PDA

View Full Version : Why could an elven maiden pose as a male?



ImperatorK
2011-07-15, 10:23 PM
So... I've got this character that is an elf female, but she is posing as a male. She's a druid, the setting is Forgotten Realms. The setting (and elves in particular) is free of sexism and all about equality between genders, so she definitely isn't disguising herself as a male for something that only males can have or do.
What reason could she have to do this?
I have my little idea, but would very gladly read your suggestions.

Xanmyral
2011-07-15, 10:26 PM
A disguise would work. Maybe someone is out to get her so she pretends to be a different gender. Maybe she identifies as male more than, or instead of, female? Perhaps she lost a bet?

All I got really...

erikun
2011-07-15, 10:42 PM
Maybe she was originally a male, and had a bad encounter with a Belt of Reverse Gender?

Maybe she is worried about getting attacked and... violated on the road?

Maybe she is running from her past, and her pursuers are less likely to look for elven men than elven women?

Maybe her elven tribe doesn't have the same gender roles, and so her "dressing like a man" is just what she considers dressing practically?

Maybe her elven tribe does have the same gender roles, and she doesn't want to get stuck in a dress playing a harp for the next 100 years?

Maybe she has a negative view of other races (especially humans) that makes her think they all treat women as possessions?

Flame of Anor
2011-07-15, 10:49 PM
A disguise would work. Maybe someone is out to get her so she pretends to be a different gender.

I like this one. It makes sense, and it also provides a great backstory plot hook. It doesn't even have to be someone trying to kill her--perhaps it's a boorish, unwanted suitor.

ImperatorK
2011-07-15, 10:51 PM
As I've said in the OP, in FR there is gender equality in most of the realms and in elven realms particularly.

It wouldn't help with the suitor. elves are bisexual at nature (at least in my Realms :smalltongue:).

Leon
2011-07-15, 10:53 PM
Because she can.

Ajadea
2011-07-15, 11:13 PM
Because she's malicious, has sufficiently androgynous looks, and likes seeing the pathetic other races flail around as they try to identify her gender?

Because she wants to avoid being objectified?

Because long hair and skirts are impractical when fighting, she feels more comfortable with bound breasts, and doesn't speak Common fluently enough to realize she's been introducing herself as a guy?

Ravens_cry
2011-07-15, 11:27 PM
Because she is a transsexual and has not saved up enough gold for a girdle of masculinity? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdle_of_Femininity/Masculinity)

ImperatorK
2011-07-15, 11:32 PM
Elf, guys. Elves don't have transsexuals. :smallwink:

Fhaolan
2011-07-15, 11:38 PM
Out of curiousity, why did you create a character that is cross-dressing without a specific purpose in mind?

deuxhero
2011-07-15, 11:39 PM
Elfs are Chaotically aligned and she is doing it because it is contrary to the normal functions of societies?

Ravens_cry
2011-07-15, 11:42 PM
Elf, guys. Elves don't have transsexuals. :smallwink:
I am not sure I get the :smallwink:.

ImperatorK
2011-07-15, 11:43 PM
Out of curiousity, why did you create a character that is cross-dressing without a specific purpose in mind?
Because I find it a cool idea.


I am not sure I get the :smallwink:.
Then disregard it. It was supposed to be a lighthearted remark. I can't be 100% sure on that so I've said it half-jokingly.

Roland St. Jude
2011-07-15, 11:46 PM
1. She's running from someone and is trying to throw them off (ninja'd I know)
2. She's taken the identity of [male relative/former lover] to carry out some mission in their name.
3. While there might not be blatant severe sexism, even in FR there are gender differences. She's interested in how the other half lives. You know the little things.

Mikeavelli
2011-07-16, 12:22 AM
She lived among Dwarves her whole life, and since they can't tell the difference between Elven men and women, she honestly doesn't know what gender she is.

Fiery Diamond
2011-07-16, 12:22 AM
1. She's running from someone and is trying to throw them off (ninja'd I know)
2. She's taken the identity of [male relative/former lover] to carry out some mission in their name.
3. While there might not be blatant severe sexism, even in FR there are gender differences. She's interested in how the other half lives. You know the little things.

