When it comes to mooks, I don't really describe them as anything but faceless goons. I'll say "Three Ninjas Attack!" I don't say "Three Ninjas attack; one is male, 5'7", about 165lbs, and has a scar visible under his left eye. His eyes are brown..." So if the players imagine the Ninjas as all male, or all female, or mix-n-match, then that's what they are for them. It's not like we're ever going to discuss the details, so it's ok if everyone imagines it slightly differently.

So to answer the question I guess my answer is "I don't know, but it's possible".

Quote from: rawma;810704I usually don't describe them in much detail if they exist just to be slaughtered. The NPCs who are interacted with in more interesting ways tend to be less numerous and vary in a lot of ways (with the intent of making them somewhat memorable in case they recur), but I couldn't give a precise frequency.

im not sure why that would make there gender unknown the english language relies heavily on pronouns for describing events involving people with no name given and even to a lesser extent those with names given

your sword slices into his stomach
the arrow goes into her arm
etc

unless your saying it instead which is something i would never do it is for when the gender is unclear or its a hermaphrodite (speaking of witch whats a good word for a hermaphrodite deity im getting real sick of saying deity all the time)

as for the topic at hand i would say that i have a fairly even spilt between the genders groups of goblins and things like that probably favour males but in an army its 50/50 and for pairs of foes it will usually be 1 of each gender.

I use "they" and "their" for neutral and switch to gender specific if anyone actually starts paying attention for some reason. Or if they know ahead of time that all the goons are one gender or another.

IE: Lemurians only field female troops. Professor Hex's thugs are allways guys. All of Gemini 2's mutant followers are hermaphs.

Quote from: tuypo1;814036im not sure why that would make there gender unknown the english language relies heavily on pronouns for describing events involving people with no name given and even to a lesser extent those with names given

your sword slices into his stomach
the arrow goes into her arm
etc

I just got lectured on grammar by tuypo1!? Nobody could have predicted that.

First, mooks appear in groups (a lone guard might be someone to interact with in more intesting ways, and probably warrants additional effort) and are not infrequently dealt with by area attacks (sleep, fireball, etc): "One of them is dead; two more are badly hurt." Second, I tend to reference "guard 1" and "guard 2" repeatedly, not to avoid questions of gender but because pronouns can be ambiguous when there are multiple antecedents possible: "You sliced deeply into guard #1's arm; guard #1 falls to the ground, bleeding profusely." Third, the magic of sentence fragments.

But yes, you could probably catch me using a default "he" on occasion, although I have consciously shifted to using the gender-neutral singular "they", and I don't police the players' choice of pronouns.

Quotewhats a good word for a hermaphrodite deity im getting real sick of saying deity all the time

It's Pat.

Quote from: rawma;814135I just got lectured on grammar by tuypo1!? Nobody could have predicted that.

It's kinda like getting trolled by a Beckett play.

And in the same post with this:

Quote from: tuypo1;814036unless your saying it instead which is something i would never do it is for when the gender is unclear or its a hermaphrodite (speaking of witch whats a good word for a hermaphrodite deity im getting real sick of saying deity all the time)

It's like it's just on the tip of my tongue but it won't quite come to me. What could it be?

I use whatever goons are appropriate to the setting and situation.

That has included female 'goons' when it's applicable.

Quote from: Old Geezer;812448My players have been rather uninterested in looking under dead orcs' chainmail to see what flavor their danglybits are.

Exactly.

Besides, there's no reason to think there should be the same level of sexual dimorphism among humanoids as among humans. Maybe male and female goblins or orcs or whatever can't be distinguished without looking under their clothes.

In the extras features on the Desolation of Smaug Blu-Ray, it's shown that one of the orcs attacking Laketown is female, played by a female extra/stuntwoman. This one, to be exact.

Every time I see this thread, I think of this.

Quote from: Elfdart;814775Besides, there's no reason to think there should be the same level of sexual dimorphism among humanoids as among humans. Maybe male and female goblins or orcs or whatever can't be distinguished without looking under their clothes.

It adds allot of tension and occasionally hilarity to wedding nights.

Quote from: Nexus;814793It adds allot of tension and occasionally hilarity to wedding nights.

That's why goblin and orc matchmakers earn the big bucks.

I've gone out  of my way to use female "thugs" when it was appropriate.  I ran a short campaign in which the main adversary was a medusae cult, and most of its muscle were human women.

My game group the last couple of years has mostly been female, and I found that making an effort to actually assign gender to "disposable" NPCs makes the world feel more lived in.  When your audience (aka, the players) can see themselves in the world, they invest in it more.

Quote from: King Truffle IV;815039I've gone out  of my way to use female "thugs" when it was appropriate.  I ran a short campaign in which the main adversary was a medusae cult, and most of its muscle were human women.

My game group the last couple of years has mostly been female, and I found that making an effort to actually assign gender to "disposable" NPCs makes the world feel more lived in.  When your audience (aka, the players) can see themselves in the world, they invest in it more.

Have you noticed if female thugs provoke a different response from the players, even if they handle them same as far as game play goes?

Quote from: Nexus;815077Have you noticed if female thugs provoke a different response from the players, even if they handle them same as far as game play goes?

The male players in my group were a little squeamish at first about "hitting girls."  But when the female players dove right in, the boys quickly caught on.

For me, it was an interesting experience, because before having a majority-female group, I'd never realized how exclusively male my game worlds were.

And like I mentioned before, I found that the female players seemed more engaged and invested in the world when they could "see themselves" in it, as both villains and heroes.

Quote from: King Truffle IV;815252The male players in my group were a little squeamish at first about "hitting girls."  But when the female players dove right in, the boys quickly caught on.

I had a similar experience with romantic, relationship and generally more "emotional" subplots and role playing. The women in the group were more eager to have them and the men got into them after seeing they could be fun. I suspect some of them were interested before but felt embarrassed bringing it up.

QuoteFor me, it was an interesting experience, because before having a majority-female group, I'd never realized how exclusively male my game worlds were.

I don't think I've been in a majority female group but I prefer having men and women playing. I think it brings more perspectives and styles to the game which is more fun.  

QuoteAnd like I mentioned before, I found that the female players seemed more engaged and invested in the world when they could "see themselves" in it, as both villains and heroes.

I feel the same way. I like to feel like I'm part of a world that I can see and experience and that's how I like to do things when I'm in the GM's seat. That's why the faceless mooks idea feels odd to me, I guess..

Thanks for answering.

Quote from: jeff37923;814783Every time I see this thread, I think of this.

Are you in your 70s??