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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraFemale Gnome?(8 posts)(8 posts)
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Posted December 22, 2013
I've just bought Arcanum from GOG and I'm about to try playing it for the first time. I'd like, just for the heck of it, to play a female Gnome, but I can't create such a character via the New Character screen. Is there a way to do this?

THanks!
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Posted December 22, 2013
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BadOldPlayer: I've just bought Arcanum from GOG and I'm about to try playing it for the first time. I'd like, just for the heck of it, to play a female Gnome, but I can't create such a character via the New Character screen. Is there a way to do this?

THanks!
Apparently not. "They're all at home making babies", is the implication. Dwarves are cited as having a ten year gestation; halfling women are just stay-at-homes (don't like to travel); half-ogre women are kept under the thumb (read captive) by the brutish males; no real explanation for gnomes, though.
Posted December 22, 2013
Females sprites for some races were omitted due to schedule constraints. No female gnomes, halflings, or dwarves. Yes female humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs.
Posted December 22, 2013
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UniversalWolf: Females sprites for some races were omitted due to schedule constraints. No female gnomes, halflings, or dwarves. Yes female humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs.
Thank you for the informative answers . I read (much of) the manual and it did not give a clear answer that I could find. It's unfortunate that this is the case -- the manual text gave me the impression that perhaps the designers had given a little more thought to gender equity than many games do. Well, maybe they tried to do. I should have researched more before I bothered to crib a girl Gnome portrait off of Paheal!
Posted December 23, 2013
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BadOldPlayer: the manual text gave me the impression that perhaps the designers had given a little more thought to gender equity than many games do.
The game actually acknowledges the player's gender, unlike many games. As a female, players will encounter a good deal of sexism from various sources, and will often find different routes through certain situations. So "equity" is not exactly the word I would use, but I did like that gender actually matters in the game. I also like that players can choose to confront this sexism rather... directly, should they wish.

It is unfortunate that there aren't playable females for all the races, though. But at least the designers tried to explain this in the context of the world they created.
Posted December 23, 2013
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Waltorious: So "equity" is not exactly the word I would use
I didn't mean gender-blind equity inside the game -- anyone can switch out a list of pronouns and titles but leave the NPCs behaving the same. I meant equity in mind-share of the design process. And your comments seem to confirm that: they seem to've given more-than-average thought to the matter. THnaks for the feedback; I did express myself poorly. Cheers!
Posted December 23, 2013
For the record, all of the playable female PCs are medium-sized, and therefore all share the same set of sprites. So Hickory and UniversalWolf are undoubtedly both correct: it was an issue of time constraints, for which the devs cleverly provided an in-world explanation.
Posted December 23, 2013
And no female half-ogres. I forgot those.
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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick ObscuraFemale Gnome?(8 posts)(8 posts)
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