Whoa... Roland St. Jude posting not in the capacity of his omnipresent sheriff-of-all-things-playground-ness? Inconceivable! This must be some sort of trap... :smalleek:

:smalltongue:

Anyway...on topic...

The ones that come to mind:
1) She likes the feel of the "guy" clothing better
2) She's taken on the identity of someone else
3) She's hiding from someone
4) She's doing it on a whim, just like someone might dye their hair blue on a whim

Fhaolan
2011-07-16, 12:25 AM
Her twin brother died as a child in a horrible accident that she blames herself for. She has taken his place, dressing in the manner she thinks he would have had he grown up.

At least, that's what he tells her.

Warlawk
2011-07-16, 12:41 AM
Her twin brother died as a child in a horrible accident that she blames herself for. She has taken his place, dressing in the manner she thinks he would have had he grown up.

At least, that's what he tells her.

IMO this is the winner of the thread. You've got (mostly) harmless insanity as well as guilt for past events to make for some great RP and character hooks.

Arbane
2011-07-16, 01:11 AM
her god told her to. No, it didn't explain why.

Shadowknight12
2011-07-16, 01:46 AM
It's not her. The real her died recently, in tragic magical mishap. Her soul got displaced and a nearby restless spirit was shunted into her body. The person wearing her body is a male, from another time, from another place.

Bonus points if he was on a very important quest before he died, and has no idea how much time passed between his death and the present. Extra bonus points if the displaced spirit of the elven woman haunts him, trying to get her body back.

A gold star if you can pull this off. :smallcool:

endoperez
2011-07-16, 02:08 AM
She didn't mean to dress as a man, she just dressed utilitarian. Then someone mistook her for a him, and she thought it was funny. She's been living a practical joke since.

oball
2011-07-16, 04:21 AM
Because she's malicious, has sufficiently androgynous looks, and likes seeing the pathetic other races flail around as they try to identify her gender?

Be realistic here. I mean, it's not like any group of people would ever waste valuable time and effort trying to figure out the gender of an androgynous elf, right?

Andre
2011-07-16, 04:28 AM
Be realistic here. I mean, it's not like any group of people would ever waste valuable time and effort trying to figure out the gender of an androgynous elf, right?

Agreed. What's the point?


She lived among Dwarves her whole life, and since they can't tell the difference between Elven men and women, she honestly doesn't know what gender she is.

Also, this. Although she should be ashamed that she couldn't grow a proper beard and as such fled in tears.

Morph Bark
2011-07-16, 04:36 AM
Whoa... Roland St. Jude posting not in the capacity of his omnipresent sheriff-of-all-things-playground-ness? Inconceivable!

You keep using that word...


Anyway, besides the aforementioned, let me tell you that in the days of Ancient Greece the Greeks considered wearing pants something for women. Maybe her society has something similar and has the women dress in a way that resembles male clothing in most other societies?

Doktor Per
2011-07-16, 05:13 AM
Elf, guys. Elves don't have transsexuals. :smallwink:
Because they are all killed?

Elves are chaotic by nature, sort of fluctuating creatures that pick a thing and stick to it forever. I really don't think it's too out there that an elf experiences herself as another gender and just does the thing that will cause the least amount of discomfort. Goes adventuring, dressed as a dude. Nobody knows of his real gender, and he can form impressions on people as he wishes.

It's not a question about sex, so much as it's a question of Gender Identity.

If the land truly has gender equality, she will have no reason to hide her gender, unless she's hiding or doesn't identify with it.

The "doesn't know what gender her body is!" line is pretty weird since that could be easily fixed by "checking content of pants, cross referencing with mammals...."

EDIT: Crossdressing is a really touchy subject to a lot of people (who are mostly queer or closeted) so take your friends into account.

Frozen_Feet
2011-07-16, 06:14 AM
So... I've got this character that is an elf female, but she is posing as a male. She's a druid, the setting is Forgotten Realms. The setting (and elves in particular) is free of sexism and all about equality between genders, so she definitely isn't disguising herself as a male for something that only males can have or do.
What reason could she have to do this?
I have my little idea, but would very gladly read your suggestions.

She's posing as a human boy*) because she doesn't want to give any unnecessary hints of her power or nature. Essentially, she's lulling her enemies to a false sense of security, for whatever reason.

