this matter: Hyper-fluid genre (male by morning, female by night), functional hermaphrodit or worm-like "sex with yourself", animalesque (gorila penis, snake tongue), etc. biomodifications.

Quote from: Itachi;1111424Nah, Eclipse Phase should be a step forward in this matter: Hyper-fluid genre (male by morning, female by night), functional hermaphrodit or worm-like "sex with yourself", animalesque (gorila penis, snake tongue), etc. biomodifications.

And, if you need to get your mind touched up through psychosurgery before the job so your mind matches what you need the plumbing to do, that's an option too. If you then need to undo said psychsurgery afterwards, that's available too, but in that case you should have just used an altered copy and erased it after interrogating yourself in virtual to get all the answers... Weird game.

Greetings!

In my own campaign, I have the Sebu Cult. The Sebu Cult is led by a Chabari humanoid that is a Hermaphrodite. Chabari have lemon yellow skin, and are natural Hermaphrodites, fully functional, blending masculine and feminine traits and characteristics. The Sebu Cult has many members that are homosexual, as well as lesbians, transsexuals, and an assortment of fetishes and proponents of all manner of strange lifestyles, depraved sexual practices, and bizarre social and sexual customs. The religion of Sebu is typically outlawed in most civilized kingdoms, with members of such cults being burned at the stake or executed in some other manner, depending on the kingdom and culture. The Sebu Cult embraces absolute hedonism, and anyone that is critical or judgmental of them are viewed as being hateful and evil, and such are in need of being properly "enlightened." The Sebu Cult has many wealthy patrons, as there are numerous members of wealthy and elite classes which love to indulge their depraved and wicked desires, and the faithful of Sebu welcome them, and embrace them into their ways. The Sebu Cult works insidiously promoting their depraved ideology, and spreading their influence throughout society at every opportunity. In political and social circles, Sebu cultists often champion "Sexual Freedom For All" and other such sentiments, as they work against any moral codes or strictures they view as judgmental and hateful. The Sebu Religion is often in opposition to most other traditional religions, and many members of other religions have established policies where Sebu Cultists are considered evil and blasphemous, and are censured and preached against routinely.

Sebu Cultists are fun to include in scenarios and adventures where the player characters deal with them, often as opponents or obstacles of some kind, though occasionally as a neutral resource or as an ally of some kind.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: jeff37923;1108932OK, we have talked about having NPCs with sexual orientations and/or sexual preferences outside the norm being shoehorned in to adventures and settings by publishers, so my question is now where would they fit in naturally and organically to an adventure or setting? What scenarios or settings would hinge upon a NPCs sexual orientation and/or preference? Where would it be important to the structure of the game?

Well, the obvious case would be some kind of monster or demon of seduction, taking the form of a beautiful woman, and its powers of seduction don't work on people who wouldn't be aroused by a beautiful woman.