*) human, because outside gender issues, I can't really think of a reason why she'd try to fool her own species. Boy, because I highly doubt she'll make a convincing man with her figure. :smalltongue:

Alternatively or additionally, she might be pulling her own varsion of Plan B: "I think this involves me in drag": she's trying to woo someone for exploitative reasons. Maybe a human princess?

Kami2awa
2011-07-16, 07:03 AM
Before the twentieth century, male and female clothing was so different, and people so rarely saw one another naked (even during medical examinations, and even during surgery if it wasn't absolutely necessary), women could very easily get away with pretending to be men by dressing in men's clothes and cutting their hair, as most people would not see beyond the clothes. There are known to be hundreds of women in many armies (particularly in the US War of Independence) who got away with the deception for years, and those were the ones who were discovered.

So if your character has a good reason to dress as a man, she'll probably get away with it.

Avaris
2011-07-16, 07:22 AM
I actually played a character like this recently, though she was wearing Full Plate and a full face helm to hide her appearance and even her race. The party only found out she was an elf woman after her death.

The logic behind it was that she had lost her entire family, and had basically gone into dwarf berserker mode. Her entire life had become dedicated to finding and defeating the biggest thing she could find, while protecting innocents along the way. Though there was no inherrent sexism in the setting, it is still reasonable to assume she would be treated slightly differently or at least with certain assumptions; who would think of an elf women as a front line fighter? Ultimately though I think the mindset was 'my race and gender no longer holds any meaning for me, why should it for anyone else?'; I never claimed she was a man, just played into peoples assumptions as to what the character wearing full plate was.

Traab
2011-07-16, 11:01 AM
Romance angle. She is interested in someone in the party, and wants to find out how they really think of her, so she has disguised herself as a man to sort of blend in.

Coidzor
2011-07-16, 11:06 AM
She lived among Dwarves her whole life, and since they can't tell the difference between Elven men and women, she honestly doesn't know what gender she is.

That's a mighty fine Sandwich you've got there. :smallamused:


Be realistic here. I mean, it's not like any group of people would ever waste valuable time and effort trying to figure out the gender of an androgynous elf, right?

She's working with a partner to fleece rubes at taverns and other places by getting people to make bets on the sex of the elf.

some guy
2011-07-16, 11:45 AM
Prophecies/legends/superstitions: An elven maiden posing as male will defeat That Which Rides Amongst The Stars/ can survive the dreaded bite of the Harpy King/ will be lucky in her endeavours.

Flame of Anor
2011-07-16, 11:54 AM
Whoa... Roland St. Jude posting not in the capacity of his omnipresent sheriff-of-all-things-playground-ness? Inconceivable! This must be some sort of trap... :smalleek:

There is no mind control, citizen. Go back to your fun.


Her twin brother died as a child in a horrible accident that she blames herself for. She has taken his place, dressing in the manner she thinks he would have had he grown up.

At least, that's what he tells her.

Oooh yessss


Be realistic here. I mean, it's not like any group of people would ever waste valuable time and effort trying to figure out the gender of an androgynous elf, right?

:smallbiggrin:

OracleofWuffing
2011-07-16, 12:02 PM
Level 35 Gnomish Geas.

...

Or just a regular Gnomish Geas that has been removed, and it just turns out that the elf decided there are more important things on which to spend money than a whole new wardrobe.

Fhaolan
2011-07-16, 12:06 PM
A more 'reasonable' version:

While elves don't care, other races do, and she spends enough time with other races that she wishes to have the social advantages of a male with them.

A second 'reasonable' version:

She is not actively dressing as a man, elves dress how they like without gender bias. She is honestly confused by other races having gender differentiation in clothing and has accidentally chosen the wrong 'gender' in an effort to fit in.

Pokonic
2011-07-16, 02:14 PM
It amuses her to see mere mortals attempt to guess her gender,and lets her to act hurt when they assume she is a guy.

Actually had a grey elf NPC who did that to everyone she knew as a running gag.Ended up as a sacrafice for a orcus cult,tho.

randomhero00
2011-07-16, 02:25 PM
Well I think she might do this for two reasons. One elves are all about art and experiencing things. So she'd do it just for the experience.

But another reason is that the rest of the world isn't free of sexism and she doesn't want to have to deal with jerks.

LrdoftheRngs
2011-07-16, 02:45 PM
Well, here's a reason: You said yourself that your elves are bi. However, other races (presumably) aren't. Let's say this elf was romantically inclined toward a heterosexual human female. Cross-dressing hijinks ensue...

randomhero00
2011-07-16, 03:23 PM
Or maybe she's waiting for her perfect lover, someone who sees beyond stereotypes.

Sillycomic
2011-07-16, 03:32 PM
When she dresses up as a male she looks almost exactly like an elven noble from a very distinguished family. This elven noble wishes to win the heart of a young elf back home and feels that going out to accomplish heroic quests will help to do that.

However... he is weak and cowardly and could never actually go and accomplish such things. So, she is deciding to do it for him. She will dress up as him, claim to be him and then go around adventuring in his name.

He will go off vacationing until this whole quest thingy is over with.

randomhero00
2011-07-16, 04:00 PM
However... he is weak and cowardly and could never actually go and accomplish such things. So, she is deciding to do it for him. She will dress up as him, claim to be him and then go around adventuring in his name.



Ohh I really like that one. Talk about true love!

Flame of Anor
2011-07-16, 04:57 PM
Ohh I really like that one. Talk about true love!

True love is foisting off your required brave deeds on a proxy?

Galileo
2011-07-16, 05:30 PM
She's actually a changeling, which is concealed by her identity as an elven maiden, dressing as a man, working undercover as a badminton player, disguised as a double agent football player.

Chilingsworth
2011-07-16, 05:37 PM
incidentally, on the "how do I accomplish this?" front, druids eventually get alter self at will.

Yukitsu
2011-07-16, 05:40 PM
I had a character that would just buy combat stuff from the bargain bin stores that generally only stock men's gear. People eventually couldn't tell she was a girl, just because she had so many layers of clothes on, looked like an elf and talked in this wierd language that didn't have gender pro-nouns. Less that I was explicitly hiding it, more that everyone just kept forgetting she was supposed to be a girl.

Coidzor
2011-07-16, 07:16 PM
Why is the title could when the OP is asking would anyway?

Triaxx
2011-07-16, 08:18 PM
Why would she? Perhaps she's interested in another woman, who doesn't see herself with a female, so her dressing as a male is her way of pointing out that gender doesn't really matter.

Or in a less cliche variant, it's a guy.

Or perhaps her personal nemesis has a 'no man' prophecy, like the Witch-King, so she's out to fool him because he doesn't let women close enough to ventilate him.

If he's really genre savvy, he'll have a height requirement. Minimum, and maximum.

turkishproverb
2011-07-17, 01:44 AM
True love is foisting off your required brave deeds on a proxy?

I believe it was a reference to the idea it would be true love that motivated the WOMAN to pose as the MAN for the sake if his happiness. :smallsmile:

Zale
2011-07-17, 05:13 AM
Because long hair and skirts are impractical when fighting, she feels more comfortable with bound breasts, and doesn't speak Common fluently enough to realize she's been introducing herself as a guy?

I like this one, honestly. It is by far the most amusing one. Perhaps not the most serious but... :smallbiggrin:

Doktor Per
2011-07-17, 05:19 AM
Could always take a page out of She's the Man (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454945/).

Her brother skips out on something, and to save the family's honor she pretends to be him.

Frozen_Feet
2011-07-17, 06:54 AM
I repeat my suggestion that she's dressing as a boy to fool a gullible young human girl for gits and shiggles.

King of the Realm "Wait, so you say the boy my 10-year-old daughter is playing with is really a 200-year-old woman?"

Jay R
2011-07-17, 09:09 AM
Because she's traveling with a group of male adventurers, and wishes to avoid complications of romance?

Or maybe she doesn't know why herself. She saw a vision of herself dressed that way, and in a magical world, assumes it might means something she does not yet understand.

Knaight
2011-07-17, 09:55 AM
She has temporarily swapped identities with someone, due to both of them being better able to handle the duties and stresses of the others life.

Mono Vertigo
2011-07-17, 10:14 AM
She's actually a changeling, which is concealed by her identity as an elven maiden, dressing as a man, working undercover as a badminton player, disguised as a double agent football player.

A double quadruple agent!
That elf is a spy!

aazru
2011-07-17, 11:08 AM
She stayed cold for advances of some bard and he in returtn diplobluffed her into thinking she is a man :D Or Fay.
Any trikster archetype could do that actualy. For the lulz!

El Dorado
2011-07-17, 06:14 PM
She uses disguises to obtain information from a variety of sources. Changing her gender is just one way to keep others from figuring out what she's doing.

Othniel Edden
2011-07-17, 08:15 PM
She is the last surviving noble from her house, and has disguised herself as a part of the escape as a male commoner, and then used the identity to join a mercenary guild of some sort.

Honest Tiefling
2011-07-17, 08:30 PM
She believes that in order to be closer to her god, she needs to emulate him. Yes, him.

Or she's not just doing it as a disguise, but as practice. She has to learn how to be a man eventually if she wants to pull off disguises! There is an elven Trickster God if you are running 3.5 or 2e.

Or she's just too lazy to get different clothes, and these happened to be cheap and/or 'available'.

Cisturn
2011-07-17, 09:06 PM
It being a fantasy setting there could be some sort of prophesy that an elven maiden will cause the downfall of a noble in the area. Causing some unfriendliness to the female elves in the area, and your pc is trying to avoid the drama/pitchforks.

Honest Tiefling
2011-07-17, 09:13 PM
She isn't running from an elven noble. Someone else is, and she apparently resembles them. That, or everyone thinks elves look pretty much the same.

deuxhero
2011-07-17, 10:32 PM
She's a snow elf, skirts and dresses are just really stupid for the cold.

Kalirren
2011-07-17, 10:35 PM
So... I've got this character that is an elf female, but she is posing as a male. She's a druid, the setting is Forgotten Realms. The setting (and elves in particular) is free of sexism and all about equality between genders, so she definitely isn't disguising herself as a male for something that only males can have or do.
What reason could she have to do this?
I have my little idea, but would very gladly read your suggestions.

An elder druid told her to do it/posed it as a challenge. Druids have A Thousand Faces, get the ability to disguise self (but physically) at will at a level not unattainable for the Realms. It's a tool they would use, one which requires mental preparation of cover identities.

Mando Knight
2011-07-17, 11:24 PM
So... I've got this character that is an elf female, but she is posing as a male. She's a druid, the setting is Forgotten Realms. The setting (and elves in particular) is free of sexism and all about equality between genders, so she definitely isn't disguising herself as a male for something that only males can have or do.
What reason could she have to do this?
I have my little idea, but would very gladly read your suggestions.

Technically, the title should be why would an elven maiden pose as a male, not could. The answer to could would be because an elf is probably slender enough to pose as a wiry young wizard or something quite easily with less binding and such compared to an average female human.

As for would, well, maybe she got a sex change courtesy of a Reincarnation spell and just doesn't feel like changing her wardrobe because of a silly little thing like anatomical differences.

Wulfram
2011-07-18, 06:22 AM
For fun?

She's spent more than a century being female, why not try out the alternative for a bit.

It could also be part of some wierd druidic thing. Being able to connect with the whole of nature, or some such mystical stuff.

Acanous
2011-07-18, 07:01 AM
The BBEG cast Mindrape on her.

Earl William
2011-07-18, 07:31 AM
She enjoys confusing people?

Another_Poet
2011-07-18, 12:33 PM
Because she's cosplaying Vaarsuvius.

ericgrau
2011-07-21, 12:58 AM
She's an elf. It's not even on purpose, it just happens anyway. See also anime characters / other Japanese characters.

TheOOB
2011-07-23, 11:50 PM
Wait, elves have gender? /sarcasm

Dr.Epic
2011-07-23, 11:51 PM
Um, if you can't think of a reason for a character to do something, maybe they shouldn't do it at all.

OracleofWuffing
2011-07-24, 12:11 AM
Barbarian SMASH thinking before acting! :smalltongue:

ImperatorK
2011-07-25, 10:20 AM
Um, if you can't think of a reason for a character to do something, maybe they shouldn't do it at all.
If you can't post something on-topic, maybe you shouldn't post at all, hm? It's not about "if I should do it", it's about "how I could do it". So, no thank you, I'll do what I want.